| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
You Cant Not Communicate
Most of us would like to be better communicators. As leaders, co-workers, team members and in all of the other roles we play both professionally and personally, we know that communication is a major key to success. When we are frustrated or stymied by something, often better communication would have improved it. Consider the new executive or manager who walks into their first meeting. Every movement is watched. Where they sit is analyzed. What they say is discussed later. Did they make declarative statements or ask questions? Did they smile? Were they quiet or too quiet? What about their tone of voice? Or consider seeing an old friend with a new business partner. You've not spent much time with the new partner before. You care about your friend and so you are trying to build an informed opinion of their partner, so you observe them very carefully. Of course not every situation is this obvious, but in every situation we are all being observed as people try to truly understand our message. Yes, communication certainly is important - and valuable. And guess what? As these two examples clearly show, we can't not communicate. Think about it. We communicate with our words, of course. Our eyes and our facial expressions convey many things. We communicate with the tone of our voice, with our movements and hands. We even communicate when we are silent. The Paradox So it is a paradox to think that we are always communicating and yet we still want to improve our communications skills. Just because we do something all the time, doesn't mean we think about it all the time. And if we are doing something without thinking about it, we are operating from habit. Habits are our helpers. They allow us to get through all of the many tasks we encounter each day - many of which we do subconsciously. And while habits help us, sometimes they don't serve us in the ways we would most like. In those cases, we can adjust those habits. Making a Change If we want to think about improving our subconscious communication, it helps to think about the ways we communicate. I mentioned a list above. Others have split up the communication components into these segments: What we say How we say it How we look While I agree with those components I think it is also important for us to consider a fourth component too- what we don't say. Keeping these components in mind, I believe that there are at least five things that you can do if you want to do a better job of communicating during all those times you aren't thinking about communicating. Be aware. The first step to improving our subconscious communication skills is to be aware of how pervasive our communication is. Awareness helps us bring things out of the subconscious and up to a conscious level. It is at the conscious level we can work on them. Be vigilant. Once we have decided we want to improve these skills and are aware of the factors involved, we have to pay attention. Begin to more carefully notice how people react to you. Confirm your observations by restating your points if you feel you are miscommunicating. Being vigilant means taking more care and paying closer attention to your communication style and results. Get feedback. I have learned over the years that in some cases the tone of my voice is too strong - that even when I'm not upset or frustrated by something, the tone of my voice sometimes sends a different message. Without this feedback I wouldn't even be aware of this issue. With the feedback I can improve. Of course, you may receive positive feedback too - about things you are unaware of that serve you well. It is important to receive both the encouragement and the corrective ideas. Make a plan. Work on the areas you have noticed. Work on the things you received feedback on. Practice new or different techniques. This step is all about modifying and reforming your habits into more successful ones. Continue the loop. Awareness, vigilance, feedback and practice are the steps in a learning loop that you can apply over and over to continue to improve your subconscious communication skills. Summary The grammar isn't great, but the logic is perfect - you can't not communicate. All of our actions, words and non actions send a message to those around us. To become more effective and better understood, we first need to recognize this fact, then take action to change our communications habits so we are communicating what we want to communicate, more of the time. Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
MORE RESOURCES:
Management - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Organizational Capital in Politics, War, Sports and Business Intangible Corporate Assets such as Organizational Capital, Blue Sky and Brand Name Capital, actually they all have a common thread in my opinion. Here are some thoughts on these issues. Cheat Sheet; Understanding The MSDS and Your Obligations In The Workplace To Employees MSDS SHEETSMSDS stands for Material Safety Data Sheets. MSDS sheets contain nine sections. Is Busyness Affecting Your Business? I'm too busy; I'd love to but I'm very busy; I'll get round to that when I'm not so busy.How often have you said any of those phrases? How many times a week do you hear someone else say those phrases? They're very common and busyness seems to have become a way of life for many people. Delegation Obstructions OBSTRUCTIONS: 1. Staff deficiencies. Effective Multi Cultural International Business Meetings Of the many areas in international business where cultural differences manifest is in the corporate meeting room. International meetings are an area where differences in cultural values, etiquette, interpretations of professional conduct and corporate rules are at their most visible and challenging to control. 25 Super-Practical Steps to Build Your Business! For the past several weeks, we have focused on some wonderful but (to my way of thinking) rather fancy ideas about life. I wrote about motivation (I don't believe in it). Encouraging Behavior That Gets Results You're the boss, and you have every reason to feel good about your organization.You've built a great team. Presenteeism: The Hidden Costs of Business (prez.un. Project Management - Preventing Project Slips Can Project Managers prevent projects from slipping?Ask a techie to come up with a schedule for a specific list of activities, and more often than not, he/she will present a fairly accurate estimate. Some activities might be underestimated, others overestimated, but overall, the plan will be fairly accurate. Temporary Employees and Operational Problems; Your Use of Temps Might Reveal Warning Signs A recent Washington Post article, described the life of temporary employees working at an automobile plant in Kentucky. Working at a fraction of what permanent employees make at the plant, some employees had been working as temps for extended periods, as long as three or four years, when early indications had been they would be permanent within six to 12 months. The Walmart Cult The CultBecoming a part of the Cult, consists of being recruited a member of the cult, as a person that can be relied on to assume responsibilities and accomplish all or almost all things requested.Depending upon the position you hold and the person that you are attached to the most, any position can be engaging and can be so different from any other experience that you have had prior to Walmart in almost any retail sector that you feel you are being chosen for great things. Appraisal Systems - Not Living Up to Their Objectives Almost, if not all organisations have them, they've been around for a very long time and some organisations swear by them, however on the whole the average appraisal system fails to live up to the expectations of the organisation and often they can cause more trouble than they are worth."So, minister, here we are at the end of your government and the record doesn't look to good, crime is up, hospital care down, the economy still shaky and poor public services. Dialogue: the Four Dialogic Principles For Successful Communication "But you don't understand!" exclaimed the manager, "this new initiative is vital for our team. If it doesn't work we could all be out of a job!" "Uh-huh. Sending Documents Through Email? Dont Get Burned by Metadata! During a recent seminar I gave located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I discussed something called, "metadata". When I asked whether anyone ever heard of metadata, I was confronted with blank stares. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: A New Managers Tale This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. This competency evaluates an employee's feelings regarding their direct manager or supervisor. The Punitive Approach to Marginal Performers MANAGING A MARGINAL PERFORMER: Often a marginal performer, even after therapeutic counseling, may not understand that his or her work is seen as substandard. The manager will have to ask the employee directly how the performance could be improved. Joint Accountability: Another Key for Your Effectiveness I once was part of a group of management professors who often taught in executive development seminars. Other non-management professors in the school ran these. Great Hires: Avoid Costly Mistakes Picking people for a job is like going to the store to buy apples. Before you go, you ought to know whether the apples are to be eaten fresh, make into applesauce, baked into a pie or made into juice. Are You Ready to Sell Your Business Make Sure You Understand Your Motivation for SellingAre you thinking about selling your business?This simple one-question quiz will help you to better understand your motivations behind this thought. A better understanding of your underlying motivations will help you make the right decision. Creativity and Innovation Management :- Thought Leadership Leadership is only sustainable when leaders consistently come up with good ideas - when they are dependable thought leaders. It follows then that leaders would be more effective if they knew how to manage creativity and innovation.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
