So as I have mentioned before, we have three little ones at home. Ava is 5, Lilly is 2, and Lane is 1. The two girls are very close, play well together, but have two totally different personalities. Ava is our drama queen and Lilly is the comedian.
Just the other day, I asked Ava to stay in her seat while we ate dinner. “Uhhhh, I ammm!” says Ava, while she is standing next to the chair. She then rolls her eyes (yes, already) and mumbles something about being bossy and then takes her seat. Lilly then proceeds to hop up and trot over to her little brother’s high chair for some entertainment. I ask Lilly to sit in her seat. “I am daddy.” says Lilly, grinning from ear-to-ear. She then immediately heads back to her chair, plops down, and says, “see daddy, I in my chair.” We were unhappy with Ava. We had to hide our laughter with Lilly. And I’m sure they will both be scarred.
They did the same exact thing, however, they communicated it differently.
Communication breaks down like this:
55% is body language.
38% is tone of voice.
7% is spoken word. Only 7% is the actual words.
Here are three simple tips for you regarding communication in your small business:
1. When networking, make eye contact and do not look around the room when the other person is speaking. And put your phone down, when you are having a conversation with someone. Even though you may be listening, you seem disinterested.
2. Smile when you interact with a customer. Okay, not every single second. You don’t come off like Buddy the Elf. But you get the point. You can also do this, while you are on the phone. It works.
3. Be nice. Sincerely nice, not weirdo, fake nice. You can tell an employee “Please follow up with the customer after you repair their roof. Thank you very much.” and still sound like a jerk. Just because you covered your bases with “please” and “thank you” doesn’t make you a good communicator. It’s all about how you say it.
No comments :
Post a Comment