Your Basic Skills

The skills that are needed in a global workplace for great communication.

What does a Facilitator do?

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HOW GOOD FACILITATION WORKS                                      

Facilitation of group workshops, offsites, planning meetings and discussion is becoming an increasingly popular way of working through both everyday tasks and  complex challenges . This is for good reasons because a good facilitator is an insider-outsider who can make sure everyone gets to where the group wants to be.

Here are some of the things a good facilitator can do.

Keeps the Group on Track to get to Desired Outcomes

•           Keeps group on track to achieve objectives in given time frame.

•           Establishes and reminds group members of norms for meeting behavior.

Steers towards the Goals and manages Roles

•           Verifies all group members understand and commit to common goal(s).

•           Sets ground rules for interaction

•           Recognizes when ambiguous roles pose problems for the group  e.g manager / subordinate.

Encourages & Manages Communication

•           Asks open questions to stimulate group discussion.

•           Solicits ideas and suggestions from all members of the group.

•           Provides feedback to group on how well they are communicating and interacting.

•           Addresses non-verbal communication patterns.

•           Paraphrases ideas and suggestions.

•           Maintains open, balanced and clear communication.

Conflict Management

•           Steers conflict away from personalities and toward task-related issues.

•           Summarizes opposing positions.

•           Resolves conflict which may be immobilizing the group.

Enables Knowledge Transfer

•           Identifies appropriateness of the change or solutions that can be achieved.

•           Encourages different views but remains subject matter expert.

•           Implements appropriate decision-making procedure when decisions are needed.

Exhibition Excellence 3: Sensible Sales

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Selling at trade shows and exhibitions uses a number of skills including probing, active listening, staying on message and persuading.

  • Probe  – to get the client to tell you what his real needs are
  • Listen –  to understand what he is looking for
  • Stay on message – to make sure he understand the real benefits you offer
  • Persuade – Deal with questions naturally but convincingly

Here are some of the ways to manage those essential selling conversations.

“Let me show you some of the benefits we offer.”

“Would you like me to demonstrate/explain this………… for you?”

“It will (only) take about 5/10 minutes.”

“This product/product name is very successful and I’d like to explain why.”

“What would you say is the biggest challenge you’re facing?”

“How have you addressed that issue in the past?”

“How have you been dealing with challenge of ………?”

Listen, then follow up: “That’s interesting. This is what we have done for other customers…”

“You’ve seen the demo/presentation etc. Which features  could help you in your business?”

“What feature DIDN’T you hear about that might be something you’d be interested in?”

“What is your timeline for buying this  type of product/solution/offering?”

Exhibition Excellence 2: Who are you Speaking to?

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One of your main challenges on a booth is managing your time. The reason you are there is to market your company or its products or services efficiently. You also want to find out what your visitors’ needs are and make sure you give them what they need.

All of this means that you must find out who they are, what they need from you and how you can best help them – given your and their time constraints. This is the reason for the Qualifying step which is an essential part of all sales conversations. Here’s some of the language you may use to do that.

What field are you involved in?

Which company do you represent?

(look at nametag)

I see you work for ……………… Which country/division/department is that?

What kinds of things are you looking for at this show?

Great show so far. What have you seen that you’ve really liked?

Exhibition Excellence 1: Stop them to Start Chatting

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Language to start-up a conversation with show attendees.

Visitors to your booth are all potential leads or industry contacts. You need a way to start the short, focused conversations at trade shows and exhibitions that are the reason you are there.

Here are some ideas of the things that you can say to start talking to your booth visitors in a natural, friendly way.

 

 

 

 

Good Morning/Afternoon/Hello/Hi

Thank you for stopping by.

How are you enjoying the show?

Is this your first ( name of show) ?

Are you aware of our ………… products?

Can I interest you in…………………….

You seem to be interested in our product/name of product/this.

Am I right ?

Would you like some information about…………..?

Have you seen our new……..?

Can I help you with some information about ………………..?

 


Service with Humility

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Here is a little disposable paper coaster that has no great ambitions other than to serve. It is not exactly representative of the service level that people are willing to give these days.  Neither should it be. The world has changed and the giving of service is a least partially dependent on how reasonable the client is.  Cheers!

Connecting With People – 4.74 degrees of separation?

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The news from Facebook and the University of Milan research is that the famous “six degrees of separation” is now down to 4.47 or even less.
That is fine on the internet where connections are obvious but what does that mean for real life?

We believe it is only by talking to people that you can find out about those connections. This is  a good reason for more small talk – call it “connecting talk”.

Here are our guidelines for great small talk that leads to bigger things.

1. Before you meet new people come up with 2 or 3 three things to talk about as well as 3 general questions that will get others talking. Try to remember things about the people you have met before.
2. Be the first to say “Hello.” If you’re not sure the other person will remember you, offer your name first to make things smoother. For example, “Dan? David Green — good to see you again.”
3. Make an extra effort to remember names.
4. Watch your body language. People who look ill at ease make others uncomfortable. Act confident and comfortable, even when you’re not.
5. Get the other person talking by leading with a statement regarding the event or location and then asking a related open-ended question. For example, “Attendance looks higher than last year, how long have you been coming to these conferences?”
6. Stay focused on your conversational partner by actively listening and giving feedback. Maintain eye contact. Never glance around the room while they are talking to you. To be seen looking for someone   “better “ to talk to is very insulting.
7. Stay away from negative or controversial topics .
8. Have something interesting to contribute. Keep up an interest in (non-controversial) news and start conversations based on that.   You could start with
“What do you think of …?”       “Have you heard …?”      ”What is your view on …?”
9. Before joining another group or entering into a conversation that’s already in progress, observe and listen. You don’t want to interrupt the dynamic or butt in.
10. Do not tell long-winded stories or give a lot of detail in casual conversation.
11. Have a few exit lines ready so that you can both gracefully move on.
For example, “I need to check in with a colleague over there,” or “ Well, enjoy the evening” or  you can offer to refresh their drink.

 

How To: Use Questions Well

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ASKING QUESTIONS . . .

In your job managing and interacting with people, it is important that you get good information. Using questioning techniques well will get you what you want and keep relationships intact.

  •  Focus on the relevant facts
  • For more information, ask open-ended questions
  • Ask closed-ended questions to get additional details
  • Show interest to promote additional conversation
  • End the conversation

 Questions can be productive or draining. They can make people feel comfortable opening up and build trust, or cause them to become defensive.

Think about the following questions:

Why are you behind schedule?

What’s the problem with this project?

Why are you slower than the others?

What’s your problem?

Why did you do that?

Who made that decision?

 Guidelines:

Avoid using “Why? “ too much. It can sound critical or challenging.

Ask “what” or “how”, rather than “why.”

 Place the focus on the person answering.

What is your opinion?

How do you feel about doing it this way?

 Start with broad questions and move to wider applications.

What are you most pleased about, personally, in learning that?

 Choose your timing, if possible.

 Go positive and effective

Examples of effective questions include:

What is already working?

What makes it work?

What is the objective?

What are the benefits of achieving this objective?

What can we do to move closer to our objectives?

How To: Be A Good Listener – Active Listening

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Active Listening requires that you focus on the other person.

You help them feel heard using PAC:

PAC

P = Probe and Paraphrase

A = Acknowledge and Analyze

C = Clarify actions/solutions

Probe and Paraphrase

Show the person that you are interested in what they have to say.

Encourage the speaker with short verbal responses.

Avoid interrupting, making judgments, or changing the subject.

Ask open-ended questions.

Use questions to keep the conversation on track.

Restate what you think you heard.

 

Acknowledge and Analyze

Acknowledge and analyze problems and issues.

Ensure that you and the speaker are in agreement.

Acknowledge the speaker’s emotions.

  

Clarify and Confirm Actions and Solutions

Good listeners always seek clarification and confirmation of whatever

agreements have been reached. This process ensures that each person is “on

the same page.”

Listening Responses:

 Non-verbal:

To communicate understanding, interest, and acceptance

Look into the speaker’s eyes.

  • Nod approvingly.
  • Lean toward the speaker slightly.

 Paraphrase:

  • “As I understand it …”
  • “What you’re saying is …”
  • “If I could summarize …”

 

Reflect the implication:

  • “Would that mean that …”
  • Are you saying that …”
  • “Would that help with …”

 Invite contributions:

  • “What happened then?”
  • “Can you give me an example?”
  • “Tell me more about…”

 Reflect feelings:

  • “If that happened to me, I’d be upset …”
  • “How did that make you feel?”
  • “I suppose that must make you annoyed.”
  • “That must have been satisfying.”