Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Communication and Jobs

Most of us have heard about networking, contacting people, and getting hired. Let's add one more dimension to that idea of networking. When people hire, they would prefer to hire people that they know. The closer they can come to knowing the person the more likely they will hire them.

Clearly one of the jobs for each of us then is to get out and meet new people. Never stop getting to know people. The more folk that know you and want to help you out, the more likely that they will contact someone who is looking for a new employee. It is clear that for many of us we will be stepping out of our comfort zone in order to accomplish the task.

Remember, if the person doing the hiring does not already know you, be certain that they know somebody that does know you. Adding one last thought for now, be certain that if a resume is required that it is more like a sales presentation than an obituary. Include the accomplishments and goals you have and tie those to the business to which you are applying.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Simple To Use Every Day

Certain elements often make up the basic building blocks of communication. These elements are useful in a very wide range of situations:

Introduction
Body
Conclusion

Introduction
We all enjoy being introduced to attractive people. Part of what makes them attractive is the promise of things to come. That is often based on things that have happened in the past. In order for introductions to work for us, we need to recall that those involved have a mental set coming into the situation. The better you are a predicting what that mental set is the better the introduction. Remember, you have to move the audience from where they are to where they must be for the introduction to be productive. Give them enought information that they want to hear/see/feel more. Get and hold their attention.

Body
The real reason for the communication to exist is the content of the body. Filled with facts and opinions it can help relationships and programs if structured properly. That depends on who they think you are and who you think you are. Evaluate who they think your are and make any necessary adjustments and keep in mind who you think you are. Be aware of what they think of the content of what you're addressing and put it into terms that will be as palatable as possible for them and as accurate as possible for you. Put the content into forms, statistics, definitions, stories, and pictures that will increase their understanding and give them clarity. Fit the content to them to the best of your ability.

Conclusion
Remind them of who they are and what they now know by listing a short, accurate, memorable summary of what they have just heard. If possible, remind them of who you are and that your background continues to be of value to them. As a test their answer to the question what did you say should be 1) who you are, 2) what you have said, 3) why it was important to them and they should be able to express it in their own words.

If these elements were followed in all of our communication we would be much more effective. Review quickly before each communication situation the basic elements we have just covered and increase our successes.