Clean Talk with Rose
By Rose Galera, CEH
Hawaii Hospitality Magazine, Nov/Dec 2009
Hi Rose,
With a slumping economy important training is on hold. What one hot topic would you suggest as a briefing message to boost morale, confidence and motivation?
Thank You,
MM
Aloha MM,
I recently attended an excellent Disney leadership workshop that was highly motivational. Inspiring passion, confidence and interest in others are the continued challenges of a leader. Ongoing communication is an essential tool.
As a supervisor or manager, are you “communicating” or are you just telling others what to do?
To succeed in business, you need all the communication skills you can master. This includes language, spoken and written, and nonverbal expressions. Emotions and gestures often communicate unspoken messages.
But your first step toward communication success is the art of listening! Listen not only with your ears, listen also with your eyes. You can hear a lot just by observing. So often we hear only what we wish to hear.
The following is a five-step formula for communicating powerfully:
1. Be friendly, be happy – communicate instructions in a friendly and caring way.
2. Keep it simple – be clear and concise.
3. Not just what, but why – explain not just what is to be done, but why the action is taken.
4. Get feedback – ask for questions or suggestions. Have instructions given repeated back.
5. Follow-up – monitor the activity, see if instructions have been followed. Ask for a report.
Managers and supervisors communicate daily, so work to improve daily.
Two key “take aways” for me from the Disney workshop were: 1) bring happiness to the lives of people regardless of age and culture, and in doing so, 2) create magic to enhance those lives.