Have you ever tried communicating with someone, only to grow frustrated when your approach pushed them further away? We can’t communicate to everyone the same way, especially in business. In fact, not adapting your communication to your audience could cause you to miss 75% of opportunities you could have had.
So how do you communicate effectively when each person’s motives are unique and, chances are, they differ from yours? Let’s examine two models of communication: habit and versatility.
HABIT
Habit is simply about watching or observing other people. When we communicate out of habit, we take note of people’s body language and listen to their verbal responses to our presentation and approach. Then we draw conclusions about that person based upon our previous experiences, using our past as a filter to see how they handle situations similar to what we’ve been through. We then react to their behavior out of habit.
Communicating based on habit is ineffective because it causes us to interact with everyone in same way, regardless of their different personalities, egos, jobs and responsibilities.
VERSATILITY
Versatility, on the other hand, is about observing others’ behavior in correlation with their personality profile or style. This communication mode draws conclusions about needs and expectations based on what is known about these social styles. We consider others’ needs, what they expect, how they want to be treated. Then we ADAPT to them, no matter how different the expectations are from our own.
When using this model, flexibility is key. In order to accommodate different styles, we have to consider how others prefer to work and then approach them in the most appropriate ways.
How do you communicate: out of habit or with versatility? Remember, “communication is everything.” Train yourself to communicate well, and you’ll see the results. Issues are easily corrected once you understand how to adapt your communication style to that of the person you are talking to. Contact us to learn how to do that and so much more.