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Providing excellence in consultation, facilitation and training in communication skills to formulate, understand and convey ideas one-to-one, in small groups and to large audiences, whether to clients, colleagues, senior management or staff.
Aspects of communication include problem solving, team building and support, negotiation, persuasiveness, customer satisfaction, presentation speaking. |
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CPI specialises in cross cultural communication in New Zealand, the Pacific & Asia.
Melda Townsley, Director Communication, is an experienced trainer consultant.
CPI provides
- Training programmes
- Public and customised programmes
- Consultancy services
- Coaching
A Few Hints for Better Communication
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Hint 1
Ninety percent of the friction of life is caused by the wrong tone of voice.
The sound of the message is itself a message that tells people a lot about you such as your:
- level of calm or of frustration.
- degree of interest in the person you are speaking to.
We are affected not by what is said so much as how it is said.
Hear what you are saying and check that your voice is sending the message you want to send.
Take care with the sound, the tone of voice, not just the vocabulary we choose.
Hint 2
Can you hear me? Are you listening? These are two very different questions. Can you hear me? Relates to volume, loudness and identifying sounds. Are you listening? Goes deeper. It means are you ready to pick up sound and meaning? ‘You’re not listening’ is a chief complaint affecting good
communication in the workplace. Check your listening skills to facilitate good listening and better communication.
Good
Listening
- Let the speaker complete what he/she is
saying without interruption
- Repeat the words you hear if you are
uncertain
- Check that you have grasped what the
speaker said by confirming their meaning – ‘Do you mean…?’ 'Are you
saying...?'
- Listen to the explanation
given
- Note the emotion that colours how the words are spoken
- Discover what the speaker really
wants. It may be that someone
making a complaint wants fast, friendly service, not just a replacement of a
broken item.
Be patient with people for whom English is not their first language.
Respect their efforts to be understood
Hint 3
Relieve customer frustration by keeping them informed
- Give them an estimate of the time they will have to wait
- Give them an understanding of why there is a delay
- Keep in touch with them during the waiting period
- Consider the feelings of telephone customers who have to wait
- Must they listen to music?
- Give them silence to get on with other work
- Tell them where they are in the queue
- Give them the choice to leave a message which will be answered within a given time.
Above all - get back to people and let them know what's happening.
Hint 4
For customer satisfaction use the customer’s name – but which
name?
- When you use your first name don’t think the customer wants you to use his or her first name.
- Show particular courtesy in discovering which name the customer wants you to use. The customer may feel offended if you immediately use the first name and you have then made it difficult for the customer to correct this in a friendly way.
- Give the customer the choice of which name is preferred - the formal family name or informal first (given) name. If this is your first contact, show respect by using the formal name, leaving it to the customer to correct you.
- Ask: ‘What name would you like me to use?’ and then note and use that name next time.
- Leave it to the customer to relax formality by saying then or later, ‘Call me Tom’ or ‘Call me Chris’.
- Your personal attention to the customer’s preferred name will give customer satisfaction.
Hint 5
Remember the value of pausing.
- A short pause prepares listeners for something important which follows or it allows something to sink in which has just been heard.
- A slight pause before addressing an audience gathers attention and focus.
- Use a pause to build suspense before an announcement
- Use a pause to change the mood.
Hint 6
 Shape the message so it is easily received and remembered
Do people remember only the first part of your message? Do they forget important information further on?
Help people listen to hear and remember all the information by following these simple guidelines:
- Keep the list short - three to five major points if possible
- Arrange the major points in logical order
- Group minor information under these major headings, again aiming for a short list of minor points
- Announce how many points you will be giving in the announcement e.g. There are five notices this morning
- Say each point clearly and firmly, speaking at a rate that is easy to follow
- Use your voice to highlight special information e.g. Point three is particularly important for out of town visitors, and when grouping minor points
- Summarise the numbered major points at the end.
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Would you like to know more? email Melda: cpiman@xtra.co.nz
For more information on:
New Zealand and Asia Training and Consultancy email: cpiman@xtra.co.nz
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