We’ve all been there – in a discussion with your team – you were sure you were being clear, yet they heard something else?
They either didn’t get it or didn’t want to get it!
One way to deal with that is blame. “It’s their fault they didn’t get it!”
Another way is to take responsibility. “That’s interesting, I wonder how else I can say it?” “What might I do differently, so they do understand?”
Adapting your communication style
The Insights® Discovery workshop teaches you about your personality type and the personalities in your team, so you can confidently adapt your style to their personality type. This is invaluable when communicating within or to a team.
Your listeners are likely to be made up of people with different preferences, likes, dislikes and choices. That means the way they absorb, digest and respond to communication is different. So, individuals connect with communication differently, for instance, some people like being:
- Direct and to the point – not waffling or going off-piste.
- Friendly and sociable – not tied down with routine or detail.
- Patient and supportive – not pushing decisions too quickly.
- Well prepared and thorough – not being flippant on critical issues.
If we purely communicate from where we prefer or are comfortable with, the likelihood is many members of your listeners won’t get it! With the worst-case scenario, you’ve disconnected them and that project or change you want them to support is harder to deliver.
Knowing your audience and selecting the right communication approach
It’s about knowing your audience and using a combination of communication approaches that will let them connect with what you are trying to say or do.
Sometimes you may know the listener and what you want to say, but don’t know how to say it. You need to overcome this by being clear, concise and by creating an impact on your listeners – they are more likely to take notice, understand, absorb and remember what you’ve said.
Think on Your Feet® provides structure to your communication
Structure ensures you analyse both your audience and get to the core of your message – the important parts you really want them to understand. The Think on Your Feet® workshop teaches you six tried and tested communication ‘structures’ – to help you respond quickly and concisely; and Bridging techniques, which help you deal with those really tricky questions! You’ll package your persuasion to:
- Position what you want to say, up-front.
- Add supporting details or information.
- Let your listener know “What’s in it for them” or “What it means for them”.
- Create visual and logical variety, that allows freedom of expression and understanding.
Combining your personality knowledge with your new practical verbal communication toolkit
By implementing the practical tools and techniques from Insights® Discovery, to understand your team at an adaptive level and Think on Your Feet®’s verbal communication toolkit, you’ll ensure Clarity, Brevity and Impact™ in every communication – and less misunderstandings!
More about the workshops
Insights® Discovery – can be used at any stage of a team’s development, especially when they need to communicate more effectively; appreciate diverse perspectives; improve collaboration; and make better, more effective decisions – together.
As a teamwork solution, Insights® Discovery helps foster stronger, more effective teams. The workshop provides illuminating, practical and sustainable tools that will help your teams work together long into the future.
» Find out more
» View the workshop brochure
» Enquire about in-house training
Think on Your Feet® – a tools-based communications workshop that helps you to get your message across with Clarity, Brevity and Impact! It:
- Provides the techniques to speak spontaneously with clarity and impact, in a wide range of demanding situations.
- Emphasises structure when communicating, ensuring ideas are presented in ways that will be understood and remembered.
- Ensures you sound like the expert you are – helping you deal with those really tricky questions! So you can manage whatever is thrown at you and never be caught on-the-spot again!
» Find out more
» View the workshop brochure
» UK public workshops calendar
» Enquire about in-house training
More about Richard Morris Richard is an accredited Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™, Lateral Thinking, Six Thinking Hats® and Insights® Discovery trainer and has delivered these workshops to numerous clients.
From an organisational development context, he has created and implemented a new leadership behavioural framework and set of associated flagship leadership development programmes.
