Category: Communication

Could I have expressed that with a little more finesse?

Probably.

It’s a shame that so many employees don’t ask that question before they shoot you an email, draft a document or present a pitch deck.

And worse – what if you don’t get to see what they’re spitting out under your brand until the complaints roll in… or the repeat business doesn’t?

Usually, it’s not that they’re lazy or arrogant.

It’s more likely that they lack the skills and strategies to think about how they communicate and what impact it has on the reader and on the business.

Often, they don’t realise that what’s delaying a response is the extra time and effort the reader has to put in to understand the message and be sure there’s no misunderstanding about the request, the relationship or the reason to reply.

The harder the reader or audience has to work on understanding your meaning and its value, the longer it takes them to get to ‘Yes’.

Recent CSIRO and Google research revealed that communication proficiency is high on the list of desirable employee attributes, even ahead STEM skills.

And yet support and encouragement for upskilling in STEM is at a record high.

But what’s the value of being better at the technical stuff if you can’t communicate to others how it works or why it’s worth knowing about?

How much are you investing in training to make sure your employees are not wasting their time, your time and your customers’ time with messages that are hard to read, boring to listen to, ignorant of the audience’s needs, chock-full of errors, lush with potential liabilities, or just plain embarrassing?

Imagine calculating the time your whole company would recoup with more efficient emails…

What if your day was spent productively instead of placating staff who don’t understand each other’s different communication styles…

Surely the link between ‘communication breakdown’ and the loss of opportunity or actual business revenue can’t be that strong…or is it?

You ensure your team knows how to work safely, how to reduce risks and prevent hazards. That’s a compliance tick.

You encourage them to keep well with free flu jabs and fruit on Fridays to prevent poor health. That’s a tick for keeping down sick day productivity loss.

Here’s how to prevent crappy communication from putting your reputation and profit at risk:

1. Lead by example and book a one-to-one coaching call with me to work on your own communication challenges.
2. Discover how each of your team members approaches workplace communication with a True Colors workshop so you optimise their output.
3. Invest in a 5-Carat Business Writing Brilliance workshop to ensure your people can communicate efficiently and effectively.

Call 0439 53 43 55 or email: leanne@presencecommunications.com.au.

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If, as the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, what does your selfie on LinkedIn say about you?

1. 1. This is me – take it or leave it
   2. I’m clueless about photography
   3. I don’t invest in myself
   4. I’m resourceful
   5. I think I’m a good photographer
   6. I like how I look today
   7. I can’t remember where I saved the jpg of the professional shot
   8. Look at me! Look at me! I’ve a got a new ‘do’!
   9. I’m Gen Y (true or in spirit)
   10. I’m a digital native
   11. I’ve never understood the expression ‘first impressions count’ or the one about first impressions being lasting impressions
   12. I’m a poor time and task manager so I’ve only got five minutes to create/update my profile
   13. I spend too much time in airport lounges – look what I can do with my smart phone!
   14. This is what I want you to think of me [and/or the company] and values I represent
   15. If it’s good enough for Kevin Rudd, why not me?

So many of us loathe the truths revealed by even the fanciest of photography, and yet some of us expect the home-made version to do a better job of putting our best face forward. I asked a couple of professional photographers what they think about selfies on Linked In.

Mick Davson reckons a selfie communicates a lot about you even before the reader even begins to look at what you have written about yourself.

“Some people like to use a candid photo taken at a barbecue, thinking that it portrays a ‘likability’ or casualness, which might be mistaken for a lack of professionalism,” said Mick.

“Others crop a larger photo down just to show only themselves but that looks very tacky and makes me wonder what they’re trying to hide.

“The main problem with selfies, though, is that they are generally poor quality, blurry, and over/under exposed.

Mick recommends talking to a professional photographer – not just a mate who ‘has a good camera’.

“Professional portraits for business shouldn’t be expensive but should represent a value-for-money investment. Talk to them about what you want your portraits for and the image you want to project.

“A good portrait photographer can master the technical side of this job as well as help you pose properly, dress properly and capture the real you with the shot.”

On the other hand, Phil Sheen thinks selfies should be embraced.

“It’s not always easy to have a professional photographer take your portrait and sometimes it’s hard to ask friends to take it for you, if you are feeling self-conscious,” Phil said.

“They don’t have to be tacky duck-face selfies from a night club, either. They can still look clean and professional. Sometimes selfies can bring out your real personality, which is so important when you need to stand out in an often flooded digital landscape.”

Here are Mick and Phil’s tips if you decide to stick with the selfies:

1. Don’t do the ‘Facebook Special’ – holding a camera at arm’s length from yourself and go ‘click’. You might as well point the camera at your reflection in a mirror.
   
   
2. If you don’t have a stand-alone camera, download an app with a camera timer so you can set your phone at a nice distance and not have to hold it yourself.
   
   
3. Choose a space where the background is simple and reasonably plain, and has plenty of natural light. If you are going to take the photo outdoors, don’t be afraid to use the flash to fill in any harsh shadows.
   
   
4. Position the camera on a tripod or firm solid surface so the camera points towards you – this says ‘You and I are equals’. If you look down to the camera it may make you look powerful but it can also make you look over-bearing.  Looking up can make you look needy.
   
   
5. Make sure you are facing the natural source of light.
   
   
6. Then grab a big teddy bear or something similar to be your stunt-double while you check the frame and timer.
   
   
7. Set the timer to 10 or 12 seconds, press the shutter half-way down to auto focus (if the camera allows it).
   
   
8. Look to focus where your eyes will be. Once the focus has been confirmed, pressed the shutter all the way down (don’t lift your finger off first, just press all the way from the half “focus” press).
   
   
9. Swap places with your stunt-double. Position yourself with your body at a 45 degree angle from the camera then turn your head to face the camera. The camera will do the rest.
   
   
10. Touch up the image before you post it online – lighten or darken, soften or sharpen, depending on what your software and your skills can do (most pc users can access Paint or Office Picture Manager).

Want to learn more about communicating for a positive impression with and without words? Call or email me to book a training session for your team or an executive coaching call for yourself: leanne@presencecommunications.com.au.

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“Must have excellent communication skills.”

It’s on virtually every advertised position description.

I bet most applicants see it but think it won’t really matter if they can’t deliver because that’s not the criterion that matters most.

I’ve seen plenty of applications for jobs specifying this requirement that were badly written, not proof-read (or if they were, the corrections made no improvement), and clearly a misrepresentation of the candidates’ capabilities.