Sometimes you just need one word to change someone’s mind. Jonah Berger, Professor of Marketing at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, compiled a list of “magic words” that can change the way you communicate. He discovered that using the word “because” while trying to convince someone to do something has a compelling result. He found that more people “will listen to you and do what you want” when you offer a justification for your requests. Berger points to a classic study from Harvard University where researchers sat in a university library and waited for someone to use the copy machine. Then, they walked up and asked to cut in front of the unknowing participant. They phrased their request in three different ways:
Both requests using “because” made the people already making copies more than 50 percent more likely to comply. Interestingly, even the second phrasing — which could be reinterpreted as “May I step in front of you to do the same exact thing you’re doing?” — was effective. The phrasing indicated that the stranger asking for a favor was at least being considerate about it, the study suggested. “Persuasion wasn’t driven by the reason itself,” Berger notes, “It was driven by the power of the word: because.” Have you noticed any reactions when you justify requests with “because”? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. We would love hear about your experience with this one, magic word! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.
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What’s the secret to solving unexpected challenges, seizing new opportunities, and building strong cultures? Ask powerful questions! Leaders who assume they have all the answers are either clueless or lying. So writes John Hagel III, in the Harvard Business Review). He describes how leaders who know how to ask great questions build a reservoir of trust and team performance. Here are some effective research-based tips:
Check out our Collaborative Problem Solving Model as a vehicle for bringing teams together to solve meaningful, creative questions central to the team’s work. What is the last big question you asked your team? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above -- we would love to hear about your experiences! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. While disagreeing may be uncomfortable, research tells us that diverse thinking is far more likely to lead to progress, innovations and breakthroughs than “nice” conversations where people hide what they really think. But how do you foster productive debate on your team? Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Shane Snow, author of Dream Teams: Working Together Without Falling Apart, offers four tips:
How do you keep a debate on track when it seems to be veering? To join the conversation, click "comments" above -- we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. But how does an informal leader motivate colleagues to support their initiatives and adopt their ideas? How can anyone become a go-to person that others look to for guidance and advice? Writing in the Harvard Business Review, career and workplace journalist Rebecca Knight, outlines a plan for anyone who wants to promote an initiative. First, create a map of colleagues related to the issue you want to tackle. Second, craft your message with a concise elevator pitch. Third, cultivate allies by asking for advice and incorporating it. And lastly, develop your expertise by staying up-to-date on your topic. So, even if you’re not a formal leader at work, you can influence others with these 3 action steps. 3 Action Steps To Influence At Work:
What methods do you use to influence others at work? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above -- we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. Ever been in a situation where you’re getting resistance to your opinion? Try switching from “you” to “we”. New research from Stanford University reveals how using “you” versus “we” affects how people respond to messages in settings such as online forums and a simulated workplace scenario. Their findings are notable: In adversarial contexts that held the potential for disagreement or conflict, messages that used “you” and “your” were less persuasive, less likely to be shared, and more likely to be censored than ones that employed “we” and “our.” People who participated in the study were also less inclined to interact or engage with the sources of messages that used “you” rather than “we.” “We’re not saying that ‘you’ invariably leads to worse outcomes,” study co-author Mohamed Hussein cautions. “We’re saying that when ‘you’ is used in an adversarial or conflict-ridden context, it has the potential to inadvertently lead to negative consequences.” “We” is more inclusive and lands less aggressively. “Most people would rather talk to a person who says ‘we got this wrong’ than ‘you got this wrong',” says the study’s other co-author, Zakary Tormala. Tormala and Hussein advise that if you’re trying to reach someone with an opposing view, be sure to signal that you are open to their perspective. Managing your pronouns is just one way to do that. What results occur when you change “you” messages to “we” messages? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above -- we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. Boundary violators exist in all realms of life, but at work, they can be especially troubling. What can you do to set and maintain limits? The boss that continually intrudes on your personal time, the client who demands more than you agreed to, or the team leader who piles a majority of their work on you…these are all what Priscilla Claman, president of Boston-based Career Strategies Inc., calls “boundary predators.” Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Claman explains, “Boundary predators rely on their power and authority — and your passivity — to get what they want. It’s up to you to push back by understanding how to create boundaries and maintain them.” She offers these 4 strategies:
What do you do when someone oversteps your boundaries? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above -- we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. If you want to create a high impact presentation, rehearsal is crucial, but memorization is not the answer. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Harvard professor Carmine Gallo says, “The best speakers make presentations look effortless, precisely because they put so much effort into perfecting their delivery.” He offers guidelines for getting the most out of rehearsal time. Here are 5 key practices.
How have you rehearsed for important presentations? To join the conversation, click "comments" on comments above. We'd love to hear your feedback! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. In these times of economic pressures, geopolitical unrest, and even looming layoffs, kindness at work is not a luxury, but a necessity. Decades of research suggests that a leader’s kindness at work helps them retain top talent, establish a thriving culture, and enhance productivity & engagement. It also speaks volumes about individual character, commitment, and values. Writing in The Harvard Business Review, Andrew Swinand, CEO of Publicis Group Creative and Production U.S. and CEO of The Leo Burnett Group, offers advice for cultivating kindness at work.
When was the last time someone was kind to you at work, and how was that kindness expressed? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. We'd love to hear from you! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. Tired of people finishing your sentences or cutting your stories or opinions short to interject their own? What can you do about annoying interruptions? For many of us, being interrupted can feel diminishing and condescending, says Maria Venetis, an associate professor of Communication at Rutgers University. Sometimes it’s even “enraging,” she added, “because it suggests that my ideas or my participation aren’t valid.” Interrupters often have, or believe they have, more power, and they’re used to having people defer when they talk. Jancee Dunn, of The New York Times, studied how to handle interruptions at work and in relationships, and offers these suggestions. At work:
In personal relationships:
Who interrupts you the most and how have you tried to correct it? To join the conversation, click "comments" above -- we'd love to hear from you! To find out how to create a habit around masterful communication, signup for our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. By now most of us are aware that employees become more motivated and engaged when their leaders express gratitude. Expressing gratitude can be more motivating to employees than money. But it's how you thank that matters. A mere “drive by” recognition can have the opposite effect, according to Vidyard CEO Michael Litt. “They start to come off like cheap motivational techniques," he says. "On the flip side, they also run the risk of conditioning teams to expect constant positive reinforcement for meeting the basic requirements of their jobs.” So, what to do? Fast Company editor Lydia Dishman offers these 3 opportunities:
How has someone shown you gratitude in a significant way? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above. We'd love to hear from you! To find out how to create a habit around masterful communication, sign up for our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. Confronting issues is never easy, but avoidance can be hazardous, not just to our relationships, but also to our own health. Most people navigate through important moments of communication on auto-pilot, reacting from emotion more than intention. As communication researchers and partners in work & marriage for decades, we’ve experienced both the joy and challenge of personal and business communication. We’ve found these following 5 steps can resolve conflict and build trust: 5 Steps To Resolve Conflict and Build Trust
Do you have a New Year’s resolution that could lead to stronger communication? We want to hear from you! So, to join the conversation, click on "comments" above. Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. Swear words can shock, offend, and entertain; They can even help us withstand pain. Why are these (usually four-letter) utterances so powerful? All languages have taboo topics usually clustering around themes like religion, defecation, and sex. And words that colloquially refer to those topics become swearwords. When we swear in a context in which we can assume those around us would prefer we didn’t, that choice is a sign of our disrespect. It’s somehow less offensive to replace a letter with an asterisk, despite the fact that everyone still knows what it means. But swearing, writes author Rebecca Roache, a senior lecturer in philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, “even without censorship or euphemism, can also be affectionately benign. To be understood this way, a listener needs to trust that the speaker is not verbally attacking but letting his or her guard down and signaling that the setting is informal and the relationship is friendly. Swearing in these contexts can even foster intimacy between recent acquaintances. Between people who already trust each other, it’s an excellent way to communicate affection. What about at work? In one study, researchers recorded conversations between employees of a soap factory and found that good-humored swearing was common between workers who knew each other well but absent between workers who were not part of the same friend group. At the office, a historically formal environment that has been trending toward informality, it’s possible to hear the occasional expletive in a meeting or read one in a group chat — more common in some industries than in others. “But before you partake, it’s worth remembering swearing’s tendency to vary in offensiveness over time and with context” says Roache. In what context, and with whom, might you let loose a swear? To join the conversation, click "comments" on above. Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. Leaders spend much of their day asking questions, but are they asking them artfully and skillfully? Here are 4 tips to remember. Lawyers, doctors, and journalists are trained to ask questions to uncover critical information. But this skill set is typically not part of a leader’s education. Writing in The Harvard Business Review, Alison Wood Brooks and Leslie K. Johns, outline what to remember when seeking information:
How artful and skillful is your question asking, and how do you react to the questions of others? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above. Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. If your boss has unrealistic expectations, there are 3 things you can do rather than update your resume! Writing in the Harvard Business Review, consultant and professor Liz Kislik, offers the following advice:
“When all is said and done,” writes Kislik, “for as long as you stay in the job, you’re still responsible for helping your team and your boss be successful. And as frustrating as it can be to work for an unrealistic leader, your goal should be to satisfy as much of the organization’s mission as possible while maintaining your sanity and self-respect.” Have you ever had an unrealistic boss, and how did you cope? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above. Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. Moving from managing a team to leading an enterprise is tough. It's different at the top, but how? Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Michael D. Watkins, co-founder of Genesis Advisers and author of The First Ninety Days, offers a breakdown of the key mindset transitions new leaders face:
Have you transitioned from manager to leader? What was the trickiest part to navigate? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022. |
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