Did you know that the majority of a manager’s time should be spent on communication? This is true for anyone in a leadership role, those who are expected to “talk” and “hear” more. But are we? I don’t think so. All around me, I see a disconnect in communication. “Communicate Your Way To Success” will be a bi-monthly series targetting different facets of communciation. It is your one-way pass to success.
My phone “rings off the hook”, literally. I have a team located in a different continent and I am on teleconferences (telecons) almost all the time.
Today we work in a distributed workspace with teams spread out in remote locations, around the world. Teleconferences (telecons) still continues to be an integral mode of communication.
While technology has certainly played its part over the years making it easier, faster and clearer for us to effectively communicate across distances, often we forget to play our part.
There are ways to make telecons effective and less chaotic. The first step is the awareness of some common mistakes we make during telecons. Assuming you are confident enough to speak and have gotten rid of (or have learnt the art to skillfully hide) your nervousness, here are 3 things to remember:
Speak slowly
Make a conscious effort to speak slowly. If you are like me, a natural fast paced speaker – it is even more important to do so. Try to say each sentence 3 to 5 seconds slower than you would usually.
Repeat less
While speaking, especially over the phone, we tend to assume that the listeners do not understand what we are saying. So, we repeat the sentences by rearranging the words. Speak each sentence just once, slowly and clearly, and leave it to the listeners to ask for you to repeat.
…and try not to be like Thomson & Thompson (of Tintin fame).
Force pauses and ask for questions
When you speak, pause after each sentence for 2-3 seconds thus introducing what I call “forced pauses”. Then, continue with the next sentence. This will help with speaking slowly and enable the listener to interject a question. At appropriate intervals (which you must decide), ask the listeners “Do you have any questions? May I continue?”. This is the easiest and the most powerful way to make your audience get comfortable with your communication i.e. by allowing them to talk and indicating that you will be the listener.
There you have it – 3 simple and easy changes to make to improve your tele-communication. But it does not happen overnight and takes practice. So, the next time you pick up that phone, start practicing.
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Well put! I always have that problem of repeating myself, both in speaking and writing. I always have that problem of repeating myself, both in speaking and writing….
Seriously though, great message. Much better to slow down and think through what you are saying than rush and repeat. I definitely need to work on this. Thanks for the help!