How to be a flexible communicator

Transcription

1 How to be a flexible communicator Jennifer MacKay Jump Training and Development

2 About Jennifer MacKay Believes that communication confidence is key to personal and professional success Speaks on communication and writes for magazines including the ICAEW s Finance and Management magazine Runs communication skills training and coaching programmes for the corporate, public and charity sectors

3 We will cover Why you need to be a good communicator? What do we mean by being a flexible communicator? How can you increase your own flexibility?

4 Why do you need to be a good communicator? Three quick reasons: You have to explain concepts and data to non-finance people in a way that they can understand You have to influence decision makers As your career progresses so does your exposure Plus, your industry gets stereotyped as being poor communicators. Prove them wrong.

5 What exactly is a flexible communicator? A flexible communicator does three things: 1. Operate in a number of arenas 2. Seek to understand what others needs from them 3. Identify and adapt to other people s communication styles

6 What does being a flexible communicator give to you? More impact More influence More meaningful connections with people More alternatives and more possibilities More win/win

7 1. Your arenas How many of these arenas are you effectively operating in? Meetings Interviews Giving presentations Networking Delegating Giving feedback/doing appraisals Conference calls Reporting to the board Formal or informal coaching/training of colleagues

8 Poll: Your arena comfort zone Do you prefer: 1. Speaking to people you know well 2. Speaking to people you don t know 3. Speaking off the cuff 4. Speaking when well-prepared 5. Interacting one to one/small groups 6. Interacting with larger groups 7. Communicating with senior people 8. Communicating with people who answer to you

9 Tips for developing your flexibility Five ways to develop your arena flexibility: Intensity training Transferring skills from one arena to another Asking for exposure to a new arena Asking for feedback from someone Observing what others do well and copy it

10 Secrets of great communicators Delivery skills - how you say it may be as important as what you say Eye contact: make steady eye contact Voice: use your 5Ps Projection, pitch, pace, pronunciation and pause Body language: make it congruent and purposeful

11 Change waffle words to power words Um Pause Basically Pause I ll try I will or I won t But, however And

12 2. What do other people need from you? Seek first to understand, then to be understood. The Fifth Habit from Stephen Covey s, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

13 Tips for developing your flexibility Four ways to develop your what do other people need from you? flexibility: Get clear about the desired result. How will this benefit the other person? What would be a win/win for you both? What questions should you be asking?

14 3. Communication theories How we see things and what is important to us affects how we communicate. Let s look at three theories around this: 1. Vision v detail 2. NLP Neuro-lingustic programming 3. DISC

15 Vision v detail What is vision v detail? What do you need to know about it? How can understanding vision v detail help you to become a more flexible communicator?

16 Vision v detail Vision people like to know: The big picture The broad strokes And how this will help them Detail people like to know: What exactly needs to happen? How the steps should be taken? By whom? By when? etc

17 NLP What is NLP? What do you need to know about it? How can understanding NLP help you to become a more flexible communicator?

18 Visual preference How do they learn? What language do they use? They learn best by seeing They like demonstrations watching videos, looking at diagrams, pictures and charts You may hear them use words like: I see what you re saying Look at it this way Watch this space I ve noticed I m hazy on that

19 Aural preference How do they learn? What language do they use? They learn best by listening They like conversations, listening to lectures and can follow lengthy descriptions You may hear them use words like: I hear what you re saying Listen a minute How does this sound? Does that resonate? That rings a bell

20 Kinaesthetic preference How they learn? What language do they use? They learn best by doing. They like physical activities, trying things out, taking things apart and putting them back together You may hear them use words like: I had a feeling about that I have the hang of this What a pain! I get your drift It s touch and go

21 Auditory digital preference How do they learn? What language do they use? They learn best when given the chance to process information They like logic, the sequence of things and procedures You may hear them use words like: Let s consider How would that work? I know how to progress We need to figure out I can t make sense of it

22 Poll: NLP preferences Which NLP preference sounds most like you? Are you more: 1. Visual 2. Aural 3. Kinaesthetic 4. Auditory digital

23 DISC What is DISC? What do you need to know about it? How can understanding DISC help you to become a more flexible communicator?

24 Dominance Characteristics: Direct Determined Self-assured Risk taker Likes challenges and solving problems Could be seen as aggressive, non-inclusive and as having a big ego

25 Influence Characteristics: Enthusiastic Persuasive Talkative Social Optimistic Could be seen as manipulative, over-concerned with being liked and emotional

26 Steadiness Characteristics: Reliable Loyal Consistent Calm Understanding Could be seen as slow to change, possessive and submissive

27 Conscientious Characteristics: Accurate Logical Organised Careful Thoughtful Could be seen as overly technical, cautious and reluctant to share their feelings

28 Poll: DISC preferences Which DISC personality is the toughest for you to communicate with? 1. Dominance 2. Influence 3. Steadiness 4. Conscientious

29 What a flexible communicator isn t about Being a push over Having always to agree Distorting the truth Being fake

30 Poll: Developing you Getting better at which skill would make the biggest difference to improving your flexibility as a communicator? 1. Operating in more arenas 2. Seeking to understand what people need from me 3. Recognising and responding to communication preferences

31 Any questions?

32 Next steps Let us know what you think a short survey will be sent to you Today s webinar recording will be available at /listenagain Register for upcoming webinars at /acawebinars Creating a good first impression 2 August Persuasion skills 20 September Building personal resilience in the workplace 16 October Handling difficult conversations 13 November

33 A world leader of the accountancy and finance profession