7 Highly Effective Workplace Communication Habits: part 5

by Audrey Glenn

Habit #5:  To win people over first seek to understand them, then seek their understanding.

Who have you met recently, had a conversation with, that you’d really like to talk to again? I’m generally not a gambling woman, but I would wager that you feel they really understood where you were coming from. Seems some people are gifted that way. Or, they have learned to zoom in on what people need and want (i.e. to build sales or networking skills). Some people listen our of necessity (i.e. client service professionals). No need to ponder which pond you swim in. No matter where you are now in your ability to engage people, honing your listening skills can take you to the next level of  interpersonal Greatness.

But how do you learn to be the person that people enjoy talking to? It’s about what I call Intentional Listening. That is, listening for the sole purpose of understanding – understanding what people need, what they want, or just to learn about people and their experiences. Listening is a soft skill that doesn’t get much emphasis outside of sales and customer service circles, but it is critical to our success and even our well-being. If you learn to listen well, you learn a lot more and go farther in life than you ever imagined.

So here’s how to hone those listening skills:

1. Remember that the end goal for listening  should be support or collaboration. If you listen to someone simply for the purpose of defeating or humiliating, then you’ve already lost. Sometimes, unfortunately, manipulation will gain a person what they want for the time being. But what they lose over the long run is self-respect and the respect of others; and often they lose support of others who could be valuable. When listening to others, it is important to remember that the point is to build a mutual understanding and thus better relationship. In the workplace, this means enhanced productivity, efficiency, knowledge-sharing and work environment. Companies who have the most celebrated work cultures have implemented listening at the core of their communication practices.

2. Be genuinely intent on hearing the other person. That means prepare to listen, participate in listening, and attempt to meet your listening goals for the conversation. First, focus on the other person – tune out outside distractions, preconceived notions, and your judgmental instinct. (That’s right, we all do it at some time or another.) But judging only blocks our ability to learn new things and break old habits. It is based in fear and in a deeply-rooted need to categorize and feel “safe”. But when seeking to understand someone, judging stops us short of getting to deeper levels of understanding.  So listen with an open mind, and even help the person express themselves more…

3. Ask open-ended, creative questions. One way to get people to express what they really feel and mean is to prompt them with thought-provoking questions. “Why do you think you feel that way?” “What makes you think that was the reason?” “How do you think you should address that next time?”

Sometimes you can help them understand themselves, or the situation, even better. Asking good questions also confirms that you are genuinely interested in learning their perspective.

4. Validate the other person. Express that you have heard what they have to say, by repeating and asking for confirmation. Nonverbal clues can be effective if they are genuine and not forced. But your verbal response must be genuine. That means that you listen to gain clarity, then repeat in your own words to show that you achieved clarity. Your goal is to make the other person know that you hear and understand their point of view; from there they can be open to understanding yours.

Now it’s your turn…

After you have established that you hear and understand their point of view, you have a much better opportunity to get acceptance and support for your needs. Be sure that your nonverbal (body) language and your words convey your interest in mutual benefit. Address their concerns with your own concerns and solutions, with the underlying message that you want to come to a mutually satisfactory solution.

The win-win.

Social Media Navigation: 6 Rules for the Road

by Audrey Glenn

Social media has introduced a plethora of new direct marketing and communication channels. You can engage audiences in meaningful ways and build relationships based on similar interests, which provides more long-term value. At the same time, you must be familiar with the unwritten “rules” of these online communities, or you can quickly fall on your face and lose their attention for good. There are caveats you must learn in order to make it “in” and gain ground for spreading your influence once you are part of the crowd. It’s almost like you need a GPS (or if you’re old-school, a map) to get it right! Here are some quick and dirty “rules” for entering – see if you’re up to the challenge…

1.  Know where you want to go

Be clear about your goals and needs. If you don’t know where you’re driving to, it’s best to pull over and figure it out (unless you have an unlimited gas card).  Social media is not a one-size-fits-all venture. Each social media site/community has its own culture. Some fit your business model and/or brand better than others. Participating in some, in fact, could backfire. For instance, would a furrier want to join an animal rights community? All choices are not quite this simple, but you get the gist.

Do the research to learn which networks are the best fit for your company and where you are trying to go. There are many networks to explore, but trial-and-error can cost you lots of time.

2.  Engage and interact

You die-hard sales and marketing types might be tempted to use the same old tactics. Ads and promotions to pull and convert leads in order to make the harder sell. But remember that online communities consist of members – people – who share similar interests and needs. You must be willing to fulfill those needs, be it with information, advice or access to both. Join discussions and conversations, on a regular basis. Consistently interacting and adding value will earn the trust of customers online – not blindly spitting out promos!

3.  Be creative

You probably realize how that you are missing out on audiences you weren’t reaching. And chances are you’re right. But so are others like you, so how do you stand out? One hint: viral video’s. One reason a good video gets widespread attention is that we all love to watch people. What about contests and interactive shows? Just a couple of examples. The point is, what worked in the past probably won’t cut it in online communities. You have to think outside the box, to outshine competition.

4.  Think content vs. flash

Nice ads are cool. But in online communities, conversation and content rule. I don’t feel bad belaboring this point because it’s simply that critical to your social networking success. People are tired of being sold to and talked “at”. I predict that sometime in the near future, advertising will be blocked out of 50% of a person’s everyday life. Technology that helps to push this forward will be in big demand. Being able to “push” ads and messages will become more costly than ever. The sooner you learn to use conversation and services to sell your goods, the better.

5.  Integrate your message(s)

Every “forward-thinking” manager will start trying to incorporate social media into their communication/marketing plans. The need to coordinate messages/content within an organization is critical to preserving the brand. One idea is to create a social media task force to identify groups/communities that each department should address. If other departments and divisions are online, plan to coordinate your messages and content to avoid brand confusion.

6.  Get help

Taking the wrong turns in your social media activities can cost you time, leads and trust.

It’s best to get help from experienced communicators who can start you off on the right track. From there you can appoint an employee or professional to take your smooth-driving car and keep it on the road.

Tags: online communities, social media, social networking

FlightSleep: Innovative Replacement for Travel Pillows!

FlightSleep introduces innovative replacement for travel pillows

Atlanta, GA – January 17, 2011 – FlightSleep, Inc. today announces the availability of an innovative new travel accessory that promises a quantum leap in travel comfort and convenience for weary travelers. The new accessory is a small, semi-soft platform designed to support the head and chin in a slightly forward position while sleeping or resting in an upright, seated position. Users in product testing report that while sleeping on trains, planes and in motor vehicles using FlightSleep leaves them more refreshed and well rested and reduces the cramping and stiffness in the neck and shoulders often experienced with conventional travel pillow use. Tested by medical professionals, the FlightSleep accessory is contoured to fit snuggly under the chin, and against the neck, resting on the user’s chest. Travelers sit up straight, so in close quarters seat-mates are not inconvenienced or crowded. Of greatest benefit, the FlightSleep design provides support that feels so natural that it promotes extraordinary rest. The compact design of the FlightSleep makes it easy to take along on any trip. Packaged in an attractive, stain-resistant cloth bag with a drawstring and a small carabiner, FlightSleep is about the size of a tennis ball in a bag and carries very easily aboard any public transportation. Different from the traditional neck pillow, users like how FlightSleep conveniently fits in shoulder bags and purses, and clips on briefcases, carry-on luggage or even belt loops. FlightSleep’s compact size can become very important in upcoming air travel trends. In the March 09, 2010 issue of the Chicago Tribune, Jon Hilkevitch reported that, “passengers on U.S. airlines should expect more flight crowding in the nation’s busiest airports. Travelers hoping to stretch out across an empty seat next to them will likely be out of luck. And the small regional jets that are so unpopular among a significant segment of passengers are here to stay.” Designers believe that FlightSleep can be a critical new solution for frequent travelers who need to rest comfortably in transit, but are facing fewer, more crowded flights, growing restrictions on luggage and even fees for using airline pillows. FlightSleep is no problem at airport security checkpoints as the translucent color allows the product to pass through scanning quickly and easily. Currently, FlightSleep is available online at www.FlightSleep.com . Distribution inquiries should be directed to FlightSleep, 3645 Marketplace Boulevard • Suite 130-357, Atlanta, GA 30344.

Six Keys to Changing Almost Anything

by Tony Schwartz (Harvard Business Review)

Change is hard. New Year’s resolutions almost always fail. But at The Energy Project, we have developed a way of making changes that has proved remarkably powerful and enduring, both in my own life and for the corporate clients to whom we teach it.

Our method is grounded in the recognition that human being are creatures of habit. Fully 95 percent of our behaviors are habitual, or occur in response to a strong external stimulus. Only 5 percent of our choices are consciously self-selected.

In 1911, the mathematician Alfred North Whitehead intuited what researchers would confirm nearly a century later. “It is a profoundly erroneous truism,” he wrote, “that we should cultivate the habit of thinking of what we are doing. The precise opposite is the case. Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them.”

Most of us wildly overvalue our will and discipline. Ingenious research by Roy Baumeister and others has demonstrated that our self-control is a severely limited resource that gets progressively depleted by every act of conscious self-regulation.

In order to make change that lasts, we must rely less on our prefrontal cortex, and more on co-opting the primitive parts of our brain in which habits are formed.

Put simply, the more behaviors are ritualized and routinized — in the form of a deliberate practice — the less energy they require to launch, and the more they recur automatically

What follows are our six key steps to making change that lasts:

1. Be Highly Precise and Specific. Imagine a typical New Year’s resolution to “exercise regularly.” It’s a prescription for failure. You have a vastly higher chance for success if you decide in advance the days and times, and precisely what you’re going to do on each of them.

Say instead that you commit to do a cardiovascular work out Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m., for 30 minutes. If something beyond your control forces you to miss one of those days, you automatically default to doing that workout instead on Saturday at 9 a.m.

Researchers call those “implementation intentions” and they dramatically increase your odds of success.

2. Take on one new challenge at a time. Over the years, I’ve established a broad range of routines and practices, ranging from ones for weight training and running, to doing the most important thing first every morning without interruption for 90 minutes and then taking a break to spending 90 minutes talking with my wife about the previous week on Saturday mornings.

In each case, I gave the new practice I was launching my sole focus. Even then, in some cases, it’s taken several tries before I was able to stay at the behavior long enough for it to become essentially automatic.

Computers can run several programs simultaneously. Human beings operate best when we take on one thing at a time, sequentially.

3. Not too much, not too little. The most obvious mistake we make when we try to change something in our lives is that we bite off more than it turns out we can chew. Imagine that after doing no exercise at all for the past year, for example, you get inspired and launch a regimen of jogging for 30 minutes, five days a week. Chances are high that you’ll find exercising that much so painful you’ll quit after a few sessions.

It’s also easy to go to the other extreme, and take on too little. So you launch a 10-minute walk at lunchtime three days a week and stay at it. The problem is that you don’t feel any better for it after several weeks, and your motivation fades.

The only way to truly grow is to challenge your current comfort zone. The trick is finding a middle ground — pushing yourself hard enough that you get some real gain, but not too much that you find yourself unwilling to stay at it.

4. What we resist persists.

Think about sitting in front of a plate of fragrant chocolate chip cookies over an extended period of time. Diets fail the vast majority of time because they’re typically built around regularly resisting food we enjoy eating. Eventually, we run up against our limited reservoir of self control.

The same is true of trying to ignore the Pavlovian ping of incoming emails while you’re working on an important project that deserves your full attention.

The only reasonable answer is to avoid the temptation. With email, the more effective practice is turn it off entirely at designated times, and then answer it in chunks at others. For dieters, it’s to keep food you don’t want to eat out of sight, and focus your diet instead on what you are going to eat, at which times, and in what portion sizes. The less you have to think about what to do, the more successful you’re likely to be.

5. Competing Commitments.

We all derive a sense of comfort and safety from doing what we’ve always done, even if it isn’t ultimately serving us well. Researchers Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey call this “immunity to change.” Even the most passionate commitment to change, they’ve shown, is invariably counterbalanced by an equally powerful but often unseen “competing” commitment not to change.

Here’s a very simple way to surface your competing commitment. Think about a change you really want to make. Now ask yourself what you’re currently doing or not doing to undermine that primary commitment. If you are trying to get more focused on important priorities, for example, your competing commitment might be the desire to be highly responsive and available to those emailing you.

For any change effort you launch, it’s key to surface your competing commitment and then ask yourself “How can I design this practice so I get the desired benefits but also minimize the costs I fear it will prompt?”

6. Keep the faith.

Change is hard. It is painful. And you will experience failure at times. The average person launches a change effort six separate times before it finally takes. But follow the steps above, and I can tell you from my own experience and that of thousands of clients that you will succeed, and probably without multiple failures.

Embracing Social Media

Jeffrey Hayzlett Former Chief Marketing Officer & Vice President, Eastman Kodak

Jeffrey Hayzlett talks about how social media has become an important part of marketing strategy. How will you implement or enhance your social media conversations this year?

Click to watch.

7 Highly Effective Workplace Communication Habits: part 4

Author: Audrey Glenn
It’s back! After a long break (project work – sorry!) the series continues with Habit #4 (going for the Win/Win). Please read on …

Habit #4:  Go for the Win/Win (not the okey-doke)

How many times have you walked away from a conversation feeling like you lost and the other party won? Back in my hometown of Aiken, SC we called that the “okey-doke.” Muhammad Ali also named one of his punches the “okey-doke”, meaning he duped his opponent and snuck him with an upper-cut.

I’m a big fan of Ali. But when it comes to getting things done in the workplace, the okey-doke just doesn’t work. To get your initiatives completed and accepted by your employees, EVERYONE must win. Which means that your project strategy must take into consideration the needs (and perhaps anxieties) of your employees, and of all who will be impacted. And your communications, for heaven’s sake, must convey those concerns.

The Message: what should I (we) say?

Make sure employees will understand how the change will make life easier for them, such as how it will make their jobs more efficient. Give pointed examples/scenarios. Remember: many only understand processes within the context of the work they touch everyday. Make sure your messaging is clear and concise, and give details and scenarios.  Some topics to include are:

• The reason for the change; the current state of the company (i.e. productivity; less than reliable data systems; competitiveness; financial health, etc.) that is compelling you to do something different/new. Make sure it is easily understood that this change is the strengthen the company, which translates into “your job is secure.”
• The business issues and strategy that are calling for this solution, and what could happen if you do NOT respond this way.
• The vision for the company after the change is in place; the scope and objectives for the change.

These are just a few of the messages that leadership should include in their communications. Also, the message-carrier plays an important role. If your company is undergoing a technology upgrade, data migration, etc., your CIO should be heard as the company “expert” in such matters. If your company is implementing new training programs, your HR leadership should be heard. If your company is anticipating a merger, your CEO should carry the message, and so on and so on. In any instance, the picture should be made clear why and how the company is changing, and what the transformation will look like.

Front-line managers, or direct supervisors, should convey how the changes will impact their respective departments. They are also responsible for ensuring their employees have the information and tools necessary to adjust. Because these managers are the closest to employees and can interact with them regularly, it is most important that they understand how to position the change from the perspective of how it benefits the department/employees personally. They should also know how to squelch the rumor mill and keep momentum for the project.

The Channels: how should we reach them?

There are many ways you might be communicating right now – company newsletters, intranet, e-mails, etc. But what do employees actually read? What do they consider the most credible? Most relevant to their particularly corner of the company? Believe it or not, there are many other ways to engage employees and get messages across. Some involve new platforms, some are just creative uses of existing ones. For instance, try a “pop quiz” using your intranet system, where employees answer a short survey about the new technology for a chance to win a prize (i-Pods are great giveaways these days). It is important to get feedback on how your employees are receiving information, and for them to know that their feedback is making a difference. When was the last time you held a focus group or round table discussions on the matter?

Get help if you need it

I know – it’s a shameless plug. But somebody’s gotta do the selling here! An external resource (Novel Brand) can evaluate your communications, from messaging to your communication vehicles, and let you know how to better reach and engage employees. The objective is to become a company that is able to readily respond (productively) to change. The better your employees can embrace the new and release the old, the better off you all are.  understanding,

Now in Ali’s case, there could only be one winner. But in your workplace, with the right resources on your side, everyone wins.

Change the Process, Change the Result

Trevor Moawad Director, IMG Performance Institute

Trevor Moawad, IMG

Trevor Moawad IMG

Trever Moawad talks about how recommending one small change transformed his client’s football career. What are others doing differently, that might make the difference in your career or organization?

Click to view the video.

Ears Wide Open (on how listening makes for smart business)

by Audrey Glenn

I have often spoken about the importance of developing listening skills. The ability (or sheer willingness) to listen, analyze and respond to information is a skill set that can catapult one’s station into super-stardom. It’s a gift that few master, but the better you listen, the better your ability to make sound decisions.

But anyone can learn.

Listen to detect winds of change

How are you learning about changes in the marketplace, regulatory agencies, etc.? The better connected with the entities that can impact your business, the better you can steer your ship if there’s an iceberg in your path. You may want to appoint trusted/capable leaders to help you listen. Who’s in tune with what’s going on in Washington? How can you get insights and feedback from marketing/sales teams? Try this: create lunch-and-tell sessions, where teams can share intelligence, suggestions, even customer feedback from the field. Tip: have a few insights of your own to share.

Listen to improve employee engagement

If your interest in employees is visible, you’d be surprised at how they will return the favor. Create platforms and events to provide two-way dialogue, whereby employees can voice their concerns, observations, etc. Face to face time with employees goes a long way, but in the interest of time there are other ways to get feedback. Online polls and surveys, for instance, can at least tell you where to start to probe for more in-depth issues.

Listening to enhance social media reach

I feel comfortable suggesting that whatever your industry, services, etc., you can gain access to your target market using social media. Social media experts (of which I have no claim) commonly recommend listening as a critical component of the social networking strategy.

This presentation on Slideshare by Tirza Hollenhorst and Barrett Michael (ifpeople.net) is a great overview for how to create a smart social media plan. It’s chuck-full of listening sites to help you monitor your brand presence online. I recommend a read/skim. .

This year, listen!

Tags: brand communications, business communications, communications, marketing communications

The First Five Minutes

by Audrey Glenn

I recently read a Harvard Business Review post by Peter Bregman, The Best Way to Use the Last Five Minutes of Your Day. Inspired by Bregman’s words of wisdom, I started exploring how I spend the FIRST five minutes of my day. And of course, being the first week of a new year, I commenced to making some “resolutions” of my own. So here’s how I plan to spend the first five minutes of each day this year:

First minute: Thankful prayer

I will open my eyes and immediately thank God for this day. Being given another opportunity to breath life is a blessing. I will thank God for things that can be easily taken for granted, like health, strength, mental agility, just being able to….whatever. I will thank God for those around me, some who are close to me like family, and some who have poured into my life from afar. You’d be surprised at how much one can appreciate a smile on the elevator after a challenging day.

Minute two: Who can I help?

Sometimes this isn’t as obvious as it seems. Besides those who can use my service and donations, there are those struggling to create what I have already created. Or, what about those fresh out of new ideas/inspiration? I’m going to reach out to someone and just ask how their project/idea/life is going. Sometimes a listening ear is all someone needs.

Minute three: Quiet reflection

What did I do yesterday, that I can do better today? What did I leave unfinished, that I can complete today (or at least make progress on)? I’m not going to let good ideas go cold. I have many of them, some that are before their season, but I will give them at least consideration.

Minute four: What will I learn today?

Ah – so much to learn, so little time! It’s still a great big world, and there’s still much to be explored. I will take some time to find and meditate on the learning opportunity of the day.

The last minute: How will I inspire?

For me, inspiration is the bread of life. I will seek out inspiration around me, and keep them all around me to borrow from at any time so that I can pour into others what I gleaned from my inspirational moments. After all, “Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”

Happy New Year!

On (re) Selling Change

by Audrey Glenn

Whenever I am in a conversation about change management, which seems to happen more often than not these days, I’m taken back years ago to an assignment I had with a national retailer. My challenge was to execute a strategy to bridge the communications gap between store managers and corporate management. I did all the right prep work – interviewed store managers in the field and corporate managers; conducted a communications audit; then presented a comprehensive plan that encompassed all the stakeholders, with buy in from the division president and his leadership team. From a tactical perspective, all the pieces were in place. I was thrilled and excited and everything was right with my world. Until one senior VP shared his true sentiments with me in a one-on-one. It seems that what he projected when in meetings with other leadership differed significantly.

Lesson Learned No. 1: Deal with resistance head-on

Because this particular, well-connected, influential executive did not openly oppose change among other leadership, I was on my own. It took some intense meetings, and challenged every ounce of emotional intelligence I could muster, but eventually I was able to bring him on board. I did this by surveying store managers, whose responses exhibited very enthusiastic support. After all, the new communications flow helped make their jobs easier, and allowed consistency in their stores which helped to put a dent in customer complaints. I made this particular VP an ally by letting him take credit for the improvements among his store managers. This gave me the buy-in I needed to remove him as an obstacle to change.

Lesson Learned No. 2: Make leadership stick to their guns

I found myself abandoned once the agreement was signed and the work began, and resistance started to rear its ugly head. I had provided the division president with a communications plan that entailed lots of face to face delivery of the vision and strategy, and updates, directly to his leadership team and cascading down to managers. But I had to ensure that it became part of his everyday conversations, his informal and unplanned interactions with his team. I had to make sure that any temptation to resist would be met with a reminder of the head-honcho’s support. During my weekly meetings with the president, I would inquire about recent opportunities to promote communication improvements. Eventually he began owning the message, and he always had a story to tell. I could tell that his commitment was being taken in earnest. Then it became a natural, more frequent conversation throughout the organization.

Lesson Learned No. 3: Change will never, ever be easy.

Since then, I have managed similar projects in various  industries and have found that the more these projects differ, the more they are similar. How companies approach change, the methodologies they use and the level of commitment involved, may vary. But  every change initiative presents its own set of surprises and shortcomings. That’s the nature of the beast. What makes some initiatives more successful than others is the level of commitment demonstrated by leadership. There’s a reason why “it starts at the top” is an overused cliche … because it’s true. It’s important to have earnest support and buy-in from decision-makers, the movers and shakers, at all phases of your mission. Thus your ability to sell change may be put to the test, over and over again, before it’s all over with.

Change is still constant.