Posts Tagged ‘Work’

 
photo credit: barto

We all communicate with several people everyday, all day long, on a regular basis. But how do we know if we’re communicating in a proper and understandable way? There are 3 main types of communication, stated on Sales Management 2.0, to which all communication falls into one of those 3 categories. Which communication type do you think you are?

1. Presenting. This is where the person pitches, presents their case, does a little bit of show and tell in order to “sell” you on a product or service or their idea. This person goes around in life “presenting” everything they talk about whether it be small simple day to day ideas or something huge that they really need your support on. They are basically nothing more than a salesperson in disguise.
2. Debate. Now this one tends to have a little more effect than the above, however, it does also tend to be more annoying. This is the person who has to turn everything into a debate with you by answering with something like “maybe, but”, “yes, but”. This person may win from time to time, but they are still only interested in you always seeing their point of view.

The third, but the most effective form of communication, is “Dialogue” or “Socratic Dialogue” as I position in my e-book. This form of communication is a pathway for arriving at the “Truth” yielding ultimately a collaborative approach (with consensus) to move things forward. When implementing this form of communication, one helps the other to define and realize the real consequences of given situational factors or scenarios.

Obviously the 3rd form of communication is the more preferred way of communicating and also the most effective. This is where all parties involved have a chance to equally speak and discuss the topic.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

photo credit: Torley

I came across an article located on Open Forum that talks about how your communication skills give power to your performance. Depending on how you communicate with your staff, team, boss and more, will depend on the performance outcome.

Have you ever had a business situation where someone is describing something like finances to you and it sounds almost as if they are speaking in a foreign language? That’s because often times people will communicate using “big” words that are not necessary just so they sound smart. Try communicating in simpler terms almost as if your talking to a 6 year old.

When sending out emails always make sure that the subject line is clear. Make sure your subject line basically states in very short form what the email is going to be about otherwise there is a good chance that it will be deleted before it’s even opened.

Your defense of “sometimes things take a lot of explaining” isn’t going to fly. If you’re drafting documents, that’s not writing for communications value. That means, you’re delivering information. It’s something different—which is okay, but be clear of your goal. Keep things visually simple, crisp, and broken up.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

photo credit: arquera

More often than not our days are hectic, stressful, and complicated when they don’t need to be, and we are usually the cause of it. Here are two very simple steps I recently read about on Harvard Business in making your day simpler.

Start with your own actions and behavior. Think about all of the times you have sat through a meeting that was boring, took too long on one single issue, didn’t have important issues brought up, and more. Yet most of the time we don’t give any sort of feedback, advice, or voice our opinions on the matter, so it continues and sometimes gets worse.

Start putting in your two cents and advice, the problem can never be fixed if no one is publicly aware of the problem. Get others involved in your new actions and way of thinking. Encourage your co-workers and fellow employees to stand up and start giving their feedback. Help everyone get in the habit of working as a team and finding solutions to problems and concerns that are often easily fixed.

Encourage other people to experiment along with you, and to share what works and what does not. Look together at processes that cut across your functions, and how you might streamline hand offs and interactions. Talk about issues that you can’t tackle alone, but might be opportunities for group problem-solving.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.