Monologues
Involving people means they need to know what's
going on. Presentations, news bulletins, podcasts,
DVD recordings, town hall meetings, or even
Tweets are essentially monologues that inform
people about what is going on in the company.
The method will be determined by the content and
audience accessibility and might cover such areas
as conveying vision, offering simple explanations,
talking interestingly and convincingly about
values, goals and what matters to the
organisation.
The ability to communicate directly in ways that
involve people often comes down to a personal
ability to talk authentically, using simple language.
The authentic monologue, for instance, shows
someone how their role fits into the bigger picture.
In our experience, many managers and leaders
need developmental help in this area.
Duologues
The next level of engaging communication is a two-
way conversation. It will involve explanation,
questioning and listening. Whether it is coffee
meetings, road shows, canteen gatherings or
any other form of briefing situations, the
presenters need to engage their audience in
a conversation. There are ways of using
questions and listening that are empathic,
that create more of a relationship and lead
to a better understanding of the other
person so they will feel increasingly
connected with the organisation and to
what is going on.
Much of our in-company work has been
with managers and leaders whose
listening skills can benefit from some
TLC. Many have forgotten what it
really means to listen and what showing attention
even looks like. Correctly, in our view, MacLeod
and Clarke argue that "We believe the early
benefits of adopting a listening and engaging
approach will lead to some quick wins."
Dialogues
Ultimately for people to feel fully engaged, they
need to be part of an ongoing, 360-degree, open
process of communication. Being involved in
these dialogues means that people feel they really
are helping to forge the future of the organisation.
They are part of it. They are involved in the
creation of it.
T-Mobile has pioneered an approach to
conversation, which has extended throughout the
organisation and led to initiatives to change the
management style from command and control to a
more coaching approach. Interactive dialogue is
the way forward for companies that want to
engage their people.
For instance, a large engineering firm wanted to
involve their Customer Service Managers in
pursuing sales opportunities whilst servicing
maintenance contracts, but were concerned that
IDEAS FOR ACT
ION:
Monologue:
At the end of this week, ask your management team to produce a
two-minute podcast or vodcast. It migh
t have updates about projects, a
summary of current issues, and an acknowledgement of the work of individuals.
Email the result to a wide selection of people and ask for comments, ideas and
feedback.
Listening:
At your next mee
ting, notice where your attention is as you listen.
What are you listening out for? Are you looking for opportuni
ties to make your
point or to mock the o
ther person who is speaking? Are you listening in search
of agreement or to remember the facts and figures? The more you can listen
with a posi
tive purpose, the more likely you are to be ef
fective in your
communication.
Dialogue:
Use these three involvement-type questions of your team: "What do
you think?" "What's your opinion?" "How would you go about this?" Use these
to spark important conversations.
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