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Communication Strengths (Part II) 

Ten additional ideas to add to your communication strengths include:

1. Listen carefully; without interrupting
2. Put others at ease
3. Give others time to speak
4. Use correct grammar
5. Follow through promptly
6. Check your understanding
7. Deal with facts
8. Provide well intended feedback
9. Receive well intended feedback graciously
10. Speak without sarcasm or defensiveness

Communication Strengths (Part I)

Our ability to communicate needs to be a work in progress.  Beyond words there are behaviours that contribute to our being perceived as effective communicators.

Ten ideas to add to your communication strengths include:

1. Be friendly
2. Be articulate
3. Be sincere
4. Be sympathetic
5. Be receptive to others’ ideas
6. Be specific
7. Be positive
8. Be assertive
9. Speak clearly
10. Be comfortable when meeting strangers

Organizing Incoming Information

Between email, mail, faxes internal memos and telephone calls the amount of information presented to you each day can be a burden.

Seven ideas to increase your success with managing your incoming information include:
1. Categorize each piece of information as follows:
A – Needs to be done today
B – Has a specific deadline other than today
C – Has no deadline
D – Items you can delegate
E – Items you can eliminate.

2. If an A will take you less than 5 minutes to complete, do it at the time of sorting.

3. Arrange your B’s on your desk based on the date you need to start the task.

4. Move your C’s to a file drawer or hidden shelf… far from your immediate work area. Pile them high and toss the bottom section when the stack gets too high.

5. Decide whether to delegate a D immediately or schedule a time to delegate a task.

6. Remove unwanted E information from reaching you by making a quick call or sending a quick email.

7. Apply the above practices to email, mail, faxes internal memos and telephone calls.

Projecting an Appropriate Tone in Your Business Writing

Your reader will read your communication with their own (sometimes negative) overtone. It is particularly important to take as many steps as possible to project the best possible tone.

Eight ideas to increase your success with an appropriate writing tone include:

1. Focus on the reader by using the “You” instead of “I”. i.e.
Instead of: We have a new program that we think is very interesting.
Write: You’ll find our new program very interesting.

2. Use the dynamic active approach VS passive approach.
Instead of: Careful consideration will be given to your request.
Write: We will give careful consideration to your request.

3. Engage your reader by writing with more verbs and less nouns.
Instead of: I have knowledge
Write: I know
Instead of: I have reservations
Write: I doubt
Instead of: May I make a suggestion
Write: I suggest

4. Take a positive approach.
Instead of: We have written twice and to date you have not replied.
Write: When can we expect your reply?

5. Use specific concrete language.
Instead of: Please send me a copy of the report as soon as possible.
Write: Please send me copy of the report within 10 days.

6. Use words that build goodwill like please; thank you; appreciate; hope.

7. Make the action required by the reader the closing sentence.

8. Deal with one subject in a communication.

Effective Project Teams

While working with others to complete projects is riddled with many challenges, the benefits of the synergistic team approach are boundless.

Ten ideas to increase your success with team projects include:

1. Ensure that the team’s goals are specific, measurable, relevant, timed and known to all members.

2. Make frequent reference to the goals.

3. Share the leadership.

4. Ensure that the roles and responsibilities are clear.

5. Expect, regulate and resolve conflict.

6. Treat mistakes as learning opportunities.

7. Monitor and provide performance feedback.

8. Communicate frequently, openly and honestly.

9. Utilize all team members.

10. Share the power.

Knowing How to Ask

Making requests is an art.

Nine ideas to increase your success in asking include:

1.  Know what you really need or want.

2.  Be specific with regard to time frame or quantity.

3.  Ask the right person.  Identify the decision maker or the person who has control.

4.  Prepare your case including the benefits to the person you are asking.

5.  Be prepared to give in order to receive.

6.  Overcome your reluctance to asking.

7.  Request or invite; never demand or beg.

8.  Show respect.

9.  Ask …and keep asking.  Persistence does pay off.

Crisis Prevention & Management

You can’t turn on a dime if you’re always fumbling and trying to recover from crisis.

Twelve ideas to increase your success in avoiding & managing crisis include:

1. Identify your priorities and consistently work on what counts.
2. Stay focused.  Finish your tasks before moving to another.
3. Anticipate potential crisis develop alternate solutions.
4. Overestimate the time required to complete tasks.
5. Turn a crisis into an opportunity to demonstrate your talent.
6. Stay calm.
7. Use extra adrenaline to find solutions.
8. Think & plan – – Run the crisis… avoid creating a second crisis by acting too quickly.
9. Delegate what you can but don’t start another fire.
10. Ask yourself: What’s your A1 priority.
11. Have all affected parties participate in generating possible solutions to the problem.
12. Set up controls to ensure the situation doesn’t recur.

Meeting Challenges

When pressure mounts and difficult situations arise, asking yourself a few key questions will help you to learn from your challenges.

Five ideas to increase your success in dealing with challenges include:

1. Ask yourself, “How did I get into this?”

2. Ask yourself, “What would a calm person do?”

3. Ask yourself, “Does this need to be done at all?”

4. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?”

5. Ask yourself, “What is this challenge telling me?”

Telephone Skills

From the way that you handle yourself on the telephone, your caller can quickly assess whether you are:

• Capable
• Caring/Interested
• Energetic
• Friendly/Happy
• Organized

Ten ideas to increase your success with the telephone include:

1. Remember it’s 10% what you say and 80% the way you say it that counts on the phone.
2. Be prepared to make a written record of all information.
3. Be on stage – assume a “professional ” role – unemotional, problem-solving oriented.
4. Practice consistency.
5. Regularly critique yourself.  Try to get feedback from others that you trust.
6. Smile as you speak.
7. Never show agitation or fatigue; end the call graciously and call back when you are composed.
8. Monitor your tone – project energy
9. Provide a positive approach by focusing on what you can do.
10. Listen to voice mails you leave and eliminate your “ums” or “ahs” by closing your lips at the end of each sentence.

Problem-Solving Skills

Before committing to important decisions it is wise to invest time and effort in considering the issue and alternate solutions.

Six ideas to increase your success in problem-solving include:

1. Identify the problem – state the problem in the form of several different questions.

2. Identify the solution criteria – On what basis should you make the decision?   What will the solution look like?  What concerns will you have addressed?  What factors need to be considered?

3. Identify all of the possible causes of the problem.

4. Generate alternatives/ideas considering all of the questions framed when identifying the problem; all of the solution criteria and all of the possible causes.

5. Select the best alternatives using the solution criteria.

6. After implementation, follow-up to confirm the success of your problem-solving process.