What To Say When You Don t Know What To Say!

What To Say When You Don’t Know

What To Say!

Women are often tasked with people management issues. If you are, you have a key role in promoting a ‘listening culture’.

For organisations to be successful, a ‘listening culture’ is vital. It brings greater performance, higher productivity and more staff buy-in, because when staff feel valued and recognised they do more to support the business.

As a woman you’re often seen as having caring and nurturing skills, which is why there are more women than men in Personnel Departments. It also means you have a vital role to play in the effective communication that is key to developing a listening culture.

This may not be easy. Women are thought to be good listeners, but people aren’t necessarily born that way. It takes training and confidence-building to do so. And individuals are often promoted because of their academic prowess rather than people management skills, and so receive insufficient training in this invaluable management tool.

Time (or more specifically lack of it) can also be a factor for many women; and it can be easy to find yourself getting out of your depth in a conversation and not knowing what to say next – discouraging you from engaging in similar discussions in the future.

The benefits of effective communication

Effective communication reduces the incidence of misunderstanding and consequent errors, and enables employees to be more readily aligned to the vision and leadership of the organisation, and to work more efficiently. This in turn reduces the opportunity for disharmony, discontent or dissatisfaction, and supports a healthy working culture.

Effective communication enables managers to be more aware of the internal and external pressures on employees, and promotes the opportunity for flexible and efficient management – for example by enabling the provision of suitable interventions in the instance of sickness absence, care issues or bereavement that might benefit from temporary, flexible working arrangements.

The importance of active listening

It goes without saying that effective communication includes active listening skills - engaging with the person you’re listening to and responding appropriately. The ability to listen actively enables the person who is speaking to talk without interruption or contradiction and, by virtue of having a ‘sounding board’, clarify his or her opinion or circumstance. This improves self-confidence and encourages a better assessment of any proposed action, prior to it being taken.

Unfortunately, it’s often the very people who require the most help who will deny they’re in need of such support. They will frequently assure colleagues that they can manage and are in control of a situation, when the reality is not only that they can’t cope, but that they have never been actively encouraged by the organisational culture to seek help.

Active listening should therefore be seen as an essential managerial tool and part of effective people management. It should be within the skills portfolio of all female (and male) managers, and used in the maintenance of a stress-free work environment and the avoidance of disruption or discontent within the workforce.

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‘What To Say When You Don’t Know What To Say’

To book Carole for your next motivational presentation or for more information on Carole Spiers.com – Your Personal Development and Empowerment Gateway, please contact us:

Carole Spiers Group

Personal Development & Empowerment Gateway

Gordon House, 83-85 Gordon Ave, Stanmore, Middx. HA7 3QR. UK Tel: + 44 (0) 20 8954 1593 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 8907 9290