Here’s a YouTube short which is a reminder, that our #communication skills are valuable in solving others’ problems
It doesn’t matter whether we polished those skills through a career, or during a demanding time we were doing unpaid work as a #carer
Either way, we can use the STAR model to help us spotlight our #skills
I’ve created a PDF summarising these points which you can find by following the link below
As Christmas and the new year get closer, we could do worse than think about the future.
In the short-term there will be parties and socials where our people skills are put to the test. After all, social gatherings can bring out the worst in people.
In those settings our charisma or #rizz helps us get out point across and listen, respectfully, to others’ views. We can remain happy even if the atmosphere gets heated.
In January we will be going after a new set of goals. We might have to work with new people and influence their actions to get something done on our behalf. Charisma will be important in this area too.
So, this holiday season we can all practice using our people skills and see what value we can add to work, or play, by using our charisma.
Why not give it a try and leave a comment about how you got on.
A Thought About Communication (c) R Dennison November 2013
Occasionally it is difficult to get your point across. You might want to communicate something of yourself, as well as impress with your call to action.
Also there may be certain expectations about how you communicate linked to the working culture in your profession. In some places of work anything goes, ‘patois’ or ‘banter’ included. In others, not so much.
I was thinking about all this as there have been several examples of self-expression colliding with effective communication recently.
Exhibit A is X Factor winner James Arthur’s Twitter feud with fellow rapper Mickey Worthless. On reading the tweets I wondered what Mr Arthur was trying to achieve with his choice of language? Did he think homophobic language helped establish his street credentials?
Exhibit B belongs to Australian cricketer Michael Clarke. His sledging comments toward James Anderson were obviously intended to disturb the batsman’s concentration; didn’t they also make Mr Clarke look childish and unprofessional?
Finally, by way of contrast, Tottenham MP David Lammy is right to point out that using a limited vocabulary is not going to help anyone get a job.
Here’s my point. There’s something to be said for having a communication game plan, before writing, Tweeting, blogging or speaking. The bare bones of the plan respond to three simple questions:
No one will get it right all of the time. However a little fore thought will go a long way to help get the message across.
So here is a question for you: what is the first item in your plan before you start communicating?
Experience Your Life 