Communicating Successfully

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Communicating effectively and efficiently takes preparation and practice.

2 years ago Callender, Inc. came up with a slogan to improve our team's success, "Are you up to PAR? (Plan, Activate, Reflect)

We applied this slogan to all of our team meetings, business meetings, staff meetings, business trips, etc. We found that we communicated better and learned new things about each other, thus creating interpersonal relationships within the team. All 3 elements are essential for communication and growth. For communication to be successful the receiver must understand the message. It is always a two-way street. Therefore planning for these opportunities is a vital part of communicating clearly.

Below are also some key items to remember:

-What and why are you communicating?

-Who is it that will be receiving the information? (Knowing how they will understand or receive the information is crucial in how you plan on delivering the information. That is why building relationships and knowing who you are dealing with is so important)

In our fast paced workplace, being able to deliver information in an organized and timely manner is important as well. As a child my father taught me the KISS method (keep it simple and straightforward)- although, I recently learned that the last S did not stand for Stupid...

Usually it is easier to speak clearly and concise if you have an agenda or outline. Depending on your audience, it is easy to become sidetracked by menial line items or talkers. This brings us to the importance of having an interpersonal relationship with those in our work team, business relationships, etc.

How a person communicates is shaped by their personality traits, cultural variances or personal surroundings.

Brounstein (2001) identifies styles of communication into 4 types:

Dominant -

Opinionated

Bossy

Negative

Believes they are never wrong

Passive -

Indirect

Retreats from conflict

Quiet

Complains

Passive - Progressive -

Deals with people indirectly, or go behind back

Sarcastic

Holds grudges

Empathetic - This is the most effective style of communication. An empathetic communicator knows how to 'feel out' a situation. In doing so they build trust, are easy to communicate with, communicate assertively, and stay focused.

Values all opinions

Honest

Works cooperatively with others

Proactive

Knowing how you communicate and how others communicate can help guide meetings and conversations in the most productive direction.

Activating your plan once you are prepared should be more efficient and productive.

Reflecting is a great opportunity to find out what you can improve on as well as being a great learning experience. When you reflect as a team or alone, you will find that it turns into a large brainstorming session! As a leader of this reflection or on your own, remember to always try to start and end on a positive note. This does not mean that you should be timid to discuss areas for improvement. There are always ways to improve and discussing them helps growth. Remember that reflection is not a time to gang up on others, but rather to build up your team's confidence as a whole. You can only learn through trial and error!

Being able to connect and communicate successfully truly depends on whether or not you are PLANNING, ACTIVATING (according to your audience), and REFLECTING. With out good communication, connections cannot be made.

Murphy's Law ~ If communication can fail, it will!

Push n' Pull - Company Blog