Transcript presentation

COMMUNICATING WITH CONFIDENCE
Presented by Abbe Meehan
TEC Resource Center
WELCOME ACTIVITY
Please take a moment to complete the Assertiveness
Assessment provided as a handout.
2
OBJECTIVES
By the time you complete this workshop, it is expected
that you will:
Understand the importance of communication and its
impact on your success as a leader
• Learn the two main components of successful
communication: listening and asserting
• Discover ways to present yourself with confidence and
professionalism
•
Communication and Managerial
Success
“Interpersonal skills are humanity’s greatest
accomplishment,…low-level communication leads to
loneliness and distance from friends, lovers, spouses,
and children –
as well as ineffectiveness at work.”
Robert Bolton, PhD.
KEY COMPONENTS OF SUCCESSFUL
COMMUNICATION - LISTENING
It’s too easy to fall into one of the traps of poor listening:
Giving advice/ telling
someone we know
how they feel
Thinking that
we need have
an answer
Unconsciously finding
ways to stop the
person from talking
CONVEY TRUE EMPATHIC LISTENING
Are you confusing
listening with
hearing?
Reflective Listening
Paraphrasing
Reflecting
Feelings
Summarized
Reflections
Paraphrase
A concise response to the speaker which states the
essence of their content in the listener’s own words…
Only
the essential message
Focus
is on content
Example
Mary: “ I’d like to put in for the promotion, I know I can help this
department reach its goals, but I’m not sure I can put in the extra
hours with all that’s going on at home right now.”
Jane: “You know you could do a good job, but it might not be the
right time for you.”
Mary: (nods)
Reflection of Feelings
Involves mirroring back to the speaker, in succinct statements,
the emotions which he/she is communicating…

Do not focus on content

Be brief

Focus on the feelings

Encourage the disclosure of feelings
Example
Bob: “I was so sure that I would be promoted by now. I
keep getting passed over…”
Tom: “It must feel discouraging”
Bob: “It sure is, in fact, it’s starting to make me hate this
job.”
How can we become more aware of
a speaker’s feelings?

Stop, slow down, and
listen until you
“experience the other
person’s feelings”

Stop and ask yourself: If I
were having that
experience, what would I
be feeling?

Try to get the feeling of
the general content of
the message

Observe the body
language or tone of voice
SUMMARIZED REFLECTION
A brief re-statement of the main themes and feelings that
the speaker has expressed over a longer period of time:
It
recaps the main ideas
Highlights
Helps
feelings
the person focus
Verbalizes
developments in the process
Keep the Conversation on Track
“You keep coming back to….”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said. I see something that may
be a pattern and I’d like to ask you about it…”
“Let’s recap what you’ve covered”
WHICH T YPE OF REFLECTIVE LISTENING?
Paraphrasing
Reflecting feelings
Summarized
reflections
Direct Report: “I’ve called the manufacturer several times and they can’t
help. This has been going on way to long and now the Nurse Manager
is calling and complaining!!!”
Manager: “OK, so let me make sure I got this right: You had a problem
with the machine, so you called for support but they could not help.
Now you’re concerned because the issue has been escalated and we
look unresponsive to the end user.
Creating Strong Connections with
Peers and Staff
Being assertive is about being able to verbally and nonverbally communicate positive and negative thoughts
without experiencing undue anxiety and without violating
someone else’s rights.
Developing Assertive Statements
The first part:
A “nonjudgmental” and brief description of the behavior you
want changed.
The second part:
A statement of how the behavior makes you feel.
The third part:
A description of the effect the other person’s behavior has on you.
Key Components of Successful
Communication - Assertiveness
So, an assertive statement may sound like this:
“When you interrupt me before I am finished speaking, I feel distracted,
and cannot remember what I was going to say.”
NOW YOU TRY IT!
Example: You feel angry because an employee did
not submit the report you requested on time.
Example: You feel frustrated because an employee
is not keeping you informed of problems that are
occurring in his/her area.
Example: Assertively express how feel about an
employee who shouts, using the three-parttechnique.
AGGRESSIVE, ASSERTIVE, OR PASSIVE?
How do you stack up?
WHICH IS ASSERTIVE?
Employee: “So, are you going to let me have the day off on
Friday?”
#1
“Maybe if you
didn’t already take
8 days off this
month, I would.”
#2
“You have already been
out 8 days this month
and it’s been difficult to
cover your workload.
There’s a lot left to do
this month so,
unfortunately I can’t
give you the day on
Friday.”
#3
“I’m sorry. I know
you were counting
on the day off but
I’m just not sure
we will be able to
finish on time so
can you give me
another day to
think about it?”
CREATING A CONFIDENT SPEAKING STYLE
The relationship between breath support and speech
Increase your mouth opening
Weak words and tag questions to avoid
Don’t make a statement sound like a question
BE DYNAMIC
Use a conversational speaking style when presenting.
Change your loudness, pitch and rate of speech to capture
the interest of your audience.
CONTROL YOUR RATE OF SPEECH
Reduce your rate of speech when giving a presentation.
Use strategic pauses to improve your audience’s
understanding and engagement.
communication
comprehensive
environmental
responsibility
collaborating
consolidated
opportunity
biomedical
delegated
probably
ELIMINATE FILLERS
Recognize your filler(s) of choice and pattern.
Learn to anticipate your use of fillers.
Replace fillers with silence.
Ya know…
Uhhh…
Like….
THANK YOU!
CONTACT INFORMATION
Abbe Meehan, RCC™
President
TEC Resource Center
Phone: (631) 963-4244
Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit www.TECResourceCenter.com