Straight Talk: Making Your Point by Communicating Effectively – Part 2 is by Ray Miller
You will recall that in Part 1 of Straight Talk we looked at the three critical elements for Straight Talk:
1. Getting and keeping attention
2. Know where you’re headed before you start
3. Confirm understanding
If you have not as yet read Part 1 you can click here to go to that article.
Now let’s review some examples of messages that draw upon these three elements. These examples will also demonstrate another important aspect of “Making your point” It’s called the 3W’s.
How many times have you been in conversation with someone and you say or think “You’re not listening!!”. Could be a bit of both. They might not be listening and/or you might not be communicating clearly. Is it an impasse? Is Your Message Clear?
As you are speaking, clarify the who, why and what of your message. These are referred to as the 3W’s. This applies to business conversations or important interpersonal issues.
Who
Why are you asking or speaking to this person? If they don’t assume some ownership or accountability for your message they may just dismiss it as gossip or useless banter. If you expect them to understand and react to your message they have to recognize that they have some accountability for the issue.
“John, I’m bringing this to your attention because you’re the materials manager….”
“Mary, I understand you’re responsible for processing rejected claims?”
“Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center.”
“Kay, we’ve got to discuss the divisional budget. There’s not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area.”
Why
If the listener doesn’t perceive some urgency or importance to your message they may dismiss it as casual conversation or unimportant. Be sure to tell them why your message demands their attention.
“John, I’m bringing this to your attention because you’re the materials manager. We’ve got a spill in Area C that may pose a health risk to some of the workers.”
“Mary, I understand you’re responsible for processing rejected claims? This claim was rejected. It’s for a network practitioner and the doctor is really upset.”
“Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center. I’ve got to get the brakes on the delivery truck fixed before the next shipment comes in.”
“Kay, we’ve got to discuss the divisional budget. There’s not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area. If we don’t have this done by afternoon we’ll miss the deadline.”
What
Though it sounds obvious, the listener has to understand what you expect of him or her. It’s similar to applying Structured QI Techniques. If one person is identifying problems while the other assumes it’s time to identify solutions you’ll be spinning your wheels.
“John, I’m bringing this to your attention because you’re the materials manager. We’ve got a spill in Area C that may pose a health risk to some of the workers. Can you come down immediately and see if it’s hazardous.”
“Mary, I understand you’re responsible for processing rejected claims? This claim was rejected. It’s for a network practitioner and the doctor is really upset. Can you review the denial code, see if it’s applicable and contact the provider as soon as possible.”
“Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center. I’ve got to get the brakes on the delivery truck fixed before the next shipment comes in. Can you pull up the directory and see which service center is closest to route 23A.”
“Kay, we’ve got to discuss the divisional budget. There’s not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area. If we don’t have this done by afternoon we’ll miss the deadline. Can we grab a conference room at 2:00pm today and get this settled.”
Making Your Point: General Tips
Communication experts offer the following advice to keep in mind to get your point across quickly and accurately. Some of these we already covered but here’s a recap:
– Always verify that you have the person’s attention. If you’re competing with the phone, another task at hand or other interruptions wait for a better time.
– Avoid jargon and technical terms unless the audience is as expert as you.
– Always check for the individual’s current level of understanding. If you’re dealing with an audience cater to the lowest common denominator if that person’s opinion and involvement is critical.
– Point out the benefit to the listener or why it’s important at the beginning. Otherwise they’ll be waiting for it and ignoring the rest of your message.
– Verify the listener understood your message as you intended.
– Speak at a rate that matches the speaking rate of the listener. If you’re still struggling to get their attention speak slower at first.
– Be sensitive to the amount of detail you share. Is it relevant? If not, it only clouds your message.
– Know what you expect of the listener before you start. Then use a logical process for presenting your point. It’s okay, and encouraged, to tell the listener what process you’re going to use – i.e. “I’m going to explain this in chronological order of how it occurred….”
Think of a problem or issue you need to present to your manager or coworkers. Given what you’ve learned so far how will you present it? The next section provides a checklist for planning that conversation.
Making Your Point: Next Time
This following checklist will help you to plan a conversation you intend to have or should have with your manager, employee or coworkers.
Answer the first three questions based on the conversation you plan to have. Then use points 4, 5 and 6 to plan how you will apply the three critical elements for conveying information.
1. Who will you be talking to?
2. What is the issue, problem or suggestion?
3. What do you need from them? What do you expect them to do as a result of your message?
How will you apply the three critical elements for conveying information (You can also script what you’re actually going to say):
4. Getting and keeping attention
5. Know where you’re headed before you start
6. Confirm understanding
Conveying information in a concise, logical manner that focuses on the purpose you’re conveying to the listener and the needs you have for making your point is important if you’re presenting information.
This is a remarkably easy habit to get accustomed to with a little practice and attention. The payoff is enormous. Try it!
This article is a excerpt from one of our Management Training by the Book eBooks. If you found this tutorial helpful, you will find many more useful tutorial of essential management development topics in our two eBooks. Check out Management Training By the Book I and II. Click here.