I had a really enjoyable evening last night! It was the end of day one at our latest Think on Your Feet® Communication workshop, taking place at our training venue in London (CCTV Barbican). We decided to invite our twenty or so delegates out for a well deserved end of day one drink!
I work in the Operations team at Indigo, so don’t always get the chance to meet up with clients, but when I do, I find it fascinating catching up with and listening.
The mix of delegates at this particular Think on Your Feet(r) workshop was as diverse as ever – from public and private sector, large and small organisations, some in senior positions and others with less experience. Over a relaxed beer or glass of wine everyone commented on the strength of the tools Think on Your Feet provides and the impact of our trainer Stephanie’s teaching style.
However, there were a couple of really interesting comments I recall from yesterday evening that I thought I would share, as one delegate said; – ‘I have learnt today that communication is about structuring your response…and Think on Your Feet(r) certainly provides lots of this! It’s all about, structure, structure and more structure’ – which is something I certainly agreed with.
However it was another comment that really stood out for me from another delegate saying; ‘I have learnt today that communication is the response you get from someone!’ When you think about this, what a concise way of explaining the importance and value of effective communication.
Put simply, it’s how your message is understood, so if you don’t get the expected response, who’s fault is it? Yours. Perhaps it’s the way your message has been interpreted – as the saying goes; “its not what you say; but the way that you say it.”
A ‘neat’ summary I’m sure you’ll agree!
Andrew
