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How to communicate effectively

‘I said He said’. The Key to Effective Communication 

Is it what I say or how I say it? What are we really trying to interpret? When it comes to effective communication the channels we choose can say a lot about the relationship. The avenues of delivery are as complex as the implication. Send an email or text message, make a phone call, meet over a coffee or choosing to use WhatsApp or Messenger can imply the level of the relationship.

Our opportunity to deliver a message has never had so many options. Yet how can you choose the right one for the right context? 

Listen to me! 

Improve your communication skills by listening carefully
Listening is essential for communication

There is nothing that can substitute the sheer impact of a face–to–face conversation. The energy of people in negotiation can be a catalyst to so much more than simply the words. From the initial introduction of a handshake and that wonderful smile, to which seat they select and how they sit. All things considered imagine we all have a pair of antennas sticking out of our heads. Pedantically fiddling with the tuning as we continually try to decipher each other. 

  • How are they sitting, open arms, relaxed, closed off? 
  • Eye contact is it direct, too fierce or is there something distant…? 
  • Does the shrug of the shoulders emphasise or distract from the conviction? 
  • Are they hedging direct questions, or do they seem too eager to share? 
  • How relaxed is their posture? 
  • What’s with that tone of voice? 
  • Why did they suggest that? 

Where are we? 

When body language compliments the message there is a greater chance that trust can establish, and conversation can develop more easily. We begin to relax, the antenna stop waving. On the relationship grid, the progression of a partnership can be divided into four areas. Initial, Build, Manage and Optimise. The grid works to define where the relationship is, and how it can develop. Movement is anti-clockwise that replies on time invested. The ambition is to take the relationship from initiate into optimise where trust, transparency and understanding are well-and-truly grounded. Here the relationship has the greatest opportunity at being the most productive. 

What’s-in-it-for-them? 

Communicate efficiently by text or whatsapp
Short messages often show a relationship with that person

Keeping the end in sight is (generally speaking) a great mindset to have. It suggests that one is more predisposed to giving rather than taking. If using messenger or whatsapp the suggestion is there is a personable relationship. The message may be short and succinct and to the point, no problems. Whereas an email may position an arms-length approach, suitable to the manage or build quadrants. Using Messenger or text suggests a relationship that is optimised. But how to get this stage?  

It’s only a matter of time 

If I ask something from someone the chance of having it completed hinges on what’s-in-it-for-them. The same applies when I trying to negotiate, make a demand and hit a brick wall. If I have a great working relationship in the optimise state then for the sake of our relationship the task may be agreed too, without objection. It doesn’t have to be a reward scenario to get a buy-in. However, if the relationship is in the initiate state, then the request will have far better success if there is an obvious benefit to the other person. Building that relationship to be efficient and productive well it’s all just a matter of time….    

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A new approach to selling

What are they really selling?

A new era of Sales

Is it sell – at any cost?

Perhaps the greatest dynamic in communication is the art of Selling. Verbal influence based in understanding another’s wants and needs builds rapport and natural empathy. The instruments or delivery systems of sales can be as diverse as the attitudes of the clientele.

For example, an annoying jingle that becomes an official institution? More common is the half-price, three-month contract that builds in years of collaboration between client and provider. The aim of the Professional has always been to engage quickly with what’s-in-it-for-them. Or so we thought?

Tips for sales professionals
The art of selling

The key indicators are to promote benefits and advantages which after years of research data have trained the seller to ask the right questions. The natural strength of those who are best-in-the-business is that they present

solutions as if each were a precious opportunity. The question is, are you selling an idea, a product or a relationship? What do you really want from the client contact points? Is it now all about the sale – at any cost?

Is it service provision or service by demand?

Times are changing. The purpose of market strength used to be ‘the customer comes first’. Brands were separated not by cost but service. There was an ambition to value long-term relationships. The sales professional used to be diligent.  That attention to detail was a finesse of strategy moulded from understanding needs. Like an art form, it took years of practical experience to perfect.

Now it appears to be losing ground to the simplistic web of today’s ‘one-click’, checkout trends. Space-age algorithms that work on optimising the customer base to suit profitability. Insurance companies running initial enquiries like an interview to define parameters. Now service reveals itself in a far more benevolent way.

With the consumer’s attention absorbed in the on-line battle for supremacy over delivery times and the ‘black’ days of shopping, the forward-thinking corporate recognises that longevity and operational integrity go hand-in-hand. To be needed is the driving force. This practise may offer efficient insurance against the upheavals of our financial markets and avoid direct competition, but is it ethical? Is it service by demand?

Has the Consumer been transformed?

Has the quality of service that used to set corporates apart become out-dated? Is the technology trend for processing performance power and updates the new demand? Just look at the era of mobile phones and the advent of monthly contracts, designed to snare users into a lifetime agreement. Contracts which guarantee to replace handsets every two years. Combine that with the threat of unsupported updates for older models and suddenly product and service have become a united force.

The market is still eager to turn a client into a fan, yet it now comes with a threat that compliance loyalty is a resource that has re-shaped modern civilisation. The idea of customer loyalty has been manipulated through both commercial and private sectors into cornering consumers into long term commitment. The customer has been transformed.