Communication Skills The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public. - George Jessel T he ability to communicate is vital to achieving advancement for yourself and for your ideas. It does not matter if you are meeting someone face-to-face or presenting in front of a large group, you have to Prepare your message, Develop it, and then Deliver it. Having an organized communication process will help you develop all types of relationships, both personal and professional. Few skills in life will contribute to your success as much as communication skills. The following studies are evidence that employers, Fortune 500 companies, and top CEOs value the importance of effective communication: The Job Outlook 2005 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) indicates that good communication skills are the top personal quality sought by employers evaluating a job candidate. The American Management Association surveyed over 5,000 CEOs and asked What is the most important thing you have learned in order to perform your role as an executive? They ranked communication skills as number one. The Journal of Business Communication surveyed Fortune 500 Vice-Presidents and 97.7 percent believed that communication skills had affected their advancement to a top executive position. The fear of speaking in public is the second biggest fear among Americans. It ranks ahead of the fear of dying and the fear of heights, according to the Gallup News Service Poll conducted on March 19, 2001. Top four fears in America 1. 2. Speaking in public 3. Heights 4. Death www.ispeak.com 1
Communication Factors The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn t being said. Peter Drucker When you communicate face-to-face, people receive information through what you say verbally, how you sound vocally, and how it appears visually. The entire package must be synchronized for maximum benefit. In a study at UCLA in 1967, Dr. Albert Mehrabian found that when there are conflicts of trust and believability between the verbal (what is said), the vocal (how the voice says it) and the visual (what is seen of the speaker) the visual is overwhelmingly dominant. Research in his book Silent Messages shows the verbal is believed 7% of the time, the vocal 38%, and the visual 55% of the time. When communicating over the telephone, Dr. Mehrabian found that 84% of communication is vocal and 16% is verbal. Most people focus their preparation for communication on the verbal, whereas they should be concentrating on the visual. We must be knowledgeable of our subject matter and competent in putting together the supporting data, but we know how important it is for us to pay attention to other areas of preparation. For people to believe us, we must be believable. And, in order to be believable, we must learn to look and sound credible. 2 ispeak, Inc.
Words According to Dr. Mehrabian, the words you use in your message account for only 7% of your communication. This is not to say that using the right words is not important. The English language contains over 500,000 words, so it is important to select the right words. In 1998 at Yale University, Dr. Levinson identified the most persuasive words and phrases in the English language. The persuasive words include Easy, Save, Results, Money, Need, Health, Love, Discover, Proven, You, Safety, and Guarantee. According to Dr. Levinson, the single most persuasive word is: In the same study, he found the most persuasive word combination is: Undesirable Words & Phrases Signature I m sorry I need you to Cheap Positive Words & Phrases Authorize, Endorse, or Approve I apologize Would you please Inexpensive Problem I know It s not my job Remembering Names Learning people s names is difficult for many people and forgetting them can sometimes lead to embarrassing situations. When you can remember someone s name, it establishes a foundation of trust and respect. Below are a few techniques to help remember people s names: Start with the right. Actively when the other person states their name. their name out loud. their name, when possible. Connect or associate their name with. www.ispeak.com 3
Voice Dr. Albert Mehrabian found in his studies on communication, the sound of your voice accounts for 38% of your communication with the customer. Your voice represents your company and your personality to customers. Different factors drive the effective use of your voice when communicating with customers over the phone. Inflection Inflection is when you raise the tone of your voice, such as going up at the end of a sentence to indicate a question. This technique can be used to emphasize a particular word in a sentence, as the emphasis will change the meaning. Clarity Proper use of pronunciation, articulation and the expression of sounds are important to a listener s understanding of your message. Tongue-twisters are a great exercise to work on your diction and improve your enunciation. Red Leather Yellow Leather Unique New York Pace Your voice is a powerful tool and the speed at which you speak can either make that tool work for or against you. It is not the slow or fast speed that is the real issue; it is the constant speed that causes trouble. People who speak at a constant pace, whether slow or fast, are likely to frustrate their listeners. However, as Ann Landers once said, The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven't thought of yet. Volume Volume is the amount or fullness of your voice and can be increased or decreased by pushing more or less air over your vocal chords. The raising and lowering of pitch and volume is called modulation and is paramount for effective communication. Exercise: Effective Communication The following will contribute to your success when communicating with a customer over the phone. Use words. Speak with. the customer. 4 ispeak, Inc.
Body Language Your body language is the most important communication factor when communicating face-toface. You can use your stance, posture, facial expressions, hand gestures and other movements to your advantage. According to Dr. Mehrabian, 55% of your communication is represented visually with your body language. If your body and verbal contradict, your listener will believe your body language over the words you use. The single most important aspect of body language is You want to have a warm, sincere smile on your face when you begin your face-to-face communication. You will not get enthusiasm from people unless you initially give enthusiasm to them. You cannot receive a smile unless you give a smile first. In Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, he describes this inexpensive and often overlooked "gift" that you can give your listener when he says, It costs nothing, but creates much. In her 1991 book, The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body, Dorling Kindersley found that it takes 72 muscles to frown and only 14 to smile. Eye Contact This is a key element of body language, as people (in general) like others to look them in the eye when they are communicating. According to the Center for Nonverbal Studies (CNS) in Spokane, Washington, it is natural to look at someone for three seconds before one or both viewers experience a powerful urge to glance away. The best place to look at someone in a business environment is in a triangle area called the business gaze. The business gaze is triangle area. Silent Nod Another powerful element of body language is the silent nod. When you look at someone for a few seconds while you are speaking, most people will instinctively nod, signaling they are listening to you and possibly that they agree with you. A nod indicates you have made contact and are getting through. You can also use a nod as part of your body language to acknowledge people when they are speaking. Over the phone, you can use the following as a replacement for the silent nod: www.ispeak.com 5
Body Position Your body position is another critical factor in making a great first impression and communicating with your listener. You can communicate sincerity and attention by using an open stance that is demonstrated by looking up, chest out and feet slightly apart. Combine this with a forward lean and palms facing towards your listener. An open stance is welcoming and conveys trust and acceptance. On the other hand, a closed stance conveys resistance, lack of acceptance and even hostility. The types of gestures you want to avoid include: Folding your arms Listening Skills In 1991, The U.S. Department of Labor did a study and found that the average worker spends 55% of his communication time listening, 23% speaking, 13% reading, and less than 9% writing. Any signal sent to your customer that gives them the feeling that you re just not important will lead to customer churn. Every customer may know they are not your only customer, but they want to feel like they are. Effectively listening to your customers will give them the feeling that they are important; it will also tell them that you are appreciative of their business. The following are techniques you can use to improve your listening skills. Focused Attention 6 ispeak, Inc.
Presentation Delivery Techniques I can never remember being afraid of an audience. If the audience could do better, they d be up here on stage and I d be out there watching them. -- Ethel Merman A successful presentation starts with the developing of your message and ends with the delivery of that message. How you say it is just as important as what you say. An effective delivery is comprised of multiple items, starting with your preparation, setting up the facility, making a great first impression, using humor, using visuals, and ending with the effect you leave on the audience. Stand Left If you are projecting a PowerPoint presentation, using overheads or working with flip charts, it is important to stand to the left of your visual aid. Just as in the English language, people read from left to right. By standing on the left side of the screen (from your audience s view), the audience sees you and then your visual aid. Answer Questions The Question & Answer portion of your presentation should be conducted prior to the presentation conclusion. This ensures that your presentation ends they way you planned, not on a bizarre question or comment from an audience member. Your last impression on the audience should be the way you planned. Visual Aid Jeopardy When properly prepared, visual aids can be a valuable asset to your presentation. They can liven up and enhance your presentation by making your ideas more understandable and more interesting, while adding to your overall credibility. A presentation with visual aids is also the foundation of a persuasive presentation. Many speakers are so intent on explaining a visual aid that they spend most of their time talking to it instead of to the audience. You should stand to the left of your aid and face the audience when you speak. Remember the three T s when using visual aids. T1 = T2 = T3 = Your objective in designing visual aids is to make it readable and consistent. Audiences cannot absorb a huge quantity of new information. Limit a speech to only a few key points, and limit visual aids to those that are necessary to clarify or illustrate those points. A rule of thumb is to have no more than six words on six lines (known as the 6x6 rule). Use the KILL KISS as your guide and you can not go wrong. KILL = KISS = www.ispeak.com 7
Why ispeak? ispeak has created a model that positively impacts the way an organization does business while providing tools to increase net sales and customer satisfaction. This model is complimented by their ability to deliver the instruction and materials in an engaging and creative forum. - Cliff Burnette, Spansion Customized Programs ispeak believes that generic course content and workshop examples will not produce the same lasting effects as content customized to your industry and company. All courses for ispeak can be customized to deliver the most memorable and applicable education for you. Internal Curriculum Development ispeak develops all of its own training materials, which fosters customized courses based on your unique needs. All content is based on extensive research and written by professionals with years of business and education experience. ispeak Business Models All ispeak courses are model based. Each class has its own educational model as the foundation for the course. This means that you will not only examine and learn new skills (analysis), but you will learn how these skills work together to achieve positive results (synthesis). Facilitators, Speakers and Instructors ispeak will only employ seasoned professionals and experienced educators for the classroom. In addition, all facilitators must possess exceptional speaking skills. On average, our facilitators have 16 years of business experience. Tools & Job Aids In each ispeak course students will learn how to utilize tools to achieve success. These job aids can be immediately implemented by the students upon their return to work. Each of these tools will be delivered to the students in class and will also be made available to students via the ispeak Web Portal. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this booklet may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of ispeak, Inc. To order additional copies of this booklet, please contact ispeak by phone at 512.671.6711 or by email at info@ispeak.com 8 ispeak, Inc.