Social Skills in the Workplace

A manager came up to me at an event , and told me he had a quandary.

He had a number of highly technically qualified employees who had contact with the public and also had poor social skills. He asked me if help was available.  The answer was a qualified "yes", if the employees knew they had a problem with this and if they truly wanted the help. The amount they would benefit would depend on these two factors,  their willingness to put the skills to work, and some support from an onsite mentor in addition to an outside coach.

What are some of the social skills we are talking about? They would include tone of voice, eye contact, greeting others, knowing how to start, continue, join and end a conversation, awareness of how to  talk with a customer, colleague and supervisor, how to phrase negative messages positively,  how to understand the company culture, and more.

For example, in your office, who makes the coffee, if there is any, and cleans the coffee maker? Does everyone take a turn bringing in baked goodies? Who helps out colleagues who need assistance, or volunteers for specific tasks?

Who is to attend various meetings, and who speaks at them? Who is a leader in your department, even though he or she may not have the title? (That person may have influence over decisions, and knowledge of people and processes.) How do you handle workplace conflicts fairly and appropriately? Should you call your supervisor by his first name, or more formally by his title and last name (eg, Mr. Smith, Dr. Jones)?

Social skills are related to emotional intelligence, or EI.  EI involves understanding your own and others' emotions, and acting on them appropriately.  Social skills involve being aware of how your actions impact your own and others' perceptions of you. Most social skills involve verbal or non-verbal communication.

What can be done to help people improve their social skills at work? The process starts with the supervisor and employee completing questionnaires to determine the areas of concern, and then individual coaching to address those areas.

Business Speech Improvement provides communication skills coaching to adults in the workforce.

It also offers an e-book, Small Talk:Connecting with Others, which is packed with specific techniques, for those whose primary concern is this particular skill.

Performance appraisal: solutions for poor verbal skills

Are you a manager who is working on performance appraisals now, or dreading them in the future? One of the toughest training decisions a manager can make is how to help genuinely talented employees who struggle with a skill set such as communication.

The first step is to be clear about the skill that needs to be improved, and how it impacts the individual's career progress. List a few examples of what the employee said that were incorrect. How does this impact the employee and company?

There are several basic options for improvement:  e-books, books,  mp3 files,  online webinars, and coaching (individual, small group and online).

To change communication skills, the person needs practice and expert feedback. While e-books, books, mp3 files and online webinars are economical ways to impart knowledge, which is good, usually skill practice with a coach is necessary. The feedback provided by the instructor is also vital to determine if the skill was done correctly.

If your employee needs to improve his or her pronunciation, speech rate, telephone skills,  presentation skills, communication skills for leadership, or other verbal skills, Business Speech Improvement offers a wide variety of options. The training is intensive and customized, designed for each learner.

When training is done intensively, less review time is needed because lessons quickly build on each other and there is less time to forget! Employees seem to stay more engaged in their learning, and there are few excuses to skip a session. Little or no travel time is also required, beyond arriving in the first place.

A seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals is now enrolling learners.

Past learners have been amazed at how much they've learned in a mere three days!

As one person mentioned, "I want to speak better - but I don't know how."

Business Speech Improvement  provides that intensive guidance to better speech! Visit us to check out the options today!

The three most important functions of an effective manager

In his excellent book, Quick and Nimble, author Adam Bryant reports on a fascinating study done by Google, called Project Oxygen. The purpose was to determine the most important actions of effective managers. They went through an extensive observation, rating and analytic process, and arrived at 3 top actions. Effective managers' most important attributes, they found, were calmness and taking the time for one on one meetings with employees, helping employees think through problems by asking questions, and caring about their employees' careers and lives.

Think about the best managers you have had, or employ. Do you agree or disagree with the conclusions of Project Oxygen? How do you assess your leaders in these vital skills?

Business Speech Improvement provides coaching in verbal skills, including communication skills for leadership development.

Worried about your communication skills affecting your job performance?

The telephone rang at Business Speech Improvement with a call from a person I'll call "Pat".  "I really want to improve my speech so I can get promoted."  Another call came from "Bob" (a pseudonym). "My assistant is great, but customers say she's so hard to understand, especially on the telephone.

Do you, too, see the connection between your (or your employee's) speech and job performance?

The first thing you need to do in this situation is to write down examples of exactly what you want to improve. Is the concern due to mispronunciations of various words, and if so, what are they? Is a fast rate of speech, or tone of voice, part of the problem? Maybe the primary issue is giving a presentation in front of  your supervisor or a client. Is the concern due to a regional accent, sometimes called "country speech"? Does the problem occur all the time, only when you are nervous or speaking to a certain type of person or group?

Then, decide how you want to get training. Do you want to get help through in-person or online coaching? These would give you helpful feedback and customized exercises for your specific needs. Another option is inexpensive e-books on communication, which give practical exercises and are available 24/7.

 Business Speech Improvement offers some small group in-person seminars, too; one on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals is enrolling learners now. This is a three day intensive, customized seminar with  a follow-up plan.  Get  the help that you, specifically, need, in a small group environment. Time is included so you can practice some of the words you use at your job! Check it out now and find out how past learners felt about this seminar!

Great speech makes business sense; enroll in the seminar or coaching program of your choice and take the first step today!

Multi-tasking and the Non-verbal Message

The supervisor typed busily away on his computer, while his employee, who had an appointment with him,waited uneasily for him to look up. "Go ahead, I'm multi-tasking," encouraged the supervisor. The employee thought, "I even made an appointment with him, but he doesn't care  enough to give me his full attention."

Have you ever been in a situation like this? How did you feel when someone did not look at you and give you his full attention?

Many research studies have shown that multi-tasking is an ineffective way to accomplish your work. One study at Stanford by Clifford Nass shows that you may be 40% less effective when you multi-task. That does not even count the impact on others when you multi-task instead of giving them your full attention.

One leadership project had corporate leaders deliberately give others their full attention during meetings. They reported people were impressed enough to mention this to their peers.

Great speech makes business sense. Learn  18 crucial communication skills leaders need to be effective in their organizations, from the e-book, Executive Communication Strategies!

This is the e-book you'll wish your boss had read. Get it today!

After the competition: speaking to the media

Have you been in a sports, corporate, club or other competition lately? What should you say when you speak to the media?

Kieran File, of Reactive Sports Media, did his PhD research on common patterns many players use in media interviews after games. He found that patterns did vary depending on whether it was a team sport or an individual one, such as running, and the actual sport involved. In general, his research showed that winners de-emphasized their victories. Losers, on the other hand, while acknowledging their loss, focused on what went well and how they plan to improve.  In other words, both sides focused on the positives.

Other media coaching firms teach players branding strategies, based on how various people perceive an athlete, the 7 second sound byte, staying positive, avoiding the use of filler words such as "like" and "uh", and mentioning a vivid moment or emotional moment (that was positive) in the game.

By the way, sports teams often receive training in social media skills as well. From a Twitter post to a picture on Facebook that has a poorly chosen outfit or activity, everything combines to build a player's brand.

When you watch  post-event interviews, remember most players have been carefully coached in how to present the best possible image for themselves and their team.  Media skills are vital to their success.

If you are a family member of a competitor , use the same techniques. Stay positive, even if your family member wasn't on the winning team. What did he do well, or better, than before? What are the positive parts of the experience for you as a family member, from the housing to the coaching to the weather?

How can you apply some of these techniques to your own career development? Even if you don't face banks of microphones and eager reporters, your daily image, including what you say and how you say it, is being noticed.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive speech training. Both in-person coaching and e-books are available; check them out here! The e-book on Public Speaking:You Can Do It! is especially applicable. Learn how to write and deliver powerful presentations, from coping with many different types of stage fright to the final glorious applause!