Effective Communication in the Workplace

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE

A Practical Guide to Learning to Communicate Confidently in All Business and In Any Organization and to Increase Employment and Client Engagement

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Analyze Your Audience.................................................................................10

Chapter 2: Attention-Getting Techniques.....................................................................12

Introduction......................................................................................................................12

Ask a Question.............................................................................................................12

Give an Illustration.......................................................................................................13

Tell a Story....................................................................................................................13

Tell a Joke.....................................................................................................................13

Body..................................................................................................................................14

Conclusion........................................................................................................................15

Chapter 3: Preparing Your Presentation........................................................................16

The Room..........................................................................................................................17

Preparing Your Mind........................................................................................................17

Practicing on Your Own...................................................................................................18

Getting Feedback.............................................................................................................19

Chapter 4: How to Speak up at Meetings and in Front of Others..............................21

Speaking Out....................................................................................................................21

First Things First..............................................................................................................21

Slow It Down, Breathe Through It...................................................................................22

Know the Room, Know Your Audience...........................................................................23

Projection..........................................................................................................................23

Articulation......................................................................................................................24

Handling Notes.................................................................................................................26

Picture It............................................................................................................................26

Don’t Apologize...............................................................................................................27

Their Perspective..............................................................................................................27

Value the Experience.......................................................................................................28

Use Your Voice.................................................................................................................28

Pause.............................................................................................................................28

Inflection.......................................................................................................................29

Chapter 5: Stay Focused, Have a Plan and Follow It.....................................................30

Stay on Topic....................................................................................................................30

Stick to Time.....................................................................................................................30

Be Conscious of the 10-Minute Rule..............................................................................30

Respect the Audience......................................................................................................31

Connect the Dots for People...........................................................................................31

Learn to Use Questions....................................................................................................31

Stay Away from the Graveyard Shift................................................................................31

Chapter 6: Developing Your Message............................................................................33

Goal-Driven Messages.....................................................................................................33

Connecting with Your Audience: Emotions....................................................................35

Connecting with Your Audience: Who Are They and What Do They Know?.................36

Chapter 7: How to Hide Nervousness When Speaking up at Meetings.....................38

Chapter 8: Share Personal Anecdotes.............................................................................41

Treat them as you would like to be treated...................................................................42

Audience participation.....................................................................................................43

Wear your heart on your sleeve.......................................................................................44

Don’t take yourself too seriously....................................................................................45

Talk about subjects the audience can relate to.............................................................45

Chapter 9: How to Make Sure People can Hear and Understand You.......................46

Appearance.......................................................................................................................46

Posture..............................................................................................................................47

Facial Expressions............................................................................................................49

Gestures............................................................................................................................49

Giving and Getting Respect.............................................................................................51

The Art of Mindedness, Be Open-Minded......................................................................51

Using Empathic Power, Empathy.....................................................................................51

Fraternize Effectively with Friendliness..........................................................................52

Be Specific.........................................................................................................................52

Get Rid of Distractions.....................................................................................................53

Power.................................................................................................................................53

Voice.................................................................................................................................54

Pitch..................................................................................................................................56

Word Power.......................................................................................................................56

Develop Your Sense of Humor........................................................................................57

Assert Yourself.................................................................................................................57

Verbal Contact..................................................................................................................57

Language..........................................................................................................................58

Furniture and Space.........................................................................................................58

Breathe..............................................................................................................................58

Enthusiasm.......................................................................................................................59

Standing Well....................................................................................................................59

Can I Move?.......................................................................................................................60

Sitting Well........................................................................................................................61

Speak Clearly....................................................................................................................62

Avoid Stating the Obvious...............................................................................................62

Think of Your Audience...................................................................................................62

Choice of Words...............................................................................................................62

Emphasize.........................................................................................................................62

Keep Your Message Simple but Sweet............................................................................63

A Smooth Flow..................................................................................................................63

Keep the Lines Punchy.....................................................................................................63

Facial Expression..............................................................................................................63

Eye Contact.......................................................................................................................64

Chapter 10: Start and Finish on Time.............................................................................68

Planning............................................................................................................................68

Planning How to Use Your Time......................................................................................69

Cutting Time.....................................................................................................................70

Chapter 11: Listening Skills on Stage.............................................................................71

Silence your brain.............................................................................................................71

Close your mouth.............................................................................................................71

Listen to the tone.............................................................................................................72

Show that you are interested...........................................................................................72

Pay attention to feedback................................................................................................72

Chapter 12: Dress for Success.........................................................................................73

Know Your Audience........................................................................................................73

Your Environment Should Determine Your Outfit..........................................................74

Be Comfortably Dressed..................................................................................................74

Don’t Miss Little Details...................................................................................................74

Grooming..........................................................................................................................75

Body Modifications...........................................................................................................75

Get to the Meeting Early..................................................................................................75

Chapter 13: Managing the Audience...............................................................................78

Get the Audience to Pay Attention..................................................................................78

The Grumpy Audience.....................................................................................................79

Structuring Questions and Answers...............................................................................79

Handling a Difficult Questioner.......................................................................................81

Handling Hostile Questions.............................................................................................82

Hecklers............................................................................................................................84

Chapter 14: Nonverbal Communication on Stage.........................................................85

Best practices for your body............................................................................................85

Chapter 15: How to Spice up Your Presentation..........................................................88

Chapter 16: Right Ways to End Your Presentation.......................................................90

A Surprising Fact..............................................................................................................90

A List of Rolling Credits...................................................................................................90

A Provocative Question....................................................................................................90

The Rule of Three.............................................................................................................91

An Unusual Quote............................................................................................................91

A Touch of Humility.........................................................................................................91

A Running Clock...............................................................................................................91

A Return to Your Opening...............................................................................................91

One More Thing...............................................................................................................92

Something More Exciting and Original...........................................................................92

Turn Your Audience Loose on the Action.......................................................................92

Get a Talkback from the Audience.................................................................................92

Thank You.........................................................................................................................93

Chapter 17: Using Communication to Solve Problems in the Workplace.................94

Dealing with Problems.....................................................................................................94

Assess the situation.....................................................................................................94

Meet the difficult behavior head-on...........................................................................94

Stay calm and objective...............................................................................................94

Be upfront with the individual.....................................................................................94

Make this a two-way conversation.............................................................................94

Try to put yourself in their place and look at the situation from their point of view.95

Flexibility.......................................................................................................................95

Be tolerant.....................................................................................................................95

Causes of Difficult Behavior............................................................................................95

Chapter 18: The Role of Communication in Conflict Resolution in the Workplace 96

Speaker’s Words...............................................................................................................96

Tone of Voice................................................................................................................96

Body Language.............................................................................................................97

Education..........................................................................................................................97

Assumptions.....................................................................................................................97

Managing Workplace Conflict with Emotional Intelligence...........................................97

How to Strike the Right Chord.....................................................................................97

Don’t Rise to the Provocation......................................................................................98

Support and Encourage................................................................................................98

Show Empathy..............................................................................................................98

Don’t Be Judgmental....................................................................................................98

Be an Example..............................................................................................................99

Don’t Assume, Ask.......................................................................................................99

Be Constructive in Your Feedback...............................................................................99

Emotionally Distance Yourself...................................................................................100

Establishing Positive Intent...........................................................................................100

About Positive Intent..................................................................................................100

Accepting Differences................................................................................................100

Chapter 19: How to Deal with Difficult People in the Workplace............................101

Keep in mind your workmates are human...................................................................101

Be patient and keep the discussion impersonal..........................................................101

Understand where the difficult person is coming from..............................................101

Concentrate on what steps to take to correct a catastrophe......................................101

Maintain the relationship on a professional level........................................................102

Behave towards others in the manner that you want them to behave towards you.102

Preferably, share the problem with your superior.......................................................102

Be tolerant of different personalities............................................................................102

Manage expectations.....................................................................................................102

Be upfront.......................................................................................................................103

Assertively handle aggressive situations.....................................................................103

Chapter 20: How to Become an Effective Communicator at Work...........................104

Provide space to get feedback......................................................................................104

Avoid talking too much.................................................................................................104

Develop assertiveness in communication....................................................................104

Make others feel special................................................................................................105

Express discomfort or have tough conversations with ease......................................105

Express it clearly............................................................................................................105

Consider your body language.......................................................................................105

Be friendly.......................................................................................................................106

Tone is everything.........................................................................................................106

Study nonverbal communication..................................................................................106

Be a listener....................................................................................................................107

Establish the right communicative mindset.................................................................107

Have a sense of humor..................................................................................................108

Don’t interrupt...............................................................................................................108

Think before you speak.................................................................................................108

Control your emotions...................................................................................................108

Do not attack or become defensive..............................................................................109

Chapter 17: Using Communication to Solve Problems in the Workplace...............110

Dealing with Problems...................................................................................................110

Assess the situation...................................................................................................110

Meet the difficult behavior head-on.........................................................................110

Stay calm and objective.............................................................................................110

Be upfront with the individual...................................................................................110

Make this a two-way conversation...........................................................................110

Try to put yourself in their place and look at the situation from their point of view.111

Flexibility....................................................................................................................111

Be tolerant..................................................................................................................111

Causes of Difficult Behavior..........................................................................................111

Chapter 18: The Role of Communication in Conflict Resolution in the Workplace112

Speaker’s Words.............................................................................................................112

Tone of Voice..............................................................................................................112

Body Language...........................................................................................................113

Education........................................................................................................................113

Assumptions...................................................................................................................113

Managing Workplace Conflict with Emotional Intelligence.........................................113

How to Strike the Right Chord..................................................................................113

Don’t Rise to the Provocation....................................................................................114

Support and Encourage..............................................................................................114

Show Empathy............................................................................................................114

Don’t Be Judgmental..................................................................................................114

Be an Example............................................................................................................115

Don’t Assume, Ask.....................................................................................................115

Be Constructive in Your Feedback............................................................................115

Emotionally Distance Yourself...................................................................................116

Establishing Positive Intent...........................................................................................116

About Positive Intent..................................................................................................116

Accepting Differences................................................................................................116

Chapter 19: How to Deal with Difficult People in the Workplace............................117

Keep in mind your workmates are human...................................................................117

Be patient and keep the discussion impersonal..........................................................117

Understand where the difficult person is coming from..............................................117

Concentrate on what steps to take to correct a catastrophe......................................117

Maintain the relationship on a professional level........................................................118

Behave towards others in the manner that you want them to behave towards you.118

Preferably, share the problem with your superior.......................................................118

Be tolerant of different personalities............................................................................118

Manage expectations.....................................................................................................118

Be upfront.......................................................................................................................119

Assertively handle aggressive situations.....................................................................119

Chapter 20: How to Become an Effective Communicator at Work...........................120

Provide space to get feedback......................................................................................120

Avoid talking too much.................................................................................................120

Develop assertiveness in communication....................................................................120

Make others feel special................................................................................................121

Express discomfort or have tough conversations with ease......................................121

Express it clearly............................................................................................................121

Consider your body language.......................................................................................121

Be friendly.......................................................................................................................122

Tone is everything.........................................................................................................122

Study nonverbal communication..................................................................................122

Be a listener....................................................................................................................123

Establish the right communicative mindset.................................................................123

Have a sense of humor..................................................................................................124

Don’t interrupt...............................................................................................................124

Think before you speak.................................................................................................124

Control your emotions...................................................................................................124

Do not attack or become defensive..............................................................................125

Conclusion........................................................................................................................126

The success of your business and social life depends on your ability to communicate effectively with the right people. In fact, your personality, intelligence and potential can be detected through the simple ways you express yourself.

This book will enable you to present one or more of your favorite ideas in a business setting. You will also learn how to convert those ideas into persuasive communication.

Following the tips in this guide will help you overcome any fears you may have. But even more, it will enable you to polish your presentations which has the potential to win you a lot of accolades. The ability to give a great presentation or presentation – the embodiment of excellence in communication – is a critical success factor in many walks of life including top management.

Your ideas need support. This book will show you how to arrange that support. In particular, you need support from the right persons who control budgets and can assign staff members to help you. Those persons can also free up your schedule and give you time to develop your proposal and see your solution through to completion.

All the suggestions in this book are designed to help you overcome those challenges. There will be tips and techniques, along with examples you can employ.

Good communication skills ultimately determine the level of the quality of the relationship a person is capable of cultivating. It involves how you are being understood and how much you are able to convince people about your innovation and ideas.

The value of what you brought to the table will be determined by how well you present it through effective communication.

Communication is necessary to the success of any business or career. It can be a difficult skill to master, and does not come naturally to many of us. Communication takes many forms, and all must be constantly worked on.

This book delves into the common forms of communication, and explains what skills make a good communicator.

Provided in the book are also several strategies and tips that you can implement to begin improving your communication.

Good communication is vital to success in business, and this book aims to explain to you techniques and tips for improving your communication skills.

My aim is to help you to become a better and more effective speaker. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Chapter 1: Analyze Your Audience

You want to understand your audience as much as possible. In the same way we communicate with our children differently than the way we communicate with our managers, we must recognize that who our audience is will shape the way we communicate. The more detailed descriptions of an audience you can give, the better.

This allows you to visualize the audience you will be talking to. It also gives you a better sense of who you are communicating to which affects how you communicate. In this example, you can brainstorm that you might start off grabbing everyone’s attention in the area of common interests. You can talk about married life with children so everyone can relate to each other. As you get into the presentation, you will want to explain concepts in simple terms, because from your audience analysis, you know that not everyone has in-depth technical knowledge.

Knowing more about your audience will help you to use better punch words, better tones and a better medium for effective communication.

Also, you should exercise the patience of having to converse with people you often disagree with. Yes, you can argue all the time but you have to make sure that you understand their points of view so that you would speak from their perspectives, even if you have to show different judgment.

The age, race, education level, and other characteristics of your audience should matter very little. They all have something in common: They want to hear how your proposal improves their life. That is it. Never forget this.

If you can answer that question and meet that challenge, there is still another challenge: you must entertain them. If you can demonstrate how your proposal improves their life and brings them a little happiness, then you have truly won them over. Your audience members are always asking themselves the question: why should I care about what you are presenting? Your reason must be good. Make sure it is eye-opening and dramatic. At least make it seem that way. A new procedure that streamlines the accounting process is not too exciting. But what does your idea really accomplish? If it is worthwhile, it will save money, increase quality, reduce staff turnover, etc. These are exciting to your audience. These are what you are really selling. You are not selling the streamlined accounting procedure.

Cast your idea in these terms. Look far beyond what will happen the first day your proposal is implemented. Explicitly state what will happen in the future. Do not worry if that seems more like a fantasy at this point.

Again, it matters very little how your audience looks. In an American boardroom at the highest levels of management, you are very likely to meet an audience of men and women of many ethnicities and ages. So, do not try to analyze them like that.

What about their education and skill level? For example, it might seem appropriate to ask whether your audience is technical or non-technical. Do not try to customize your presentation to your audience’s education or skill level. You might start to speak in jargon, use acronyms, or make assumptions about how much they know. All these are wrong for any audience. Clarity in writing or speaking does not cost anything in time. There is little risk that you will bore your audience if you explain concepts, expand acronyms at least once, and express jargon