Conversational dynamics: Using open-ended versus closed-ended questions

Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to control a conversation? Maybe you were in a hurry, the other person was very talkative, or you needed to encourage him to speak at greater length.

Open-ended questions are those which can have many possible correct answers. For example,

"How did you...", "What happened next?" or "What are the possible implications of ...?" Closed-ended questions can have only 1 or 2 possible answers, such as "What's his name?" or "Do you want to do that on Monday or Wednesday at 2 PM?"

Use open-ended questions to encourage people to talk. (To encourage them even more, wait a couple of seconds after they stop speaking, to see if they will say any more.)

Use closed-ended questions to control the flow, if you only need specific information, or if you are in a hurry. Closed-ended questions at the start of a conversation with someone who is reluctant to speak are also effective; change to open-ended questions when the person relaxes.

Communication strategies for leadership development are available in an e-book packed with valuable tips like this! Executive Communication Techniques  has sections on 18 different vital communication techniques today's leaders need to know and use. This powerful e-book and individual coaching are by Business Speech Improvement.

Wondering about your hearing? Two questions to ask

As baby boomers age, and as those  who have been exposed to loud music through ear-buds and other sources get older, hearing loss is becoming more common. For the first time in history, an increased number of those in their late teens and twenties are showing signs of hearing loss; most hearing loss is not reversible. It takes, on average, 7 years for many people to decide to get their hearing tested.

If your doctor prescribes a hearing test, some insurance plans may cover the cost. Check with them first.

When you decide to get your hearing tested, do so with 2 questions. First, skip the portable booths and machines, and go to someone with a permanent booth. When the machines are moved, their delicate calibration can be changed, making the results inaccurate. Even with a permanent booth, ask "When was this device last calibrated?" Expect an answer within the last year.

Also ask the qualifications of the examiner. Look for a name-tag that says "CCC-A" or a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology.

A person who has finished at least his master's in audiology (now usually a doctorate) but is in his first year of work may have a name-tag that says "CFY-A", or Clinical Fellowship Year - Audiology, indicating he is being closely supervised. In other words, you want someone who has extensive training to test your hearing, beyond the screening stage.

If you have a hearing loss, your audiologist will prescribe a hearing aid if it is appropriate. (Not everyone can benefit from one.) It takes training, called aural rehabilitation, to get the maximal benefit from a hearing aid.

There are some things you can do at work to make communication easier. First, try to talk to people in a quieter setting. Close the door, go to a quieter restaurant or go at off-hours, turn down the noisy radio, or just be in front of and near  the person who is talking.

Second, consider getting some special equipment to make it easier to hear on the telephone or in a meeting. This equipment is called assistive listening devices (ALDs). The equipment can be used with or without a hearing aid. Your audiologist can suggest any that might be appropriate. If the equipment is needed to help you do your job effectively and safely, talk to your human resources department about purchasing it for you.

If you have a documented hearing loss, let your employer know. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects qualified people with known disabilities  in the areas of hiring, training and firing. However, if your employer does not know about your disability, you are not covered.

For more information, Business Speech Improvement offers a helpful e-book, "What Did You Say? Coping with Hearing Loss". (Scroll to the bottom of the page for this.)

  

Surprising rules of American English Pronunciation

Surprising rules of American English Pronunciation

American English comes from many other languages and countries. Non-native speakers are often surprised by some of our silent letters and exceptions to the rules.

There are  5 words in English with a silent "th" in them. They are asthma, clothes, months (but not month), isthmus and northeaster (which is a type of blizzard).

Five words in American English pronunciation have a silent "h" at the beginning of the word. (There are many more with a silent "h" in the middle of the word.) These 5 are heir, honor, honest, hour, and herb (although some people do pronounce the "h" in herb).  Many words have a silent h in the middle of the word, in English. When ""gh" and "rh" are at the front of a word, such as ghost and rhinoceros, the "h" is silent.

Do you want to learn more of these rules and exceptions? A seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals is now enrolling learners! Get the details and enroll today at www.Business SpeechImprovement.com/accents !

Make your speaking vocabulary more powerful - today!

Whether you give presentations to large audiences or simply answer the question, "How are you?" with a single word, you have the opportunity to be a memorable speaker.

Words have power - if  you choose the right ones. Here are two ways to do that.

First, consider the power of the simple adjective. For example, most of the country today is experiencing record low temperatures.  Some might describe the temperature as "cold", but a more powerful way would be to use words such as below-freezing, frigid or numbingly cold. You could use many more options, found at http://thesaurus.com/browse/cold.

Try an experiment. Think of some synonyms for "good", such as fabulous, fantastic, excellent, and wonderful. Use one of them enthusiastically when someone asks you how you are, instead of saying the boring "good". Watch the other person's reaction of surprise, which may be non-verbal. Keep using that synonym all day, and try another one the next day.

Second, write down words you hear and read that seem powerful to you. They may be short or long, but often they are not commonly heard.  That's why we notice them. Try using a few of them yourself. Often the sports headlines in newspapers have powerful words, or you can use an online thesaurus. 

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides customized training in many aspects of communication, including public speaking. Both coaching and an economical e-book, Public Speaking - You Can Do It!  are available. Public Speaking - You Can Do It! includes 15 pages of easy, practical strategies, including the use of more powerful vocabulary,  for delivering better presentations.

What is the job of a leader?

                         What is the job of a leader?  

New Year's is a traditional time to reflect. As I begin another year of leadership, I am trying to define what the job of a leader is, and how I can do it even more effectively.
According to Max DePree, "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. " Theodore Roosevelt put it another way, "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it."

Leadership to me is developing a plan for the future, selecting motivated people, coordinating and cheering on the team of workers, providing resources if needed, and staying out of the way while the workers figure out how to do their jobs.

What do you think are the 5 most important jobs of a leader?

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive, customized training in verbal communication skills. This includes executive communication skills.

Your rate of speech: why "too fast" actually takes longer

Your rate of speech: why "too fast" actually takes longer

The physician was speaking to the patient, explaining why he had made a certain diagnosis.

The patient merely stared, baffled. He knew the physician was speaking English; he was talking so quickly, though, and using so many new words that the patient had no idea what the doctor was saying.

Finally, the doctor paused, and the confused patient timidly said, "Could you say that in plain English?"

The doctor had to start over and explain it again. Have you ever had an experience like that?

People speak quickly for many reasons. For some, it's a cultural habit. For others, they presume the person to whom they are speaking is in a hurry, may be a supervisor, or otherwise has little time to listen. Some people speak fast because they assume that this makes them sound more knowledgeable, especially to people from other professional backgrounds.

Other  people talk rapidly because of time pressure to get to the next meeting or client/patient. Many people say routine things fast, such as telephone greetings, because they say them so often and don't realize how they sound to the listener. Lastly, there are some people who speak fast, realize it, and don't know

how to slow down. (A few of them are genuinely unable to slow down on their own, due to neurological disorders.)

If your rate of speech (or that of your employee) is fast, think about which of the above reasons applies to you. Speaking fast often means either the listener asks you to repeat yourself, or he does not understand you but does not bother asking you to clarify. In that case, your message is lost.

There are a number of techniques that you can use to slow your rate of speech down. To begin with, after realizing why you speak too fast, then think about when you talk rapidly. Is it during a certain event, such as when you give presentations, or when you speak to your supervisor? Is it all the time, or just when you answer the telephone? Are you able to slow down at all when you try?

Business Speech Improvement offers individual coaching and also an ebook, How to Speak Slower in 6 Simple Steps (scroll down for this).

Your message is worth communicating clearly! Get some help  today!

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"Get your act together": Executive function

       "Get Your Act Together": Executive Function

Do you know someone who has difficulty planning, sequencing  and implementing actions? For example, if he is an adult, he knows he has to go somewhere, but consistently forgets to take the things he needs for the trip? Maybe he has trouble getting steps of a project, or several errands, done in the best order.  Does he have trouble with time management and multi-tasking? This is a consistent pattern of difficulty, not just once or twice.

If the person is a student, he may forget to write the assignment down, bring it and the necessary materials home, do the assignment, bring it back to school, and hand it in to the instructor.

The person may be showing signs of executive function impairment. People who have had head injuries, ADHD/ADD, Aspergers or autism, non-verbal learning disorders, learning disorders,  or Tourette's Syndrome may be more likely to have this, but it can happen to others as well.

Executive function impairment is caused by problems in the pre-frontal and frontal lobes of the brain; other brain regions may also be involved.

What can be done about it? First, it helps to get the problem properly assessed, so the recommendations and training can be more specific and effective. Neuro-psychologists and some general psychologists can test for this.  Some speech-language pathologists also can give tests for this.

Strategies to improve executive functioning can  be provided by some speech-language pathologists, neuro-psychologists and psychologists. Ask before making the appointment if they provide this specific type of assistance.

If the person is a student in public school, ask if the school psychologist can test for this. While waiting for the lengthy process before testing can be done, you may want to read some books on the subject.

Three excellent books for executive functioning in children are: Late, Lost and Unprepared, by Joyce Cooper-Kahn, PhD and Laurie Dietzel, PhD,  Organizing the Disorganized Child, by Martin L Kutscher and Marcella Moran, and  Smart but Scattered by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare.

There are many websites that talk about executive functioning disorder. Three to check out are http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/7051.html, http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/executive-function,     http://www.ldonline.org/article/24880/, and one YouTube video on it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR1IZJXc6d8 . One specifically on executive function in the workplace is http://www.tsa-usa.org/news/2012ConfPresentations/ExecutiveDysfunctionintheWorkplace.pdf

Tomorrow's blog post from Business Speech Improvement is on www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com/more/blog today! It will appear here tomorrow. Check it out now!

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