“People do not want to be less informed. They want to be more informed with less information!” To move forward, backward or to a Contents page, move your cursor over the arrows in the bottom left corner of each page and make a selection. You can also use your space bar (forward); or your PageUp/PageDn keys (backward/forward). Tips & Techniques for USABLE Conversations

Orientation The Who in Your Message The Why in Your Message Table of Contents Click on any colored bullet found on the Content pages to jump to a specific section. Plan & Organize Content

Orientation This material was developed to help you plan for successful face-to-face and telephone business conversations. As you work through the slides, you will explore tools and techniques for planning and organizing your conversations. Return to main Table of Contents Plan for Conversations

Use questions Listen actively Respond appropriately Orientation Plan for Conversations You can save yourself valuable time by planning for conversations. While planning may seem time consuming, you will communicate your message more effectively and spend less time re-communicating information later. Here are some questions to think about before you interact: 1.Who am I speaking with? 2.What am I speaking about? 3.Why am I meeting with this person? 4.What do I want my listener to do/feel/learn/know? 5.What level of detail do I need to include in my message? When you answer these questions before you interact, you are able to speak more confidently.

The ‘Why’ in Your Message In this section, you will explore how you can meet your listener’s needs by identifying your General Objective and Specific Purpose – what you want to achieve with this conversation. Return to main Table of Contents Your General Objective Your Specific Purpose

Your General Objective The ‘Why’ in Your Message Good speakers are always clear about what they want to achieve. The first step is to decide on your General Objective: What do you want to accomplish by having this conversation? Get action from your listener Influence your listener’s feelings Educate your listener Instruct or teach your listener Inform your listener

Your Specific Purpose Now that you have decided on your General Objective, the second step is to clarify your Specific Purpose: What do you want your listener to do/feel/learn/know? Get action At the end of this conversation, I want my listener to: approve the purchase of a new color printer. Influence feel convinced that the new software will make our jobs easier. Instruct know how to use the software to transfer funds from a checking to a savings account. Inform know the status of the XYZ project and understand the next steps. The ‘Why’ in Your Message Educate understand the statistical methods used to analyze the data in the XYZ research project.

Now, it’s your turn. Circle the General Objective for your next conversation. Next, write your Specific Purpose. Specific Purpose: Exercise The ‘Why’ in Your Message Get Action |Influence |Educate |Instruct |Inform

The ‘Who’ in Your Message In this section, you will explore the second step good speakers take – consider the listener. You will gain tips for building content and analyzing your listener. Return to main Table of Contents Building Content Listener Analysis Checklist Face-to-Face: Your Best Choice?

Building Content The ‘Who’ in Your Message 1. Who is your listener? 2. What is your listener’s… Who you are speaking to will influence: how you start your conversation, what details you include and what type of message you send. Here are a few key questions to answer in order to build content for your conversation: On the next two slides, you will find IWCC’s Listener Analysis Checklist that will help you answer these questions. attitude about the topic? interest in the topic? level of knowledge about the topic? behavioral style and preferences?

Listener Analysis Checklist Who is your listener?What is your listener’s attitude likely to be? The ‘Who’ in Your Message  Customer or client  Supplier  Colleague  Peer  Subordinate  Manager  Executive  Other: ______________  Interested  Interested, but questioning  Not at all interested/indifferent  Angry and defensive  Disappointed  Agreeable  Other: ______________

What characteristics of your listener will you need to take into account? (e.g. level of knowledge about the topic) What behavioral style is your listener? What strategies will you use to meet the listener’s needs? (see Tips & Techniques for Acceptable Conversations – The Four Paths for Communications) How will analyzing your listener help you to make content decisions? (e.g. level of detail, use of jargon, degree of interpretation) The ‘Who’ in Your Message

Face-to-Face: Your Best Choice? Once you have clarified your purpose and considered your listener, ask yourself what would be the best way to send the message. Think about it before you arrange a meeting, hit the send button or leave a rambling voice mail message. Here are two situations where a face-to-face meeting may not be your best choice: Consider additional situations when you might choose a different medium to send your message. The ‘Who’ in Your Message If you are working from a distance If the individual prefers or phone conversations

Plan & Organize Content In this section, you will look at what details your listener needs. You will explore techniques to help you decide what to include in your conversation. You will gain tips for developing the Opening, the Body and the Close of your conversation. Return to main Table of Contents Deciding What to Include The Listener Questions Technique Confirm with the Listener

Deciding What to Include Now that you have clarified your objective and thought about your listener, you need to decide what details your listener needs. Let’s look at the Five Cs of a Conversation: Plan & Organize Content Body 4. Convey Opening 1. Capture 2. Connect 3. Clarify 5. Confirm Close v v v

The Five Cs Planner Capture Connect Clarify Convey Confirm gain listener’s attention explain context & topic WIIFM state objective explain, demonstrate, illustrate restate main points, summarize, ask for commitment, close courteously Close Body Opening The Five Cs Planner can help you plan and organize your conversation quickly. Plan & Organize Content

Use questions Listen actively Respond appropriately The Listener Questions Technique Rather than asking yourself, “What do I want to tell my listener?” give your listener the specific information they need. Use the Listener Questions Technique and ask, “What does my listener need to know?” When you plan your conversation based on the Five Cs and your Listener Questions, you achieve three things: 1.You plan conversations quickly and effectively. 2.You discuss the “right stuff” in the right amount of detail. 3.You gain a reputation as a professional who communicates clearly and confidently. Plan & Organize Content

By focusing on your Listener Questions, then answering them during your conversation, you will communicate with impact. Listener Questions & the Five Cs Capture Why should I pay attention to you? Connect What caused you to have this conversation? What is it about? Why should I listen (WIIFM*)? Clarify What is the purpose of this conversation? What do you want me to do/feel/understand/learn/know? Convey What are the details? How? When? Who? What? Why? Where? Clarify Remind me, what’s the main point? Or, remind me, what do you want me to do and by when? Or, what are the next steps, if any? Plan & Organize Content *What’s in it for me?

Confirm with Your Listener Do you sometimes feel that conversations end too abruptly? By confirming with your listener, you can ensure that you reinforce your objective and the main point of your conversation. If you want your listener to take action, confirm what you want them to do and by when. In addition, a courteous closing enhances the working relationship between you and your listener. In short conversations, you may feel a summary is not necessary. But regardless of the length of your message, remember to close courteously. Here are some typical confirm questions your listener wants you to answer: Plan & Organize Content Remind me, what is your main point? What do you want me to do? By when? What are the next steps, if any?

By applying the tips and techniques you have learned in this course, you will be well on your way to: Planning and organizing your conversation. Giving your listener the amount of detail they need. “People do not want to be less informed. They want to be more informed with less information!”