Business Efficacy

Serious communicators recognize the importance of Communication P.O.S.T. when they need to hear and be heard. They look for these primary style elements:

1. Pace

2. Orientation/focus

3. Setting

4. Time

How fast or slow do you or another speak? Conflicting speeds impede effective communication. Think about your normal pace and how a faster or slower speaker makes you feel. If a conversation is important, adjust your pace to more closely match the other persons’. In a group meeting, rephrase statements at as many different paces… Continue reading →

There are no right or wrong communication styles, only effective and ineffective ones. Effective communicators know this and:

1. Adapt themselves to different styles to enhance communication.

2. Recognize which communication style best fits specific circumstance.

3. Avoid judgements about other people’s communication .

‘Adapt or die’ is a bit extreme, but true in many personal interactions. A slow speaker mistrusts a fast talker. A social person gets uncomfortable talking to someone who doesn’t respond in kind. These differences come from personality, environment, position and pressure.

A supervisor under pressure… Continue reading →

The effective listener achieves greater success and respect because:

1. They connect with the speaker and the message.

2. They adapt their listening style.

3. People appreciate being heard.

Complete listening requires eye contact, focus on the speaker, suspended judgement, clarification to understand and waiting until the speaker is finished before any response. All signals the speaker’s message is important. A justifiable complaint is, ‘no one pays any attention to me or my ideas’. Effective listeners do pay attention and, the speaker feels respected and valued, even if the listener… Continue reading →

To unify people’s ears and eyes means
to make people look and listen in concert
so that they do not become confused and disorderly.
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Words and their use determine an organization’s attitude. The company’s approach to people and their communication styles, either positive or negative, establishes the norm and the overall environment. A positive outlook encourages cooperation, respect and understanding between people and groups. A negative environment occurs when people’s styles clash and there is conflict between people and departments.

• Picture your… Continue reading →

Ready to move forward, only to have everyone else that needs to help tell you “no?” Consistently getting suggestions from associates and employees that trigger the dreaded “no” from you? It’s time to find out why.

Change is Scary

People generally fear change. Suggestions for new approaches to work, or directions for the company, require personal and organizational adjustments. Just because the change advisor knows why things need alteration, others may not. Do you or others around you silently consider alternatives and then, without any warning, ask others to implement… Continue reading →

“Downsize”, “productivity”, “vision”, “getting the job done”. What do all these have in common? Potential miscommunication. You avoid this problem when you speak or write clearly and concisely.

Clarity is the key to making things clear; removing confusion. It is also subject to interpretation.

Business and personal communications require precision. That is easier said than done. Each person brings their own set of expectations, experiences and personal agendas to every conversation. If they don’t match those of the other participants, miscommunication occurs. How then, do you overcome the obstacles to… Continue reading →