Each month we will post a simple little tip you can practice for the next 30 days.  Try them out and see if they don't improve your communication, relationships and work life! 

Remember to give us feedback on your progress!

JANUARY, 2007

10 Seconds - Focus on Communication

A communication practice for the next 30 days is to wait until the count of 10 before responding to any oral communication from any other person.  Ok, if the count of 10 seems too long – at least wait until the count of five. 

I know, they will think you fell asleep.  Not really.  What will generally happen is they will finish their thought.  And the amazing thing is, you will often find that this additional information is very different from your first impression of the conversation.  That additional information will often change the outcome of your conversation – you may both find support for your ideas, just coming in different perspectives. 

Great interviewers have learned this technique and have perfected it to be unnoticed.  You can do the same.  Just make up your mind to make a conscious effort to wait until at least a count of five before responding.  By the end of 30 days, you should be aware of a difference in your understanding of others and improvement in how others perceive your communication skills.  Remember, people judge communication skills by how much they are encouraged to talk and make their position understood – not how much you talk.

 

FEBRUARY, 2007

Can you tell me more about that?

Communication is the skill of listening; it has very little to do with talking.  Have you ever talked to someone and realized ‘they just don’t get it.’  For example – trying to explain that you are property and casualty insurance; not life, health, benefits or vice versa and then have them continue to talk about the side you know nothing about.  Or tell the customer service person that you have already performed the diagnostic steps and the problem is still there; then they proceed to try to walk you through the diagnostic steps again!

One solution is: clarify, carefully and courteously.   The wrong choice of words or the wrong tone of voice will have the opposite result.  Two people are discussing an event and after the comments of one the other person says:  “What do you mean by that?” – with the wrong tone of voice, that becomes a judgment of the first person and they are either going to become defensive or stop talking all together.  A better choice of words might be:  “Can you tell me more about why you had that reaction?”  You are asking for more information, clarification and you are likely to get a better picture of the situation.

Try it with clients.  Adding “can you tell me more about that” to your conversations may help you uncover expectations you didn’t know existed.  It might result in educating the client about an issue that will develop the relationship that isn’t going to be broken just for price.

For the next 30 days, try asking: ‘can you tell me more about that’ – even when you are sure you know what the other person meant or said.

 

MARCH / APRIL, 2007

Prepare your message

Being understood is a matter of time management.  That seems strange but the excuse for poor communication is often ‘not having time to prepare’.  The real issue is taking/making the time to carefully consider the message and the audience.

There are only a few communication situations that truly are ‘at the last minute’.  When giving employees instructions on how to perform a particular task, or requesting special consideration in a situation, or talking to a client about a claim being denied or a payment that is late or coaching an employee to help them achieve the desired success – these are all situations that can, and should be planned in advance. 

Understand who is receiving the message.  Anticipate their response, questions, concerns or rebuttals and prepare accordingly.  Present your message in the terms of the audience – not what makes sense to you.

Spend the next 30 days considering your communication situations and begin to anticipate how your message could be received or misunderstood.  Manage your time to improve your communication skills.

Send me Notice of your Tip starting April / May!

Remember to give us feedback on your progress!

Contact Trillium Advisors, LLC