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Enhancing Communication Skills Why is it that anytime an organization conducts an employee opinion or attitude survey, regardless of how sophisticated the organization is, the #1 need that tops every list is “communication”? Recent research also points to the fact that in most situations communications is up to 93% non-verbal. Tied to these facts is the belief by most people that they are good “communicators”, and everyone else has a problem. All of us have been taught to live by the golden rule, and that has driven our communication beliefs. For the sake of your own “guided discovery”, complete this sentence:
In our communication training at Everson Consulting, nearly 99% of the program participants complete that phrase in the same way; “As you would have them do unto you.” Of course we always have a character that wants it to read, “Before they do it unto you”. Sometimes you just have to laugh. Now comes the trick question: Who is the most important person in the world? Most people, of course, believe that they are the most important person, hence the desire to “do unto others as I want done unto me”. Can you begin to see the communication conundrum we are all facing? It is a bit presumptuous for me to believe that I am the most important person while the person with whom I am communicating is thinking, in fact, that they are the most important person. We have a “perfect storm”; two people communicating from their own side of the fence, expecting the other person to accept the fact that they are most important. What a landmine of miscommunication! At Everson Consulting we are changing the Golden Rule to the Platinum Rule.
This quantum leap in communication is not new, but we believe it is evolutionary because it puts the listener/customer at the center of the interaction. We have developed a two-step communication program that first allows the sender to plan their communication in a very structured, analytical manner. This is contrary to most communication programs that stress free-flowing, non-directive communication. We believe that everyone has to be a “salesperson”, even if they are not out on the streets going door to door. When a manager wants to get his or her team to buy into a new initiative, or an organization wants to introduce a new product launch, sales is the key concept. We just don’t like to think of ourselves as salespeople. Once the planning is completed from the sender’s perspective, the unique, Everson Consulting twist comes into play. The second phase, the communication delivery phase, must come from the listener’s perspective. Remember, who is the most important person in the world at that point in time. The “seller” must be able to jump the fence and present the idea/plan/suggestion from the listener’s viewpoint. In our 25+ years of communication training Everson Consulting has proven to be a leader in changing communicators’ thinking and presentation styles at all levels throughout an organization. We see the personal “ah ha’s” in attendees’ faces all the time. Recently, we had a trainee who had been a Franciscan nun for over 50 years, living and breathing the “Golden Rule”. She was quite skeptical about revising the golden rule until she realized the importance of jumping that communication fence. The “ah ha” look on her face was priceless!!! Join us as we help you, your team, and your organization become better communicators.
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