Vivian Ciampi offers these 4 tactical tips to help professionals at every level
become a more effective communicator and, in doing so, gain better control of
their career trajectory:
- Become the
“Universal
Translator.” The most valued and successful person in
any business is the one that can translate facts, figures, and concepts into
actionable ideas that will not only make sense and resonate with their direct
network, but also with any and all constituents those ideas will be presented
to. This includes superiors, subordinates, peers, customers, prospects, business
partners and vendors. The Universal Translator does the following: steps out of
their comfort zone or discipline; let’s go of any insider department lingo or
technical terms and focuses on the audience at hand; suggests specific ways
others can move forward with the information relative to what is important to
them; and presents the vision, plan or theory in a way that is clear, crisp,
confident and above all, ACTIONABLE. This person is so successful
because of their ability to translate complex or technical concepts into
strategic steps that will impact the bottom line. If others can
understand, relate to and rally around what you are presenting, it is sure to
yield winning results.
- Meet before you
meet. There’s few things more painful and embarrassing than getting
completely derailed in a meeting. Many have seen it—someone showing up with
well-prepared and rehearsed slides only to get completely pummeled with
questions from every discipline in the room before they even get beyond the
intro page. Instead of moving forward with their agenda, they are sent ten paces
back and five paces to the side, only to leave the meeting with more work, lost
credibility, a confused and frustrated audience and, above all, no progress on
the agenda at hand. If you've ever experienced this personally or seen it happen
to another, you know it is hard to recover. The best way to counter this is the
following: determine who your key constituents are relative to your topic ahead
of time; set up one-on-one meetings with all of them at least a few days in
advance of the big meeting; socialize the topic with each of the constituents
individually; and make sure you understand their perspective and answer any
questions or concerns that they have ahead of time. By taking these steps, you
will undoubtedly gain valuable information that will not only help you refine
your presentation, but also be poised and prepared to actually present in the
real meeting. Socializing the idea ahead of time may feel like extra work, but
the benefits far outweigh the additional time—and the very real risks of not
doing so. This strategy will facilitate your ability to effectively cover a lot
of ground and actually garner decisions in the meeting without playing catch-up
or spending valuable time trying to get everyone on the same page. Effective
communication, speed and alignment are a few of the key advantages here.
- Stop, ask and
listen! Today’s fast-paced workplace has most of us running at record
speed, often in circles like we’re on a hamster wheel. We are putting out fires
and have more in our email inbox than our outbox each and every day. The
resulting pressure of this overload causes us to rush through conversations so
we can cross it off our proverbial “to do list” and move on to the next triage task. Unfortunately, plowing through important conversations will never yield a
productive outcome, but often produces more work and headaches. The best way to
approach key conversations that need a little extra finesse or persuasion,
particularly in the midst of a time-pressed schedule, are the following: stop
and take a breath so you don’t rush into your agenda in the first five minutes
of the conversation; ask open ended questions, such as “What’s going on in your
department?” or “How has this system helped you?” Once the person you’re engaged
with has the opportunity to respond, make 200% sure you are actively
listening—not just hearing them—and that you give them ample time to convey
their thoughts without your interjection, direction or interruption. The
majority of the time, you will gain key insights from these conversations and
will be able to craft a more informed response—one that better resonates with
the person(s) you’re speaking with. Even if you already know the answer or have
a brilliant retort, slowing down and letting others speak first, in full, allows
them to “empty their cup” which puts them in a better position to have it filled
back up with what you have to say in response. When you do finally have the
chance to speak, keep in mind people only have the capacity to absorb so much.
If we provide an overload of verbose detail, you risk overflowing the listener’s
“cup” and may ultimately lose the real essence of what you are trying to convey.
Stay focused on who your audience is and what they care about to ensure that
your dialogue and key points are streamlined and succinct. This tactic also
helps build more productive, trusting professional relationships. The most
successful people in any company aren't necessarily the smartest, but rather
those who take the time to listen and learn from others because they truly value
what they have to say. Adhering to this strategy will not only make you a much
more effective communicator, but it will also garner tremendous goodwill
throughout the organization as you start to hone a discipline of talking less
and listening more.
- Converse with clarity. People today are inundated with data, work under tight time-frames, and talk in acronyms. Some technical people and other professionals tend to use a lot of insider jargon and industry terminology when they communicate, making it difficult for anyone outside their immediate network to understand. Also, incompetent people tend to rush through important details hoping no one else will ask questions or notice their in-aptitude, and you certainly don’t want to be perceived in this light. Such conversation crushers can leave others feeling intimidated, out of the loop and unable to effectively contribute. Rather than contributing poorly to the conversation or sitting on the sidelines as the dialogue ensues, a better approach is to pick the right setting and ask clarifying questions to ensure messaging remains on point and resultant activities on track. If you’re not sure where to start, the basic who, what, where, when, why and how is a sensible approach. For example, “Why are we doing this?”; “How will that work?” or “Where will this help the organization?” are some examples. The win-win with this strategy is that it fosters clear dialogue, makes people accountable to answer direct questions and often uncovers problems that need to be addressed but would have been overlooked had this approach not been utilized.
About the Expert
Vivian M. Ciampi is a Principal at Professional Coaching,
LLC, a business navigational coaching firm that helps universities, small to
mid-size businesses and large organizations accelerate the growth and success of
their top talent. She specializes in helping professionals become
better communicators in order to achieve greater success in their careers and
balance in their lives. She is also a coach and facilitator in the
Executive Education department at the Harvard Business School.
Ciampi has been providing leadership/strategic coaching and workshops to
professionals for over ten years. Prior to starting her own
business, she spent over two decades leading teams and managing businesses at JP
Morgan Chase, formerly Chase Manhattan Bank and Travelers Property Casualty.
Ciampi is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach
Federation; holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance and
Marketing from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Arts in
Economics from Fairfield University. Learn more online at www.CoachingTheProfessional.com.
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