Janice Worthington
MA, CPRW, JCTC, CEIP
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Janice Worthington |
| How Clear Is Your Message?
How Clear Is Your Message? Listen, Let’s Take a Minute And Talk About it! Does you television display a clear picture? Have you ever had your computer modem disconnect or experienced static in your cell phone? I don’t have to tell you how frustrated we become when we are unable to transmit or receive a message. In this day of high-speed everything and very little patience, if communication devices don’t perform clearly we immediately tune out. How well is your personal communication equipment performing? As human beings and not electronic devices, we tend not to look at ourselves as equipped with transmitters and receivers. The only time most of us believe our equipment to be in jeopardy is when we suffer from laryngitis. Not true! I believe that much of the reason Joe gets hired over Mike could very well be the clarity of his message - in this case how he speaks being equally important to what he says! . Lots of folks have qualifications, education and strong work histories. Lots of folks make their companies money and save their companies money. What lots of people can’t do is effectively talk about it! And fewer still know how to listen. There is no question that the delivery of a message determines "who gets it." While interviewing is an activity many fear, I encourage you to deliver a strong passion about who you are and project a mission about what you intend to do. Develop a "signature statement" that answers the question, "Tell me about yourself." Show-off you features and benefits, making sure to stay relevant with what the employer considers mission-critical to his company’s success. Check out your vocal presentation. Does your voice stay at only one volume and tone? Do you sit up and lean forward when it’s time to make a strong point? How do you make your point? Professional speakers know how persuasive if not downright contagious a message containing excitement can be. Ask any good evangelist or motivational speaker. Everyone deserves a good listen. But as most wives till tell you, 50% of our population lacks the ability to listen. My experience confirms that those accusatory wives, the other 50%, don’t listen real well either. Try this test to determine how well you listen. Were you raised in a family where Mom, Dad and junior all spoke at once? Were you permitted to interrupt Sissy only to be interrupted by Grandpa? If we go out for coffee and I begin the conversation, how much will I say when your mind begins to wander as you formulate a response? Do you give me at least 5 seconds before you respond or do you step on my words? Equally as important, what are you doing while you are supposed to be listening to me? When I teach an interviewing class I can also spot the best students in my class. They watch me as I speak and react in affirmation and sometimes disagreement with what I am saying. They nod, smile, frown and follow me with their eyes as I move about the class. Some, unfortunately, have so little reaction to my conversation that I believe they have been sedated. I encourage you to conduct your own experiment; tip a buddy off to being physically non-responsive in a conversation and see how rejected and invalidated you feel. No way to treat someone from whom your trying to secure $100,000 annually and four weeks paid vacation! What to do? Practice, practice, practice... Grab your partner and test your transmitting and receiving skills. In personal communications as in electronics, the word "static" creates interference.
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