This week and next, I’ll share two common communication styles that I often see among my corporate clients.
These communication styles don’t work well.
If one of these sounds like your style, I have a new approach for you – so that you can communicate more effectively and get better results without unnecessary frustration.
The more I talk, the better they understand, right?
Let’s look at the example of Sachiko (a made-up name to represent numerous people with this communication style). She cares deeply about getting results in her work and prepares diligently when she needs to present her product to potential clients. Even though she’s nervous, once Sachiko starts speaking, she keeps going. She feels like she needs to explain a lot, so that the audience fully understands.
Sachiko’s problem
Sachiko’s audience isn’t so interested in what she’s talking about, but would like to hear more about another topic. Unfortunately, Sachiko doesn’t pay attention to their reaction because she’s focused on getting her message across. The audience doesn’t have a chance to interrupt. As a result, Sachiko misses the opportunity to build the relationship with her audience and sell her product.
What game should Sachiko play?
I suggested to Sachiko to picture her communication as a game of tennis. The ball should go back and forth instead of Sachiko constantly hitting the ball to the other player without the other player having an opportunity to join in the game. We practiced this a few times in our coaching sessions through video conference.
She started to “play tennis” in her client conversations. As she paid attention to the other person’s reaction and listened to what they said, she became aware of when to stop talking and when to go ahead.
Could tennis work in your conversations?
If not, maybe basketball is the game for you. Read more about “basketball communication” here.