Tag Archives: communication

Explain It Like I’m 5

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One of the worst things in today’s acronym laden world is terse explanations where jokes about TPS reports are at home. Nobody needs that. No one on your team needs to have their day spent deciphering gibberish. Acronyms serve a purpose, but any time you get a chance to explain a new concept avoid draping your explanation with a veil of confusion.

I had a manager once who quickly figured out (on his first day) that I was not familiar with his acronym cannon and switched to proper vocabulary and never switched back. It was glorious. I understood many of the acronyms in the industry, but he was new and came from a different background. His observation and flexibility made my understanding a lot easier and faster.

So explain things like your direct reports are five, even if they’re not, because that way it’s abundantly clear. And clear may deliver a better product.

Just Listen

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When we the last time you met someone who changed your mind? When was the last time you changed someone else’s mind? Just Listen is probably the book I’ve bought the most copies of and re-read the most times. I can’t recommend it enough. The reason is this: the book gives you very practical tips on influencing others through helping them feel heard, valuable, and understood.

Take the time to read or listen to this book because it will change your approach to 1-on-1’s, it will change personal relationships, it will challenge you to think about how well you listen to others so that they feel a connection (Law 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws).

Do you need someone to help you fix a situation, get a project done, or deliver a presentation? It can happen withat a comm and and contology approach, but it might be painfl and low quality. You can get their buy in with the personalized techniques presented in this book that will help draw people to you and up trust, which we all know we need on teams.  This is what I would consider a “glue” book. It ties together through useful tools and techniques the principles you know you need to apply in all areas of your life.

– the MGMT

 

Communication Is Hard

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At least that’s what they tell me.  If you tell someone something enough times your job as a communicator will either get infinitely easier because they’ll finally get it.  Or it’ll get much, much harder because the repetition causes the pith helmets and ear plugs to be put into place.  I tell my daughters, “Think before you act,” about a bazillion times a month.  I’m pretty sure they think it’s some mantra that my parents told me.  It isn’t.  My dad told me, “it is your mother and I’s responsibility to raise you to be an adult when you’re 18.”  That worked out pretty well because I was a kid who was just looking for a place, a time, and a thing to be scared about.  At 17 and 365 days I was scared of 18 because it meat adulthood.

I hope that my children one day learn to think before they act.  I suspect it’ll be a lesson they learn throughout their lives.  I also hope that when they turn 17 and 365 days they don’t panic like I did – because if there’s one thing I’ve learned it is that I have more than one thing to learn.