Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Speak Easy Note #23 - Working It at Work

In Chapter 10, Working It at Work in “SPEAK EASY, The Communication Guide for Career and Life Success” I have selected seven best career management practices and labeled them as


“YOUR CAREER GYM COMMUNICATION WORKOUT”

1. Be prepared.

2. Be positive.

3. Give “live” illustrations.

4. Avoid limiting qualifiers.

5. Be focused.

6. Avoid negative assumptions.

7. Be consistent.


#1 – Be Prepared

Groundwork plays a significant role in career advancement.

A fundamental key to achieving professional success is being well-prepared.

It’s critical to do your homework for any type of professional or work-related meeting that you’re going to attend or participate in, no matter the size or the venue.

# 2 – Play Up The Positive

Whenever you determine that something won’t work or isn’t working, make sure you find a way to convey, “This is exactly what we need to do to make this successful.”

Rather than describe what’s wrong, it’s always better to focus on communicating the solutions to fix the situation.

Remember that you can always communicate everything you want to say in an affirmative way .

#3 – Be A Story Teller – Live Examples Work Best

One of the most effective ways to sound confident and to overcome nervousness or artificiality in communication is to be a story teller.

When you’re describing actual positive experiences you’ve had, your communication becomes quite natural and energized because you’re re-experiencing what happened and you’re seeing yourself in a positive situation.

When you’re describing an actual experience that occurred and you’re using it as an illustration for the point you want to make, you will sound much more believable than when you use a hypothetical or theoretical description or try to use facts or data to convince people of your genuineness or authenticity.

# 4 – Toss Those Qualifiers

As long as you see and describe your experience as limited, you will convey self-doubt and will certainly not be seen as having professional presence or as being a thought leader.

Limitations place the emphasis on what’s missing rather than on what exists. Habitually qualifying chips away at the substance of what you have to offer and who you are professionally.

You can eliminate qualifiers from your speech patterns without replacing them with exaggerations and misrepresentations. The goal is to focus on what exists without adding disclaimers, doubt, and hesitancy. Use communication that says you take ownership and pride in what you do and who you are.

#5 – Aim Straight For The Target

Never distort! Never misrepresent!

“SELECTIVE HONESTY” means to target your communications selectively and avoid self-revealing broad-based confessions or testimonials that tell all, leaving you exposed in ways that are unnecessary and unbeneficial.

If you aim your communications directly at the bull’s eye instead, you can become skilled and fluent in targeting your responses to your advantage and to the listener’s focus as well.

Even when your comments are innocent and harmless, when you forget to target your communications, you can unknowingly be diminishing your professionalism and potential for recognition and advancement.

# 6 – You Know What They Say About Assumptions

Negative assumptions provide the foundation for defensive and self-defeating communication.

Make sure you communicate from a perspective that demonstrates you are basing your comments on a positive premise.

#7 - Inconsistency Always Bites You On Your Backside

If you want to be seen as a professional and you want to advance in your career, it’s important to be aware of how subtle inconsistencies in your communications can influence how you’re seen and how your opportunities for advancement can be measured against them.

We all have competing characteristics and circumstances in our lives. Life is full of paradox. The point is to be aware of what you are communicating before blurting out whatever comes into your head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Career fitness is vital for success and satisfaction. Look at the career communication exercise regimen as a package and make the career workout part of every workday. The payoff will be that over time all of these behaviors and communications will become so second nature that they will be completely natural and effortless. These guidelines are the right foundation for preparing for the JOB INTERVIEW as well.



Until next time,
The Wordsmith

No comments:

Post a Comment