The pandemic changed the way we work and changed it fast. After that initial scramble to source the tech and make sure everyone is supported to work remotely, we are now looking at ways to integrate hybrid working into the ‘new normal’.
Whether it’s a one-to-one, team meeting, client or closing a sale, our clients tell us they are proud of how their businesses have adapted. How well the platforms are performing, how the majority of customers have adapted too, but there are two key challenges that they need to overcome:
- Lots of distractions and no decisions in meetings.
- Getting the message across and understood.
Lots of distractions and lack of decisions…
…many report that online meetings are stressful and that they get distracted quickly by an email or something going on around them.
Then you’ve got to contend with the lack of decisions, conflict and lack of collaboration.
Whatever the challenges, though, this is the hybrid-working world we are in.
Thinking in the same direction (and halving meeting times) – That’s where de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats® comes in. This world-renowned parallel thinking framework adds structure to your meetings. The tools and techniques to help meeting participants all think in the same direction at the same time – solving complex, contentious issues, effectively and quickly – halving meeting times without defeating ideas or people.
The approach is not about consensus and compromise – It’s about a genuine exploration of the topic without taking sides – creating value and encouraging people to change their own minds collaboratively.
We’re not getting the message across…
…this is a critical time for most organisations, and more than ever, conversations and documents need to be clear, understandable and to the point.
Making conversations count – The communication skills, tips and techniques of our acclaimed Think on Your Feet® programme have never been more important. Now more than ever, messages need to be communicated with clarity, brevity and impact.
- Clarity – is your message clear?
- Brevity – are you being as succinct as you can?
- Impact – will what you say be remembered?
Online collaboration and clarity make for great documents that get read – “If I see one more document with five different sets of tracked changes in it, I won’t know whether to scream or cry”, one senior manager told us recently and we’re pretty confident that he’s not the only one.
Writing Dynamics™ is an alternative approach that works. It allows a team to plan a document collaboratively (no matter what channel they use to meet) and agree the direction, purpose, audience, style and message – before the writing even begins.
Imagine six people gathered around a virtual whiteboard
Sketching out a document, deciding what should go into it and how it should be structured. By always having the audience and message in mind, these documents are designed to get results from the reader.
Once the document is planned, Writing Dynamics™ will show your team how to draft with speed and clarity, then edit with confidence and skill. The days of multiple tracked changes will be long gone.
The workshops
Don’t wait for the world to return to “normal”. Adopting these techniques can not only add structure to what people are doing, but also support them in these different and often difficult times.
- de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats® transforms decision-making, idea evaluation, halves meeting times and doubles their effectiveness. More…
- Think on Your Feet® helps you to speak spontaneously with clarity and impact when under pressure in a wide range of formal, informal and ad-hoc situations. More…
- Writing Dynamics™ targets your written communication skills, no matter what industry or level of seniority. More…
