KEY POINTS:
In an information economy such as ours, communication is everything says John Bishop, professional speaker and speaking coach - and there are three things employees demand from their managers when it comes to communications.
"They want to hear information from their supervisor. They want to hear it now. And they want to hear as much information as they can, given that it is relevant to them."
Bishop says good organisations have a commitment to communications as basic policy.
"In other words, we talk to each other. That's how we do business. That's how we manage our staff. We trust our staff and we trust them because we share information with them."
If you believe in your people and want to do right by them, Bishop says open communication is key.
"You can't any longer have a rigid, controlled, hierarchal situation where information is differentially shared among the layers. You can't have a situation where the boss and the senior management team knows five times as much as the people at the bottom."
This is a recipe for poor performance, bad morale and a wicked grapevine.
"The biggest single mistake that most managers used to make was to think that the staff knew only what the managers told them."
Bishop says "soggy" middle management will hang on to information and filter information because they feel threatened.
"Information is power. When you've got the ability to disseminate information, you've got power. And you actually have power by hanging on to information and not sharing it."
Scared middle management can quickly stymie the flow of information throughout an organisation. Bishop says the way to free up this flow lies within the corporate culture.
"If you don't have the corporate culture that requires and empowers managers to communicate then you are relying on the individual willingness and ability of particular managers to communicate."
Organisations should give managers the courage to talk to their staff and deliver the news to them whether it's positive or negative. Staff want their managers to front up with the good news as well as the bad news.
"You've got to be direct. You've got to be honest. You've got to give them the reasons and explain the options."
Bishop says the most important things to communicate to staff are:
* Where is the organisation going?
* What is the strategy to get there?
* What part do they play in the scheme of things?
* What does success look like?
But there is generally a time once a year or so where it all just goes south.
"Performance management or the annual review is probably the single most difficult communication for the manager and the employee."
This stresses the need for the culture of the organisation to be frank and honest. Bishop says you can generally tell if this is the case by walking into the staff kitchen.
"Is the staff room clean and tidy? That says something about the pride in which they hold their organisation and their fellow worker."
The problem with communications in the modern workplace is that it's often not face-to-face and emails simply don't cut it.
"Communication is best face-to-face. If you cannot do it face-to-face then everything else is less than excellent."
Face-to-face communication allows for subtle influences from both parties, which simply can't take place in any other medium.
"You get to see their reaction modify as you go along. It's a much more intimate conversation and it's a much more responsive conversation than it is if you simply have it over the telephone or video."
The main element lost with indirect communication is that you cannot modify the message as you go along.
"When people talk to each other, they are constantly receiving and processing feedback from each other. That's what conversations are about.
"The really powerful communicators actually don't orate or engage in powerful rhetoric. They actually hold a conversation."
Bishop says former US President Bill Clinton is a classic example of a powerful communicator.
"People say of Bill Clinton that when you talk to him, you feel as though you are the most important and only person in the world."
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes someone such a great communicator. Bishop says most people can, however, learn to be a great speaker. The key is practice and training. Those who have mastered the art are said to be "consciously unconscious" and nothing appears rehearsed.
"They just speak naturally because that's the way they're accustomed to doing it. They have the speech in their heads."
The opposite is true of beginner speakers.
"You can tell a novice speaker because their gestures are rehearsed. They are 'consciously conscious'. They are consciously doing things and they are conscious of doing it."
And to be a truly effective communicator, you also have to know and understand yourself, says Lance Beste, director of Beste People and Attitude Express.
"If you learn about yourself, you have to learn the differences between yourself and other people. You have to learn about the different personality types. In order to get people to listen, you have to listen yourself," Beste says.
A lot of communication problems stem from the increasing demands of the modern workplace. "There is lot of pressure to perform and behave beyond what was agreed in the first place."
People also become territorial. They want to defend themselves to protect their jobs and the boss can quickly turn into the bad guy.
"If people start to believe that you're only out to push them as hard as you can and don't appreciate that you're trying to help achieve a goal, then they put the brick wall up."
Good communicators can see this wall go up and will quickly notice when they're no longer being heard.
"If I'm talking to an audience, I am aware of whether they are listening or not. If my audience isn't listening to me, I stop and say, 'Hey, I'm not being heard so obviously I'm not doing something right.'
"And that will bring people's attention."
Francesca Crampton, communications consultant with Express It, agrees that if you've lost the audience you need to stop.
When the eye contact is no longer there and the expressions on the audience's face is not exactly fascination then you might want to ask some questions.
"The answer might be to simply say: "I think we've got a bit off-topic. What do you guys want to know about this?" says Crampton.
Crampton says managers who have been promoted up the ranks are often not given any formal communications training in public speaking, interpersonal skills development or conflict resolution.
"You'll often have your classic technician who's good at their job. They've been in the company for a few years. They get promoted into management and, suddenly, they have to report to their board every month and lead meetings."
Novice managers at least need to develop a rapport with the audience to create a connection with the people they're speaking to.
"If you can get the audience engaged then you will be able to get your message across."
Crampton says whether you're giving a presentation or leading a meeting, you need to think about what your audience's needs are and what they're interested in. It also helps to have a clear vision and a passion for what you're talking about.
"We all know that if you can talk passionately about something, then you're really going to be able to engage the other person or people you're speaking with."
Crampton says the most eloquent speaker she can recall is former Prime Minister David Lange.
"You could see with the way that he interacted with people there were great interpersonal skills. There was always that rapport. There was a sparkle in his eye. His voice was always interesting and I think that's because he was always passionate."
But for the average office manager, a simple presentation brings on the nerves.
"I have people come to me and they say, 'I've got to give this presentation for work. I'm really nervous because I'm not a good public speaker'. "
Inexperienced speakers should not focus on their nerves and being nervous and insecure. Instead, Crampton says people should focus on why they've been asked to give the presentation in the first place.
Crampton says nine times out of 10 speakers have been chosen to speak because they know their topic and are passionate about it. Speakers need to shift from thinking about their nervousness to thinking about their passion. And don't forget the all-important pauses.
"In a presentation, pauses can be an effective tool to bring out the meaning of what you want to say in terms of emphasis. But the other reason is that it gives you a chance to take a breath and a sip of water."
Crampton says to actually script your pauses in your notes so you can take breaks and avoid becoming uncomfortable.
"There's nothing worse than watching somebody who's clearly uncomfortable about what it is that they're presenting and then that lack of rapport sets in and you lose what you're trying to communicate."
But Crampton says nervous speakers should try and relax because generally most New Zealand audiences are pretty forgiving of inexperienced presenters.
"People respect that public speaking is a hard thing to do and it's something that most people are nervous about and so I think there's a certain amount of kudos that goes out to people to say, 'Good on you mate'."
