Have you been in a meeting with someone and it seemed as if something was not right? Maybe you were uncomfortable or nervous; maybe the other person seemed agitated or upset...
Have you tried mentioning the uneasy feeling to that other person? You might be surprised by the results. Honor your feelings. More times than not when you honor your feelings and state what feel, the other person will respond with sincerity.
~~You are in a meeting and the tension is thick. You feel like you are just failing your presentation miserably. So you ask, "I feel like this is not what you expected. Is there something else you would like?"
"No, sorry, um, this is what I needed. I had an emergency call from corporate today. I apologize." comes the reply. ~~ So it turns out that the tension in the air has nothing to do with you and you can relax, maybe even help out.
But if you don't honor your feelings and ask you will never know. This is hard to do because it makes you feel a bit vulnerable but I recommend giving it a try. You may find that you will yield some very sincere and refreshing conversation and decrease that tension in the room.
Showing posts with label Communication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communication. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Simply communicate
An enduring statistic - 2 out of 3 people believe that their managers do not communicate. However this seems to never be the case to the managers I ask about communication. So what's going on?
It may be that management believes they are communicating to the staff. The staff may hear management talking but believe they are not telling them what is going on. It turns out that the group responsible for this communication breakdown is the manager. If you are a misunderstood leader you are not leading. So consider the following:
1. Use the common language of your audience. You are providing direction, clarity, guidance, instruction; not reporting to a professor to prove how much you know. Speak to the people you are talking to in their terms and your deep knowledge will come through in your ability to relate.
2. Say what action you expect, don't imply it. If you are not clear it makes people feel like they need to read your mind. If you want something done in the next fifteen minutes, tell them that exactly.
3. Tell them what you can't tell them. If you have to protect confidential data (mergers and acquisitions or bonus time) tell them that you are not privileged to share all the information but this is what you can say, and say it. Tell them when more information will be available and stick to those promises. People will accept these positions if you keep your promises.
4. Listen. Listen to how your message is received. Does the receiver's face, body language, questions, actions, ecetera make sense to the message you just communicated? If not, ask questions and get feedback. You, the manager, needs to ensure clarity, so listen to see if the message was received.
Communication is work to ensure your message is heard. Make communication simple and improve your chances so that you are not the 2 out of 3 managers that fail to communicate.
It may be that management believes they are communicating to the staff. The staff may hear management talking but believe they are not telling them what is going on. It turns out that the group responsible for this communication breakdown is the manager. If you are a misunderstood leader you are not leading. So consider the following:
1. Use the common language of your audience. You are providing direction, clarity, guidance, instruction; not reporting to a professor to prove how much you know. Speak to the people you are talking to in their terms and your deep knowledge will come through in your ability to relate.
2. Say what action you expect, don't imply it. If you are not clear it makes people feel like they need to read your mind. If you want something done in the next fifteen minutes, tell them that exactly.
3. Tell them what you can't tell them. If you have to protect confidential data (mergers and acquisitions or bonus time) tell them that you are not privileged to share all the information but this is what you can say, and say it. Tell them when more information will be available and stick to those promises. People will accept these positions if you keep your promises.
4. Listen. Listen to how your message is received. Does the receiver's face, body language, questions, actions, ecetera make sense to the message you just communicated? If not, ask questions and get feedback. You, the manager, needs to ensure clarity, so listen to see if the message was received.
Communication is work to ensure your message is heard. Make communication simple and improve your chances so that you are not the 2 out of 3 managers that fail to communicate.
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