Body language, also known as kineesicks, is incredibly important when it comes to effective communication skills. In order to become a good manager or leader you must be able to convey what you say with both words and physical body language. If you praise someone with an angry look on your face, for example, your words or praise simply wont’t go over very well.

Your body language says quite a bit about you. It will tell another person if you are listening, paying attention, angry, bored, or amused, amongst other things.

As we move forward we’re going to talk a bit about body language and how it impacts your performance as a manager. You’ll learn what others think of your body language as well as what the body language of others should mean to you.

Body language is something you can’t avoid – but you simply must learn how to control what your own body is saying to others – especially when dealing with employees on a daily basis.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

How do you keep your employees informed about changes within your organisation? Do you send them an email every time something new comes up? Do you call them into a meeting? Do you simply pass along information as you see individuals, one by one?

The problem with these methods of communication is that someone always seems to miss out on an important point. Someone is sick the day of the meeting or one employee asks a prying question and ends up with more information than the others.

Producing a regular newsletter is a great way to share valuable information with both your employees and your clients but if you’re having trouble communicating with your employees you can keep it at an internal level. Use the newsletter to make formal announcements about changes to procedure, about upcoming events, or to praise employees for a job well done. Give your employees ample space to make their own contributions, if need be, and find ways to get everyone involved. You may even want to add a “letters to the editor” section where you can answer questions that were raised after you published previous editions.

Newsletters can be fun and are really easy ways of communicating. You will never have to worry about whether or not everyone is on the same page – they’ll all get the publication and you’ll know they all got the same information at the same time.

Start by keeping things simple. Publish a one-page newsletter with important information. If it works, try to grow your newsletter. If not, scrap it for another idea!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

I don’t know whether we’re coming out of the “recession” but there has been a huge surge in management training business over the past month or so. Maybe it’s because companies are realising that they need quality trained managers to get them through the recession! How original!

Anyhow, here’s this week’s tip which is short and to the point but with a very valuable message:

Here it is…
“Tell your staff what you want, not how to do it”

When you do this you will find that your staff are more responsive and they’ll be less defensive.

So give them guidance and not direct instructions and you’ll get far more out of them.

You will also see more initiative, more innovation, and more of an ownership attitude from them develop over time.

Ok, that’s me done!

If you’re interested in improving your skills here are a few useful links for you.

You could attend one of our open courses throughout the UK:
http://www.m-t-d.co.uk/opencourses.htm

OR

We could come to you and delivery a course at your place!
http://www.m-t-d.co.uk/in-house.htm

Thanks again and take care

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Training

Telephone
0800 849 6732

Looking For Management Training?
Visit http://www.m-t-d.co.uk

Looking for Sales Training?
Visit http://www.mtdsalestraining.com

We’ve spoken before about how to develop your communication skills, but today I’d like to take a closer look at the communication skills you use while in a direct conversation with another individual. There’s nothing worse than having a conversation with someone only to realise they’ve spent more time thinking about what they’re going to say next than listening to you.

Miscommunication runs rampant in this fast-paced world. Here are a few things you can do to make sure the conversations you have are as productive as possible.

• Avoid personalizing the other person’s attitude. Sometimes people seem angry or raise their voices when they are scared or irritated, but if often has nothing to do with you as a person. Let the other person communicate, even if that means letting him vent, before you respond.

• Make sure you respond to actual problems instead of feelings. If someone is scared or angry our first reaction is to squash those concerns, but your real response should be comprised of facts, not just empathetic statements. Let the other person know you understand their concerns and then explain what you can do to help.

• Listen. Listening is just as important as speaking when you’re trying to communicate a thought or idea. Most people simply want to be heard, and that’s really not a tough request to fill. Ask questions and show interest before sharing your own ideas.

• Share your goals with others. Every single one of us is out for one thing – to protect ourselves. Unfortunately, none of us are mind readers, so we may each have a different plan for achieving our goals and if we don’t share them out loud we may end up clashing with each other, even if we have the same short term agendas.

• Use detail. We’re all busy, and change is stressful. If you’re going to give someone a project you need to think of the overall picture. Doing so is going to break up the agenda or timeline that your employee thought he already had mapped out for the day. Make sure you give him or her tons of detail so that you’re disrupting his routine as little as possible.

As a manager you have a unique opportunity to control the way you disseminate information and the outcome is going to be directly related to the way you communicate. If you’re feeling a little rusty, you might want to consider a communication skills training session in the New Year for both you and your staff members. Proper communication will ensure a positive outcome every time!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

We talk about communication quite frequently, but do you know how to encourage the development of your communication skills if you find you’re lacking in that department? What if one of your employees does great work but seems to have problems communicating?

Some people, while they seem to lack knowledge, are simply afraid of verbal communication. They may fear making a mistake or being judged based on their ideas. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to encourage enhanced communication.

• Have one-on-one discussions with your employees. They may feel as though they can better express themselves to you in a private environment. Frequent discussions may ease your employee into feeling better able to participate when there are group meetings.

• Whether you are in an individual or group setting, make sure that the person being questioned has a reasonable amount of time to respond before someone else jumps in. We always teach people to think before they speak, but a delayed reaction is often misinterpreted not as caution, but as a lack of knowledge.

• Journal. I’m not sure this is one you would recommend to employees unless they ask for help, but it’s something you can use to help yourself. If you have an idea you can’t express verbally, try writing it out. Seeing your ideas on paper may help you to verbalize them later on.

• Offer constructive criticism. When your team members speak, do not shoot down their ideas as invalid. Explain why you agree with their ideas or why you disagree, but never tell someone that he is wrong or allow other team members to make someone who attempted to contribute feel stupid.

A lack of communication is often a result of fear of failure. An employee that is comfortable with his team mates and work environment will be more likely to communicate effectively than one who is not. Keeping this in mind, can you identify an employee who might have a problem communicating – and do you think you can reverse the situation?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”