Influencing Business and Engaging People

Communication

Every day we spend most of our time communicating with people around us. Even if we sit ‘quietly’ working on our laptop we are giving off subtle (or not so subtle) messages about ourselves to those that see us. As the old adage says “we cannot not communicate”.

Research indicates that at any time most of us are unaware of over 90% of what we are communicating, or how our communication is being received. Whilst this may not be an issue most of the time, this lack of awareness can have a severe impact the way we are perceived. From experience the majority of client meetings that go ‘wrong’, bid presentations that fail, sales that are lost, and grievances made, are essentially the result of poor communication.

Over the years Paul has developed the ‘Model of Conscious Communication’ which utilise simple tips and techniques that allow individuals and teams gain natural control over the way in which they communicate and influence others. It promotes self-awareness that enables people to respond rather than react to what is happening. This in turn reduces stress and conflict and has enabled clients to win prestigious contracts, achieve promotion and become more effective managers.

How we can help you

The following are examples.

Behaviours

The way in which people communicate and behave in the work place is largely dictated by the culture of the organisation. Do we have the structures in place that enables people to consciously and freely communicate with each other? It is only when we have the structure that we can truly engage with each other. And yet a recent Gallup poll showed that on average only 25% of UK employees are truly engaged at work.

We all have preferences for the way we communicate and the type of organisations we work for. And organisational cultures develop their own preferences for how they operate. The interaction between all the elements determines the overall cultural and working environment. Yet often cultures and personal preferences clash owing to a misunderstanding for what is trying to be achieved. This can happen at the highest levels of an organisation causing stress and conflict. In addition when an organisation operates without understanding the culture it has created and what drives personal preference there is the potential for a reduction in innovation, creativity and productivity.

Using the principles behind Conscious Communication and Structural Dynamics Paul helps organisations understand their operating culture and enables them to put the structures in place that engage and get the most from their staff in ways which benefit the business and the individual.

How we can help you

The following are examples.

Winning Sales and Bids

Most sales and proposals are lost at the presentation/meeting stage because of a lack of preparation, an inability to engage with the ‘audience’ and the lack of confidence of the presenters.

The simple reality is that regardless of how good your marketing, sales or bid documents are, once you have been short-listed you will be in competition with other businesses that will, as far as the client is concerned, have very similar offerings.

Ultimately clients will be drawn to the people they feel most comfortable working with and the presentation provides you not only with the opportunity to sell your solution but also to show what you would be like to work with. Most businesses miss this opportunity. A procurement officer oncve told me;

They stood in front of us looking nervous and ill at ease. It was obvious they hadn’t prepared. The introduction by their project manager came across as arrogant. He talked at us rather than to us. His team stuttered along reading off slides that looked as if they had been cobbled together five minutes before coming in. The project was worth £20 million. Although their proposal was good we didn’t feel we could work with them.

As can be seen from the above quote performance anxiety can lead to such stress that it impacts on a person’s sense of perspective that it could result in them resigning. The person in question was a highly effective marketing manager. And yet without training he could have left his job or made redundant.

A professional actor doesn’t wake up in the morning and decide to play Hamlet in the evening. Every performance requires direction and practice. Unfortunately far too many businesses believe they can do without either. Possibly they will succeed, however, they are reducing their odds of success. At worse they may cause an employee undue stress and ill health.

Rather than hope your competitors will put together a bad presentation, why not increase your odds of success by ensuring you have an outstanding presentation that engages your clients and exceeds their expectations delivered by confident presenters?

How we can help you

Paul specialises in helping teams design and develop their presentation based on the requirements of the prospective client and then help them to deliver it in a way that fully engages the audience. We can help your team to feel confident about standing up and talking to your clients in a way that is relaxed and professional and portrays your business to full advantage.

Wellness in the Workplace

Commentators increasing link wellbeing at work with innovation, productivity, creativity, quality and reliability and ultimately to levels of growth at a national level, as well as our ability to compete on the global stage. A growing body of evidence also suggests that the key to making a positive connection between wellbeing, creativity and productivity is to recognise the value of ‘good work’ in people’s lives.

At the same time, the prevalence of work related mental health problems appears to have increased. The 2008/9 Labour Force Survey showed that 415,000 people in the UK reported suffering from stress, anxiety or depression that they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work, second in prevalence to musculoskeletal disorders (HSE 2009). In 2011, CIPD and CBI surveys on absence reported that stress and mental health issues had become the number one reason for long term absence.

It has been estimated that poor health costs UK organisation £40 billion each year. This does not include hidden costs associated with lost sales, reductions in customer service, inability to take on new contracts, and the inability to fulfil existing contracts.

Looking after the wellbeing of employees makes commercial sense.

How we can help you

Our consultancy work has always been aimed at making the workplace a healthy environment where people enjoy what they do in a productive way. Whether it is through improving interpersonal dialogue, communication skills training, et al, one of the key by products is a reduction in unhealthy stress.

Our focus on conscious communication is underpinned by the principles of active mindfulness and heavily influenced by the Feldenkrais Method.

Working with a wide range of specialists in the field of well-being we can also undertake well-being audits, establish wellness initiatives that cover a wide range of health problems (e.g. muscular skeletal disorders).

Conflict Resolution

We have all heard remarks like these being whispered at work...

The atmosphere here is dreadful now. No one cares. Things aren’t done as well as they were before the merger. How are we supposed to feel after half the team has been made redundant? Not only that, but we’d all get on fine, it’s just the bosses that are the problem. Like Jackie, she’s not really suited for this work. Yet they promoted her above the rest of us.
Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve had enough. I’m applying for jobs elsewhere.

They may seem trivial, just idle gossip and not worthy of investigation, yet all of these comments reveal some form of conflict. Conflict and underlying conflict can be a major source of ill heath as a result of the anxiety and stress that individuals suffer. It also has a detrimetal impact on productivity especially where people become entrenched in their emotional attitudes towards their colleagues and managers. So the answer is not to:

Conflict is not necessarily bad it is our attitude towards it and the way we deal with it that is so detrimental. but can be used for the advantage of the business. We can help you use conflict as a creative problem-solving tool.