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Jul 25

PowerPoint: Communication Friend or Foe

Communication Skills No Comments »

The BBC online magazine recently picked up on a light-hearted attempt to ban the use of PowerPoint in Switzerland. A political party is apparently lobbying to have this pervasive business tool outlawed and replaced instead by the flipchart which is more effective in creating impact, excitement and understanding.

PowerPoint: Communication Friend or Foe

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We have all sat through interminable meetings and training presentations where we have been subjected to ‘death-by-PowerPoint’ through multitudes of badly written and designed slides. Probably the worst PowerPoint sin of all is when the presenter mechanically reads through a dense list of bullet points word for word. Other offences include the over-use of animation, colour and images or using text or graphs so dense that they are illegible.

However, PowerPoint used sparingly and used well in the right context can make a great visual tool and should enhance rather than detract from the presenter. Following a few golden PowerPoint rules can make all the difference between losing your audience to boredom and inertia or engaging and winning them over.

  • First of all, think about your objectives and key messages and let these drive your presentation rather than your use of slides
  • Use a consistent template – make sure it is clean and simple but professional; your audience should be focused on you and your message rather than a fussy background or border
  • Keep the number of slides as well as the content of each slide as minimal as you can: many PowerPoint gurus suggest that ten is the optimal number of slides
  • Use visuals but make sure any images or graphs add value and meaning to your message rather than simply fill the slide
  • Check and double check your slides for spelling and grammar mistakes or other inaccuracies; there will always be someone in your audience who delights in pointing out that you have made a mistake
  • Finally, when delivering your presentation make sure that you position yourself away from the screen. When you are speaking, the audience should be looking at you and not staring at the screen.

Don McMillan’s YouTube hit “Life after Death by PowerPoint” is a very entertaining summary of what not to do when giving a PowerPoint presentation. If you are serious about improving your use of PowerPoint and developing your communication skills a presentation skills training programme can provide you with valuable tips and techniques to ensure you engage your audience and avoid ‘death by PowerPoint.’

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Jul 11

Why Organisations need a Corporate Style Guide

Business Writing Skills, Communication Skills No Comments »

Among employees of many organisations there is often a perceived tension between the need for business writing to be personalised to the writer and reader and the need for a consistent professional style.

Many professionals are understandably cautious about producing bland, ‘vanilla’ documents full of corporate speak and meaningless buzzwords. However, maintaining a personal style adapted for your reader is not incompatible with following corporate guidelines that ensure written communication reflects the professionalism and values of the organisation.

Why Organisations need a Corporate Style Guide

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Objectors may say that they do not need to be shown how to write as they are well educated and have been writing for business for many years. However, trends in business writing change. An obvious example is the more minimalist ‘open’ approach to punctuation used in business writing today. This would have looked sloppy and unprofessional 20 years ago but today is part of the cleaner, fresher ‘plain English’ approach to business writing. In addition, there are sometimes several ‘right’ ways of writing such as whether or not we hyphenate certain words. Co-operation or cooperation are both technically correct but it looks more professional if the same form is used consistently – not only within a specific document but in all written communication produced by the same organisation. A style guide includes useful lists of these technical nuances which can be time consuming for each individual to check.

Other detractors may claim that if they adopt a slightly different writing style their clients and/or superiors may not like it. Of course, any new communications initiative such as a corporate style guide needs to be embraced from the top down. As for clients, it is not uncommon for lawyers, as an example, to suggest that they will lose credibility if they take a more modern plain English approach and use simple language in shorter sentences. These very clients may actually prefer documents that are fresh and easy to read and that reflect the modern, forward thinking ethos of the company they have engaged.

There are many reasons why a style guide adds value to an organisation’s internal and external communication but here are a few.

Saves Time – A style guide saves time by providing quick answers to format, style and accuracy questions that occur when writing.
Saves Money – A style guide enables employees to spend fewer hours writing, reviewing, and correcting documents. It also reduces the expense of training and avoids potentially costly mistakes.
Ensures Consistency – A style guide promotes consistency throughout the company
Guarantees Professionalism – A style guide ensures that the company enhances its external image by developing and an appropriate style that consistently delivers quality documents and reflects the brand values of the organisation.

Writing a corporate style guide from scratch can be a daunting task and so many organisations work closely with expert consultants or follow business writing training programmes that highlight the key elements of a style guide.

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Jul 06

Regular Communication with Customers is Key to Success

Communication Skills No Comments »

A recent article in the Economist focused on the secret of IBM’s long success story as the latter celebrated its 100th anniversary last month. The article suggests that IBM’s success was due more to its ‘strong customer relationships than with its machines or software’. The fact that this large organisation has always kept up regular communication with its customers has been an essential key to its success.

Regular Communication with Customers is Key to Success

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Everyone would agree in principle that maintaining customers once they are part of your client base is fundamental. With time, your customers build up a relationship with your company and consequently develop a sense of loyalty. They are therefore more open to any changes that your company implements and more understanding than new customers might be of any errors or delays. So, what are the benefits of communicating regularly with these customers?

1. Regular communication makes change easier. As IBM experienced, market changes can be rough and the survivors are those companies who learn to adapt quickly to these changes. Customers will be more inclined to stay with the company they trust when changes in the market occur. Trust is built up through regular communication and can help ease existing customers through these changes by making them appear less dramatic.

2. Customers can be a source for new ideas. Good communication works both ways. It is important to allow customers to express their views on your products or services and to make suggestions about what improvements can be made. This ‘feedback’ could reveal some common feelings among large numbers of customers and imply that some modifications need to be made. Customers who see that you are acting on their comments will feel valued and continue to communicate in this constructive way.

3. Listening to customers’ needs helps companies tailor and improve their products and services. Working together with your customers enables you to develop services that are tailored to their specific needs. Why impose products or services on a customer when ones can be developed which suit the customer better? Each customer is an individual and consequently has individual needs. Since 2002 the IBM services industry, its main division, often ‘co-creates’ products with customers.

4. Good reputations are spread just like bad ones. Customers who feel valued by regular contact with a company will probably talk about this manufacturer, distributer or service provider to people they know. This marketing is extremely important as it is based on genuine personal experience. Personal referrals and recommendations can be worth just as much as the best written brochures and websites.

Excellent communication skills don’t come naturally to everyone. This is why smart organisations invest in Communication Skills training programmes to ensure that their customer facing employees are able to talk and listen to their clients helping them to build more effective relationships.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Jun 24

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings…

Communication Skills No Comments »

The Guardian has recently highlighted our love-hate relationship with workplace meetings and offered some useful advice for making them work. Why do we so often walk away from meetings feeling that they have been a complete waste of time and effort? Why is it that so many of us dread the regular and seemingly interminable internal meetings that seem to be scheduled with alarming frequency? Meetings can be an important forum for sharing ideas and information, making decisions and building team relationships but they need careful consideration and planning in order to make them effective and efficient. If you are leading or even attending a meeting in the coming days or weeks, consider the following strategies and tips:

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings…..

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Plan your meeting carefully – prepare and circulate an agenda a couple of days before hand if possible. The agenda should include not only your list of discussion points but also clear objectives for why the meeting is taking place

Stick to time – before or at the beginning of the meeting agree how long is needed for the meeting to meet its objectives. If you don’t need an hour don’t take an hour.

Leave smart phones outside – it might sound controversial but the meeting will be shorter and more effective if attendees are fully focused and don’t have half an eye on their emails.

Minimise visuals – if you do need to use a PowerPoint presentation or other visual aid, keep it short and sweet – and make sure it really is visual.

Lead from the front – if you are chairing or facilitating the meeting then make sure you do. It is important to allow everyone the opportunity to air their ideas and ask questions, but if you are chairing the meeting it is your job to manage the interruptions, digressions and ramblings to ensure the meeting finishes on time and achieves its objectives.

Take notes and summarise action points – you don’t have to do this yourself but make sure someone is responsible for the minutes which are summarised at the end and then circulated after the meeting. There is nothing worse than coming away from a meeting with no clear idea of what has been agreed or what you need to do.

With resources increasingly strained in many organisations, we need to make sure that meetings really make a difference. Training in Facilitating Meetings can provide frameworks and techniques for ensuring that meetings run smoothly and effectively.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Jun 17

Cut out the Clichés

Communication Skills No Comments »

Yet again, British journalists are commenting on the ubiquitous use of clichés and business buzzwords with a journalist in The Independent recently launching a one-man war on clichés. The paper’s website has built up a list of the top 100 banned words and phrases which include fine examples of verbiage, jargon, overused buzz words and other types of cliché.

Cut out the Cliches

© istockphoto.com/ Kdow

The article suggests that politicians are the worst offenders citing David Cameron’s use of ‘pillar to post’, ‘one size fits all’ and ‘reinvent the wheel’ in a recent speech on the NHS. Other professions are probably just as guilty and certainly the business community has its fair share of serial offenders with expressions such as ‘bandwidth’, ‘offline’, ‘face time’ and ‘game changer’ all becoming common place in business meetings, documents and telephone exchanges. These expressions are sometimes useful and can act as shorthand between those who share the use of similar buzzwords. Yet why do so many of us find our eyes glazing over when we hear or see these expression or feel the user loses credibility as we inwardly compare them with latest batch of hopeful candidates on The Apprentice?

If you want to engage with your counterparts and want them to act on the messages you are communicating, you need to use language that makes sense to them and resonates with their heart as well as with their head. Yes, some people you work with may be very comfortable with these expressions and give you more credibility for using this type of language. However, for those of us who aren’t tuned in to this type of business jargon you may need to reconsider the language you use in order to get the results you want.

The secret is to be aware of your own communication style and of the range of styles and preferences you will encounter in your workplace. This will then help you to adjust and adapt your communication to ensure that the content of your message is well received. Communication skills training programmes can help you to decipher your own and others’ preferred styles and to put in place techniques and strategies to win over your audience so that they respond favourably to you.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Jun 09

Do Grammar and Punctuation Matter in Business?

Business Writing Skills, Communication Skills, Writing Skills No Comments »

London’s Evening Standard has recently been running a campaign to improve literacy in London. It has published a series of reports that highlight the capital’s poor literacy rates which affect the population from primary school children to disenfranchised school leavers through to recent graduates new to the corporate world. The paper suggests that the British education system is failing to equip our children with the fundamental basic skills to help them enter the job market. This can range from an inability to read basic instruction manuals through to poorly constructed emails to customers or more complex business reports or proposals.

Do Grammar and Business Matter in Business?

© istockphoto.com/Viorika Prikhodko

Recruiters are finding that many CVs and letters of application just aren’t up to scratch and four in ten job applications are rejected due to poor grammar and spelling. Even the best candidates often need help with their basic skills and the CBI has quoted that 17% of British firms are concerned by the low literacy skills of graduates.

It is strange that many British employees demonstrate a lack of concern regarding the accuracy of their written communication and are either unaware of or unconcerned by basic errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling. The ubiquitous use of email and instant messaging means that written communication is much quicker and more immediate than ever before. However, this should not mean that it is of a lower standard or lacking in professionalism. A misplaced apostrophe, the use of text abbreviations or poor grammar can all cause misunderstanding, frustration and leave a poor impression on the reader’s screen. Few of us would attend an important meeting or job interview with a stain on our jacket or unkempt hair and so why would we think it acceptable to send written communication that we have not checked for visible errors?

Many organisations tackle these issues early on and include basic business writing skills courses as part of their training offering to new recruits. Only when elementary errors of grammar and punctuation have been rectified can employees then go on to develop more sophisticated writing skills that will enable them to convince colleagues, persuade clients and win business for their organisations.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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May 09

Communicating Feedback Effectively

Communication Skills No Comments »

Why is it that, next to losing your job, a performance review is probably the least eagerly anticipated event in the office, both for managers and employees. Nobody enjoys giving or receiving difficult feedback but these conversations don’t need to be as stressful as they so often are.

Communicating Feedback Effectively

© istockphoto.com/ Nyul

The New York Times recently reported on research conducted by Google in a quest to find the characteristics of good managers. They analysed performance reviews, feedback surveys and other reports which led to a list of eight good behaviours for successful managers.

The first of these good behaviours is the ability to deliver constructive, balanced feedback.

Why feedback alone doesn’t work

Studies have shown that performance reviews rarely result in improved performance. While positive feedback is enjoyable, it doesn’t necessarily improve performance. Negative feedback also has little affect on performance or can make things worse.

It has been suggested that this is because rather than record our objective experience of the world, our minds create a subjective version of events. So, managers tend to see things one way and employees another, particularly when it comes to shortfalls in performance and the feedback we use to address these gaps. A positive self-image is crucial to our own well-being and so feedback in conflict with this creates an uncomfortable phenomena that psychologists call cognitive dissonance. We are then motivated to do everything we can to reduce the dissonance and we take the path of least resistance.

We could admit we’re just not as good as we thought we were but it’s much easier to rationalise or discount the feedback instead. So we either blame the shortfall in performance on factors beyond our control, like defective customers, or we discount the source of the feedback and blame our problems on our managers.

Let the employee drive the discussion

As a manager you can overcome these perceptual conflicts by reversing the traditional roles.

1. Let the employee drive the discussion by asking, rather than telling, when it comes to both performance feedback and goal setting.

2. Have your employees complete their own appraisal prior to the review meeting. Then start the discussion not with your evaluation of their performance, but with the question, “How did you do last year?” The right questions enable people to come to terms with the message and avoids potential misinterpretation.

3. Where there are performance shortfalls, ask your employees to suggest ways to address them. Not only will they have interesting ideas, they will also be far more willing to own them and take responsibility for their success. The same psychological dynamic holds true when employees generate their own objectives.

This isn’t turning the asylum over to the inmates. It is still your prerogative to decide if performance evaluation, development plans or objectives are appropriate. When you make your decision, however, it only makes sense to incorporate the employee’s view.

Not only does this leverage the way the mind works, it is a much easier and less stressful way to manage. The responsibility for managing performance is placed where it belongs — on the employee. The manager is no longer the driver, but is the facilitator or coach. This doesn’t mean that you don’t hold people rigorously accountable for results. In fact, it’s much easier when they’re the ones setting the objectives and evaluating performance.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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May 05

Communicating Change

Communication Skills No Comments »

If you are a manager responsible for a change project, you will know that people are likely to be your biggest challenge.  Why is this?  Because taking people through change usually involves dealing with emotions. Yet, rather than trying to understand their people’s emotional reactions and communicate accordingly, many managers we meet push against any resistance they meet focusing on facts and opinions.

Communicating Change

© istockphoto.com/Pali Rao

Why the resistance?

Even if we know change is needed, as humans we naturally feel resistant when asked to give up what we are used to or to step outside our comfort zone.  As with any potential threat, our emotional reactions come in to play to protect us.  And the more we feel pressured, the more we are likely to resist.

Unfortunately, using cold facts or threats to try to communicate the change argument in a logical way does not quell the resistant emotions. In fact it often ends up as a sub-conscious battle about ‘who is right’, a de-facto power struggle, with managers trying to trump concerns with data and facts.

People who have been through a series of change initiatives that have failed to work are often frustrated and cynical. Feelings of frustration breed defensive or attacking behaviour and get in the way of the open and collaborative attitude you want. The challenge then is to begin gradually to move people from the fear of change towards feelings of excitement and commitment.

Give over your power

If we want our people to feel supported through a change process and begin to open to more positive emotions, we need to find a way of engaging with them and give them power.

Your intention may be to communicate clearly and efficiently, but be sure you are not doing it in a way that contradicts or dismisses peoples’ ideas, excludes others from important conversations, or indirectly points fingers at a few making them feel left out, ignored or blamed?

Emotions are critical here and you need to ask yourself what has created them.  What experiences have led to these feelings?

Action steps to engage people

In order to move change forward you need both an effective tactical plan and a way of generating positive momentum and feelings among your people.

Change is a gradual process and you are unlikely to get agreement from everyone straight away.  Aim for getting ‘enough’ buy-in to get things moving, and assume that most people do want to be part of a new, more positive conversation about your organisation’s future.

Here are a number of ways to begin. Depending on your circumstances you will need to vary the mix and timing of some of these actions.

1. Ask the right questions and listen to the answers

You need to get a clear picture of what is driving reality on the ground by getting out among your people. Find out what they need and what is most important to them.

2. Create hope with a new vision for the future

  • Start by tuning into your own emotions around what you have found out and then manage your own reaction
  • Gather a core group of change champions who understand the positive intentions and support the possibility of change
  • Actively acknowledge and validate all the feelings and reactions, however difficult
  • Remind them why the change is important and how it aligns with your organisation or team’s purpose.  Make sure what you say resonates at both an emotional and logical level

3. Build momentum toward real buy in

  • Create a team of change leaders, designers and supporters who can build excitement
  • Draft a plan with an end vision, goal, key steps and how you will measure success
  • Expand the circle by increasing ownership, gathering feedback, co-creating and refining the plan

4. Offer others the chance to commit

  • Communicate the plan and invite people to be involved. Remind them they are needed and have a role
  • Help them understand costs, benefits and impact
  • Clarify commitment by defining roles and expectations both on a tactical and emotional level

Change can be one of the hardest messages to communicate which is why many organisations invest in targeted executive coaching and communication skills training programmes to help their leaders and managers to develop their communication skills to deliver key messages sensitively but effectively.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Apr 27

The Death of the Phone Call?

Communication Skills No Comments »

A recent article in the New York Times has argued that the telephone is rapidly becoming obsolete and the days of making spontaneous phone calls are over. Whether for personal or professional reasons it is becoming increasingly rare to just pick up the phone and give someone a call to talk something through or even ask a quick question. Increasingly we now exchange and update our contacts using email, texts, instant message or Facebook updates.

The Death of the Phone Call? effective communication

© istockphoto.com/ Hfng

Even at work, it seems a shame that communication is becoming purely transactional and we no longer use ‘voice time’ to get to know and understand our counterparts better. The telephone can be an interruption but it is also much quicker and more effective for quick questions or clarifications. Voice mail and caller ID now help us to manage our time and allow us to avoid certain calls until later if we are working on an important project and do not want to be interrupted. As with any other communication channel the secret is to know when and how to use the telephone most effectively. Bear in mind that it is often the personal contact of spontaneous phone calls that clients and other stakeholders value most when working with large organisations.

Good communicators tend to build more effective and long lasting relationships than those who don’t pay attention to how they communicate – and these relationships are often crucial to the success of their organisation. Effective communication is not only the style and language we use but it also involves selecting the right communication channel and knowing when to focus purely on a quick transactional message and when to take the time to develop the relationship.

Forward thinking organisations recognise that the ability of their employees to communicate effectively is just as valuable as the technical expertise that they offer and will invest in communication skills training programmes to ensure their staff no when and how to communicate most appropriately.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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