If I Had Known Then What I Know Now!

I was working with a long-time client when he blurted out "if I had known then what I know now I would have approached my job in a different way!". I asked him to elaborate. He began to share that what he has learned from our year of coaching in effective communication skills has taught him that being successful at your profession has more to do with communicating than the expertise you possess. Those are strong words! My client is a highly educated, technically minded professional working in a very large company. He has been successful by most standards. We both know that his career could have gone in a different management direction a few years ago. We began to discuss the cold, hard fact that business success isn't derived from working hard and making your boss successful anymore. That is an old notion that has gone the way of electric typewriters! With a tighter job market, if you are hired by a company then the company is fairly confident of your knowledge and ability to do the job. What you need to know is that from here on, it's about your ability to communicate with others and who you know. After my conversation with my client, I developed a list of tips based on comments I have heard from my seasoned clients regarding what they wish they had known when they embarked on their career.

* Get the communication skills training/coaching that you need
* If you don't know what you need, ask for feedback
* Develop excellent presentation skills
* Understand your company's politics
* Know who holds the power in your company
* Get to know others in your company
* "Brown nosing" is simply looking for opportunities
* Be generous
* Pay attention to your non-verbal communication
* Go to company gatherings and interact with the people who attend

Keeping My Head Down

I have made a new start! Not just the fact that I am back with my blog but also that I have recently begun running. I realize the value of running versus walking and my body is capable of running so I have set a new course and have been runnning for approximately 4 months. It is amazing the changes that can happen physically, mentally and even spiritually from extreme exercise. I have a difficult time with hills! I stop and walk almost every time. My goal is to run up the hills as well as down the hills. I discussed this with my son who is a seasoned runner and he gave me some great advice. He told me to keep my head down and only focus on the pavement immediately in front of me. If I keep looking up at the monstrous hill, my brain will take over and the negative thinking starts and the monster hill will win the battle.

I believe this concept is true when you are making changes in your communication style. Whether you are working on modifying a foreign or regional accent, improving your grammar, eliminating slang terminology or eradicating negativity in your speech. The goal is to keep your head down and take one step at a time. The goal is before you but to reach the goal you must deal with the step in front of you all the way to the outcome you are trying to achieve. Keep your head down and reach your goal!!

Credibility

I am increasingly bothered and concerned about the number of professionals on radio and television who are speaking with articulation problems. On a recent NPR broadcast, one reporter had a distinct fronted /s/. This means he had a "lisp". I felt the need to wipe the saliva from my radio speakers! Slight exaggeration but not far from the truth! Doug Layton, a radio commentator for football at the University of Alabama, has a distinct articulation problem. Heaven help us all when Lou Holtz or Barney Frank speaks. There may or may not be substance to what they say but the delivery kills credibility. Credibility is the key here. The poor articulation also becomes a distraction from the message. These speech errors are NOT resistent to correction. The problem is the speaker never received the training they needed from a speech-language pathologist. If you have a speech problem, find the help you need by seeking the services of a qualified speech-language pathologist!

A Historical Evening, November 4, 2008

Barack Obama has been elected the first African-American President of these United States! A true first.....unchartered territory. My blog tonight comes from my work with African-American dialect. I find it very interesting that most of my African-American clients tell me that once they begin to use what they learn in our sessions concerning speaking Standard American English, their families and friends at home accuse them of speaking "white". Observation tells us that most all respected African-American leaders speak Standard American English in public. Why? Because Standard American English (SAE) is the standard for corporate America. It is not a race issue. Whatever you speak, if it doesn't meet the standard of corporate America, you will encounter barriers on your way up the corporate ladder. Consider the spoken English of Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Alabama's own Artur Davis. You do not hear non-standard words or grammatical errors. They get it. They understand that credibility is tied to the way we speak. What can you do to insure that you are using SAE?

• Use complete word production...avoid lazy pronunciation
• Every time you speak, remember to use your tongue, lips and teeth to make the sounds
• Take a grammar class....at the very least purchase a book on grammar at your local bookstore
• Stop dropping off word endings e.g. workin' for working, whassup? instead of "what's up?"
• BE is not a verb to use in speaking e.g. "He be late"....use the forms of BE e. g. am, is, are, was, were,has,have, etc.
• "ask" is pronounced "assssk" not "aks"..think of a donkey!
• "says" is pronounced "sez" and not "sayz"
• Use Webster's Dictionary online to make sure that you are pronouncing words correctly
• Make sure you are using a "th" and not a "d" for words that include the "th" sound e.g. "dis" for "this" and "dat" for "that" "birfday" for "birthday"
• Be careful to say "street" and not "skreet"

These are just a few tips for producing SAE. It will make a difference in how you are perceived in the work environment and it may impact your earning potential!

The View From My Office

Considering that my office window looks out into a parking lot and then a brick retaining wall, the view is almost a dead end. I feel that many times the professional employee is at a dead end with communication skills. I truly believe that we have become so dependent on technology that we have forgotten how to communicate face-to-face with customers and fellow employees. I am working with many clients who need to pay attention to their non-verbal communication. A pleasant facial expression goes a long way towards establishing rapport with others. Who wants to do business or work with someone who is sour, sullen and snappy? Additionally, I am finding that many IT or MIS professionals need help making small talk. Just interacting with little pleasantries and general conversation appears to be a difficult task for some. I see it with my own children. The tradition of sitting around and shooting the breeze over a meal is almost a lost art. My kids will text through an entire meal unless I make it off-limits! This is a time when we connect to others. At work, when we make time for small talk and casual conversation, we learn little details about our conversational partners that may help us meet their needs as customers or co-workers. I think that the more we focus on engaging others in conversation whether it is over lunch, a quick cup of coffee or the golf course the more likely we are to build bridges with our colleagues and customers as opposed to creating dead-end barriers!

Vocal Impact: Is Your Voice Working For or Against You?

The best way to determine your vocal impact is to tape record yourself. Just talk naturally about a subject that interests you, for example, your favorite vacation spot, the best teacher you ever had, etc.

As you listen to yourself, assess the following:

1. Is your voice high pitched?
2. Is your voice too loud or too soft?
3. Do you talk too fast or too slowly?
4. Do you sound nasal - as if you're talking through your nose?
5. If you had to describe your voice to someone else, would you use any of the following words:
shrill, raspy, squeaky, rough, whiny or monotonous?
6. Do you pronounce words completely? Do you drop off word endings?
7. Do you "um" and "you know" when you speak?
8. Do you frequently clear your throat or make other noises that interrupt your speech?
9. Do you sound confident or uneasy?
10. Do you sound interested or bored?
11. Do you sound like someone with authority?
12. Would you enjoy listening to the voice you hear on your tape?

Seven Quick Tips:

1. Drink lots of water throughout your work day.
2. Avoid excessive yelling or strained talking
3. Demonstrate good posture
4. Use vocal variety - stress different words in a sentence
5. Use pauses...pauses are powerful.
6. Learn to breath diaphragmatically.
7. Use complete word production.