how i herd cats - teamwork, persuasion and communication
DESCRIPTION
Most of us can only accomplish what we need to at home and at work through communication with others. I use this presentation with university students to give them an idea of the types of teamwork, persuasion and communication that they'll find useful in their careers.TRANSCRIPT
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Achieving something often involves communicating
(successfully)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
I will have succeeded in communicating with you today if
I persuade you that communication is important I hold your attention I teach you about some insights and techniques about communication that I have learnt I persuade you to pay more attention to communication
© 2011 IBM Corporation
When communication fails life is frustrating and unproductive
© 2011 IBM Corporation
© 2011 IBM Corporation
How am I doing so far?
I hope I have persuaded you that communication is important I will try throughout this lecture to hold your attention Next I will try to teach you about some insights and techniques about communication
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Stages of effective communication
Getting attention Establishing rapport and credibility Having a meaningful conversation Staying in contact
© 2011 IBM Corporation
© 2011 IBM Corporation
How true are the following statements of something you spent attention on?
I was happy and excited to spend time on it I paid attention to it because it was in my best interests I couldn’t avoid it; it was necessary or imperative I might have suffered otherwise – it wasn’t necessarily positive It was a subconscious decision I had been waiting for something to occupy me
© 2011 IBM Corporation
How true are the following statements of something you spent attention on?
I was happy and excited to spend time on it I paid attention to it because it was in my best interests I couldn’t avoid it; it was necessary or imperative I might have suffered otherwise – it wasn’t necessarily positive It was a subconscious decision I had been waiting for something to occupy me
(rarely happens)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
How true are the following statements of something you spent attention on?
I was happy and excited to spend time on it I paid attention to it because it was in my best interests I couldn’t avoid it; it was necessary or imperative I might have suffered otherwise – it wasn’t necessarily positive It was a subconscious decision I had been waiting for something to occupy me
(only really applies to mechanical activities such as driving a car)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
How true are the following statements of something you spent attention on?
I was happy and excited to spend time on it I paid attention to it because it was in my best interests I couldn’t avoid it; it was necessary or imperative I might have suffered otherwise – it wasn’t necessarily positive It was a subconscious decision I had been waiting for something to occupy me
(applies to things the police or your boss tell you to do)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
How true are the following statements of something you spent attention on?
I was happy and excited to spend time on it I paid attention to it because it was in my best interests I couldn’t avoid it; it was necessary or imperative I might have suffered otherwise – it wasn’t necessarily positive It was a subconscious decision I had been waiting for something to occupy me
(all require you to persuade your audience why they should pay attention to you)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Establishing rapport and credibility
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.
I have made this [letter] longer than usual, only because I have not the time to make it shorter.
– Blaise Pascal
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Having a meaningful conversation
Teaching or learning something Persuading someone or being persuaded Creating or agreeing something Whatever you’re doing establish a common language
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Staying in contact
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Elements of effective communication
Self-awareness Choosing an appropriate style Using media effectively
© 2011 IBM Corporation
How we see the world
Events
Del
etio
n
Dis
torti
on
Gen
eral
isat
ion
Thoughts
Filters
(Thoughts = Reality)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Events Deletion
Distortion
Generalisation
Thoughts
Actions
Motivation
WorkingTrai
ts(Your actions = your thoughts)
How we interact with the world
© 2011 IBM CorporationDeletion
Distortion
Generalisation
Thoughts
Actions
Motivation
MotivationTrai
ts
You
What you can change
What you can’t
Deletion
Distortion
Generalisation
Thoughts
Actions
Motivation
Motivation Trai
ts
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Deletion
Distortion
Generalisation
Thoughts
Actions
Motivation
Motivation Trai
ts
Deletion
Distortion
Generalisation
Thoughts
Actions
Motivation
MotivationTrai
ts
You
(Avoid write-only mode!)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Choosing an appropriate style
© 2011 IBM Corporation
“I’m sorry I was talking on mute”
We often need to communicate with people who are in a different place, or who work at different times
The technologies we use to do that are not perfect
Unless we are careful our communication will be incomplete or confused
Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink.
– Martin Lomasney
(Although, carefully used, these technologies can be extraordinarily effective)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Visual explanations can be compelling
© 2011 IBM Corporation
(But remember that while a picture may be worth a thousand words sometimes what you really need are a few carefully chosen ones)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
The youth of yesterday played football, bought My Little Pony
and watched Grange Hill
The youth of today are defining the usage patterns for the most sophisticated communication
media the world has ever seen
(and in some cases learnt to code Z80 assembler)
(and now they’ve got jobs)
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Use the right techniques
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Did I succeed today?
By persuading you that communication is important? By holding your attention? By teaching you about some insights and techniques about communication? By persuading you to pay more attention to communication?
© 2011 IBM Corporation
A few related ways you can spend your attention
The Attention Economy – Davenport and Beck Visual Explanations – Edward Tufte Leadership and Self-Deception – The Arbinger Institute