Archive for the ‘Communication Skills’ Category
Overused words
Have you noticed how we all use some words to the point where they drive other people to distraction?
For a while I was guilty of saying ‘actually’ at the end of every sentence. It didn’t last long because someone had the temerity to tell me that it had become extremely annoying – I stopped!
No doubt I still use one or two words more than I should; and they may well be used out of context. Such an example came up in the last day or two.
Currently, I am involved in some training in Manchester. So I decided to stay at the Manchester Airport Travelodge for three nights. It is convenient and easy for my work especially since the days are very long and tiring. On night one I was sent off to my room happy in the knowledge that each evening I would be able to return and ‘crash out’.
On day two I returned to my room and couldn’t get in. I went downstairs and queued behind a long group of people waiting to be checked in. As each person was checked in the female receptionist would give them their room cards, they would say “thank you” and she would reply “not a problem”. Fifteen minutes later I reached the front of the queue, explained my problem and got my key renewed. I thanked her and she replied “not a problem”. I didn’t say anything.
On day three after a very long day I returned to the hotel and went to my room. I couldn’t get in. I went down to reception and queued again for about ten minutes. The same receptionist was there.
When I reached her I explained that it had happened again. At this point she told me that the key card is renewed every day. I asked why I hadn’t been told that on day one or why she hadn’t told me the previous night. She told me that I should have known!
Anyway, she renewed my card and handed it to me. I said “thank you” and she said “not a problem”. At this point I felt it incumbent on me to explain to her that it was indeed a problem; along with the myriad of other small problems I had experienced over the past three days. At this point her minimal training failed her and she had no idea what to say other than . . . . .
Why internal communications matters
“You bang on a lot about communications don’t you”, someone said to me recently. Yes, it’s true I do, but that is because communications happens all of the time. It is how we get things done – or not as the case may be.
Some research done in the 1990s showed that if an organisation had a healthy internal communications package then it:
• Improved productivity
• Reduced absenteeism
• Increased innovation
• Reduced costs
• Produced better quality services/products
I would add:
• Reduces turnover of staff
• Builds trust
• Improves cooperation
Actually there is a lot of research out there that points to the benefit of good communications whether they are internal or external. Internal communications when developed to allow employees to have their say allow people to talk about their needs, it helps them to get information and they get a chance to influence decision making.
It has also shown that lots of face to face communications between managers and their teams leads to improved motivation and morale. It means that people are understood and small adjustments can be made in between the annual appraisals.
So yes I do bang on a lot about communication because you can really see the organisations that are not communicating with their people and the ones that do – the latter are the ones still in business!
Can anybody have presence?
There is one question I can guarantee I will be asked when I am running courses on presence: How can you teach someone presence? Isn’t it just something you have or don’t have?
I would reply by first of all exploring a definition of presence which usually includes: standing out in a crowd, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, the ability to calmly and confidently influence a discussion.
It seems that presence can be defined as an energy – think of Barack Obama. An energy which sets him apart. So if we want to acquire that, we have to define it further. How does that energy manifest itself?
Steady and direct eye contact, controlled movement without nervous fidgeting, a confident smile, open and relaxed body language, a compelling and resonant voice…and so on.
So if we seek to increase our presence in any situation – for example when chairing a meeting, making a presentation or being interviewed for a job – then it is necessary to be aware of the technical skills that can be developed.
So in answer to the question, ‘Can anybody have presence’, the answer is a resounding yes. But there are skills and capabilities which have to be developed and practised to achieve this.
Confusing the world clock…
Here’s an interesting one for you, a good example as to how communications can easily get confused. A colleague is involved in organising a meeting which will have a videoconferencing input.
People who will be ‘present’ include a number from the UK where the meeting is taking place, one in the United States (on the West coast) and another based in Eastern Australia.
So what time will the meeting take place? Well the first thing the organisers have had to consider is that the time zone of the person in the United States is eight hours behind, whilst the time zone of the person in Australia is ten hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; but the UK is on British Summer time.
So assume the meeting is at 1200 noon. The person in the States will expect the call at 0400 – 4 a.m. in the morning local time (just to emphasise the point). The person in Australia will expect the call at 2100 EST. That is EST as in Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Which raised another slight communications problem; when the notice of the meeting went out the secretary had put 2100 EST. The American assumed that this meant United States Eastern Standard time which is three hours ahead of the West Coast time.
Fortunately the confusion was short lived because one person very quickly realised what had happened and was able to correct everybody with a brief email.
The moral of the story is not to take short cuts when communicating important information. When dealing with different time zones it is best to put the name of the country or city alongside the time.