Booher BanterBusiness Communication Consultant

Bottom-line:  Style:  A    Substance:   C

It’s not that I didn’t like what the President had to say; I did.  But the speech summarized apple pie, motherhood, and the American dream.  What’s not to like?  With the exception of a few brief lines, everybody in the chamber could have applauded every word, had they not been familiar with the pending legislation and issues facing Congress this year.

Substance:  What’s Not to Like?

An upbeat theme:  “Win the future”

Three points and a poem, er, uh, story:  “Innovate.  Educate.  And rebuild our country.”

Specific stories to illustrate his main points:  1) The Allen brothers who reinvented their roofing business when the recession hit  illustrated our capacity for innovation.  2) The Denver high school represented American’s educational system done right.  3) Brad Fisher, owner of the small business that manufactured the drill used to free the Chilean miners and whose employee commented, “We’re a little company, but we do big things” underscores the American spirit to do big things.

An emotional tribute at the opening (to Gabby Giffords) and at the close (to the humble beginnings of the VP and Speaker of the House seated behind him and to the America that made their success possible)

Style:  Well Crafted and On Par with His Days as a Candidate

Setting:  A speaker’s effect always depends to some degree on the setting.  So two things worked in the President’s favor tonight:   Members of Congress sitting as buddies rather than enemies and a camera shot of John Boehner behind him, with misty eyes and quivering chin at every emotional line or illustration.  (Bless Boehner’s heart—wish I could take him that dear sensitive man to my own speeches!)

A modest, concillatory tone (The pointing finger and uplifted chin were gone tonight.)

Great pausing and pacing:   Plenty of time to let his message resonate

Humor:  For example, on his point about simplifying government, he referred to multiple agencies handling overlapping functions. Specifically, he admitted confusion over the fact that one agency regulated salmon in fresh water and a different agency regulated salmon in salt water.  “I’m told it’s even more complicated when they’re smoked.”

Figures of Speech:  In talking about slashing the wrong items from the budget, he made the analogy of cutting the engine out of an airplane to lighten the load:  “It won’t be long before you feel the impact.”

Alliteration:  Example: “We need to show our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl that needs to be celebrated, but the winner of the Science Fair.”

All in all, I’d say the President’s supporters enjoyed the speech, and his opponents couldn’t find much of substance to criticize.

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Posted at 5:00am in Communication—Oral, General Communication | Permalink | Add Comment » |

A bad business environment demands good communication skills. It just stands to reason. When times are tough and businesses stagger between budget cuts and product launches, there’s little margin for misunderstandings and communication blunders. 

The ability to gather information, analyze it, summarize it, and present it in writing and orally so that it’s easily digestible as a basis for decision has always been a core competency of leadership. Not only do you have to write and speak well, you have to think clearly, listen perceptively, and express yourself persuasively. 

It’s gratifying to have other organizations verify what we ourselves routinely discover in our own polling and consulting work. 

The American Management Association (AMA) surveyed more than 2,000 senior managers in 2010 as part of their Critical Skills Survey. Respondents to their survey predicted that communication skills would be the top employee development priority for the immediate future. 

Now, more than ever, you have to:

• Use a variety of media and formats to get your message out
• Speak to globally diverse audiences
• Establish credibility and expertise in a larger context (strategy, business results, overall accountability for your results)

They also examined the importance of communication skills to performance reviews and hiring. Once again, hiring managers told them that their organizations place more emphasis on assessing a candidate’s communication skills than any other competency. 

While executives consider communication critical to business success, these same skills represent the biggest gap in the typical employee’s skill set.

Why? 

Most of us have been talking since age two. And many people think if they can talk, they can communicate. Unfortunately, practice does not make perfect—practicing poor habits simply creates miscommunication.

If executives consider communication the most important business skill—as shown by poll after poll—why do you think communication skills still surface as the weakest skill set in the workforce?

(See related article at Chief Learning Officer, January 2011)

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Posted at 7:33pm in General Communication | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Look into your lover’s eyes and whisper, “I love you” and what do you expect to hear in return? Silence? If it happens often, the relationship’s in trouble. Yet every day that awkward silence can be “heard” when people say to a boss, “It’s done” and hear…silence in response.

If you’re serious about getting feedback this coming year in your new job or in that next big assignment, you have to take matters into your own hands. If others give feedback hesitantly, make it more comfortable by asking key questions either periodically or after you complete key projects:

“What ideas do you have for making this project even more successful next time?”

“What would you change if you were handling this account?”

“I’m always interested in self-improvement. What skills would you add to my “needs improvement” list for the next 12 months?”

Take the information you gather in such feedback sessions and develop your personal action plan.

Without feedback in marriage, lovers drift toward divorce. Without feedback at work, employees drift toward the door.

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Posted at 3:47pm in Communication—Interpersonal | Permalink | Add Comment » |