From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein
DETROIT, December 12, 2024 ~
We recently sat with a young wife who had stepped away from her career to represent the couple during a major build and remodel project.
It was her responsibility to engage with the craftsmen as the job progressed to ensure compliance with specifications, schedule, budget and quality expectations.
One complaint she expressed was the tendency of contractors to direct conversation to her husband when both she and her spouse were engaged with a tradesman in discussion.
This is a common error in our industry and can often result in a negative experience for all parties.
When a change in product or specification was required, the ostensible contractor would not reduce the change to writing and would simply indicate later pricing changes would “be affordable” — which they were not.
December 14, 2024 ~ Chuck “The Inside Guy” Breidenstein and Ken “The Outside Guy” Calverly offer the knowledge and resources you need to make the home of your dreams a reality.
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Good communication is an essential part of life; in fact, healthy longevity is often attributed to positive daily interactions with other people.
Communication protocols are a critical component of the work done by our professionals.
Surveys consistently show that poor communication skills, particularly in face-to-face interactions, result in lower satisfaction ratings despite the quality of work being done.
What are some of the most common mistakes made?
Assumptive speaking. Have you ever engaged in a discussion with a professional whose use of technical terminology as though it were commonplace left you befuddled and too embarrassed to admit you had no idea what they were talking about?
What made astronomer Carl Sagan so great was his ability to take a complicated subject like relativity and express it in a way we could all understand. This led to his being called a science communicator.
We should adapt our presentations to terms and concepts our audience can readily grasp. Good sales training involves writing scripts in this way and then rehearsing them to the point of good delivery, like dialogue in a great movie.
Body language. When another is speaking to you, do you appear interested? Sitting back, playing with your phone, looking away, or being too quick to blurt a response can convey a lack of genuine concern for what another is saying.
When speaking with a couple, it is imperative to open your stance to both parties and engage both people in the discussion.
Speaking too quickly. Have you ever tried to listen to a voicemail left by someone who spoke so quickly you couldn’t get the call-back number, or maybe didn’t even know who was calling?
In presentation training we are told to slow your speech such that it almost feels uncomfortable.
Not actively listening. Watch people engaged in dialogue during the holidays. What you will too often observe is that the moment a person pauses in speech, someone else immediately begins talking, often without regard for what the first person was even saying.
We call this “vomiting” a response where the speaker wasn’t listening at all but simply waiting for a pause so they could quickly interject and be heard.
Interrupting. How frustrating for a speaker to be cut off mid-sentence by someone who thinks their idea is so much more important. If we unintentionally do that to a caller, we always try to apologize immediately and ask them to continue.
Expressing judgment of another’s ideas. In response to a client’s price objection, you may hear something to the effect of, “That’s a ridiculous way to look at it.” It is belittling to pass judgment on another’s opinion. It causes people to distance themselves from the presenter and is not conducive to a mutually beneficial outcome. “Why do you feel that way?” might be a better retort.
Social proximity. It is good practice to not get too close to people, and to keep in mind the reality that physical stature of the parties can affect how a message is received. We are reminded that, when confronting or intimidating another, one might literally “get into his face.” Be aware.
Lack of eye contact. It takes practice to consistently and confidently engage people not only with words and body language, but also with the eyes. Such interaction, properly done, is very direct and personal and can go a long way toward letting people know they are being heard.
When communicating with others, give the respect you want to receive. Slow it down. Ask for understanding and feedback. Take the time to listen attentively and replay what you think you hear.
Good companies train this type of communication on a regular basis.
Companies like those you can find every day at InsideOutsideGuys.com.
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For more advice, listen to the Inside Outside Guys every Saturday and Sunday on AM760-WJR from 10 a.m.-noon or contact us at InsideOutsideGuys.com.
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