Category Archives: Professional Communications

Professional office and other business communication strategies

The 3Ps of Communication

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Before I tell you about the 3Ps, I just want to thank all of you who have attended my previous workshops/coaching sessions. Thank you very much for your support and your referrals. Remember, I take requests! So please, get in touch with me if you have any questions about small group or private coaching, on any communication challenge you would like to overcome.

Okay, here we go:

The 3Ps are easy to remember and implement. They are something you can keep in the back of your mind when you are communicating in person, over the phone or in writing to give the proper, purposeful tone that you would hope to get from others.

Professional – yes, the first one was a no-brainer. But what exactly does it mean to be professional? It means to be diplomatic, to not show stress, to listen carefully to others who may be complaining or challenging you, and it means to keep in mind at all times that you are a reflection of your company or organization. You cannot afford to take things personally.

Polite – This means at all times, especially in Canada, using or even over-using polite words, phrases and intonation. Notice that it is not enough just to use the words and phrases. We must use a sincere tone, or else we lose credibility. Snapping a “Well I’m sorry, but that’s our policy” to a customer is not perceived as polite. What would you think? What would you prefer to hear? Care about your company, your job, your role. Try to help people even if they are angry and blaming you.

Positive – Use positive words and phrases. Use open body language. Talk about what you or ‘we’ CAN do in the situation, not CANNOT do. Focus on the solution. If you must give negative feedback, accentuate the positive first. Use phrases like ‘remember’, instead of ‘don’t forget’. Use ‘I’ statements not ‘you’ statements, to show your feelings, not a finger-wagging accusation.

Remember the 3Ps of successful communication the next time you are doing business, and I am sure you will inspire others to follow your lead.

Toronto Communication Workshop – This Sat. Feb. 24th!

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brasiMPACT: Communication Skills Refinement; Impact and Influence

An intensive, hands-on communications training workshop designed to help individuals maximize their potential for team work and leadership. Training includes practical work in the classroom on accent improvement, presentation & public speaking skills, understanding body language, and other applied communication skills.

This is ideal for immigrants working or wanting to work in a professional environment.

BRASI (Business Research And Service Institute) has been running training courses for higher productivity since 1981. You need not be affiliated with BRASI to join this workshop.
Ric Phillips, Communication Coach, will be teaching and running the workshop.

This workshop will be held at the York University Executive Learning Centre (Schulich) from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Lunch will be provided. Free parking as well!

Cost is $185.00.

If interested please visit this link to register:

http://www.brasi.org/english.php

You can contact Aftab Khan directly at 416-388-8556 or Ric Phillips at 416-429-7935.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Thank you.

R-E-O Improves Your Active Listening Skills

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Active listening skills are important to utilize in your everyday life, in the workplace and at home. Passively listening while multi-tasking several things can give the impression that you are not paying attention, and could cause people to avoid you or maybe even resent you.

Recently I met a senior manager at a global financial company who has had the benefit of over 20 years of the best sales and management training.  He knew that we all need a reminder once in a while of the simple communication strategies that work best. He agreed that active listening skills are very valuable and can make the difference between a sale and a loss.  Also, he mentioned that we do not want our colleagues to think that we are not listening, or do not care about their problems. Active listening can really help.  Here is a simple formula to help you – REO.

R – Reflect back or ‘paraphrase’ their main ideas, content, key words and ideas. You need not use the exact same phrase or sentences; rather just serve back the message that you got their main points. The beauty of this is that it immediately gives an opportunity to clear up any miscommunication right at the beginning of the conversation, as opposed to getting halfway through only then to realize you weren’t following the whole picture, and you have to start again from the top.

E – Empathy is a showing of a shared feeling and understanding of the emotional impact of the speaker’s situation. Do not judge, and please hold your own opinion. If you need to illustrate that you understand, briefly mention the basics of your story. This is not the time to take over the conversation. Your job is to listen actively and pay attention to their emotional state and body language. This is why you must be making eye-contact to be a good listener!

O – Open-ended questions can be asked to get more information, background, details that will help you and them discover a solution to the problem. We cannot ask a question that begs a Yes or No answer. We must ask questions that have them talking freely, in their own words. For example we should not ask “Are you going to request a transfer?” but rather ask “What are your options on changing your current situation?”

Also, please remember to be careful with starting your questions with the word ‘Why’. It usually sounds like you are challenging or criticizing the person. For example, “Why are you taking vacation now?” could be changed to “What are the reasons of taking your vacation now, as opposed to next month when things have slowed down here?”

I hope you find R-E-O a useful communication tool. As always feel free to contact me should you have any questions or comments about posts, ebooks, workshops, or personal coaching.

Detecting Lies and Insincerity

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It’s a terrible subject, I know, but it is a reality to be reckoned with in our daily business and social lives. In business we may meet a dishonest sales person, a customer trying to cheat their way to a complimentary item, the manipulative opposing team member in negotiations. In our daily life, think blind date, “friendly” neighbour, and some teenagers.

Lie detection is not an exact science, or else our courts would have a much swifter and more accurate delivery system of justice. However, there are some clues that we can pay attention to, and keep a mental file on certain people and their behaviours. Observation is the key here, but don’t jump to conclusions based on one gesture or comment! Look for synchronicity, or lack thereof.

If we follow the 3V Communications philosophy, we should look at 3 areas: verbal, vocal, and visual cues.

Verbal cues:

Stammering e.g. Uh…ah…uhmm…well…

Illogical order of a story, with “forgotten” details

Nonsense

Start and stop stories

Too many “neat” details that you didn’t ask for

Sounds too well prepared or rehearsed

Vocal cues:

Hesitating, shaky voice

Inconsistent pitch. Sharp rises in tone

Fast speed, then long pauses

Unemotional. Could be rehearsed

Visual Cues:

Face – blushing, or flushing

Nose – touching or rubbing the side (i.e. not a natural scratch)

Hands – closed palms, or hiding palms or entire hands under the table or in pockets. (Note: open hands have traditionally meant “no weapons”, open communication, friendliness, trust)

Eyes – lack of eye contact, or darting glances back and forth, or looking up and to the right, which can mean “visually constructing something”

Mouth – weird smile, especially with closed lips. Showing teeth usually is more genuine. Closed lips are a sign of a forced smile. Also hiding or covering the mouth is a non-verbal cue of “covering” the lie

An awkward laugh is also a sign of embarrassment, nervousness or deceit

The lesson here is to pay attention to people you meet and do business with, and try to make yourself observe more each day. Look for synchronicity between the 3Vs and the chances are higher that you will find the truth, in any situation. But remember, these things by themselves are not “smoking guns”. Follow up as you see fit, but keep your cool, in case you are wrong! Good luck detective!

Upcoming Communication Workshops

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Hello everyone,

Recently I have been getting a lot of calls and emails regarding effective communications training from individuals, companies, the government, and NPOs. It seems to me that the demand for soft skills is greater now than it ever was. Coinciding with this is the boom of semi or highly-skilled immigrants coming into Canada.

Let me just remind everyone that these days in business it is not enough to just have hard skills. We must be able to communicate effectively with others in and outside our workplace, to build rapport easily, to understand what body language says, to choose our words carefully, to deliver the correct message, and most importantly, to listen carefully and correctly interpret others’ meaning behind their words.

On that note, I’d like to broadcast an upcoming joint-venture workshop. If interested please follow the link or cut and paste it into your browser, or contact me directly.

Communication Skills Refinement; Impact & Influence
York University Learning Centre – Sat. Feb. 24th 2007, 9am-3pm

http://www.brasi.org/english.php

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome and thank BRASI (Business Research And Service Institute) for organizing this and future workshops for newcomers to Canada and the Supply Chain Professionals.

Finally I’d like to include the new link to my interview article that ran in the Toronto Sun/Jobboom.com January 10th 2007, as the original link from that day has expired, and has been replaced with this permanent one.

http://jobboomcc.canoe.ca/News/2007/01/10/3279736.html

Thank you all, and remember that if you have any comments, requests for topics or any questions about the communication coaching process, please do not hesitate to ask.

Proof that Networking Works!

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I recently attended a Networking Seminar, hosted by the Pakistani Professionals Forum of Canada (www.ppfcanada.com) where the famous author/presenter/columnist Colleen Clarke (www.colleenclarke.com) was the guest speaker.

Now for me, this was an early Christmas gift, as I have been reading Colleen’s columns for 3 years now, and incorporating her articles into my coaching/teaching sessions whenever I help people with their employment skills, cover letters, resumes, interviewing techniques etc.

During group discussion at the seminar I had mentioned my opinion on how immigrants could better enter or deal with the Canadian professional workforce. Simply speaking, I suggested that there will be at least 3 cultures on the table: Canadian, Original or Mother Country, and Corporate Culture. So, which one is the easiest for everyone to find some common ground?

The International business culture for sure. Yes it is important that new Canadians understand why we love hockey and Tim Hortons, and why we think we are in some ways better than Americans, and why B.C. hates Ontario. And it is also important that the Canadians learn about other cultures, rituals and histories, especially those belonging to our new co-workers, bosses or clients. But the easiest starting point for anyone is the business or corporate culture of North America. This is the easiest transition for an immigrant.

So if you are a newcomer to Canada, make sure that you are learning how to write letters, memos and emails in our style. Make sure you are learning which expressions and idioms are acceptable. Make sure you are learning business etiquette on the simple things like how to shake hands with a smile and eye contact, how to negotiate without being perceived as too strong or too weak, how to make small talk with your co-workers at the water-cooler. We all agree that hard skills are not enough these days in Canada. We need excellent soft skills too.

Speaking of, after the seminar I approached Colleen to buy her book and chat once more, i.e. network! That evening she called me and interviewed me on my views previously mentioned in the seminar. We talked for 20 minutes and had great rapport. I believe she will cite me as a reference in an upcoming weekly article. I felt thankful that my ability to communicate my ideas in the seminar and face to face had paid off with a new, important contact. My story is more proof that effective professional communication skills are important for networking, for understanding, for success in business here.

Do you know anyone who is in need of small talk, rapport-building skills? If so, please direct them to my website (www.communicationcoach.ca) and let them know I offer free consultations.  🙂

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and let’s all have a bright, successful money-making New Year!

Quick Tip Rules for Professional Phone Duties

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Through my experience working in Customer Service for a global company, plus working with SMEs (including my own) since 2000, and as a current customer service trainer, I have come to rely on a few “golden rules” of telephone management. I hope you find these useful for your business, job, internship, or when you are dealing with a CSR in your personal business, or even just ordering a pizza! Good phone skills are useful anytime.

1) Use polite words and intonation e.g. please, thank you. Yes it can get over-used here in Canada, but nevertheless, it helps set the tone of the conversation from confrontational to friendly. Politeness gets you further than shouting, regardless of what you have heard. Nobody likes a bully, and we are always going to assist a polite person first, rather than a raging bull!

2) Be sincere. Be believable and trustworthy. Faking it with just polite words but having a sour tone in your voice won’t fool anybody. They need to feel that you truly care, and are trying to do a good job, help them out or deal with their problem. You can’t fake it, so be sincere. Control your emotions.

3) Never demand anything or order anyone to do something. Always ask. Do you like being pushed around or subjugated? So why do it to others? For example, instead of saying “I need to talk to Mr. Roberts now” you should say “Is Mr. Roberts available? I would really like to speak to him.”

4) Be professional and diplomatic. Be “P.C”. That stands for “politically correct” which basically means not using offensive or judgmental language. This rule may not be as obvious to those from a uni-lingual and/or uni-cultural country. In Canada, you never know what the person on the other end of the telephone line looks like, what religion they may have, what ethnic background they or their family or spouse is (since not everyone’s’ accent will tell you) etc. Don’t take a chance on offending someone and embarrassing you and your company. Pretend that every phone call is recorded. These days, most are!

5) Remember that with angry customers or staff, it really is nothing personal. How could it be? They don’t know you! You are a “filter” for your company. You should problem-solve with the person, not just “pass the buck”. We all hate it when we tell our story to a person and then they transfer us to a new person, then again and again. No wonder some people get angry! So stop the passing and deal with the problem at its core level. Take some conflict management training if possible, or buy a helpful book on such techniques, especially if you know that your job will routinely deal with complaints.

6) Always be aware that you are a reflection of your company. As a new employee you should read your company profile, mission statement, values, policies etc. so that you are always aligned with the desired corporate image. It is important to note that customer loyalty is based on personal treatment and relationship, not the price, product or history. One bad experience from a CSR (Customer Service Rep) having a bad day can kill a longtime faithfulness to your company.

Accents & Emails

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Did you know that a person’s email style is often as culturally-specific as their accent?

Some times we come to think of English as a standardized tool that everyone is using for business, travel, pleasure etc. and we forget that it is a living, evolving stylized language. We obviously can see this (rather “hear this”) in the different regional accents all over the world.

There really is no such thing as “American” English. Does that mean the New York accent or the Boston one? The Californian or Texan? Did you realize that even in Canada, a country with a relatively small population (almost 35 million) that we have regional accents? Some newcomers take a while to pick up on this. For example there’s the broken, choppy French-Canadian accent, the tight and enunciated Toronto-business accent, the typical relaxed and casual small-town accent, the native Canadian or Inuit accent, the East coast accents…etc.

When we write emails our choice of vocabulary comes out as well as our attitude. With friends and family this is fine but in business there needs to be a professional tone and word choice – without going over the top with vocabulary from the stock exchange every time!  🙂

This brings me to my final note. Please be aware that the Americans and Canadians typically write short, direct emails in business, and expect the same from you. Do not be offended! It is actually viewed as being polite not to waste other people’s precious time. But remember that the British typically are still writing as they speak – longer drawn out “indirect” speech, so their emails are longer. Often they too think that the North Americans are being rude or lazy, but it’s just a difference of culture!

Until next time, consider your recipient before pressing the “send” button!

The 3-V Effect

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Hello everyone!

Whenever you are considering how you communicate with people, please always ensure that
you are working the “3-V effect.”

That is, communication consists of Verbal, Vocal and Visual elements.
Verbal is your word choice. What impression or message do you want to
send? Choose your words carefully, and ones that your “audience” can
relate to, and understand.

Vocally send a message that matches your content. Loud or soft voice?
Are you including proper word stress? Sentence stress? Intonation?

Visually what message are you giving when your shoes are polished,
your teeth clean, your PowerPoint presentation short and sweet? Let’s
not forget body language like eye contact and smiling at the
appropriate times, just to name a few things.

So for now, just consider the 3-V effect when you are out there
communicating to people. I’m sure it will enhance your personal and
professional presentations!