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Category: Business writing

Beware the Ides of December and avoid a productivity assassination

Written by Wyvill Leanne on . Posted in Business writing, Communication, Team building.

Ides is what the ancient Romans named the midpoint of the month (the 13th or 15th day).

Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC, despite being warned of impending doom. His death triggered a series of civil wars that resulted in the end of the Roman Republic.

Don’t be like Julius. Heed my warning about the Ides of December.

And Fridays.

Fizzling out on Fridays

Priceonomics analysed data from project management software company Redbooth and found that Fridays were nearly 20 percent less productive than Mondays.

Texas A&M University researchers tracked 789 in-office employees over 2 years and found they were less active and more mistake-prone on afternoons and Fridays, the lowest point of worker productivity.

Instead of relying on self-reporting surveys, this study monitored objective computer usage metrics (typing speed, typing errors, and mouse activity), then compared patterns across different days of the week and times of the day.

The researchers suggested that “mounting stress and mental and physiological fatigue as the workweek progresses” could be the cause.

Downtime December

December, being the slackest time of the year for many non-retail businesses, is like a month of Fridays.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), we worked 9.5 million fewer hours in December 2022 than we did in the November before it.

A few years ago, a Go People survey revealed that 15 December is the least productive day of the year (frequently due to post-corporate Christmas party hangovers), costing the Australian economy $12.8 million.

And this year 15 December falls on – yep – a Friday!!

Wellness and resilience expert Gina Brooks told the Sunday Mail that productivity levels can drop by almost 40 percent in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Dr Julia Harris, writing for Medical Press, said the “Festive Fizzleout” has this impact on productivity:

“Workers reported varying degrees of productivity loss. Over two-thirds (68 percent) were less productive throughout the entire month of December compared to other months, with nearly one-half admitting they did 10-20 percent less work and 1 in 6 produced 20-30 percent less. The reasons for this output reduction included a combination of exhaustion, lack of motivation and hangovers.”

A study by project management platform Teamwork confirmed December as the year’s least productive month. After reviewing more than 25 million user-completed tasks completed over 12 months, it discovered that we’re almost 50 percent less productive than we are in October (the most productive month).

But we know that December disappearances – of bodies at desks and minds on the job – start every year shortly after the tree tinsel starts twinkling. It is the silly season after all.

Here’s why December feels like a month full of Fridays…

…particularly for project managers, team leaders, and HR professionals:

  • Hungover workers distract their functioning colleagues when reliving the party highlights to avoid work requiring brain effort.
  • Workers who are also parents take leave days to attend end-of-year school/ballet/band concerts and swimming carnivals.
  • Workers who are not parents also take leave to grab a few days’ break before holiday spots are swarming with school-aged kids.
  • People prefer to work from home because they can’t stand Christmas carols playing nonstop in commercial buildings.
  • People are winding down for the key holidays.
  • Projects have wound up so invoices can be issued well before the end of the year and new ones won’t be kicking off until at least mid-January when most people are back on deck.
  • General end-of-year tiredness and over-it-ness.

The ABS cites these as the top 5 reasons for working less last December:

  1. Taking leave (annual, holiday, long-service, flex-time)
  2. Illness or injury
  3. Personal reasons, e.g. caring for unwell family members
  4. Bad weather
  5. Equipment/plant breakdown

So, what you can do to be team-productive when work-productive is too much to expect?

If you’d rather December didn’t feel like a month full of Fridays, book in some fun but educational experiences to make use of the energy difference, like…

Or you could do all that filing that’s been piling up…

Yeah, nah.

Let’s talk through what you would rather do in a complimentary Tell Me More call.

Book a Tell Me More Call

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Is Constipaction Crippling Your Crew?

Written by Wyvill Leanne on . Posted in Business writing, Communication, Team building.

Constipaction definition

You know that uncomfortable feeling in your gut when you’re unable to progress something that needs to be done?

And the longer you leave it, the pressure just gets worse and more worrying?

Maybe you’re procrastinating, or someone else is and you can’t go further until they make their next move[ment].

Maybe there are other reasons for the project delay, like …

… there’s so much going on you’ve lost sight of the goal.
… the task you’ve been assigned never really made sense to begin with.
… you don’t have what you need or know who to ask to get it.
… you can’t make a decision because you have too many options and no useful criteria for considering them all.

That’s constipaction.

Action that’s stuck, compacting, getting harder to shift and causing more discomfort as time passes; meanwhile, what’s stuck doesn’t.

Writer’s block is a kind of constipaction.

What you need or want to say is not moving freely from your brain to the blank page or screen in front of you.

It’s there, you know it, you feel it, but it won’t materialise, and with every tick-tick you hear towards your deadline, the discomfort intensifies.

It can turn into a completely different type of writer’s cramp.

Google writer’s block and you’ll find all kinds of common causes and strategies to overcome it.

I even cover it in my Trim and Tone Your Writing in 7 Easy Steps online course (ideal for anyone whose communication capability gets a bit bogged in business).

But what about other kinds of constipaction?

Like when you have a project delay, a service is backlogged, or a task is churning in circles instead of flowing in the right direction?

The signs and symptoms of constipaction are easily recognised:

  • Forgotten files flattened to the bottom of in-trays.
  • Emails amassing in overwhelmed in-boxes.
  • Missed calls and messages marked unread.
  • Vexed faces in video conferences.
  • Milestones becoming millstones.
  • Deadlines disregarded.
  • Budgets blown out.

The major cause and culprit?

Crappy communication.

  • Not expressing expectations clearly and consistently.
  • Misinterpreting responses because there’s no shared meaning.
  • Words and actions that don’t appear to go together.
  • Too much or not enough or poorly presented information.

A Project Management Institute report revealed that ineffective communication is the main reason for project failure one-third of the time. It also has the biggest negative impact on project success more than half the time.

Pointing fingers, digging toes in, slinging salvos, shifting the goalposts, huffing, puffing, putting out spot fires…these typical counteractions rarely budge the boulder.

When the lights won’t switch on, do you call a plumber?

Nope, you contact the sparky to come and fix the problem. You get the best person to do it, so you can get on with what you do best. That’s the productive solution.

Constipaction can be relieved by engaging your team members in doing the parts of the project that are best suited to their strengths, motivations, and personality profiles.

In True Colors-speak (the communication code that every team can learn), this is how constipaction (a-k-a project delay) is avoided:

  • Get your Greens to design the workings and the work-arounds. They’re excellent innovators.
  • Begin your Blues on the people tasks, ensuring everyone has what they need to get on board and keep going.
  • Organise your Oranges to start on immediate actions, scouting the territory ahead to navigate any potential obstacles.
  • Give your Golds the jobs that track the timeline, tick the boxes, and tie up loose ends.

“Looks like useful advice, Leanne, but what if you don’t know who’s what colour in your crew?”

To figure out why your team’s output is causing more strain than gain, and to be rid of that gutful of blame-game, let’s get you a dose of True Colors training – stat!

It’s an evidence-based ‘treatment’ for understanding what makes people think, behave and react as they do, which has been transforming team performance worldwide since 1978.

Learn more about how True Colors can help your people work better together here so you can stop project delays sooner.

Book a Tell Me More Call

Or you can call 0439 53 43 55 or email truecolors@presencecommunications.com.au (put Constipaction in the subject line!)

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Tips for your $5K core skills Business Basics grant application

Written by Wyvill Leanne on . Posted in Business writing, Communication, Team building.

Communication breakdown

The Queensland Government’s Business Basics grants program, opening at 9 am on 4 May, supports small businesses who want to increase core skills and adopt best practice.

What are the core skills that underpin work success?

They’re COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, self-management and information technology skills, according to the Australian Government’s Core Skills for Work Developmental Framework.

Spending a tight training budget on non-technical skills can be a difficult decision for smaller enterprises. The Business Basics grants program now makes it a whole lot easier and enticing.

I’ve checked out the application form and here’s how I can help you to apply pronto – if you want to strengthen your business with people who can communicate effectively with clients and each other.

To get started:

Activity plan

After completing your business details, describe your activity plans:

  • Give your grant-funded activity a title like “Effective communication skills for better work outcomes”.
  • Tick “Training and coaching” as your priority area for grant-funded activities (it’s human resources-related).

Activity description

For your short description of the activity, talk about:

Value

You could describe how these grant-funded activities will “enhance the core skills in your business and make it more competitive” with words like this:

  • Clear communication speeds up interactions along the supply and value chains, improving productivity, service delivery and customer satisfaction.
  • A team that understands each other’s motivations drains less of their manager’s time and energy with issues arising from communication breakdown.
  • Effective communication saves time and therefore money because there’s less need to respond to detail gaps, rewrite for clarity, or redo work because the brief was misunderstood.
  • Smarter writing styles reduce reading effort and the time between understanding and action.

Outcomes

When you’re describing the expected outcomes, you can mention:

  • Improved productivity with no time lost to unhappy employees taking time off for stress-related illnesses.
  • Reduced recruitment costs because staff turnover is no longer a worry – you’re not regularly replacing people who leave because they are unhappy or stressed about their needs not being met, which affects their motivation to give the company their best.
  • Greater confidence in projects being completed on time and within budget because communication has not broken down – a Project Management Institute report revealed that ineffective communication is the main reason for project failure one-third of the time. It also has the biggest negative impact on project success more than half the time.
  • Higher likelihood of securing investment for business growth, winning tenders, and improving proposal success rate from more proficient and confident pitching and presenting capability.

Action

Funding like the Business Basics grants program is snapped up quickly – especially when there’s no co-contribution required.

So, let’s talk about what want in your Presence Communications training proposal. Tell me in your email when is the best time to call: leanne@presencecommunications.com.au

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The Power of the Pitch when Your Fears are Ditched

Written by Wyvill Leanne on . Posted in Business writing, Communication, Team building.

Pitching and public speaking with confidence

Put yourself in the spotlight with these practical pitching and public speaking tips.

Whether it’s to a board of directors or a panel of peers, pitching new ideas in person is not for the faint-hearted.

Public speaking nerves often arrive with some unpleasant side effects – shakes and wobbles, nausea, bladder uncertainty, tickly throats… to name but a few.

It’s no wonder that speaking in public continues to rank highly in annual lists of human fears and phobias.

According to a Harris-Prezi survey reported in Forbes, 20 percent of professionals said they would do almost anything to avoid presenting, even if it meant risking workplace respect and reputation.

It’s even made the knees tremble and the palms perspire for legends like Warren Buffet and Mahatma Gandhi.

Forbes contributor Carmine Gallo said:

“Buffett once told a class of business students that he would pay anyone in the room $100,000 for 10 percent of their future earnings. If they were good communicators, he would raise his bid by 50 percent because public speaking would make his ‘investment’ more valuable.”

Buffet himself used to avoid college courses that required speaking in front of the class. But he faced his fears and now he’s known as one of the richest humans on the planet.

Gandhi suffered from panic attacks, even deserting his first case as a lawyer before a judge because he felt humiliated about not being able to ask a question.

But his passion and purpose helped him to overcome his public speaking anxiety and achieve greatness. One of his strategies was to stay under the spotlight for the shortest amount of time, packing powerful meaning into his legendary pithy statements.

Here are five indisputable reasons why you should learn how to manage public speaking nerves:

  1. Speaking confidently in public is a highly regarded professional skill, boosting your employability and promotion prospects.
  2. With so many people avoiding the deed, you’re already ahead of the pack.
  3. As a leader, pitching is an absolute necessity if you want your ideas to be known, accepted, acknowledged, shared, followed through and be generating value.
  4. When people hear and see you in action they remember you as more than a name on page; you’re visible, real and memorable, which builds your credibility and reputation.
  5. Under the spotlight you’re in a powerful position to inspire change.

And here are five proven ways to turn your fears about sharing your ideas into powerful pitching prowess:

1. Know Thyself
When you understand what’s really causing you to want to chicken out of a pitching, presenting or public speaking situation, and you plan how you can address those fears, you will feel more confident about speaking in front of an audience and believe in your own ability to change the audience’s understanding of your topic and achieve your goal.

How your body expresses and deals with nerves is not necessarily the same as what others experience. When you can identify your own signs of speaking stress and know what helps you manage your nerves, you can prepare for them and mitigate the negative effects.

2. Challenge and change the negative self-talk
Nerves are what you feel when fear-generated adrenaline is pumping through your body. It’s a free form of energy you can actually exploit to give your enthusiasm and passion extra volume.

Instead of thinking of nerves as a threat to being able to achieve a goal (persuade others that your ideas, products, and analysis have value), think of ways to use it to your advantage. A University of Rochester psychology study found that encouraging people to reconsider symptoms of performance stress as ‘natural and helpful’ was an effective mechanism for dealing with stage fright.

3. Remember, it’s not about you.
It’s easy to forget why you’re in the spotlight, why people will be looking at you and expecting you to make it worth their while listening.

Do your research and find out what matters to them; don’t assume they’ll share your understanding of the underlying science, math or philosophy; be clear about what’s in it for them and their interests, not just you and yours.

Stay focused on the benefits for them: you have something to say that can enrich other people’s lives. You might have the gold they’re seeking to make money, save money or save the world. You’ve got something the audience wants or needs. And they have something you want or need: money, support, trust, faith, cooperation, approval.

If you allow nerves to distract you, no one is going to gain anything.

4. Plan for impact
Another critical way to reduce uncertainty (and thus fear and nerves) is to plan your pitching and public speaking for maximum impact. Focus not only on what you want to convey, but also when.

Most pitching opportunities have specific and rigorously monitored time limits, so every word, gesture and movement has to count towards your goal: to persuade the listener that your idea has power. Stick to the main concepts and benefits, and don’t waffle.

Investor pitches, for example, follow a tight format whether it’s 30 seconds, five minutes or an hour to get the idea across. There are specific items they expect to hear, so make sure you cover at least the main ones – what’s the problem you’re solving, how big is it, why does it matter, how your idea will make a difference, and what you need to make that happen.

Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer and author of No Freaking Speaking, Matt Abrahams, says “Don’t wing it. People retain structured information up to 40 percent more reliably.”

5. Prepare for Success
Never underestimate the time it will take to plan, prepare and practise for a powerful pitch. As Mark Twain apparently said: “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”

Preparing for performance success is more than just practising the words to accompany a slide deck. Reducing uncertainty ahead of time really helps with overcoming internal negative dialogue. Find out as much as you can in advance about how the room will be set out; the technology you’ll be using; the kind of questions you might be asked; and even what you should wear.

Don’t let the technology let you down – if you’re pitching in person, find out beforehand what the room is like and whether your version of PowerPoint, Keynote or Prezi is compatible with the system provided so you are slick not slow when you start.

If you’re recording a pitch, find out what formats to use, and take as many ‘takes’ as you need to make yourself look and sound confident as well as meet the criteria before uploading the file.

Prior preparation prevents poor performance and powers up your pitch. It also gives you plenty to think about instead of your nerves.

These are just a few of the 150+ pitching and public speaking tips included in my book Chicken In – ditch the nerves and pitch the power. You can order a hard copy via this link or if you prefer an e-book version, it’s available on Amazon for Kindle readers.

This article first appeared in the February 2022 issue of Human Capital Leadership. 

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SMART Language for Savvy Leaders

Written by Wyvill Leanne on . Posted in Business writing, Communication, Team building.

Thinking about smart communication

Do you consciously consider how to use smart language to achieve your desired response?

Smart and savvy leaders lead by example, and your expectations are reflected in your language choices, especially in your business writing.

So, if your team or others you wish to motivate and impress are not responding as you expected, it may be because they misunderstand your messages. Or perhaps it takes them a while to understand what you mean and they need more time to decipher it.

It’s time to take responsibility for that confusion or delay.

For some leaders, moving away from an academic writing style conjures fears of sounding like a copywriter trying to market a dodgy deal or be pally in a way that doesn’t match the brand tone.

It is possible to communicate professionally and effectively, to assert authority and attract respect, using less formal language.

But before I share some SMART language strategies for savvy leaders, let’s look at why minding your language matters.

Firstly, remember the Mehrabian Principle?

  • Words convey 7% of meaning
  • Tone 38%
  • Non-verbal cues 55%

The tone is more likely to be misinterpreted in a written message than a spoken one because the reader cannot supplement your words by recognising facial expressions, posture and vocal variations. That’s why attention to other non-verbal clues like layout, formatting and word choice makes such an impact on communication effectiveness and efficiency.

Secondly: time. When you assume responsibility for how long it could take your reader to understand your message, you and your reader will have more time to be productive with other tasks.

Making your messages easier and therefore faster to read saves your audience time and effort. They’ll thank you by responding more quickly in your favour.

Savvy leaders respect their readers’ time and provide sufficient detail to help them take the desired action.

When you use SMART language, your readers can:

  • See what they need to know (easily, quickly)
  • Understand what they read
  • Use this knowledge to take the action that will meet their needs… and yours.

SMART language helps the writer:

  • Improve response rates and outcomes
  • Encounter fewer complaints and delays
  • Be more productive with the time and effort saved
  • Boost reputation and promotion prospects
  • Support and enhance team performance

SMART language choices consciously aim to be Specific, Meaningful, Active, Reader-centric and Tone-sensitive.

Communicating what you need others to do to achieve a common goal using SMART language will reduce time, stress and risk… for you and them.

Specific

Be specific so they don’t have to keep coming back to you with questions. When your aim is to get a task done quickly, or that task is very important with a lot riding on its execution, sometimes using more words is actually what saves you time, stress and risk.

Specificity involves concrete words about (for example):

  • Size
  • Shape
  • Colour
  • Shade
  • Make/Model
  • Time – am/pm, hours/minutes/days
  • Name
  • Map coordinates
  • Budget

If your text says: “I’ll pick you up tonight,” you’ll probably spend distracting time going back and forth with the details or driving around the block several times, focusing on the kerbside instead of the road.

“I’ll pick you up in a dark green SUV at 6 pm outside your hotel” is specific and clear. And time-saving.

How much detail depends on the context, your knowledge of the reader/s and your relationship with them.

Meaningful

Choose words that you and your audience use every day, i.e. your common language and shared meaning of terms.

If they have to look up a word or ask a colleague what it means, the response or action you want will take longer. If they misinterpret the meaning, make assumptions about it, the wrong action might be taken and that could be detrimental or even disastrous to what you want to achieve.

Who wins by using sophisticated phrasing? No one.

  • Circumnavigation of the system in the redeployment of human assets is not commensurate with the overarching strategy.
  • Moving people from one job to another without following the right process is not going to help us achieve our goals.

Which one did you understand first?

As well as taking more time to comprehend, such choices as the first one can make you sound pompous or patronising. Is that what you want your readers to think of you? Is it the attitude you want your people to emulate?

What’s more important: showing off your vocabulary range or making it easier and quicker for your reader to move from understanding to action?

Buzz words can be cute but also confusing, especially if your audience includes literal thinkers and native speakers of another language. If you say “It’s in the bag”, you might find someone rifling through your briefcase.

Metaphors can be very helpful for creating visual associations of complex concepts, but only when they clarify and amplify. If you have to explain the metaphor, you’ve made the wrong choice.

Perhaps your common language is jargonistic, a shorthand specific to your industry or team. However, while your vice-president might be familiar with company-wide acronyms and abbreviations, a client might use those same letter combinations differently in their business. It’s fine to use jargon if it is the common language for everyone involved. But it’s not if it’s not.

Active

Would you prefer to be known as an active or passive leader? How you phrase your words is a form of non-verbal communication.

Active language looks livelier. That’s because it has more verbs (“doing words”) than nouns (things). It communicates that you are actually doing stuff.

Active voice lets the actors act. They are in the spotlight.

Which version sounds less sluggish?

  • The sales team met every monthly target in the first quarter.
  • The monthly targets in the first quarter were met by the sales team.

The first has fewer words and is more direct and energetic.

Sentences and paragraphs with more nouns than verbs take longer to read – like taking bridal steps down the aisle instead of striding swiftly.

Compare these sentences:

  • There is a Dispute Resolution Department which has the responsibility for the promotion of the development of dispute resolution services and for the provision of independent, responsive and effective assistance to individuals and groups that are engaged in the constructive resolution of conflict.
    (43 words; 15 nouns; 4 verbs; 256 characters)
  • The Dispute Resolution Department is responsible for promoting the development of dispute resolution services and providing independent, responsive and effective assistance to people engaged in constructive conflict resolution.
    (28 words; 11 nouns; 4 verbs; 200 characters)
  • The Dispute Resolution Department promotes the development of dispute resolution services and provides independent, responsive and effective aid to people engaged in constructive conflict resolution.
    (25 words; 11 nouns; 3 verbs; 175 characters)

Adjectives describe the sensory aspects of an action or object, e.g. how it looks, feels, sounds, tastes or smells. Adverbs clarify how you want something done, e.g. promptly, smoothly, tactfully, quietly, assertively. Adding these extra words can reduce doubt about your expectations.

Use verb + adjective or adverb combinations instead of multiple nouns:

  • Take care with making your decision. / Decide carefully.
  • Ensure the smooth operation of the program. / Ensure the program operates smoothly.
  • He used gestures to emphasise. / He gestured emphatically.

To check for passive voice, look for sentences beginning with “There is” and “There are”. Change the sentence structure so the sequence is subject-verb-object. Think “The cat sat on the mat” instead of “The mat was sat upon by the cat”.

To reduce your noun numbers, look for longer words that end in “ment” or “tion”. Shorter words like “of the” and “by” are usually beside them. Consider using the verb form of the word instead, e.g. manage/management, believe/belief, convey/conveyance, etc.

Tools that can help you reduce passive voice include Credosity, Grammarly, and that grey pop-up box that appears after you’ve run the in-built spell-checker.

Reader-centric

You know what you want from your written message, but why should your reader care? What’s in it for them? Why should they read it and take the action you ask for?

If the reader believes there’s a good reason to give time to your message (not just to keep their job), they’re more inclined to support your request (promptly).

Here are three ways to foster faith in the value of reading your emails, reports and proposals.

1. Say why

“Because” is a powerful word. If you explain early why reading your message will lead to benefits for them, for you, for the company or a cause, then they’ll be more motivated to read and take action.

Sharing your purpose is a transparency practice that builds trust.

2. Formatting

Make it easy for them. Don’t make them guess or click and then click and then click and then click or then scroll and scroll and scroll to find the critical details.

Use bullet points, spacing and bold type to help them scan quickly instead of feeling like they need a shovel to shift and sift.

3. Proofread

Check that you have spelled names of people, products and companies correctly before printing/sending/posting. Not getting these details right can trigger doubt about your level of respect and professionalism. Is it reasonable to expect Stephanie to read on and respond enthusiastically when you address her as Stephan?

Deciphering spelling errors, misplaced punctuation and unusual capitalisation slows reading. The harder you make it to read, the longer it takes for the reader to understand your message and figure out what action they should take. They might give up or their annoyance may influence their response.

Tone-sensitive

“It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it.” That’s tone – the 38 percent factor in Mehrabian’s communication equation. The readers’ interpretation of your tone influences how they respond to you.

Tone tells how…

  • the writer feels
  • the writer wants the reader to feel
  • much the writer cares
  • much the writer respects the reader and the situation

Tone is conveyed by the…

  • channel
  • language
  • amount of help the writer gives the reader

Compare the following examples. Which one do you think is more likely to receive a positive and prompt response?

  • An application for personal leave from you was received by the HR Department but it cannot be processed because you did not sign both pages and it was signed with a pencil. Sign and submit the form again otherwise it will not be processed. Do not use blue ink or pencil.
  • HR received your personal leave application but there’s another step before it can be processed. As your signature is required on both pages, please sign the enclosed form in the flagged places and return it to us. Remember to use a pen with black ink so the application can be completed successfully.

Draw on all the strategies in this article to hone your tone. Take the time to check that your tone is appropriate for the situation and the relationship with your readers.

Smart language, i.e. conscious choices, save time for you – not waiting for a response while the reader is walking around the block cooling off; and for your readers – not being distracted by wondering if they have misunderstood, done something wrong, or should start looking for leadership elsewhere.

Would you like your team to learn smart writing strategies? Check out these training options then

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