Manila, 6 July 2022 — How to make each conversation special.

Story

It happened last week. Working face-to-face again with a high-performing international team was an exciting change in my coaching work over the past two pandemic years. From the travel to Kuala Lumpur to the time connecting and building trust, the role-playing practices during the Work In All Colors workshop on effective communication, and the 1:1 coaching sessions that followed, it was a rewarding experience. My only regret was missing out on posting my weekly leadership insight for you. Hopefully, this one can make up for that.

The experience reminded me how uniquely valuable it is when we can meet face to face and make a commitment to be present and intentional about what we want to do together. To level up together and reach the next level in our work. To get there, there are parts that we can explain rationally, like the specific knowledge shared and how the workshop was organized. More than that, however, there was the personal and collective experience that was transformational, triggered by guided practices taken with a beginner’s mind. 

At the end of the week, there was a palpable sense of discovery that it is possible to make better use of each and every conversation with colleagues and clients. A realization that each conversation offers a precious chance to build a trusting relationship that allows for better results to happen. And that is what we practiced.

Challenge

Matching your style of communication to your audience is not easy. Fortunately, we had seven universal human languages to choose from and practice. The challenge was to speak in your audience’s language rather than your own. That way, the sender and the receiver would be on the same wavelength in the conversation. Each of us experienced what that felt like.

The seven languages, conveniently marked with colors, require the speaker to embody a different set of values in a specific way of delivery, including a different attitude, structure, wording, pace, volume, and even making sure the setting is right. When the team practiced using these different languages in a series of role-playing exercises, they discovered how to do it and felt the impact it created.

To make each conversation special at work, you might well have to use several different languages in meetings over a single day. That’s why effective leaders make a conscious effort to tailor their communication to the needs of their audience in each situation. By being able to Work In All Colors — to speak in any of the seven languages as the situation requires — they can make every conversation matter. 

Question

My question for you this week is to reflect on how you communicate with your stakeholders at work. What do you do in preparation for each conversation you have in your workplace?

There is no way around it. Speaking effectively is essential — a sine qua non — to every leader. Moreover, since people differ and situations vary, leaders can’t afford to default to their own preferred style. Instead, they learn to consciously and skillfully adapt to what their audience needs.

The leader’s job is to make every conversation special. In these conversations, they build stronger relationships all the time. That’s why effective communication lies at the core of our Leader in Transition program. And our team coaching. If you are interested, book a free strategy call so that we can discuss the transition you want to make.