Post by kwashburn on Mar 26, 2016 18:45:54 GMT
What are some the characteristics of influential communicators?
There are many different characteristics that influential communicators have depending on who they are as a person and leader, and what their style is. Some of the characteristics that stuck out for me as I was reading the book and the stories of different influential communicators such as Rudy Giuliani, Mother Teresa, Colin Powell, Katherine Graham, and so many more were this characteristic of living the message and being honest which builds credibility. This is an incredibly important thing when it comes to being an influential communicator. Some other characteristics that stuck out for me in thinking about influential communicators is having a sense of charisma which makes people want to listen to you. Many influential communicators are charismatic in different ways for different things. Lastly I think being vulnerable at times is a characteristic that influential communicators have. Vulnerability allows people to connect with you and see you as a real person. I think it also establishes a sense of respect and contributes to this idea of bringing the audience along for the ride.
What negatively impacts communication?
A few of the things that stuck out for me in the book and readings in terms of what negatively impacts communication are not knowing your audience, not listening, and lacking authenticity. Not listening is probably one of the things that most negatively impacts communication. There was a quote that stuck out for me in the book that I actually highlighted because it resonated so much for me. It was made by Colin Powell and he said “if a leader is not hearing bad news, something is wrong. He goes on to say “The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” He really said it all here. You have to listen to the people around and listen to both the good and bad news to really be able to effectively communicate and have people hear you. If you aren’t hearing them they won’t hear you.
How can a leader ensure they are hearing the bad news as well as the good news?
There are many ways to do this and one of the easiest ways to do this is to ask questions and ask for feedback. It’s important to ask questions to the people that are actually on the ground doing the work. The book talks about ways to do this so people feel as though they are being heard. Chapter 4 talks about ensuring feedback and to plan for it as you develop the communication plan. A less formal way of doing this which is discussed in the book is this idea of getting out from behind your desk and walking around. Talk to the people and find out what they are thinking. To also make sure that the bad news is being shared I think it’s important to allow people a safe place/forum to share their concerns. This can be done by focus groups or even anonymous surveys which allow people to be more honest and open.
How can a leader ensure the message sticks?
There are a few things that make a message stick and one of the most important things is consistency and repetition with communicating that message. There’s also the idea of telling a story and bringing it down to the level of the audience so it resonates with them. As a leader and communicator I think this whole idea of living the message is also a really important part of ensuring the message sticks.
What steps can you take to overcome objections with your message?
First plan for them as best you can and be prepared. Chapter 7 talks about overcoming objection and determining the objections before you stand in front of the audience. It’s crucial to know your audiences concerns before delivering a message which will allow you to prepare for appropriate responses. The book also talks about acknowledging the issue. Address it head on especially if you know what it is. Dancing around things would likely make you lose the respect of the audience. Also empathizing can go a long way which can make people feel heard even if it’s not the outcome that they want.
What strategies can you use to be sure the audience is engaged?
First by planning and asking yourself who your audience is. Going back to what I mentioned earlier and what came up in the book a lot is this idea of telling a story or engaging in an activity that relates to what the message is you are communicating. Another quote that stuck out for me in the book that supports the idea of telling a story to engage people was made by Shelley Lazarus in talking about making the message genuine. She states “People don’t like being given messages but they love listening to stories.” In the Ted Talk video Chris Anderson talks about the brain understanding things by analogy which I thought was an interesting concept and makes a lot of sense. Some other things that keep an audience engaged is moving around and not staying in one place. Personally for myself and through experience adding humor authentically and appropriately I believe always keeps an audience engaged.
What does it mean to be an authentic presenter?
I have to go back to the idea of living your message and also this idea of being vulnerable which has frequently come up in our discussions and in the readings. In one way or another all of the different leaders and influential communicators presented in the book did this. Another thing that makes someone be an authentic presenter is just being who you are and not trying to be someone else. We’re all human and no one is perfect, we make mistakes, and it’s ok to recognize them and own them, and even laugh at ourselves.
There are many different characteristics that influential communicators have depending on who they are as a person and leader, and what their style is. Some of the characteristics that stuck out for me as I was reading the book and the stories of different influential communicators such as Rudy Giuliani, Mother Teresa, Colin Powell, Katherine Graham, and so many more were this characteristic of living the message and being honest which builds credibility. This is an incredibly important thing when it comes to being an influential communicator. Some other characteristics that stuck out for me in thinking about influential communicators is having a sense of charisma which makes people want to listen to you. Many influential communicators are charismatic in different ways for different things. Lastly I think being vulnerable at times is a characteristic that influential communicators have. Vulnerability allows people to connect with you and see you as a real person. I think it also establishes a sense of respect and contributes to this idea of bringing the audience along for the ride.
What negatively impacts communication?
A few of the things that stuck out for me in the book and readings in terms of what negatively impacts communication are not knowing your audience, not listening, and lacking authenticity. Not listening is probably one of the things that most negatively impacts communication. There was a quote that stuck out for me in the book that I actually highlighted because it resonated so much for me. It was made by Colin Powell and he said “if a leader is not hearing bad news, something is wrong. He goes on to say “The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” He really said it all here. You have to listen to the people around and listen to both the good and bad news to really be able to effectively communicate and have people hear you. If you aren’t hearing them they won’t hear you.
How can a leader ensure they are hearing the bad news as well as the good news?
There are many ways to do this and one of the easiest ways to do this is to ask questions and ask for feedback. It’s important to ask questions to the people that are actually on the ground doing the work. The book talks about ways to do this so people feel as though they are being heard. Chapter 4 talks about ensuring feedback and to plan for it as you develop the communication plan. A less formal way of doing this which is discussed in the book is this idea of getting out from behind your desk and walking around. Talk to the people and find out what they are thinking. To also make sure that the bad news is being shared I think it’s important to allow people a safe place/forum to share their concerns. This can be done by focus groups or even anonymous surveys which allow people to be more honest and open.
How can a leader ensure the message sticks?
There are a few things that make a message stick and one of the most important things is consistency and repetition with communicating that message. There’s also the idea of telling a story and bringing it down to the level of the audience so it resonates with them. As a leader and communicator I think this whole idea of living the message is also a really important part of ensuring the message sticks.
What steps can you take to overcome objections with your message?
First plan for them as best you can and be prepared. Chapter 7 talks about overcoming objection and determining the objections before you stand in front of the audience. It’s crucial to know your audiences concerns before delivering a message which will allow you to prepare for appropriate responses. The book also talks about acknowledging the issue. Address it head on especially if you know what it is. Dancing around things would likely make you lose the respect of the audience. Also empathizing can go a long way which can make people feel heard even if it’s not the outcome that they want.
What strategies can you use to be sure the audience is engaged?
First by planning and asking yourself who your audience is. Going back to what I mentioned earlier and what came up in the book a lot is this idea of telling a story or engaging in an activity that relates to what the message is you are communicating. Another quote that stuck out for me in the book that supports the idea of telling a story to engage people was made by Shelley Lazarus in talking about making the message genuine. She states “People don’t like being given messages but they love listening to stories.” In the Ted Talk video Chris Anderson talks about the brain understanding things by analogy which I thought was an interesting concept and makes a lot of sense. Some other things that keep an audience engaged is moving around and not staying in one place. Personally for myself and through experience adding humor authentically and appropriately I believe always keeps an audience engaged.
What does it mean to be an authentic presenter?
I have to go back to the idea of living your message and also this idea of being vulnerable which has frequently come up in our discussions and in the readings. In one way or another all of the different leaders and influential communicators presented in the book did this. Another thing that makes someone be an authentic presenter is just being who you are and not trying to be someone else. We’re all human and no one is perfect, we make mistakes, and it’s ok to recognize them and own them, and even laugh at ourselves.