Grooming Capsule - 30 Day Wonder (Day 1 to Day 15)

Employability skills have been ignored by our Academic structure so far. The oft-quoted NASSCOM-McKinsey report says that approximately 75 per cent of fresh engineering graduates from India are not directly employable. A recent survey conducted by FICCI and the World Bank revealed that 64 per cent of the surveyed employers were not satisfied with the quality of skills of fresh graduates.

India will soon emerge as the largest source trained given its large young population.  Hence we need to gear up to exploit this opportunity.

With this in focus we carried out a detailed research and identified 45 Competencies that would be desirable in a young employee.  Based on this we designed a 30 day programme and the aim of ensuring that each fresh graduate becomes employable.

This course will be conducted as follows:

a.       Daily capsule consisting of one management subject, one skill capsule and one communication exercise. This will be on a ‘self-study’ basis as well.

b.       Classroom Program with Seminars.

c.       Practical Training to include Role Plays, Projects, Student Presentation and Management Games.

d.       Periodic Tests and a Final Assessment which will consist of a Written Test, a Viva, a Group Discussion and Final Presentation by each student.

e.       Based on this Certificates will be given to only qualifying employees

This course will focus on ‘Skill and Potential Development’. By the end of the course we expect each employee to have developed following skills:

o   Ability to present monthly review

o   Knowledge of advance excel, pivot table, vlook up etc. and PowerPoint Presentation

o   Ability to deliver a motivating lecture to his/her team

o   Ability to prepare a project in Microsoft Project(Project Management)

o   Knowledge of ERP like CVWS/SAP

o   Ability to develop a marketing plan and Marketing survey

o   Ability to introduce a speaker

o   Knowledge to file a suit

o   Ability to defend himself in court

o   Ability to take an interview on Skype

o   Ability to conduct a brain storming session

o   Knowledge to write a business proposal to clients

o   Ability to understand the personality, attitude and enthusiasm of the candidate in an interview

o   Ability to inspect/audit a facility and bring out audit points, Root cause analysis, corrective action and preventive action

o   Ability to design a daily report and ability to control the executives on telephone.

o   Ability to develop training calendar and annual operations plan

o   Ability to write a newsletter.

o   Ability to register a new website

o   Ability to design a basic advertisement.

o   Knowledge to handle Naukri

o   Ability to set up a Private Limited subsidiary company (Applying a shop establishment license, hiring commercial space, registration etc.)

o   Knowledge on Stock Market

o   Ability to organize a party/workshop

o   Knowledge on the basics of initial public offering (IPO)

o   Ability to amend maintenance contract

o   Ability to manage travel desk

o   Knowledge on software to develop a flow chart

o   Knowledge about the hierarchy of the police department

o   Ability to set up a mess of cooking facility and manage guest rooms

o   Ability to react to difficult types

o   Ability to recognize Cues and Clues

o   Ability to avoid being misquoted

o   Ability to speak to boss and convince him to start a new business

o   Networking Skills

o   Problem-Solving Skills

o   Ability to control your body language

In addition to the above the participant are required to read the following books:

§  7 Habits

§  Executive Excellence

§  Blue Ocean Strategy

§  Management Challenges for 21st century

§  How to make friends and influence people

You will agree with me that this is a great opportunity for each aspiring fresher to emerge as a young confident Manager.

DALY TRAINING PROGRAMME

Day 1	Skill Capsule: Interpersonal Skills Communication Exercise: Introduction to communication skills
Day 2	Skill Capsule: Writing Skills Communication Exercise: Eight Habits of Highly Ineffective Communicators
Day 3	Skill Capsule: Listening Skills Communication Exercise: Communication Skill
Day 4	Skill Capsule: Speaking Communication Exercise: Non Verbal Communication
Day 5	Skill Capsule: Presentation Skills Communication Exercise: Types of Informal Communication
Day 6	Skill Capsule: The Grievance Procedure Communication Exercise: Barriers To Communication And Overcoming The Barriers
Day 7	Skill Capsule: Negotiation Skills Communication Exercise: Effective Communications
Day 8	Skill Capsule: Rapport Skills Communication Exercise: Body language
Day 9	Skill Capsule: Corporate Etiquettes Communication Exercise: Telephone Etiquette
Day 10	Skill Capsule: Delegation Skills Communication Exercise: Call out to a person 200m away
Day 11	Skill Capsule: Influencing Skills Communication Exercise: Announce (Shout) on Shop Floor " Factory closed due to heavy rains"
Day 12	Skill Capsule: Stress Management Communication Exercise: Read out to your partner who will write facing away from each other
Day 13	Skill Capsule: Time Management Skills Communication Exercise: Give a Dictation to your partner standing 15 feet away
Day 14	Skill Capsule: Problem-solving skills Communication Exercise: Dictation to whole class
Day 15	Skill Capsule: Work ethic Communication Exercise: Read out your essay to the class
Day 16	Skill Capsule: Team Building Communication Exercise: Prepared lecture and deliver to class
Day 17	Skill Capsule: Emotional Intelligence Communication Exercise: Motivational Lecture
Day 18	Skill Capsule: Anger Management Communication Exercise: Speak to Boss and convince him that we need to start a new business
Day 19	Skill Capsule: Party Etiquette Communication Exercise: Debate Prepared
Day 20	Skill Capsule: Empathy Communication Exercise: Group Discussions

Day 21	Skill Capsule: Build Self Confidence Communication Exercise: Conduct Brain Storming Sessions
Day 22	Skill Capsule: Team Spirit Communication Exercise: Negotiation Skills
Day 23	Skill Capsule: Personal Grooming Communication Exercise: Bullying a subordinate
Day 24	Skill Capsule: Leadership Skills Communication Exercise: Happy Leader
Day 25	Skill Capsule: How to be Polite Communication Exercise: Suddenly Losing Temper
Day 26	Skill Capsule: Facing Criticism At Work Communication Exercise: Threatening with job or termination
Day 27	Skill Capsule: Event Management: How to organize a Cultural Program. Communication Exercise: Organizing a seminar
Day 28	Skill Capsule: Working in Groups and Teams Communication Exercise: Introducing a Speaker
Day 29	Skill Capsule: 5 Interview Tips Communication Exercise: Addressing your Department for the first time
Day 30	Skill Capsule: How to Assess Teams and Team Work Communication Exercise: Giving a farewell speech

DAY 1

SKILL CAPSULE: INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

·      Interpersonal skills are all about working with other people.

·      In a business setting, the term generally refers to an employee's ability to get along with others while performing his job

·      Interpersonal skills are actually characteristic traits like Manners, attitude, courtesy, habits, behavior and appearance which helps us to communicate and maintain relationship with others

The organizational context of how interpersonal skills are used can be shown by the vast number of interpersonal interactions such as:

Ø  Meetings

Ø  Delegation

Ø  Motivation

Ø  Facilitation

Ø  Coaching

Ø  Leading

Ø  Problem Solving

Ø  Selling

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS WHILE WORKING

·         The success of an organization is dependent upon the people within it working well together

·         Internally

Ø  In teams

Ø  Across teams

Ø  Within and between departments and business units

·         Externally

Ø  With suppliers

Ø  With Customers

Why is Interpersonal skills needed?

To improve

Ø  Relationship

Ø  Working environment

Ø  Leadership skills

Ø  Productivity

Ø  All round success

Ø  Liking by others

When & Where Interpersonal Skills are required at work place?

Ø  While working in groups to form effective teams

Ø  Socializing at work place

Ø  Presenting yourself at work

Ø  Listening & Questioning

Ø  Giving or receiving feedback 

Ø  Building & maintaining relationships

TIPS TO DEVELOP GOOD INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

ü  Smile

ü  Communicate clearly

ü  Resolve conflicts

ü  Bring people together

ü  Be appreciative

ü  Mutual respect

ü  Look for opportunities to interact with others

ü  Pay attention to others

ü  Have a sense of humour

ü  Have unity in diversity

ü  Empathy (see it from their side )

ü  Maintain good emotional balance

ü  Don’t complain

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SKILLS

ASK YOURSELF

Do you get tongue-tied when required to speak in public?

 Does the thought of presenting to a crowd faze you?

COMMUNICATION SECRETS

Ø  Communication is far more than what U say. It’s how U say.

Ø  It’s about listening and talking and the act of mutually disclosing inner feelings and thoughts to others.

Ø  Involves intrapersonal communication, understanding yourself and participating in effective self-communication.

Ø  Listening goes beyond attentively waiting for other people to stop talking. It really means getting inside of their hearts and minds and experiencing life situations

Ø  Being “alive” is an extraordinary opportunity for learning and experiencing. However most people never find their purpose or their reason for being here.

Ø  Your job is to make your company and yourself as successful as possible. That’s the Theme of this Presentation!! 

Ø  Effective and persuasive communication is the greatest of all the keys to success.

Ø  Success = Talking so people listen and listening so people talk

Ø  People are attracted to the people who make them feel secure, free and happy.

Ø  By making others feel special; they will realize how special U are.

Ask basic questions :

Ø  How do U talk, so people listen to what U have to say?

Ø  How do U inspire people to communicate your point of view?

Ø  How do U encourage people in your life who currently ignore your ideas may reconsider and take notice?

Ø  What simple things can U do so people will pay attention to what U have to say at home, at work, among professional circles?

Why Communication…

o   to express our emotions

o   achieve joint understanding

o   to get things done

o   pass on and obtain information

o   reach decisions

o   develop relationships

DAY 2

SKILL CAPSULE: WRITING SKILL

• Clarity in Writing…
• Rs 1000000000
• Rs. 10,00,00,000/-
• Rs. 10 Crore

WHILE WRITING

• Plan what you want to say in your letter/report
• Reread the letter when you have finished
• Check spelling & punctuation, then send
• Use simple language – avoid ambiguous words

“KISS” (Edit the letter by cutting ruthlessly).

• Be kind to others’ eyes (font size,clarity)
• Be creative (use tables, graphs)
• Use the language YOU are better at

KEEP IN MIND WHILE WRITING

• Visualize the reader when you are writing
• Don’t  write unbroken paragraphs
• Use numbered paragraphs to make cross-referencing easier
• Punctuation plays the role of body language in writing
• Use headings and subheadings.
• Use ruled sheets instead of plain ones.
• Don’t print without thoroughly checking your sources.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: EIGHT HABITS OF HIGHLY INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATORS

1. The Argumentative Communicator:

• Ask yourself: Do you find yourself saying “BUT” often in your communication with others?
• Are you constantly offering your opposing opinion when it is not asked for?
• Do you enjoy playing the Devil’s advocate?
• Please Consider: There is a way to give your opinion. When you continue to oppose the comments of your listener, you run the risk of making him feel wrong, stupid or uninformed.

2. The Comparison Maker:

• Ask Yourself: When someone shares his feelings, do start yours and start comparing both the experiences/ events etc.?

• Please Consider: When someone shares, the need may be to express and ventilate, comparisons block the other person because U may not have considered the matter from his point of view, he may be willing to buy your prescription.

3. The Better - Than Talker:

• This is similar to the Comparison maker but with a more condescending tone. The better than talker is not comparing for purposes of being compassionate, but for the purpose of creating superiority. He is interested in feeling superior to the person he is speaking to, that requires the listener feel inferior.
• Please consider: The difference between talker and communicator is that the communicator is making an effort to arrive at understanding. A Talker rambles endlessly without intending for both the people to benefit from “conversation.”When the listener feels inferior, the talker is not in rapport and any hope for connection is lost.

4. The Hear My Old Baggage Communicator:

• Ask yourself: Why do you have the need to be rescued, seeking sympathy from others. Seeking sympathy is not unreasonable.
• Please Consider: The old baggage places an obligation on your listener to feel something which he may not want to feel for U. U also reflect feeling of sadness, despair and helplessness. That may not be of interest to everyone around U. Be discretionary of choosing your listener to fulfill your need to be sympathized, helped, attended to. 

5. The Judgmental Communicator :

• There is a difference between observation and judgement. Being judgmental involves rights and wrong, good or bad according to your frame of reference but posing it applicable to the whole world.
• Please consider: If U judge others, U may think that U are doing it to gain rapport or be on their side. Being judgmental reflects that U are internally not aligned with yourself and that U have a need to judge others in order to feel better than what they are. Don’t play into that trap. Respond in a way that strengthens your position of self respect and self esteem.

6. The Interrupting Communicator:

• When someone interrupts U, U know that they believe what they have to say is more important than what U have to say. U know they think they are better than U !
• Please Consider: Take a breath after your partner has finished before U speak. In that breath you are saying that I heard what U said, I am taking in, I appreciate your communication.  

7. The Complaining Communicator:

• Complainers face the same trouble as the Baggage Communicators. Being persistent complainant, U will create negative feelings in others and push people away rather than draw them nearer. Complaining should be avoided in communication with those whom U do business and those whom U love.

8. The Gossiping Communicator:

• Gossip is perhaps the most evil, deadly, miserable way to communicate. Don’t se it, don’t participate in it, don’t respond to it. U are giving away so much of who U are when U spread or even listen to the gossip.  AS a gossiper, U reflect that U are very insecure, your self esteem is dependent on finding faults in others, your world honors the small, weak and petty. Hence seriously evaluate any need that U may have to gossip.
• Wisdom is knowing that your thoughts shape your experience.

DAY 3

SKILL CAPSULE: LISTENING SKILLS

LISTENING

• Receive
• Interpret
• Evaluate
• Remember
• Respond

WHILE LISTENING

• Avoid distractions
• Do not interrupt unnecessarily
• Be active (show interest)
• Paraphrase what you’ve heard
• Throw an echo

WHAT LISTENING LOOKS LIKE

• The Listener keeps looking at the speaker
• The Listener’s body is in ‘open’ position
• The listener is smiling with a pleasant &encouraging expression
• Listener looks relaxed but alert, neither tense nor slouching
• Listener utters humming sounds

BARRIERS FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING

• Pre-judgement- Listeners who jump to conclusions
• Self-centeredness – Shift attention from speaker to themselves
• Selective Listening – Tune the speaker out
• Wandering mind – Your mind processes information four times faster than rate of speech.

LET OTHER PEOPLE KNOW YOU ARE LISTENING

S:  Stand or sit straight, turn your face squarely to the other and smile

O: Have an open body position

L: Lean towards the other person slightly

E: Maintain Eye contact and make encouraging noises

R: Relax and be comfortable

HOW TO IMPROVE LISTENING SKILLS

• Look beyond the speaker’s style
• Fight distractions
• Provide Feedback
• Listen actively

ACTIVE LISTENING

• Listen for concepts, key ideas and facts.
• Be able to distinguish between evidence and argument, idea and example, fact and principle.
• Analyze the key points
• Look for unspoken messages in the speaker’s tone of voice or expressions
• Keep an open mind.
• Ask questions that clarify.
• Reserve judgment until the speaker has finished
• Take meaningful notes that are brief and to the point

Here's what good listeners know -- and you should, too:

1. Face the speaker. Sit up straight or lean forward slightly to show your attentiveness through body language.
2. Maintain eye contact. To the degree that you all remain comfortable.
3. Minimize external distractions. Turn off the TV. Put down your book or magazine, and ask the speaker and other listeners to do the same.
4. Respond appropriately to show that you understand. Murmur ("uh-huh" and "um-hmm") and nod. Raise your eyebrows. Say words such as "Really," "Interesting," as well as more direct prompts: "What did you do then?" and "What did she say?"
5. Focus solely on what the speaker is saying. Try not to think about what you are going to say next. The conversation will follow a logical flow after the speaker makes her point.
6. Minimize internal distractions. If your own thoughts keep horning in, simply let them go and continuously re-focus your attention on the speaker, much as you would during meditation.
7. Keep an open mind. Wait until the speaker is finished before deciding that you disagree. Try not to make assumptions about what the speaker is thinking.
8. Avoid letting the speaker know how you handled a similar situation. Unless they specifically ask for advice, assume they just need to talk it out.
9. Even if the speaker is launching a complaint against you, wait until they finish. The speaker will feel as though their point had been made. They won't feel the need to repeat it, and you'll know the whole argument before you respond. Research shows that, on average, we can hear four times faster than we can talk, so we have the ability to sort ideas as they come in…and be ready for more.
10. Engage yourself. Ask questions for clarification, but, once again, wait until the speaker has finished. That way, you won't interrupt their train of thought. After you ask questions, paraphrase their point to make sure you didn't misunderstand. Start with: "So you're saying…"
11. Restate. To show you are listening, repeat every so often what you think the person said not by parroting, but by paraphrasing what you heard in your own words. For example, “Let’s see if I’m clear about this. . .”
12. Give feedback. Let the person know what your initial thoughts are on the situation. Share pertinent information, observations, insights, and experiences. Then listen carefully to confirm.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: COMMUNICATION SKILLS

COMMUNICATION

• Communication is defined as “the process of the flow (transmission and reception) of goal – oriented messages between sources, in a pattern, and through a medium or media.

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

• Communication is a process.
• Communication involves transmitting information and understanding it.
• Communication is goal oriented.
• Communication requires channel or medium.
• Communication is multi-dimensional.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION & TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

• Verbal and Non – Verbal Communication
• Formal and Informal Communication
• Upward, Downward and Horizontal Communication

VERBAL COMMUNICATION

• Oral Communication
• Written Communication

NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION

• Body language
• Kinesics, Proxemics & Paralanguage
• Intention
• Manner: directness, sincerity
• Dress and clothing (style, color,
• appropriateness for situation)
• Signs & Symbols.   

IMPORTANCE OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

• 7 % of communication happens through words
• 93% of communication happens through non-verbal cues of which:
• 55% through facial expressions
• 38% through vocal tones

DAY 4

SKILL CAPSULE:  SPEAKING

SPEAKING…

“A wise man reflects before he speaks; A fool speaks, and then reflects on what he has uttered.”

- French Proverb.

WHILE SPEAKING

• Take initiative
• Be polite
• Be pleasant (smile, jokes)
• Be clear and concise (tone, accent, emphasis, pronunciation)
• Cite negative opinions honestly, but in a positive manner
• Seek Feedback

WHILE SPEAKING OVER PHONE

• Write down in advance what you want to say and in what order
• Smile
• Speak slowly
• Always be polite and friendly
• For long messages, follow a script
• Get confirmation
• Monitor your time

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION (INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT BODY LANGUAGE)

• It has no words or sentences, but it does send bits of information that combine into messages.
• Those messages, which are sometimes clear and sometimes fuzzy, are mostly about your feelings.
• People can learn to read those messages with a fair degree of accuracy.
• You cannot not have body language- you are sending messages nonverbally all the time. Especially when you are trying not to!
• Your preferred body positions and movements do say something about the kind of person you are.
• If your words say one thing and your body another then people will believe your body, not your words.
• You can change how you’re feeling by consciously changing your body language.

TYPES OF NON VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS

• Kinesics
• Proxemics
• Paralanguage

KINESICS

• Eye contact and facial expressions
• Gestures
• Postures

PROXMICS

• Public space        Over 12 feet
• Social Space        4 to 12 feet
• Personal Space    18 inches to 4 feet
• Intimate space      0 to 18 inches

PARA LANGUAGE

• Cues one can pick up from an individual’s voice:
• Tone
• Rate of speech
• Accent
• Pronunciation
• Not WHAT you say but HOW you say it!!

EXAMPLES OF FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS

• Office Order
• Rules & Regulations
• Policies
• Guidelines
• Work Instruction

DAY 5

SKILL CAPSULE: PRESENTATION SKILLS

5 styles of communicating to manage conflicts

1 “Go for it”

·         You feel confident but uncooperative

·         You win and other person loses

2 “Run Away”

·         You don’t feel confident or cooperative

·         You lose

3 “Yes, Boss”

·         You feel cooperative but unconfident

·         You let the other person win

4 “Let’s Trade”

·         You feel partly cooperative & confident

·         You both win a bit and lose a bit

5 “Let’s both win”

·         Mutual Cooperation & Confidence

·         You help one another to win

Developing as a presenter

}  Trust yourself

}  If you do not think you are up to a particular presentation either get help (do training courses and rehearsals), or get someone else to do it (there's no shame in recognizing your limits). However, most people have better presentation skills that they think they do. Recognize what you have. If you doubt your ability to think on your feet, for example, then defer questions till after the presentation. Similarly, do not use a joke as an ice breaker if you are not good at telling them.

}  Success is the best presentation training

}  Don't over reach yourself. Several short presentations that you feel went well will do you far more good than one big one that makes you sick with nerves and leaves you feeling inadequate.

}  Feedback

}  Encourage those around you to tell you the things you did well. Very few of us make progress by being told what was wrong with our presentation. When we're up in front of an audience we all have very fragile egos.

}  Follow these essential tips and your presentation skills development will blossom.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: TYPES OF INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

TYPES OF INFORMAL COMMUNICATION (Grapevine)

                        

o   Straight Line pattern             

o   Informal Star Pattern            

o   Probability Pattern                

o   Cluster Net Pattern                

TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTION WISE

DIRECTIONWISE o   Upward Communication o   Downward Communication o   Lateral Communication

MEDIA OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

• Employee Handbook
• In House Magazines e.g. “Live Wire”
• Statement covering Personnel Policies
• Notice board
• Information center

DAY 6

SKILL CAPSULE: THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

·         Some managers believe a formal grievance procedure weakens their authority. 

·         OMBUDSPERSON

·         Complaint officer

·         Top Management eyes and ears

·         Uncover scandals in their organization.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION AND OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS

PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS

Ø  Personal Emotion

Ø  Biases

Ø  Lack of  trust

Ø  Premature Evaluation.

Ø  Expert Language

Ø  Sign & symbols

PHYSICAL BARRIERS

Ø  Geographical distance

Ø  Mechanical failure

Ø  Physical obstruction

Ø  Technological malfunction

Ø  Time lag

ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS

Ø  Rules & Regulations

Ø  Policies

Ø  Hierarchy

Ø  Culture

Technical Barriers:  Environmental barriers to communication are referred to as technical barriers.

Timing – the determination of when a message should be communicated is timing.

Information overload- The condition that exists when an individual is presented with two much information in too short a time is information overload.

Cultural differences- Middle East, giving another person a deadline is considered rude and the deadline is likely to be ignored.  If a client in U.S. is kept waiting the client is perceived to have low status.  In Japan delays mean no slackening of interest and delay is often a negotiation tactic.  Indians conduct most business at an interpersonal distance of five to eight feet; a distance of one to three feet suggests more personal.  Spacious, well-furnished and located on the top floor it conveys an aura of prestige.  In the Middle East décor of the office mean little, in France  Managers likely to be located in the midst of their subordinates in order to control them.

Language Barriers

Vocabulary  - type of audience,

                        - vocabulary sets

        - tailor the message to match the knowledge base of the receiver

        - concentrate their messages in the common vocabulary base

Semantics – JARGON is a special language that group members use in their daily interaction. Many firms provide new employees a list of definitions of terms associated with the particular industry.

Psychological Barriers

Ø  Information filtering – The process by which a message is altered through the elimination of certain data as the communication moves from person to person in the organization is Information filtering. Has two purpose:1) Management Control    2) Evaluate Performance

Lack of trust & openness

Ø  Receptive to employees ideas

Ø  Order should never be questioned, communication tends to be shifted.

Ø  Japanese business success :Managers trust their peers and superiors, simple organisation structure.

 Jealousy

Ø  Managers competence may actually be viewed by peers and superiors as a threat to their security.

        Preoccupation

Ø  Respond in certain predictable through in appropriate ways. 

Hearing

Ø  Hear what we expect to hear, not what is actually said.

Perception set differences

Ø  A fixed tendency to interpret information in a certain way is a perception set.

Noise

Ø  Anything that interferes with the accurate transmission or reception of messages is NOISE.

Barrier to Effective Group Communication

Ø  Parties with a competitive attitude

Ø  Win-lose

Ø  Own objectives

Ø  Own needs but publicly disguise

Ø  Aggrandize their power

Ø  Threats to get submission

Ø  Overemphasize own needs, objectives, positions

Ø  Exploiting the other party

Ø  Superiority of their own position

Ø  Isolate the other person

Ø  “We they” perspective

OVERCOMING BARRIERS (ABC of Constructive Communication)

Ø  A Approach

Ø  B Build Bridges

Ø  C Customize your communication

Approach is the manner of addressing both the person and the subject

Building Bridges: Respect, Trust, Commonality

Customize: Seek first to understand, before being understood

DAY 7

SKILL CAPSULE: NEGOTIATION SKILLS

What is Negotiation?

Negotiation occurs when conflict exists between groups and both parties are prepared to seek a resolution through bargaining

Conflict & Negotiation

Conflict can be solved through negotiation when:

·         There are two are more parties

·         There is a conflict of interest between the parties

·         The parties are willing to negotiate to seek a better position

·         Both parties believe that entering negotiations as a better solution than breaking contact

When do we Negotiate?

·         When we need someone’s consent

·         When the time and effort of negotiating are justified

·         When the outcome is uncertain

Levels of Conflict

·         Intra-Personal

o   Conflict exists within the individual

·         Inter-Personal

o   Conflict that exists between individuals

·         Intra-Group

o   Conflict exists within a small group

·         Inter-Group

o   Conflict exists between groups

Types of Negotiations

·         Day-to-Day Managerial

o   Job Roles

o   Pay

·         Commercial

o   Contracts

o   Quality

·         Legal

o   Compliance with Governmental Regulations

Some decision making tools for negotiation:

Persuasion: Usually the first method we choose when we want something. Useful when interests or opinions are the same. 

Giving in: This is not the easy way out, and sometimes it’s just not worth continuing if the cost (in any terms) is too high.

Coercion: This could simply be stating your options, ‘I could take my business elsewhere’.  It could also be gentle reminders or unspecified consequences right up to threats. Threats are not useful in a negotiation situation as they erupt in full blown battles.

Problem Solving: Works well when both parties have a strong relationship, where you trust each other, and share the problem.

Negotiating Behaviour

Gavin Kennedy (The New Negotiating Edge) describes 3 types of behaviour that we can display and encounter when in a negotiating situation

                RED                                      BLUE                                    PURPLE

RED Behavior

·         Manipulation

·         Aggressive

·         Intimidation

·         Exploitation

·         Always seeking the best for you

·         No concern for person you are negotiating with

·         Taking

People behave in this manner when they fear exploitation by the other party, but by behaving this way to protect themselves, they provoke the behaviour they are trying to avoid.

BLUE Behavior

·         Win win approach

·         Cooperation

·         Trusting

·         Pacifying

·         Relational

·         Giving

Kennedy talks of a ‘behavioural dilemma’, do you cooperate (blue) or defect (red)? Can you trust the other person? And to what extent?  Trusting someone involves risk, on the one hand being too trusting is naïve and on the other, not trusting at all can create deceitful behaviour. The answer is to merge blue and red behaviour into purple.

PURPLE Behaviour

·         Give me some of what I want (red)

·         I’ll give you some of what you want (blue)

·         Deal with people as they are not how you think they are

·         Good intentions

·         Two way exchange

·         Purple behaviour incites purple behaviour

·         Tit for tat strategies

·         Open

·         People know where they stand

·         Determination to solve problems by both sets of criteria of the merits of the case and/or the terms of a negotiated exchange

To the red behaviourist the message is loud and clear, ‘You will get nothing from me unless and until I get something from you’.

The Four Phases of Negotiation

·         Plan

·         Debate

·         Propose

·         Bargain

Closing the Negotiation

Summary Close: Summarise the details of the conditions and the offer, and ask for agreement.

Adjournment Close: Useful where there remains some small differences.  It gives both parties time to consider the final agreement.

Final offer close: Make it clear that this is your final final offer by choosing the right words, tone and body language.  Create an atmosphere of decisiveness, gather your papers together as though getting ready to leave.

Dealing with Difficult Negotiators

·         Intimidation

·         Domineering

·         Bullying

·         Threats

·         Focusing on their own interests and not yours

These are typical RED behaviours. Be careful to distinguish those who always behave in a RED way, to those who are just having a bad day.

The man you are negotiating with has a bombastic and rude manner.  He interrupts constantly and loudly and at a pace that does not allow interruptions to his flow.  He is emphatic and threatening and shows no interest in your point of view.  Do you:

a.        Retaliate in kind with matching behaviour?

b.       Wait for an opening to say your piece?

c.        Agree to what he wants.

a.          Retaliation is a challenge.  He is not intimidating you enough – he will put on more pressure.

b.          Yes.  But only if you are clear that his behaviour will not affect your focus on the outcome.

c.          Never! Do not give him the satisfaction, by giving into a bully and their intimidation.

The financial director of a large customer is an abusive and domineering person, who has a repertoire of swear words and will not accept ‘No’ for an answer.  She expects you to sit there and take it and theatrically waves her arms about and throws papers around when she wants to make a point.  Do you:

a.        Behave in a contrasting manner and keep your cool?

b.       Agree to what she wants?

c.        Wait to say your piece?

a.          To contrast her behaviour only shows her that her behaviour is working, she’ll put on more pressure until you give in.

b.          Never! Do not give in to her intimidation.

c.          Yes, but only if you are sure her behaviour will not affect the outcome.

So what can you do about it?

Ø  Do not let their behaviour affect the outcome – that is what they want.  They know if they behave in this way they will get what they want because the other party will back down.

Ø  Do not react to their behaviour- that is what they want.

Ø  You need to ignore their behaviour, this is what they choose – not you.  Be focused on the outcome and do not let their behaviour influence you away from this.

Ø  Focus on the merits of both cases

Ø  Consider what ‘trades’ you are going to make.  What you give up reflects consideration of the merits of their case, in exchange for what you insist on getting from them.

Ø  This shows and forces them to give recognition to the merits of your case.

Ø  In short, continue with your PURPLE behaviour, using the condition and offer,  ‘If … then’ strategy.

DO NOT LET THEM GET TO YOU!!

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

You can have the greatest ideas in the  world, but they are no good to your company, or your career, if you can’t express them clearly and persuasively

7Cs of COMMUNICATIONS

• Credibility
• Capability
• Content
• Context
• Channel
• Consistency
• Clarity

Features of Effective Communication

o   Active Listening

o   Eye contact

o   Posture

o   Simple language

o   Questioning skills

Benefits of effective communication

o   Quicker problem solving

o   Better decision making

o   Steady work flow

o   Strong business relations

o   Better professional image

When Communication will be Effective?

In Downward Communication,

•         Job instructions are clear

•         Important points repeated

•         Bypassing formal communication channels

In Upward communication,

•       Understand the requirements of the superiors

•       Relevant aspects of the information are       sent

•       Quantified data is sent rather than subjective information

In Horizontal Communication,

•       An atmosphere of openness and trust is created

•       An atmosphere of team spirit is established

In Diagonal Communication,

•       When information, data, facts and figures are easily available to both parties

•       When both parties understand what is expected of them

•       When both parties are on mutually helping tendency

In External Communication,

•       When proper communication channels are established

•       When every member of the organization knows those channel

IMPROVE EXISTING LEVEL OF COMMUNICATION

•       Improve your general knowledge

•       Improve your language.

•       Improve your pronunciation.

•       Work on voice modulation.

•       Work on body language.

•       Develop habit of reading

•       Listen more

•       Interact with qualitative people.

•       Improve your friend circle.

•       Improve on you topic of discussion,

•       Practice meditation & good thoughts.

•       Think and then speak.

•       Do not speak too fast.

•       Use simple vocabulary.

•       Do not speak only to impress someone speak sense.

•       Look presentable and confident

DAY 8

SKILL CAPSULE: RAPPORT SKILLS

Rapport is a state of harmonious understanding with another individual or group that enables greater and easier communication.  In other words rapport is getting on well with another person, or group of people, by having things in common, this makes the communication process easier and usually more effective.

Sometimes rapport happens naturally, you ‘hit it off’ or ‘get on well’ with somebody else without having to try, this is often how friendships are built.  However, rapport can also be built and developed by finding common ground, developing a bond and being empathic. 

Rapport is important in both our professional and personal lives; employers are more likely to employ somebody who they believe will get on well with their current staff.  Personal relationships are easier to make and develop when there is a closer connection and understanding between the parties involved – i.e. there is greater rapport.

The first task in successful interpersonal relationships is to attempt to build rapport.  Building rapport is all about matching ourselves with another person.  For many, starting a conversation with a stranger is a stressful event; we can be lost for words, awkward with our body language and mannerisms.  Creating rapport at the beginning of a conversation with somebody new will often make the outcome of the conversation more positive.  However stressful and/or nervous you may feel the first thing you need to do is to try to relax and remain calm, by decreasing the tension in the situation communication becomes easier and rapport grows.

When meeting somebody for the first time some simple tips will help you reduce the tension in the situation enabling both parties to feel more relaxed and thus communicate more effectively:

·         Use non-threatening and ‘safe topics’ for initial small talk. Talk about established shared experiences, the weather, how you travelled to where you are. Avoid talking too much about yourself and avoid asking direct questions about the other person

·         Listen to what the other person is saying and look for shared experiences or circumstances - this will give you more to talk about in the initial stages of communication.

·         Try to inject an element of humour. Laughing together creates harmony, make a joke about yourself or the situation/circumstances you are in but avoid making jokes about other people.

·         Be conscious of your body language and other non-verbal signals you are sending.  Try to maintain eye contact for approximately 60% of the time.  Relax and lean slightly towards them to indicate listening, mirror their body-language if appropriate

·         Show some empathy. Demonstrate that you can see the other person’s point of view. Remember rapport is all about finding similarities and ‘being on the same wavelength’ as somebody else - so being empathic will help to achieve this.

Make sure the other person feels included but not interrogated during initial conversations, as you may feel tense and uneasy meeting and talking to somebody new, so may they. Put the other person at ease, this will enable you to relax and conversation to take on a natural course.

Non-Verbal Rapport Building

Although initial conversations can help us to relax, most rapport-building happens without words and through non-verbal communication channels.

We create and maintain rapport subconsciously through matching non-verbal signals, including body positioning, body movements, eye contact, facial expressions and tone of voice with the other person.

Watch two friends talking when you get the opportunity and see how they sub-consciously mimic each other’s non-verbal communication.

We create rapport instinctively, it is our natural defence from conflict, which most of us will try hard to avoid most of the time.

It is important that appropriate body language is used; we read and instantly believe what body language tells us, whereas we may take more persuading with vocal communication.  If there is a mismatch between what we are saying verbally and what our body language is saying then the person we are communicating with will believe the body language.  Building rapport, therefore, begins with displaying appropriate body language - being welcoming, relaxed and open.

As well as paying attention to and matching body language with the person we are communicating with, it helps if we can also match their words.  Reflecting back and clarifying what has been said are useful tactics for repeating what has been communicated by the other person.  Not only will it confirm that you are listening but also give you opportunity to use the words and phases of the other person, further emphasising similarity and common ground.

The way we use our voice is also important in developing rapport.  When we are nervous or tense we tend to talk more quickly, this in turn can make you sound more tense and stressed. We can vary our voices, pitch, volume and pace in ways to make what we are saying more interesting but also to come across as more relaxed, open and friendly. Try lowering your tone, talk more slowly and softly, this will help you develop rapport more easily.

Helpful Rapport Building Behaviours

·         If you are sitting then lean forward, towards the person you are talking to, with hands open and arms and legs uncrossed.  This is open body language and will help you and the person you are talking to feel more relaxed.

·         Look at the other person for approximately 60% of the time.  Give plenty of eye-contact but be careful not to make them feel uncomfortable.

·         When listening, nod and make encouraging sounds and gestures.

·         Smile!

·         Use the other person’s name early in the conversation. This is not only seen as polite but will also reinforce the name in your mind so you are less likely to forget it!

·         Ask the other person open questions.  Open questions require more than a yes or no answer.

·         Use feedback to summarise, reflect and clarify back to the other person what you think they have said.  This gives opportunity for any misunderstandings to be rectified quickly.

·         Talk about things that refer back to what the other person has said.  Find links between common experiences.

·         Try to show empathy.  Demonstrate that you can understand how the other person feels and can see things from their point of view. When in agreement with the other person, openly say so and say why.

·         Build on the other person’s ideas.

·         Be non-judgemental towards the other person.  Let go of stereotypes and any preconceived ideas you may have about the person.

·         If you have to disagree with the other person, give the reason first then say you disagree.

·         Admit when you don’t know the answer or have made a mistake.  Being honest is always the best tactic, acknowledging mistakes will help to build trust.

·         Be genuine, with visual and verbal behaviours working together to maximize the impact of your communication.

Offer a compliment, avoid criticism and be polite.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: BODY LANGUAGE

What do we mean by “Body Language” ??

The medium through which people and communicate using gestures, expressions and posture.

Why is Body Language important?

Body language plays a big role in intuition as it gives us messages about the other person, that we can interpret at an intuitive level.

Components of Body Language

·         Facial Expression including Eye contact

·         Gestures

·         Stance

·         Space Relationship

Facial Expressions

·         There are some universal facial expressions; a smile, a frown, a scowl.

·         Eye contact is direct and powerful. 

·         The use of eye contact varies significantly from culture to culture

Gestures

·         Fidgeting shows boredom and restlessness.

·          Pressing fingers together to form a steeple shows interests, assertiveness and determination.

·         Touching the nose or rubbing eyes indicates discomfort.

·         A hand to the back of the neck may indicate withdrawal from a conversation.

Open Stance

·         Interested people always have an erect posture, pay attention and lean forward

·         A firm handshake will give the impression of assertiveness or honesty

·         People showing open hands, both feet planted on the ground are accepting

·         A head tilted to the side indicates interest

Closed Stance

·         Leaning backwards demonstrates aloofness or rejection

·         Folding arms across ones chest or body is protective and gives the impression of a closed, guarded and defensive character.

·         People with arms folded, legs crossed and bodies turned away are signalling that they are rejecting messages.

·         A head down is negative and judgmental

Space

·         There are four distinct zones in which most people operate:

·         Intimate Area 15-50 cm

·         Personal Area 0.5-1m

·         Social Area 1-3m

·         General Area 3m

NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR	INTERPRETATION
Brisk, erect walk	Confidence
Standing with hands on hips	Readiness, aggression
Sitting with legs crossed, foot kicking slightly	Boredom
Sitting, legs apart	Open, relaxed
Arms crossed on chest	Defensiveness
Walking with hands in pockets, shoulders hunched	Dejection
Hand to cheek	Evaluation, thinking
Touching the lips, rubbing or hiding the nose with fingers	Doubt, lying, hiding
Rubbing the eye	Doubt, disbelief
Hands clasped behind back	Anger, frustration, apprehension
Locked ankles	Apprehension
Head resting in hand, eyes downcast	Boredom
Rubbing hands	Anticipation
Open palm	Sincerity, openness, innocence
Pinching bridge of nose, eyes closed	Negative evaluation
Tapping or drumming fingers	Impatience
Steepling fingers	Authoritative
Patting/fondling hair	Lack of self-confidence; insecurity
Tilted head	Interest
Stroking chin	Trying to make a decision
Looking down, face turned away	Disbelief
Biting nails	Insecurity, nervousness
Pulling or tugging at ear	Indecision

DAY 9

SKILL CAPSULE: CORPORATE ETIQUETTES

Why is etiquette important?

•          Good manners help you make a positive impression

•          Knowing that you are behaving appropriately helps you feel relaxed and confident so you can focus on business

•          Good manners save you time - you won’t have to spend time soothing hurt feelings or making up for damaging mistakes

•          People like to do business when you make them feel comfortable

Successful Encounters

SMALL TALK SKILLS

Tuning-In Techniques

•          Smile - friendliness / receptivity

•          Open posture - attentive

•          Forward Lean - alert (arm’s distance)

•          Tone - show interest

•          Eye Contact - direct without staring

•          Nod - understanding

Listening Manners

•          Create a setting in which you can listen

•          Tune out internal distractions - (worries)

•          Monitor your body language - receptive

•          Do not interrupt

•          Repeat or paraphrase what was said

Your turn to talk

•          It is appropriate to respond to what someone else has said

•          If you need to start - topics may include: Weather, Sports, Traffic, Business Events, Books, Movies, TV Shows, Meeting Place or City (whichever is appropriate)

•          It is gracious to call the person’s name during the conversation

Your turn to talk - Opening Lines

•          Upbeat Observation – “This is very impressive. It looks like…..”

•          Open Ended Questions - “What do you think of…..?”

•          General Questions - “Where are you from?”

UNDERSTANDING BODY LANGUAGE

o   Person turns away or averts his eyes

(disagreement / annoyed/ distracted)

o   Person turns to face you

(interested)

o   Slouching

(loosing interest)

o   Raising hands to his chest

(honest)

o   Wringing hands, nail-biting, foot tapping, shaking legs

(nervous)

BEHAVIOR         Talks too much                Ignores others Interrupts                           Only discusses work

IMPRESSION CREATED Nervous/Insensitive Snobbish Rude Too serious

IMPRESSIVE INTRODUCTION

o   First impressions can be lasting ones

o   Say the name of the person who holds position of most authority and importance first

o   Keep it basic - say the name only once

o   Clarify - some information about the person - keep it short

o   When in doubt do not use first names

o   Admit that you have forgotten the name - rather than guess!

o   If someone neglects to introduce you - go ahead and introduce yourself

o   When you are introduced stand up and shake hands

TIPS ON TIMING

o   It is rude to be late

o   Apologize for your delay when you arrive

o   Schedule meetings farther apart

o   Estimate duration of tasks

o   Be more organized

o   Don’t overstay your welcome

PHYSICAL DISTANCE - REASONABLE PROXIMITY

o   In a business setting, you should rarely, if ever, touch a person

o   Comfortable distance - 3 feet - or an arm’s length away

o   It can help to keep your professional reputation intact

OFFICE PARTY MANNERS

o   Be on time

o   Treat your managers with respectful friendliness

o   Look as if you are having fun

o   Don’t flirt

o   Don’t get drunk

o   Don’t gossip

HANDSHAKES

•          Handshakes are the only acceptable physical conduct for men & women in the business arena.

•          Handshakes are the universally accepted business greeting.

•          Hugs & kisses are a taboo in the business arena.
You are judged by the quality of the handshake.

A good hand shake

•          Fingers together with the thumb up and open

•          Slide your hand into the other person’s so that each person's web of skin between the thumb and forefingers touches the other’s

•          Squeezes the hand firmly-Is firm but not bone-crushing

•          Lasts for about 3 seconds

Includes good eye-contact with the other person an is released after the shake, even if the introduction continues

CARD ETIQUETTES

•          Always have an ample supply of easily accessible cards

•          Place them ahead of time in a coat pocket or purse so that you may have them ready to hand at a moment’s notice.

•          Present your cards face up so that to those whom you are giving it can easily read.

•          When handed a card, take the time to read it and check to make sure you have proper pronunciation.

•          Never turn down a card someone gives you.

•          Be selective with distributing cards

•          Include cards with business correspondence.

•          Don’t be anxious to distribute cards

•          In social functions be unobtrusive while giving cards

•          Business cards should not surface during meals , -be discreet
Using two hands to present and take the cards looks elegant

THUMB RULES FOR INTRODUCTIONS

•          Use full names and no “nick“ names

•          Use title where ever applicable “ Dr. “

•          In social settings add a personal interest line along with the name and designation

•          In official settings full name and designation is important

•          In gatherings make an effort that very one is introduced

•          Open doors and let ladies walk in first

•          With a revolving door the male walks in first and hold it for the woman

•          In the escalator male enters first faces the woman to help

•          In a lift the woman gets out first , but while getting out he should be out and make sure the door is open for her.

•          If a man is driving he should open the door for the lady before sitting. At the end there is no need to rush and open

•          Men should volunteer to carry heavy packets of the women

•          There is no rule that only a man should pay when the two go out

•          Never ask women personal questions

GIVING COMPLIMENTS

•          Be consistent - compliment everyone who deserves it

•          Be specific - be direct

•          Don’t confuse praise with feedback

•          When appropriate give praise in public or in writing

•          Be timely

 ACCEPTING COMPLIMENTS

•          Acknowledge the compliment - say “Thank You”

•          Don’t argue with or attempt to qualify the compliment

•          Even when you genuinely disagree with the reason for the compliment, don’t insult the speaker

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: TELEPHONE ETTIQUTE

Office Phones

·         Answer the phone in 3 rings or less

·         Never answer with just “Hello.”

·         Ask permission to place someone on hold.

·         Limit hold time to 30-40 seconds.  If longer, call back.

·         When on the phone, give full attention to the caller – no on-site conversations, etc.

·         When someone calls you, you should NOT hang up first.

·         When you place a call that will take some time, ask if the person if he/she has time to talk.

·         If the phone connection is lost, the initial caller should call back.

·         Never place someone on the speakerphone without asking permission.

·         Return calls in 24 hours or less.

·         Establish a call-back hour each day

Voice Mail

·         Your voicemail greeting should be short and informative – identify yourself and encourage person to leave a message

·         Check voice mail at least two times per day

·         When leaving a message, leave name, number, reason for call, and time you can be reached – be brief

·         Do not use voice mail for bad news, confidential information, or complicated directions

·         Do not leave “angry” messages

·         Do not leave the same message multiple times; use another contact message

Cellular Phones

·         Turn OFF cell phones during ALL meetings.  (If expecting emergency call, notify meeting participants in advance.) 

·         Cell phone calls should be brief.

·         Company cell phones should only be used for company business.

·         Remove yourself from the presence of others when making a cell phone call

·         Do NOT talk on a cell phone:

·         When walking on the sidewalk/street

·         Driving a car

·         In a theatre

·         In a restaurant

·         In a classroom

·         In any other public place

FAXES

·         Only fax short documents – use overnight delivery for long documents

·         “Junk” mail should be sent 3rd class – never faxed

·         Faxes should contain yours and recipient’s name and contact information

·         Never read another’s fax

Copiers

·         Smaller jobs go first

·         Large jobs should allow small jobs to interrupt

·         Return machine to original configuration

DAY 10

SKILL CAPSULE: DELEGATION SKILLS

One of the most important questions to answer if you want to delegate a task, whether at home or in the workplace, is ‘How much control do I want over the task?’.

The answer to this question will drive how you delegate the task, how often you meet with the person doing the work, and what level of detail you want to know about. It will also alter the leadership style that you adopt. What’s more, saying that you want one level of control when actually you want another, is likely to confuse your team and make them anxious and less effective, so it’s really important that you know what you want and communicate it clearly.

From No Control to Total Control

Think of control over the task as being shared in some way between ‘leader’, that is, the person delegating the work, and followers. The level of control can vary from the leader being in total control to the followers being in total control, with a whole spectrum of shared control in between. If the leader is in total control, the leadership style being used is likely to be Commanding  or Pacesetting. Shared control could be Authoritative/Visionary (the leader relies on the quality of their vision to bring their team along), Democratic, Coaching or Affiliative, all of which are very much linked to dialogue.

Total control lying with the followers is not often seen, because of the level of risk to the leader. It is more commonly described as Laissez-Faire leadership, which should give you some idea of the level of esteem in which it is not held by leadership gurus.

Nine Levels of Delegation

With the level of control in mind, we can then move on to think about how you delegate work or tasks. Tim Brighouse, the former Schools Commissioner for London defined nine levels of delegation.

They are:

1. Look into this problem. Give me all the facts. I will decide what to do.
2. Let me know the options available with the pros and cons of each. I will decide what to select.
3. Let me know the criteria for your recommendation, which alternatives you have identified and which one appears best to you with any risk identified. I will make the decision.
4. Recommend a course of action for my approval.
5. Let me know what you intend to do. Delay action until I approve.
6. Let me know what you intend to do. Do it unless I say not to.
7. Take action. Let me know what you did. Let me know how it turns out.
8. Take action. Communicate with me only if the action is unsuccessful.
9. Take action. No further communication with me is necessary.

It will immediately be apparent that there is huge potential for problems if you want to know exactly what is going on, but your subordinate has received the message that you don’t want any further information. Delegating work is obviously a lot more complicated than it looks at first sight.

Key Skills in Delegating Work

Delegating may be complicated, but there are actually only two principle skill areas needed for successful delegating:

1.       Be aware what level of control you want and need, which needs high levels of self-awareness. Good leaders are intrinsically self-aware, and understand how they like to work.

2.       The best leaders are also aware of how their subordinates like to work, and strive to find a balance between the two, to allow their subordinates to grow and develop in their work. You can find out how much control people like by asking them, and negotiating the level of delegation that you use with them so that both of you get some of what you want (and a win-win situation).

Make sure that you are absolutely clear with your subordinate what level of delegation you have used. This requires strong communication skills.

Like so many skills, delegation can be broken down into a relatively straightforward set of skills: in this case, communication and self-awareness. However, also like many others, it takes a fair bit of practice before you’re really comfortable. To get better, it’s a good idea to practise consciously using different levels of delegation, so that you become familiar with the type of language needed for each, and are able to use them comfortably. You will then be able to flex your style to fit the task and the person to whom you are delegating.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: Call out to a person 200m away

DAY 11

SKILL CAPSULE: INFLUENCING SKILLS

How often have you needed to influence others to do something?

It’s a situation that arises almost every day, whether it’s getting your teenager to tidy their room, or your pre-schooler to get dressed, or a colleague to attend a meeting on your behalf. Some people seem to be able to do it effortlessly, and almost without anyone noticing, whereas others fall back on the power of their position to enforce what they want.

Influencing skills can be learnt just like any others, and they are a key part of being able to influence others to achieve your goals and objectives.

Ways to Influence

Nagging

We all know people who aim to influence by talking constantly. They seem to think they can grind others into submission, by simply reiterating their point of view constantly. This, basically, is nagging. And it does sometimes work, of course, because their colleagues or family give in solely to get some peace. But as a general rule, others influenced in this way probably haven’t bought into the idea, and are not committed to it.

This means that when the going gets tough, the idea could easily just wither and die.

Coercion

Others fall back on the power of their position, and order others to do what they want. This, in its most unpleasant sense, is coercion. Again, their family or colleagues won’t necessarily like what they’re doing. If it’s hard, they may well give up. More orders will be issued, to rescue the idea, but again, may be unsuccessful, because those involved are doing it because they have to, not because they want to.

A Better Way

The ‘Holy Grail’ of influencing, then, is to get others to buy into the idea, and want to do it your way. And the best way of doing that is in a way that others don’t notice. But how?

The fable of the sun and the wind is a good example:

The wind and the sun decided to have a competition to decide once and for all who was stronger. They agreed that the winner would be the one who could influence a man to take off his coat. The wind blew and blew, but the man only held on more tightly to his coat. Then the sun shone gently down, and within minutes, the man took off his coat.

The moral here is that you can’t force someone to do what they don’t want; instead, the art of influencing is to get them to want what you want.

 

Barriers to Successful Influence

One way to think about what works in influencing others is to think about what doesn’t work first.

1. Thinking that you are better at influencing than you are, and therefore failing to hone your skills. Instead, take a long, hard look at yourself, and see where your skills need to be improved.
2. Trying too hard to influence. Seeming too keen probably puts people off faster than anything else.
3. Failing to put in the effort required to get what you want. Nothing, or at least not much, is free in this world.
4. Talking too much. Stop, and just listen to the people you need to influence.
5. Providing too much information, which just confuses people, and makes them think you are trying to blind them with science. What, they ask, are you not telling them?
6. Getting desperate. Like insincerity, people can spot fear at a distance, and don’t like it.
7. Being afraid of rejection. This can even stop people from trying to influence in extreme cases.
8. Not being prepared. You can’t ‘wing it’ every time. Your audience will see through you, and will think that you value your time more highly than theirs.
9. Making assumptions about your audience, and then not being prepared to reassess when new evidence emerges.
10. Forgetting that the whole conversation is important. You need to engage in order to influence, right from the beginning.

Successful Influencing

Research shows that there are a number of things that people like about successful influencers.

Kurt Mortensen’s research suggests that these elements are largely emotional. They include keeping promises, being reliable and taking responsibility, being sincere, genuine, and honest, knowing their subject, and believing in it, building rapport, and being entertaining, as well as not arguing and providing solutions that work.

The key skills for successful influencing, then, are pretty wide. First of all, successful influencers tend to have high self-esteem and good Emotional Intelligence more generally. They really believe that they will succeed.

You also need to remain motivated and believe in yourself and your ideas. Additionally, you need to understand how your audience thinks. Key skills here include Empathy, and good Listening Skills, including Active Listening. If you listen, your audience will usually tell you what and how they are thinking. It also helps to be able to build rapport; people like those who take time to become a friend, as well as an influencer. It follows, really: if we’re honest, we’d all much rather do what a friend suggests than someone we dislike, however sensible the idea. Building rapport also helps to build trust. Good influencers or influencers also have very good Communication Skills.

It’s essential that you can get your point across succinctly and effectively, otherwise you’re never going to influence anyone of the merits of your position.

The final skill of good influencers is being organised. They do their homework, they know their audience and they know their subject. They have taken time to organise themselves and think about what they want to achieve.

Conclusion

It takes time, but develop these skills, and you will start to develop ‘authentic power’, which means that you have power because people believe in what you’re saying. Once you have that, you are likely to be much more successful in influencing and influencing others, whether at home or at work.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: Announce (Shout) on Shop Floor " Factory closed due to heavy rains"

DAY 12

SKILL CAPSULE: STRESS MANAGEMENT

Effectively coping with stress, managing stress and finding ways to reduce unnecessary or unhealthy levels of stress are important life skills - skills that everybody needs.

Negative stress, tension and anxiety are extremely common problems in modern life - most people will suffer from potentially dangerous or debilitating symptoms of stress and stress related issues at some point in their lives.

This page (part of a series of stress management pages) provides an introduction or overview to negative stress, together with some of the most common causes of stress and the consequences of inappropriate levels of stress.

Stress is a response to an inappropriate level of pressure. You may encounter stress from a number of sources including:

• Personal Stress: which may be caused by the nature of your work, changes in your life or personal problems.
• Stress in family or friends: which in turn may affect you.
• Stress in your colleagues: which also may affect you.

Stress can be described as the distress that is caused as a result of demands placed on physical or mental energy.  Stress can arise as the result of factors including:

 

Anxiety

Anxiety is caused when life events are felt to be threatening to individual physical, social or mental well-being.  The amount of anxiety experienced by an individual depends on:

• How threatening these life events are perceived to be.
• Individual coping strategies.
• How many stressful events occur in a short period of time.

Tension

Tension is a natural reaction to anxiety.  It is part of a primitive survival instinct where physiological changes prepare the individual for ‘fight or flight’.  This sympathetic response, as it is known, results in a chemical Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) being released in the body and causes muscles to tense ready for action. 

Blood vessels near the skin constrict, to slow bleeding if injury is sustained, and to increase the blood supply to the muscles, heart, lungs and brain.  Digestion is inhibited, the bladder relaxes, the heart rate and breathing speed increase, the body sweats more.  The person affected becomes more alert, their eyes dilate and a surge of adrenaline gives rise to an increase in energy.

These responses are extremely useful in situations of physical danger but, unlike for primitive humans, many of the anxieties of modern life are not ones that can be solved by a ‘fight or flight’ reaction or by any physical response.

Modern day stressful situations tend to continue for much longer periods of time and an immediate response does not relieve the anxiety-provoking situation. Therefore, prolonged states of anxiety can lead to symptoms of stress which prevent the individual from returning to his or her normal, relaxed state. Prolonged stress can therefore be detrimental to health and wellbeing.

Physical Signs of Stress

In addition to feeling uneasy, tense and worried, physical sensations of continued stress can include:

• Palpitations
• Dizziness
• Indigestion or heartburn
• Tension headaches
• Aching muscles
• Trembling or eye twitches
• Diarrhoea
• Frequent urination
• Insomnia
• Tiredness
• Impotence

People are often unaware that they are suffering from stress and visit the doctor with symptoms of indigestion, muscle pain, headaches, etc.  Severe stress can lead to panic attacks, chest pains, phobias and fears of being seriously ill.

Continued stress can lead to feelings of lethargy and tiredness, migraine, severe stomach upset and sleeplessness.  As with all such symptoms, you should seek the help and advice of a health care professional.  Once symptoms are recognised as being caused by stress it is possible to control and reduce stress levels. This can be done through learning a number of stress reduction techniques.

Stress-Inducing Events and Situations

Different people find different events and situations more or less stressful than others, individuals have a range of events or situations that are particularly stressful to them, most people would agree that major events such as losing a job, divorce or money problems would be stressful for anyone.

Many of the most stressful situations in live come as a result of unplanned changes in personal circumstance.

The following list is compiled from the answers given by a large number of people as to how hard it is to readjust to different life changing events.  A high score shows that people find it hard to readjust to that event, which in turn indicates a high stress factor.

Life changes can have a direct effect on health, either good or bad.  Of people who have a ‘life change score’ of 200-300, half exhibit health problems in the following year.  Of those with a score over 300, 79% become ill in the following year.  The most stressful change is the death of a spouse.  Widowers have a 40% higher death rate than normal and have high rates of illness and depression.

It is not only unpleasant events that can be stressful. Almost any change in circumstances can cause stress - as we readjust. If possible, it is wise to not have too many changes in life at the same time.

In addition to stress being caused by events, certain situations can lead to people feeling stressed; although as mentioned before the degree of stress will depend, amongst other things, on that individual’s coping strategies. 

The environment can make us stressed: for example, noise, crowds, poor lighting, pollution or other external factors over which we have no control can cause us to feel anxious and irritable.

Adjusting to modern-day life can also be a source of stress. We now communicate with people in many different ways, e.g. through the Internet, mobile phones, and various broadcast media, and the expectation of a quick response has increased. 

We also have many more commodities available to us and some people feel an expectation to maintain a certain lifestyle and level of consumerism.  In addition, for many women it is now the norm to manage a full or part-time job and to be the primary career nurturing a family. All of these changes mean that stress is now unfortunately commonplace in both our personal and professional lives. 

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: Read out to your partner who will write facing away from each other

DAY 13

SKILL CAPSULE: TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Have you ever wondered how it is that some people seem to have enough time to do everything that they want to, whereas others are always rushing from task to task, and never seem to finish anything?

Is it just that the former have less to do? No, it’s much more likely that they are using their time more effectively and practicing good time management skills.

Time management is not very difficult as a concept, but it’s surprisingly hard to do in practice. It requires the investment of a little time upfront to prioritise and organise yourself. But once done, you will find that with minor tweaks, your day, and indeed your week and month, fall into place in an orderly fashion, with time for everything you need to do.

The Key to Good Time Management

Understanding the difference between Urgent and Important

‘Urgent’ tasks demand your immediate attention, but whether you actually give them that attention may or may not matter.

'Important' tasks matter, and not doing them may have serious consequences for you or others.

For example:

• Answering the phone is urgent. If you don’t do it, the caller will ring off, and you won’t know why they called. It may, however, be an automated voice telling you that you may be eligible for compensation for having been mis-sold insurance. That’s not important.
• Going to the dentist regularly is important (or so we’re told). If you don’t, you may get gum disease, or other problems. But it’s not urgent. If you leave it too long, however, it may become urgent, because you may get toothache.
• Picking your children up from school is both urgent and important. If you are not there at the right time, they will be waiting in the playground or the classroom, worrying about where you are.
• Reading funny emails or checking Facebook is neither urgent nor important. So why is it the first thing that you do each day?

This distinction between urgent and important is the key to prioritising your time and your workload, whether at work or at home.

Try using a grid, like the priority matrix, to organize your tasks into their appropriate categories:

Remember, too, that you and your health are important. Just because you have lots to do doesn’t mean that doing some exercise, going for a 10-minute walk or making time to eat properly is not important. You should not ignore your physical or mental health in favour of more 'urgent' activities.

Urgency and/or importance is not a fixed status. You should review your task list regularly to make sure that nothing should be moved up because it has become more urgent and/or important.

What can you do if an important task continually gets bumped down the list by more urgent, but still important tasks?

First, consider whether it is genuinely important. Does it actually need doing at all, or have you just been telling yourself that you ought to do it?

Further Principles of Good Time Management

Keep tidy

For some of us, clutter can be both a real distraction and genuinely depressing.

Tidying up can improve both self-esteem and motivation. You will also find it easier to stay on top of things if your workspace is tidy.

If you have a system where everything is stuck on the fridge or notice board pending action, then take off anything that doesn’t need action and/or has been dealt with! That way, you’ll be able to see at a glance what needs doing, and you'll be less likely to miss anything.

Pick Your Moment

All of us have times of day that we work better. It’s best to schedule the difficult tasks for those times.

However, you also need to schedule in things that need doing at particular times, like meetings, or a trip to the post office.

Another useful option is to have a list of important but non-urgent small tasks that can be done in that odd ten minutes between meetings: might it be the ideal time to send that email confirming your holiday dates?

 

Don’t Procrastinate, but Do Ask Why You’re Tempted

If a task is genuinely urgent and important, get on with it.

If, however, you find yourself making excuses about not doing something, ask yourself why.

You may be doubtful about whether you should be doing the task at all. Perhaps you’re concerned about the ethics, or you don’t think it’s the best option.  If so, you may find that others agree. Talk it over with colleagues or your manager, if at work, and family or friends at home, and see if there is an alternative that might be better.

Don’t Try To Multi-task

Generally, people aren’t very good at multi-tasking, because it takes our brains time to refocus.

It’s much better to finish off one job before moving onto another. If you do have to do lots of different tasks, try to group them together, and do similar tasks consecutively.

 

Stay Calm and Keep Things In Perspective

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to stay calm. Feeling overwhelmed by too many tasks can be very stressful. Remember that the world will probably not end if you fail to achieve your last task of the day, or leave it until tomorrow, especially if you have prioritised sensibly. 

Going home or getting an early night, so that you are fit for tomorrow, may be a much better option than meeting a self-imposed or external deadline that may not even matter that much.

Take a moment to pause and get your life and priorities into perspective, and you may find that the view changes quite substantially!

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: Give a Dictation to your partner standing 15 feet away

DAY 14

SKILL CAPSULE: PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS

Everybody can benefit from having good problem solving skills as we all encounter problems on a daily basis; some of these problems are obviously more severe or complex than others.

It would be wonderful to have the ability to solve all problems efficiently and in a timely fashion without difficulty, unfortunately there is no one way in which all problems can be solved.

You will discover, as you read through our pages on problem solving, that the subject is complex. However well prepared we are for problem solving there is always an element of the unknown. Although planning and structuring will help make the problem solving process more likely to be successful, good judgement and an element of good luck will ultimately determine whether problem solving was a success.

Interpersonal relationships fail and businesses fail because of poor problem solving

This is often due to either problems not being recognized or being recognized but not being dealt with appropriately. Solving a problem involves a certain amount of risk - this risk needs to be weighed up against not solving the problem.

Our problem solving pages provide a simple and structured approach to problem solving.

The approach referred to is generally designed for problem solving in an organization or group context, but can also be easily adapted to work at an individual level. Trying to solve a complex problem alone however can be a mistake, the old adage: "A problem shared is a problem halved" is sound advice. Talking to others about problems is not only therapeutic but can help you see things from a different point of view, opening up more potential solutions.

What is a Problem?

 

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1995) defines a problem as:

“A doubtful or difficult matter requiring a solution”

and

“Something hard to understand or accomplish or deal with.”

All problems have two features in common: goals and barriers.

 

Goals

Problems involve setting out to achieve some objective or desired state of affairs and can include avoiding a situation or event.

Goals can be anything that you wish to achieve, where you want to be. If you are hungry then your goal is probably to eat something, if you are a head of an organization (CEO) then your main goal may be to maximize profits. In the example of the CEO the main goal may need to be split into numerous sub-goals in order to fulfill the ultimate goal of increasing profits.

 

Barriers

If there were no barriers in the way of achieving a goal, then there would be no problem.  Problem solving involves overcoming the barriers or obstacles that prevent the immediate achievement of goals.

Following our examples above, if you feel hungry then your goal is to eat. A barrier to this may be that you have no food available - you take a trip to the supermarket and buy some food, removing the barrier and thus solving the problem. Of course for the CEO wanting to increase profits there may be many more barriers preventing the goal from being reached. The CEO needs to attempt to recognize these barriers and remove them or find other ways to achieve the goals of the organization.

Stages of Problem Solving

Problem Identification:

This stage involves: detecting and recognising that there is a problem; identifying the nature of the problem; defining the problem.

The first phase of problem solving may sound obvious but often requires more thought and analysis. Identifying a problem can be a difficult task in itself, is there a problem at all? What is the nature of the problem, are there in fact numerous problems? How can the problem be best defined? - by spending some time defining the problem you will not only understand it more clearly yourself but be able to communicate its nature to others, this leads to the second phase.

 

Structuring the Problem:

This stage involves: a period of observation, careful inspection, fact-finding and developing a clear picture of the problem.

Following on from problem identification, structuring the problem is all about gaining more information about the problem and increasing understanding. This phase is all about fact finding and analysis, building a more comprehensive picture of both the goal(s) and the barrier(s). This stage may not be necessary for very simple problems but is essential for problems of a more complex nature.

 

Looking for Possible Solutions:

During this stage you will generate a range of possible courses of action, but with little attempt to evaluate them at this stage.

From the information gathered in the first two phases of the problem solving framework it is now time to start thinking about possible solutions to the identified problem. In a group situation this stage is often carried out as a brain-storming session, letting each person in the group express their views on possible solutions (or part solutions). In organisations different people will have different expertise in different areas and it is useful, therefore, to hear the views of each concerned party.

 

Making a Decision:

This stage involves careful analysis of the different possible courses of action and then selecting the best solution for implementation.

This is perhaps the most complex part of the problem solving process. Following on from the previous step it is now time to look at each potential solution and carefully analyse it. Some solutions may not be possible, due to other problems, like time constraints or budgets. It is important at this stage to also consider what might happen if nothing was done to solve the problem - sometimes trying to solve a problem that leads to many more problems requires some very creative thinking and innovative ideas.

Finally, make a decision on which course of action to take - decision making is an important skill in itself

 

Implementation:

This stage involves accepting and carrying out the chosen course of action.

Implementation means acting on the chosen solution. During implementation more problems may arise especially if identification or structuring of the original problem was not carried out fully.

 

Monitoring/Seeking Feedback:

The last stage is about reviewing the outcomes of problem solving over a period of time, including seeking feedback as to the success of the outcomes of the chosen solution.

The final stage of problem solving is concerned with checking that the process was successful. This can be achieved by monitoring and gaining feedback from people affected by any changes that occurred. It is good practice to keep a record of outcomes and any additional problems that occurred.

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: Dictation to whole class

DAY 15

SKILL CAPSULE: WORK ETHIC

The importance of developing a strong work ethic and how the work ethic you develop will impact your future as an employee.

Top 10 Work Ethics

Ø  Attendance

Ø   Character

Ø   Team Work

Ø   Appearance

Ø   Attitude

Ø  Productivity

Ø   Organizational Skills

Ø   Communication

Ø   Cooperation

Ø   Respect

Traits of a Winning Employee

Ø  Limit Absences

Be at work every day possible

        Plan your absences

        Don’t abuse leave time

Ø  Come to work on time

        Be punctual every day

Ø  Be honest

“Honesty is the single most important factor    having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product.”  Ed McMahon

Ø  Be dependable

        Complete assigned tasks correctly and promptly

Ø  Be loyal

        Speak positively about the company

Ø  Be willing to learn

        Look to improve your skills

Ø  Be a team player

        The ability to get along with others– including those you don’t necessarily like

Ø  Leadership abilities

        The ability to be led and/or to become the leader

Ø  Be a contributing member. The ability to carry your own weight and help others who are struggling

Ø  Accept compromise

        Recognize when to speak up with an idea and when to compromise by blend ideas together

Ø  Dress Appropriately

        Dress for Success!

        Set your best foot forward                        

Ø  Personal hygiene

Ø  Good manners

Ø  Hand shake

Ø  Demeanor

Ø  Eye contact

        Remember that the first impression of who you are can last a lifetime

Ø  Have a good attitude

        Listen to suggestions

        Be positive

Ø  Accept responsibility for ones work

        If you make a mistake, admit it

Ø  Do the work correctly

        Quality and timeliness are prized

Ø  Get along with co-workers

        Cooperation is the key to productivity

Ø  Help out whenever asked

        Do “extras” without being asked

Ø  Take pride in your work

        Do things the best you know how

Ø  Make an effort to improve

        Learn ways to better yourself

Ø  Time Management

        Utilize time and resources to get the most out of both

Ø  Written Communications

        Being able to correctly write reports and memos

Ø  Verbal Communications. Being able to communicate one on one or to a group

Ø  Follow company rules and  policies

        Learn and follow expectations

Ø  Get along with co-workers

        Cooperation is the key to productivity

Ø  Appreciate privileges and don’t abuse them

        Privileges are favors and benefits

Ø  Work hard

        Work to the best of your ability

Ø  Carry out orders

        Do what’s asked the first time

Ø  Show respect

        Accept and acknowledge an individual’s talents and knowledge

Why People Lose Their Jobs:

Ø  They get laid off

        Job loss not their fault

Ø  They get fired

        Job lost because of their actions

COMMUNICATION EXERCISE: Read out your essay to the class