15 Tools to Improve Your Communication Skills

by Diane M. Hoffmann

In my book "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training", which is now available in 10 Parts in Kindle book format , re-titled "Improve Your Communication Skills"  I give 15 tools to help you improve your communication skills by 50-100% at home, work or play.

These are tools that I have either created or expounded from existing ones, over the years as I have sought continuously to improve my communication skills. I call them my "Tools-Within-The-Tools".

If you would like to get a copy of the Kindle books where you will find these tools, I've listed the Part # Series that contain them.

For the Kindle E-book series, please visit this link:

http://communicationverbalnonverbal.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page.html

 

TWT #1:
The 1-11 measuring scale
Use this tool to measure present daily communication habits.

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 2&3 combined")

TWT #2:
The 2Xtremes analysis
Use this tool when a problem falls in the grey area that makes it difficult to make important decisions.  

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 2&3 combined")

TWT #3:
The 3_D Communication
Use this tool to communicate on a deeper level beneath the obvious surface. 

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 2&3 combined")

TWT #4:
The Focus of argument
Use this tool when conversations get off track and need to be re-focused.  

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 2&3 combined")

TWT#5:
Smart Questioning 
"Smart" is the key word here to discern the factors that come between the brain and the tongue.  

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 2&3 combined")

TWT#6:
The LAC or WAC 
This tool looks at the two kinds of context in communication that deals with improving our thinking before receiving. 

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 2&3 combined")

TWT #7:
The Want/Don't Want
Use this tool to analyze how important something is to you or someone you are communicating with. 

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 4 combined")
 
TWT #8:
The 360 degree theory
This tool will help you identify where people may be coming from when communication on a specific matter. 

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 4 combined")

TWT # 9:
The 1/99 Ratio 
This tool will help to know where people fall within the scale of capability between leaders and followers.


(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 4 combined")
  TWT # 10:
The 80/20 Ratio 
This is about a further understanding of the application of the famous 80/20 formula, created by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, that affects pretty well every area of life.

TWT # 11:
The 3-3-3 Sounding
Use this tool when faced with a large task or problem to break it down into three category descriptions. 

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 4 combined")

TWT # 12:
The 4-P
Use this tool to help identify the personality types of people you are communicating with. 

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 5 combined")

TWT # 13:
Enthusiasm 
This is one of the most effective sales tools available to a salesperson, whether you are selling a product in a business or yourself in your personal every day life.

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 6 combined")

TWT # 14:
The 7-Points Problem Solving
This tool shows seven questions to ask yourself within the solution rather than the problem area of situations that need corrective actions.

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 9 combined")

TWT # 15:
The 3-Groups Letter Writing
Writing has changed enormously from the old days to now. This tool will simplify the dreaded letter writing - email or otherwise - into three simple groups that get to the point whether in business or on the personal level. 

(Found in Kindle book "Improve Communication skills, Part 10 combined") 


Success and Blessings,

Diane

P.S.:

Share your thoughts in the comments area of this post.

P.P.S.:

For the Kindle E-book series, please visit this link:

http://communicationverbalnonverbal.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page.html

 

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Life is all about communicating with one another

It doesn't matter what area of life, whether it is our simple individual life, family life, society, local, municipal, regional, national, global – it's all about communicating with one another.

Let me begin with an example of a local situation...

I'm always amazed at how bad people are at communicating and/or at realizing how they communicate with others.

For instance, I like to help people. I give a lot of my time to volunteer activities in various organizations, etc.

One of the things that I often see is that when someone offers their services for free (volunteer) to an organization, they are often – too often – received nonchalantly (indifferently, detached, unappreciatively). And then they wonder why they have a hard time getting volunteers.

Case in point:

I joined a seniors group some time ago.  After hearing they needed some help in a particular up-coming event, I went up to the activity organizer and offered to help out. The woman brought me to the person who is supposedly in charge of that event and who would show me what I needed to do, etc.

She told me to be there at 10 am on the day of the event, the following week.  So I scheduled this time on my busy calendar and showed up on time (5 min. earlier as I usually do – another communicating issue I'll talk about next).

I looked for her and didn't see her around. I then checked with the receptionist and she told me the lady wasn't in and whe didn't expect her until 11.  So I indicating that I was asked to be there at 10 and had put that time from by business aside for them. She told me to talk to another person, pointing to the vice-president of the organization in the center of the hall.

So I proceeded toward her who was at this time totally immersed in a hot discussion with a senior member.  I waited, and waited, trying to get her attention, but she wouldn't budge. After about 10 minutes of this, I left, letting the receptionist know that I would try and come back later.

Of course, my time being money, I never go idle for long, so I proceeded to do some business while I was in that area. One thing led to another which got me into other issues and next thing I knew I was back in the office taking care of pressing matters that followed. So, I never did get back to them, but had they been there as planned, they would have had my time for a couple of hours of my business time given to them for free.

Have a great day,

Diane

For the Kindle E-book series, please visit this link:

http://communicationverbalnonverbal.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page.html

Meetings and Communication – Know What Your Meeting is About.

In meetings and communication, know what your meeting is about.

There are basically 3 types of meetings: Informational, Problem-solving and Idea-generating.

You might say, "Well, my meeting is about Safety Regulations". OK, but is it Safety Regulations Informational? Safety Regulations Problem-Solving? Safety Regulations Idea-Generating?

If you have all three under the same meeting, write your Agenda as: 5 minutes Information, 10 min. Problem-Solving and 15 minutes Idea-Generating, or whatever -- that's why preparation is necessary, these things must be determined ahead of time.

All meetings must be short -- in and out in 30 minutes! Some meetings will need 1 hour, of course, but this should only be when absolutely necessary and fewer and farther apart. A rule of thumb is the longer the meetings, the fewer they are; i.e. weekly meetings: 30 minutes or less. Montly or quarterly meetings could go to 1 hour or 2. Semi-annual, 2-3 hours or ½-day. Yearly meetings, such as conventions, 1 day.

They should be well planned ahead to get to the point fast and to stimulate discussion. The discussions must be well defined, i.e.: "For the next 15 minutes, we will talk about the current annual Sales Goals." "Now for the next 15 minutes, we will discuss the Salary Structure."

List them on the agenda so the people can follow clearly. Lead to get the results you plan or expect and to stay within the time frames allotted, if you cannot achieve this on any one item, move it to another meeting. Be in control!

Meetings are terrific opportunities to get communication flowing among the people. Bring some donuts, be positive, get to the point. Move fast. Let them leave the meeting fired up -- not dragged down. All the while, you are training others to do the same!

Failure to control meetings is a demonstration of mismanagement on the part of the individual doing the meeting and the whole corporation behind him or her. 

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Meetings and Communication – Preparation is King!

In meetings and communication, preparation is King!

In the previous blog we saw the director of a large company department call out a meeting and then show up late “because he had forgotten!”

Then, what happened next is even more amazing. The director began to pull out the slide projector from the back of the room, fighting his way through the crowded area. He finally got it plugged in, turned on the light and placed the first slide of the new organization on, but nothing showed up on the wall.

Realizing the projector was on backward, he struggled some more to get it right, etc. This is a true story in a world-class company and that individual was the head of that gathered department.

Some people believe that arriving late at a meeting is a sign of importance. No, it's not. And it's not a manipulative tool to show how big one is. We earn our respect by being on time, by respecting other people's time. It is not fair to those who have been invited to attend, and who have phone calls to make and work to do. Continuous training is done by our behaviour, by being efficient in our roles as managers.

Then we have those who think that running late at every checkpoint of a meeting is also a sign of "bigness". Well, it is only a sign of disorganization, sloppiness or not being in control. And, the best way to discourage people from coming to your meetings is to do just that. On the contrary, if you finish a couple of minutes earlier... there will be excitement and appreciation, and people will not be afraid to come to your meetings again.

Any kind of meetings, be it seminars, sales presentations, workshops, conventions -- must commence and end at the pre-determined and announced time. They must be on target with the agenda, and fast-moving.

First, there must be an agenda -- never have a meeting without one. It should outline briefly why the meeting is being held, what the goal or result is expected to be, and it should break down the subjects and activities in 5- or 10-minute increments.

And this requires preparation ahead of time.

There are basically 3 types of meetings… we will look at them in the next blog.

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Meetings and Communication – Short and On-Time!

Meetings and Communication should be short and on time!

"Holding meetings" is a misunderstood concept. When we say that regular meetings are necessary for effective communication, it does not mean that one has to find extra days to fit them in. This is why many managers don’t like meetings.

Most meetings waste more time than they should. Why? Because they are not planned properly. The majority of meetings in companies could be cut by 50%. The presentations are usually too long, move too slowly and contain redundant material.

In writing, the key to good writing is "edit, edit, edit -- each time slashing off 20% until there is nothing to slash off any more. In the same way presentations for meetings should be prepared.

What normally happens in companies is the one calling the meeting goes over the scheduled time; there is no justification for that, no matter how one makes it out to sound. A meeting that goes beyond its announced time at any point, simply means the one holding the meeting has no control of it and has not prepared for it.

Meetings must be kept on schedule. They simply must! Even for bosses. Some time ago, I was present in a department meeting that was called by the director of a large department. People gathered in, the group built up in numbers, but the director didn't show up. After some fifteen minutes, people started to ask what was going on and the secretary went out to make a phone call. She returned to say that he was on his way.

When he arrived he simply said that he had completely forgotten. Where do they get that? They read somewhere that they should be honest and truthful with their people -- problem is these things are taken and practiced out of context.

Yes, the new management style is to be honest and truthful but this means with appropriate behaviour -- in this case, we have to make sure we're on time for our own meetings as managers. Saying you forgot you had called a meeting is not a way to lead by example and train people.

Here were twenty-some people being trained that you can be late for meetings and it doesn't matter, all we have to say is "I'm sorry, I forgot".

That’s the first lesson… in the next blog, wait and see what happened next!

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Meetings and Communication – “Regular” is the Key

In meetings and communication – “Regular” is the Key.Often, the remedy for many problems in miscommunication is to hold simple regular staff meetings, where people sit down together and talk about the plans or the challenges.

But the key is to sit down with a goal in mind, a planned agenda and an organized leadership. The question "Why is there so much material waste in the production area?" requires listening to those who work with the material: "Here, come with me and I’ll show you". Then go and listen. Then brainstorm together.

Truly, a few minutes of meeting time will prevent hours and days of destructive staff and customer dissatisfaction.

After the hiring, one important ingredient of good communication in personnel management is for managers/supervisors to provide regular meetings to discuss performance and expectations.

"Regular" is the key word here. It is mind-boggling how few places do that. I personally do not recall anywhere I've worked at where this was done. There were meetings, but not regularly.

But when I've operated my own business, no matter how small it was, I learned to have meetings with even the people of the lowest levels, even trainees on government sponsored programs. It created an atmosphere of openness and trust and understanding. This was the time for anyone to talk about what troubled them, what frustrated them over coffee and donut provided by the company.

More on holding meetings in the next blog.

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Communicating With Clarity – Don’t Leave Others Hanging With Uncertainty

by Diane M. Hoffmann

Here’s another example of bad communication.  True story.  Fredda is part of a team that provides weekly events to seniors in their community.

Each one member does his/her one day per week and when one cannot make it, works out with another who can fill-in for that person for that day.

Rick, one of the team members, often changes his days because of various family and work activities. He took the month of July off and asked Fredda to work the events in his place. When the month was over, Fredda sent the following email to confirm whether or not Rick would be back to his normal routine at this time.

“Rick… Jim will be doing his regular 1st Monday of the month, this Monday... are you still wanting to be off during August? Let me know if you want me to continue filling in for your days this month. Fredda”

His answer was:

“Hi Fredda…Our holidays are done now. I would be delighted to be back in the schedule. Perhaps next Monday would work? See you tomorrow. Rick

Now, tell me… does that answer the question? Or does it leave the whole communication open, requiring another email or phone call from Fredda for clarification?

First, Rick says that “he would be delighted” – that does not say that he will be back on schedule. Second, he then uses the word ‘perhaps’ which declares uncertainty, and even adds a question mark to it.  His response leaves the whole issue up in the air. And his last line "see you tomorrow" was pure assumption that Fredda would be at a particular place totally aside from these events.

Simly, the answer from Rick should have said something like this: “Fredda… our holidays are done now. I will be back to my regular schedule starting with August 11.”

Now, that’s proper communication!/dmh

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