Booher BanterYour Resource for the best ideas to improve communications skills.

Communication expert Dianna Booher offers tips on how you can turn negative reactions into appropriate responses.

Posted at 4:50pm in Communication—Interpersonal | Permalink | Add Comment » |

The subject came up again this week with an executive group who briefs “up on the hill.” Their “up on the hill” references meant, of course, briefings in Congress and the executive branch. So you’d think the people receiving their deck of slides would consider them important enough to review before attending meetings, right? Wrong—or at least that was the conclusion of those gathered in front of me.

It’s a situation that surfaces often:  A presenter prepares slides, sends them to his audience prior to his formal presentation for their review, and then shows up to deliver the thirty-minute presentation in person. The problem? The presenter thinks the real job is over once he hits the Send button. He walks into the meeting two days later prepared only to answer questions rather than give a structured presentation.

Weak approach—particularly when you discover that many have not reviewed the deck.

Sending slides ahead makes it no less critical to plan and structure your message for the intended purpose. You are more than a live FAQ dispenser. Otherwise, they could, or would, automate you.

To paraphrase a cliché, never assume that “the information sent speaks for itself.”

As with any briefing, summarize the essence of the information clearly. Emphasize what’s important. Illuminate the relevant but complex. Establish credibility for the information. Provide depth on the details of interest.

Posted at 10:50am in Communication—Oral | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Dianna Booher shares several suggestions on building rapport to establish authentic, lasting connections.

Posted at 3:46pm in Communication—Interpersonal, General Communication | Permalink | Add Comment » |

To pose a frequently asked question:  Does size matter? Document length, that is. Do more details lead to more definitive answers? That question was debated about the healthcare bill and is now being batted around regarding the new financial regulatory legislation.

What’s the link between words and worth? Take, for example, the new financial reform bill. Here’s how Becky Quick, anchor of CNBC’s Squak Box put it in the Opinion column of Fortune magazine (August 16, 2010):

The legislation weighs in at 848 pages (at least the electronic version does). Compare that with, say, the Constitution of the United States, which founded the legal principles of our nation nearly 223 years ago. That original document (handwritten naturally) clocked in at just four pages. Granted, the Founding Fathers wrote in small print. But come one. Four pages to run a country vs. 848 pages to run a bank? Really? And in its 800-plus pages, the Fin Reg bill manages to create even more questions than it answers. Like what defines “risky” behavior for the banks, when an institituion is too big to fail, and what the competetive field will look like in the new financial world.

So I repeat my basic question:  What is the link between word count and worth? Very little.

In our business writing and technical writing workshops, we hear comments and protests such as these: “My boss insists that I ‘put it on a page’–do you agree with that?” Or, “It’s department policy that these monthly reports can’t be longer than 3 pages.” Or, “Our proposal has to be uploaded to a website template, and we’re limited to 4,000 characters. How can I possibly list all the benefits in those few words?”

Do more details lead to more definitive answers? Not necessarily. Words can be used to illuminiate or obscure—your choice.

Abraham Lincoln said it best:  “He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I ever met.”

Posted at 10:34am in Communication—Written, General Communication, Technical Writing | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Abstract words can mean different things to different people. Watch Dianna’s communication quick tip video on the importance of using concrete words rather than abstract ones.

Posted at 10:25am in General Communication, Uncategorized | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Don’t you just love it when some expert or authority in another field agrees with you—proves your point? So what’s the issue in question? You can’t write an email, tweet, enter data, read a text message, listen to music, and talk on the phone at the same time—accurately, that is. Multitasking is a myth; it’s just rapid attention switching.  Psychologists tell us that every time you switch from one task to another, you lose something. That’s right—you leak concentration and brainpower.

This discussion frequently surfaces in our writing training programs. Participants are asked to bring with them writing samples from their on-the-job writing tasks. During various exercises, they have to rework some of those documents. Frequently, during critiques, we hear them ask themselves, “What was I thinking here?” The instructors wonder the same thing.

Consider how many times you get an email, report, or proposal with a missing word or a nonsensical phrase. The writer’s thought pattern “switched” from one track to another and got ahead of itself.

The issue also rears its head in our presentation skills workshops—about the time we start to discuss delivery and the proper use of technology. Trainees often comment, “I’m having a hard time concentrating on my presentation content when I’m having to think about my hands or my posture.” True. Back to my basic point. Multitasking breaks your concentration. Of course, in a presentations training program, we’re coaching participants to know their content so well that they can focus on delivery.

But you get my point:  In real life, important communication—whether writing or speaking—deserves your undivided attention and concentration.

A new book released today, SuperCompetent®  by productivity expert Laura Stack, amplifies this same idea. Check out the third of her six A’s on becoming a supercompetent employee:  Attention (focus and concentration).

What Stack says in her latest book “stacks up” with what I’ve discovered in my own communication consulting practice: Competence doesn’t cut it anymore. She has coined the new word “SuperCompetence” to describe the expectation for those who plan to make it to the “high potential” category in their organization.

The structure of the book lends itself to the productive reader. If you have only a few minutes to read yet another book, no worries. Each chapter begins with the bottom-line distinction between the mindsets and habits of the merely competent and the supercompetent. Cleverly labeled “ Hero-Thinking” and “Zero-Thinking,” her brief opening summaries give you the pithy idea. Read them and move on. Or dig through the details for quick, specific tips to accomplish the change in mindset or habit.

If you plan to be a SuperCompetent® communicator and use all the technology available, focus rather than multitask.

Posted at 9:36am in Books, Personal Productivity, Recommended Reading | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Guest Column

With more than a billion presentations given in one month, it’s no surprise some are really quite boring. After all, it’s much easier to recite information than to make an interactive presentation. If you truly want to connect with your audience, you can choose to make your presentations more engaging and interactive. 

It’s as simple as… 

1. Engage Early 

Your presentation starts the moment the meeting is announced—with your name on the agenda.  Pick up the phone and interview a few participants, email a simple survey, open discussion with a blog, post a question to a group on Linked In or Facebook, start a unique wiki about your presentation, etc. There are a ton of technologies out there to enable you to start the conversation before your presentation even begins. 

2. Involve the Audience 

When you ask an audience member to do something for you, she feels special.  She morphs into a participant while sending a subliminal signal to the rest of the audience that you are reaching out for help, and she might be more wiling to cooperate when you ask her to do something later.  It can be something as simple asking someone to be the timekeeper or a “runner.” Demonstrations, skits, competitions and role-plays are more complex interactions that take more thought and deliberate consideration, but have HUGE payoff because they are HUGELY memorable. 

3. Embrace Technology 

If 90% of your audience has a cell phone, then let the audience know how they can use it to respond to a poll or feed questions to you. If you are brave, project the feed onto a screen behind you (This is called a “twitterfall.”) so all can participate in the “back channel” discussion—the conversation going on in the room while you are speaking. Can’t make it to the meeting due to a volcanic dust cloud covering European airspace?  Skype it in—but only if you are extremely comfortable using the technology. 

When you prepare to be engaging and interactive, you go from boring to bravo in no time.
 

---

 Kristin Arnold, president of the National Speakers Association, is on a mission to make all meetings more engaging, interactive and collaborative through her new book, Boring to Bravo. Visit her website for more tips and techniques and to order your copy. 

Posted at 10:55am in Books, Communication—Oral, Recommended Reading | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Customers communicate dissatisfaction—one way or the other. You’ll generally come out ahead if they tell the problem to you directly rather than to the rest of the world. Here’s what happened to United Airlines when they ignored Dave Carroll’s efforts to communicate the problem about his damaged guitar.

On the other hand, here’s what happens when clients and suppliers communicate:

We’ve had a vacancy in our office building for almost a year. Yet our cleaning service has been charging the same price for cleaning the entire building despite having no tenant in half the office space. In past years, they’ve declined to lower the price, saying it was an “all or nothing” contract for the entire building. Today, I communicated my intention to either get the price lowered for cleaning less space or shop the contract to other bidders. The supplier was immediately willing to renegotiate the price. He kept the contract. We kept a good supplier.

Customers talk—either to you or the rest of the world. Which will it be? And what will they say?

Posted at 10:12am in Communication—Sales, General Communication, Social Media Communication | Permalink | Add Comment » |

My friend Dennis asked me to speak to his class of graduate students at a local university this week on the topic of business communication. It’s not like I’m looking for places to speak, being on an airplane far more days than I care to count. But I hadn’t seen the friend in a while, nor had I been in a college classroom in X@#& years, so I decided to see what these graduate students had on their minds.

I spoke. They asked questions. We had a great discussion. They had nice things to say afterward. I left.

The next day, I get an email from Dennis thanking me again and passing along more of the comments from his students about my session. But one summary comment from my friend really caught my attention:  “My students were really blown away by the fact that you used so few visuals in the entire hour–and they were all photos! No bullet points. They were amazed at how engaged they were.”

He went on to explain that in his Mass Communication class he had already had a difficult time trying to wean them away from the overuse of slides with heavy text. Why am I not surprised? Bad habits are contagious. Most of these grad students have already entered the workforce. They see slide slush from their colleagues daily.

So why are many people tempted to use slides when they don’t need them?

1. Slides become the presenter’s notes. If you need slides to keep you on track, you’re not properly prepared. Outline, yes. But a keyword outline will do the trick nicely–and much quicker. Glance at a word to bring a “chunk” of information to mind. Then elaborate. But don’t build a boring slideshow when a word will trigger your memory.
2. Slides help your audience to follow your presentation. If listeners can’t grasp your key points, then either 1) your presentation isn’t arranged well or 2) your talk isn’t engaging or 3) you need better transitions and summary statements.
3. Slides add pizazz. True. But so does an earthquake, or a fire alarm, or a magic act. You need impact for your point. If the slide adds to the understanding, learning, or retention, use it. But if the slide only calls attention to itself rather than the message, drop it.

With all the leftover time not spent on building slideshows, you can always do more research on your topic or practice your delivery–an engaging effort.

Posted at 10:05am in Communication—Oral | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Levi Johntson must have texted a powerful apology to Bristol Palin.  After going on TV and talk radio across the country for the past 18 months to bad-mouth her family, that apology sealed him his engagement—and, according to some media rumors, an upcoming reality TV show.

Whatever.

My point? Situations calling for a public apology come and go about once a month. Some rock star, athlete, or politician gets caught shoplifting, driving drunk, doing drugs, having an affair, taking a bribe, or uttering embarrassing comments over an open microphone, and the public becomes outraged. The public persona and principles preached don’t match the private behavior.

What further enrages us about such situations is that typically the celebrity involved first takes the stance:  “It’s none of your business.” When that line doesn’t work, he or she tries to make excuses, “I was drunk/stoned/conned/didn’t know that blah, blah, blah …” fill in the blanks. When those excuses don’t calm the waters, they finally come out with a belated apology.  Life goes back to normal. We once again buy their music, see their movies, go to their ball games, or elect them to office.

There’s only one exception to this rule:  If the celebrity tries to offer a pseudo-apology, one with no real admission of wrongdoing. When that’s the case, the media and public chew on the story until the celebrity spits out an honest admission of guilt. Only then does life resume for the wronged and the harangued.

Ditto at the office. People have difficulty offering an outright apology—an expression of “I’m concerned because I made a mistake/I did something wrong.” And they get the same kind of reaction as celebrities do to their pseudo-apologies.

Recognize any of these non-apologies?

Denial

“No, I didn’t email the meeting agenda to everyone ahead of time.  I apologize—I didn’t know I was supposed to do that.”

Translation:  “I’m not at fault here.  Whoever was in charge of telling me to do that messed up—not me.” 

Good Intentions

“I’ve been putting out fires all morning ever since I came in at 6:30, but I won’t bore you with the details.  So I apologize that I didn’t email the meeting agenda to everyone ahead of time.”

Translation: “ Give me credit for good intentions. Besides that, I’m busier than most of you.”

Excuse

“I apologize for not emailing the meeting agenda to everyone ahead of time. It’s just been my experience that nobody ever looks at them ahead of time anyway.”

Translation:   “There’s no need to apologize.”

Sympathy

“I apologize for not emailing the meeting agenda to everyone. I told several of you about how my weekends have been going, so I hope you understand.”

Translation:   “Cut me some slack.  I have personal problems.

Attack

“Well, I apologize for not emailing the meeting agenda to everyone ahead of time. Bill, Jean—did you have something you were particularly interested in having on there? Was there something you’re not prepared to discuss because you didn’t see this ahead of time? If so, we can postpone the meeting and reconvene tomorrow when you’re more prepared.”

Translation:   “You are making a big deal out of nothing. Why are you trying to embarrass me? I can make you feel very small for bringing this up. So just leave me alone.”

So What Makes a Good Apology? 

• Admission of error, guilt, or wrongdoing:   Accept responsibility for what was said or done and its inappropriateness, inaccuracy, weakness, hurtfulness, insensitivity, or whatever.
• Specificity:    Global, blanket apologies sound insincere.  Express concern for the damage or hurt you caused and your understanding of the situation.
• Amends:   Attempt to make things right with some word or gesture of goodwill toward the offended person or group.

Apologies don’t always end in engagements or reality TV shows—but they can mend a relationship or save a sale.

Posted at 8:40am in Communication—Interpersonal | Permalink | Add Comment » |