Rally Your Communication Mojo! South Dakota MGMA Fall Conference: Finding Your Way August 21, 2014: 3 – 4:15 p.m. Brenda Clark Hamilton, MA Ed.
Bragging Time! Tell one thing that you do well in your work…
Speaking of Communication… Have you seen the latest ‘app’?
Rally Your Communication Mojo! How confident do you feel when socializing or conducting business with others? Do your communication skills enhance, or detract from, your professional image?
Do you look forward to speaking in front of a group… Or dread the thought?
Finding Your Way: Navigating the Healthcare Landscape How important are communication skills to your career, relationships, and life success?
“Communication is the most frequently occurring written comment for improvement in the employee climate surveys that I have reviewed, and far and away the top issue in focus groups I have led. Not just great oratory skills, though that doesn’t hurt one bit, but effective communication with small groups and individuals. And, because leadership is, at the heart of the matter, a relational skill, how we communicate with others is integral to our success .” (Scott Edinger, Forbes , 3.20.13)
Five Strategies… For maximizing your ‘Communication Mojo’ so that you make a highly positive impression on those you encounter in your personal and professional life
1. Communicate with your audience in mind. • Brenda’s beautiful letter to the superintendents! • Great communicators design and deliver their message with their audience in mind. • Do you ever have to be the bad news messenger? Social Awareness (Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence )
Audience awareness is critical to being an effective communicator. “Great communicators are skilled at reading an audience/group by sensing the moods, dynamics, attitudes, values, and concerns of those being communicated with. Not only do they read their environment well, but they possess the uncanny ability to adapt their message to said environment without missing a beat. The message is not about the messenger; it has nothing to do with the messenger; it is however 100% about meeting the needs and the expectations of those you’re communicating with.” (Mike Myatt, Forbes , 4.4.12)
Consider your listeners’ perspective… What do they know? What do they need to know? What don’t they need to know? What are their priorities? Perspectives? Biases? What is their world like? How are they responding to my message/me? What mode of communication do they prefer?
• Most people have a strong aversion to communicators who… • Ramble • Waste their time • They perceive as inauthentic (fake!) • Are braggarts; Use large vocabulary just to impress • Do not make an attempt to be engaging (e.g., are monotone, give no examples or stories to capture interest) • Do not consider what your world is like
Make it clear for your audience! • Why is Suze Orman an influential communicator? (Carmine Gallo, Forbes 3.20.13): – Passion – Authenticity – Simplicity • Is my message clear? • Have I given the recipient enough background info.? • Have I avoided jargon and vague terms, e.g., ‘ASAP’? • Have I reread for possible typos/misunderstandings?
2. Build rapport. The Small Talk Quiz: ( adapted from Don’t Take the Last Donut, 2007) • The recent thunderstorm • Your • A good movie you saw plummeting 401K plan • A recent sporting event • What church you attend • Your families • Their trip into town • Your recurring sinus • Who you are talking to infection (to ask about their job, etc.) • A favorite restaurant • Your surroundings • Your recent divorce • President Obama’s and bitter custody battle job performance
What is ‘rapport,’ and how do you build it? Matching the pace, tone, behavior, and actions of the prospect so that he or she is comfortable that both of you see the world in the same way (Brooks, Sales Techniques , 2004)
• Be an upbeat person • Give a genuinely warm greeting or welcome; • Have a good and kind- Smile! hearted sense of humor • Find a connection • Make the person feel valued and at ease • Ask questions; Show • Remember interest; Listen and respond to what they them and are saying their interests • Use open, positive for future body language interactions
3. Tap the power of the 93%. “I like your shirt!” • 7% Words • 38% Tone of Voice • 55% Body Language ( Albert Mehrabian, UCLA)
Do You Want to Be Well-Received by Others? • Consistent eye contact • Avoiding eye contact • Smiling • Frowning, squinting • Confident, upright • Slouched, hunched posture (Power Poses!) posture • Expressive face • Lack of expression • Uncrossed arms • Crossed arms • Open hands • Hands clenched • Nodding head • Shaking head • Head held high • Looking down
Tone Considerations • Do you sound awake, alert, enthusiastic, and energetic…or bored, grumpy, and half-asleep? • Do you avoid a monotone voice? • Has anyone ever told you that your tone can be harsh? • Do you utilize the power of Voice Match ?
Avoid Closed-Off or Dismissive Nonverbal Communications • Arms crossed • Arms akimbo • The regal stance • The thigh block • The thigh brush
• Consider Mirroring (Goldstein, et al., 2008)
4. Value others by active listening. • Strong correlation • The Faker between your listening skills and people’s • The Interrupter perception of your • The Intellectual level of respect and Listener caring for them • The One-Upper • Do you recognize any • The Rebuttal Maker of these poor • The Advice Giver listeners?
How do you effectively listen? • Be committed to wanting to understand • Ask questions for what the speaker is clarification saying; Temporarily suspend judgments and • Use paraphrasing and agendas statements of empathy • Create a physical • Realize that you may environment conducive have to sift past anger to conversation to get at what’s really • Encourage them to talk going on
5. Handle tense communications with skill and tact. • State your intention upfront in a positive way. • If things get heated, restate what your intention is and is not . • Start with facts, not conclusions.
• Choose words carefully. Avoid phrases that shut down production communication: You always, You never, You’re wrong, Whatever. • Tap into the power of tentative language.
Rally Your Communication Mojo! What is one point that will stick with you from this session?
Pick one area to make gradual improvements… “ Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people .” --Jim Rohn
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