Teik Oh

Asking the right question is the first step in effective communication

May 25 2015

I was talking to an auditor one day. He asked me “When your client bought these widgets, were they on sale-or-return basis?”

“No.“

“Well then, where’s the statement that shows how much is owing to the supplier?“

“Oh,” I said, “so your first question really should have been ‘can you show me the statements from the widget supplier?’“

“That’s what I asked,” he said.

Now you know why I’ve stopped dealing with auditors.

We talk about the need for effective communication (and I have a great tool for you, but I’ll tell you later) and yet we listen badly and many of us ask poor questions. More often than not, our conversations with people are conducted partly in our heads before they are conducted with other people.

I think the conversation in that auditor’s head went something like this:-

– That’s funny, I can’t find a supplier statement for those widgets.

– I can see payments being made, and income from selling them but there doesn’t seem to be a pattern.

– Maybe there’s a non-standard contract for them.

– I wonder what that non-standard contract could be?

– Perhaps it’s on consignment or sale-or-return?

– I need a supplier statement but if they’re on sale-or-return maybe there’s no statement?

– I’ll ask him: “So are the widgets on a sale-or-return basis?”

Huh? I’m sorry but I’m not telepathic. Ask the right question and that could be the start of a beautiful friendship (sorry Humphrey Bogart).

Effective communication is about ensuring that you are understood, but first ensuring that you understand. So, lay out the premises and assumptions first, or else ask very precise questions about what you want. Use closed questions (“Do you have a statement?”) that requires a yes or no answer to define what is possible, then use open questions (“What is the process around those purchases?”) that allows exploration of the circumstances.

Ultimately though, if in order to be understood you must first understand, you need to listen effectively in order to communicate effectively.

Here is a great tool to help with effective communication that starts with listening, and it’s called LACE.

It’s an acronym for Listen effectively, Acknowledge what you hear, Check and confirm your understanding, and Explore the idea.

First, listen effectively.

You can only listen effectively if your mind is focused on the speaker. How many of us attempt to multi-task while talking on the phone? Perhaps you are typing out an email as you converse, or you’re gesturing to someone in the room. Even face to face, how much of you is actually listening to what is being said rather than preparing to answer?

So the first step is to pay attention as someone else is speaking. Do not try to work out what your reply is – just listen!

Second, acknowledge what you hear. This is related to the first principle.

Have you ever spoke to someone who either looks out the window while you are speaking, or just looks at you with a blank stare? It’s hard to know if they are actually listening isn’t it? When you are listening, listen actively by nodding, acknowledging by saying “yes” or “uh-huh”. Doing this will not only create an interactive experience for the speaker assuring them that they are being heard, but also tune your mind ands body to understand what it is they are actually saying. You focus.

Third, check for confirmation.

At the appropriate pause, ask “So when you said ‘statement’ did you mean a monthly statement or any statement?” Or confirm facts, premises and opinions – get to know what they actually mean and where they are coming from in terms of a starting point.

This can remove confusion, ensure you both are on the same page, and it readies you to formulate a reply that is actually appropriate and…yup, focused.

Finally, explore the idea. It is only once you have heard exactly what it is they are saying, understood their premises and assumptions, can you decide to explore if there are other possibilities. Many people listen while composing a reply and in doing so ask and answer a lot of “what-if” questions in their mind. Leave the exploration until you know where you stand.

It’s actually important to take the steps in order – Listen, then/and Acknowledge what is being said, then Check for understanding, then and only then Explore. Don’t be tempted to jump the sequence!

When I talk to that auditor again – and let it be a long time before I do – whatever he asks I’ll remember to say “What is it you actually need?”

Indeed the right question is the first step in effective communication, but it needn’t be the first question!

Now, it’s time for you to ask the right question.

Get over to https://teikoh.com and leave me a question or a comment. While you’re there, leave your name and email and I’ll make sure you get new tips, tools and resources to grow your business sent directly to your inbox.

Comment 13

The difference between Leadership and Management

May 22 2015

Your business needs both leaders and managers.

At different times, you need leadership that says “up and at ’em, follow me!” and you need management that says “let’s make sure we have enough resources”. The best situation is that both leadership and management come from the same people but they bring out what is required for any given situation.

Neither are characteristics you are born with – both leadership and management can be developed.

But, what is the difference between leadership and management?

How can you develop both leadership qualities and management qualities in your people?

Comment 13

Communicating Organisational Change

May 18 2015

Open and honest communication is essential in your business in order to keep staff engaged. When your business is about to implement some substantial change such as significant expansion, changing procedures, building a new team, changing business models like going from bricks and mortar to online, communication becomes even more critical.

When you want to open communications channels about organisational change, you need to send the right message to the right people at the right time. These messages need to be custom-built to the audience and the stage of progress, they need to address fear, they need to deal with natural resistance to change, and they need to use different media.

The key is – what is appropriate to the specific stakeholder?

The importance of communication in organisational change cannot be over-stated. Handled badly and you could end up with a vision that is misunderstood, as against all stakeholders involved attaining a common understanding of the goals and direction of change. It can be the difference between fear and resistance versus motivation and co-ordination.

However, the enormity of the task cannot be under-stated.

A management school study found that the total amount of information given to an employee in three months averaged 2.3 million words and numbers. A typical communication about change within those three months involved a 30 minute speech plus a one-hour meeting plus one memo and one internal news article that included 13,400 words and numbers. So the typical communication about change consisted of 0.58% of total communication!

Comment 13

Be SMART in planning processes

May 15 2015

When you are preparing your plan, whether it is a Strategic Plan, Business Plan, Marketing Plan, Operational Plan, or any other plan, you will end up listing your Goals and Objectives, and probably your strategies or actions of one kind or other.

However, have you been in a position where, some time later, people who are implementing the plan disagree about how far you have got and how much you have achieved? Some will say you’ve got there, others will say that you are only partially successful – and yet they are reading off the same planing document! Have you come to re-read your document say a year later, and then wondered exactly what you meant when you wrote “open up new markets”? Did you mean in different towns, or with different products?

Perhaps you re-read your plan later and thought “how did we agree to do that? It was never achievable!”

SMART is a model that you should use whenever you are writing goals, objectives, strategies and actions. This video explains what is SMART and how to use it.

SMART means:-

Comment 13

Six Steps to Make Your Business Resilient

May 11 2015

As I write this, there are fresh concerns across the world economy over recovery in Europe and North America, Chinese GDP is slowing, and the Australian mining boom seems to be coming to an end.

These are world-wide economic affairs, and as owners of small businesses you might be wondering how this affects you, the small fish in a big pond.

The effect on you trickles down from what happens on a global scale. As countries batten the hatches, the larger companies in your nation’s economy slow down because their customers buy less. These larger companies buy from smaller companies, and these smaller companies buy from you. As the larger companies tighten the belt, employees might lose their jobs. Some of these individuals buy from you. Business might still seem good to you today, but it may take some time for an economic crisis to trickle down.

Nevertheless all is not doom and gloom, there are some signs of opportunity that encourages continued optimism. So what do you do today with these mixed messages?

As a small or micro-business you need to recognise and take advantage of modest opportunities to grow, but at the same time recognise the existence of potential downside risks.

Certainly, pay attention to your bottom line but at the same time, focus on cash flow and not just profit growth. Ensure that you are putting away sufficient working capital to survive any shocks. You need to continue pursuing business opportunities, but with discipline and careful planning. And, this is the time to put in genuine efforts at reorganising your business for efficiency.

As a small or micro business today, realising that you are at the mercy of market forces outside your control, I would look at these 6 steps to build resilience into your business.

Comment 13

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