Why your staff may not be listening

“I have been telling my staff that for years………they don’t listen.”  I can’t tell you how many times managers say this to me. 

Today, it’s easy to communicate with one person or thousands very quickly. Too frequently, however, the message gets lost in the medium and fails to resonate with the intended audience.

Here are some tips I have recommended to leaders that encourage more effective communication:

• Be clear about what you need. Don’t expect your team to guess. Remember, that one size doesn’t fit all, so you may have to infuse your cut-to-the-chase request with humor or compliments to soften the message.

• Overhaul voice mail and e-mail. Survey your team members’ current responses for their business e-mail and telephone messages, and prepare to be shocked by the content and length! This calls for creating a template or script. Each script should be tailored to the person’s job function.

• Teach your team how to communicate. While you can’t control every word that comes out of your team members’ mouths, you can establish standards of what is appropriate.

• Have frequent in-person updates. Somewhere along the line, “micromanage” has become a  bad word. It conjures up images of bosses who can’t delegate, who don’t trust their team members and who don’t give employees room to do their      best work. No, you shouldn’t do your team’s work for them, you should get regular (and of course, succinct!) updates.

• Use your negatives sparingly. If you’re telling your team everything they need to know, but you still aren’t getting the results you want, try using more cut-to-the-chase sound bites. Be sure your announcements don’t always  start with a negative, followed by a litany of unpleasant consequences. If you frequently start each communication with negatives, your team will simply stop listening to your entire message.

• Look in the mirror.  The golden rule definitely applies to leadership and business. It’s always a good idea to treat your team as grown-ups and make them partners in whatever you’re doing.

If you’re not getting the results you want, you might be the problem. When you’re open about what’s at stake and use a logical, positive tone, you’ll find that your communications will gain traction.

The vehicle or venue you select to deliver your message is just as important as the point itself. Good news should be presented in an upbeat setting, and more serious subjects should be broached in a setting that’s “strictly business.”

If you’re open and succinct, you find that your team will mimic your style. Communications will become understandable and actionable.

Good Communicator! Listening is a must!

We all know that competent skill sets and experience are always important when companies are making hiring or promotional decisions, However, having good communication skills can be the ultimate verdict in hiring and promoting someone.

In those instances where two or three individuals of similar skills interview for the same position, it’s been shown that the individual who is often extended the offer is the one who communicates the best. In fact, there are times that an individual with a lesser skill set will get the position simply because of his or her communication abilities.  So, how does one become a good communicator?  There are some key elements that go into being a good communicator.

First of all it takes time, effort and practice.  In today’s world where everyone is moving very quickly, an effective communicator needs to develop the quality of also being a good listener. 

You must take a sincere interest in what others have to say, regardless if you find the information boring or irrelevant. Unfortunately, what sometimes happens to all of us is that we anticipate what the other person is going to say and start working on our response early in a conversation.  Ironically, this action can sometimes precede a brilliant idea and yet it is completely lost during the conversation. 

Good communicators know taking the time to ask the right questions and really listen to the answers is never time wasted. Do you communicate more respectfully with top-level executives than you do your peers? Are your communication abilities influenced at all by whether or not the person you’re communicating with can help YOU? Are your motivations to communicate influenced by how much money a potential customer has to pay you? If so, it might be time to rethink your motivations.

Making others feel special is at the core of successful communication. When others feel validated and heard, they usually respond in kind. It’s the old reciprocity idea: If you treat me well, I’ll treat you well. Good communicators pick up on the little things that are important to others and remember important dates, events, and names.  It takes practice!

Good communicators take the time to take the time. Do you hurry others along when they speak because you have more important things to do? Do you stare at your computer screen or smart phone when others are talking to you, assuring the other person that you’re really listening? Studies have shown that if there’s a contradiction between one’s words and one’s actions, the truth is perceived to lie in the actions. Make sure your nonverbal communication isn’t contradicting your good verbal intentions.

Because work environments change on a regular basis, part of being a good communicator involves being flexible. Your ability to make decisions that are well thought out and based on fact, not simply speculation or emotion, will be recognized as a valuable asset. If you need more information before you can move forward, ask for it. If you’re confused by what you hear, ask for clarification. Make no assumption that asking for something makes you look foolish or stupid. Good communicators ask a lot of questions and then take action toward goals that will benefit both themselves and others. Remember: We are all works in progress. By taking incremental steps to improve your communication effectiveness, you’ll reap long-term professional and personal rewards.