Today is Thursday, so this post is on communication skills.
Recently, I came across an interesting book entitled How to Communicate Workbook: Powerful Strategies for Effective Communication at Work and Home by Martha Davis, Kim Paleg and Patrick Fanning. This book is a great primer for anyone interested in improving his or her communication skills. The How to Communicate Workbook is divided into three sections and 17 chapters. The sections are:
- Laying the Groundwork for Effective Communication
- Handling Difficult Conversations and Situations
- Out in the World: Friends, Family and Work
In addition to solid content and communication advice, the 17 chapters contain real life examples and worksheets to help you become a better communicator. For example, Chapter 1, Listening provides a list of reasons for what they authors describe as “motivations for pseudo listening” at work:
- Wanting to be liked
- Checking for signs of rejection
- Searching for a specific piece of information
- Preparing your response
- Listening so you will be listened to
- Listening for weak points, gathering ammunition
- Checking to see if you’ve achieved the right effect
- Trying to be “good” or “nice”
- Not knowing how to leave without offending
They follow this up with a list of the twelve most common blocks to effective listening:
- Comparing
- Mind Reading
- Rehearsing
- Filtering
- Judging
- Dreaming
- Identifying
- Advising
- Sparring
- Being right
- Derailing
- Placating
They define each of these blocks and then offer case study exercises to help you identify the listening blocks in a real life situation.
Each of the chapters follows a similar pattern.
This workbook will be helpful for anyone interested in becoming a better communicator. It presents a nuts and bolts approach to helping you develop your communication skills. I think that you’ll find it to be a good reference book that you’ll want to keep on your office library shelf.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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