Morning Session – Table X

TABLE X

Facilitators:

Phyllis Zadra, Associate Dean, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College
Frank Gatti, CFO and Sr. Vice President, Educational Testing Service

Questions:
2) How does listening factor into effective communication? What does it mean to listen effectively? How might effective listening be fostered or taught in both academic and business settings?
3) Are correctness and adherence to formal conventions always required for communication to be successful? Do incorrect grammar, punctuation, non-standard pronunciation (as in accents of various sorts), or deviation from formal conventions necessarily lead to miscommunication

On Credibility:

Credibility builds trust.

It is more worthwhile thinking of credibility not as credential, but in the context of communicating a message. On the one hand, an intro can create an environment where your audience can trust you. Over time you build that credibility to keep their trust.

Mother Theresa would have been able to call forth anyone to be her audience. Who we are as a person is what we bring to the table. Her love for humanity and her willingness to suffer gave her a trust with any audience. She was disarming and did not appear as a threat – which is why she was able to draw people to her. There was a quality of trust established.

What tactics do we need to get through filters?

Vulnerability and authenticity creates trust in the audience. There is a whole other side to this and that is verbal miscommunication vs written miscommunication.

On establishing common ground:

First thing I put on the board is the scheduled date for releasing a project. I put the date on the board and this is when our customers expect the product. I tell the team that if we don’t work together then we’ll fail and all lose our jobs. So if we miss the final goal then as a group we do not reach a common goal and this diffuses the role of individual needs.

Find the common goal, focus on it and reinforce it. This is a way to break through some barriers.
Also, take a poll before a public talk. Tapping into the filters that may create miscommunication and try to deal with it up front. Create a more one-body audience. Work one by one towards building that unity.
Yet then comes common ground with the global world. The same thing happens in a business context. Different words/messages mean different things from different people. People ask our business what we would “recommend” in areas that are not necessarily our core competency… there’s a fine line between giving guidance and being put “on the hook” for your advice/suggestions.

On Brevity:

People in my staff have had to do very specific things to work with new workers in order to help them communicate more effectively. It is a barrier to them that affects how they move up in their career. Lets look at written communication. It isn’t that it is bad grammar, it is just not concise. It is too long and it takes the reader too long to figure out the end statement. Too many pages seems like there is a gigantic problem.

Here is a place to get succinct and use small words. Use one syllable words. You need to be brief and succinct but powerful. Never speak at the edge of your knowledge.

Lets change the paradigm in teaching.