Professional Communication Tactics

Today's podcast is the first in a series of dealing with difficult people podcasts designed to help you respond--rather than react--to difficult people and behavior. Today's lesson is about how to use Spotlight Questions--questions designed to be used to respond to Snipers and other passive-aggressive communicators. In less than 7 minutes you can improve your professional communication and dealing with difficult people skills. For more, stop by http://www.powerdiversity.com

In less than 5 minutes, you can learn how to triple the odds of getting a yes when presenting your proposals or products. It doesn't even take any special phrases or verbal skills--it all has to do with proper positioning of your message. For more communication tips and strategies, visit http://www.powerdiversity.com.

Are you unwittingly sabotaging your communication success? It only takes one word to ruin your entire message, which is why Dan gives you Danger phrases to avoid and Power phrases to use when working in a professional environment. Communication training can be fun, effective, and free. You can be a better communicator in about 2 minutes! For more communication training, visit http://www.powerdiversity.com

How would you like to increase your communication power in less than 3 minutes? Check out our professional communication tactics podcast where you'll learn power phrases, danger phrases, and communication tactics to help you dramatically transform your communication image and get instant results. Today's Danger Phrase is, "Why didn't you tell me?" Find out why this is a danger phrase, and what you should be saying instead in today's lesson. For more free communication resources, go to http://www.powerdiversity.com.

If your job involves dealing with customers, empathy statements are crucial to your communication success. If you're more of a logical--or left-brain--thinker, however, this can be a challenge. In today's professional communication training, Dan teaches you danger and power phrases to make it effortless to speak to right-brainers during emotionally charged situations. For more, go to http://www.powerdiversity.com

Do you think you don't have the time to establish the PEC with every customer every time? Do you ever say things such as, "Oh, just a minute--my computer is stuck/our systems are running slow," or anything to that effect? First of all, don't ever say things like that again. Secondly, start using those moments as opportunities to establish the PEC. In today's lesson, Dan gives you danger phrases and a power phrase to help you polish your professional communication skills, and increase your professional value starting today. For more, go to www.powerdiversity.com

We often hear people say (and we too sometimes make the mistake of saying), "I'm sorry if..." or "I'm sorry but..." The worst part is, people are usually apologizing for their gifts! You'll hear things such as, "I'm sorry for being so detail oriented." or "Well, I'm sorry for caring so much." In today's professional communication training podcast, Dan helps you purge these kinds of phrases and replace them with powerful ones with the use of a Danger Phrase and Power Phrase list. For more, go to http://www.powerdiversity.com

In last week's supreme court confirmation hearings, Elena Kagan implemented one of my favorite communication strategies: She stayed on message using the broken record, didn't take the bait, and didn't engage. Regardless of your views of Elena Kagan, her use of these tools was masterful, and you too can--and should--use them in high-risk communication situations. Listen to today's podcast to find out how. For more, go to http://www.powerdiversity.com.

Here's your professional communication tactic for the day: When giving a compliment--whether at work or at home--remember that we compliment people, not things, and that compliments almost always have the word "you" in them. Check out today's podcast to learn how to correctly give a compliment, which activates the recipient's right side of his or her brain, and positions you as a more powerful, polished, savvy communicator. For more, stop by http://www.powerdiversity.com.

Here's your daily professional communication skills training lesson from communication trainer and motivational keynote speaker Dan O'Connor: Do you know the two things that every customer is waiting to hear from you? They want to know that they have come to the right place and they have found the right person. Are you able to articulate that? In today's professional communication training lesson, Dan shows you how. For more, go to http://www.powerdiversity.com

You should by now have a professional Danger Phrase and Power Phrase list. Today, Dan gives you four phrases you should never say at work--in other words, "Danger Phrases," but in today's podcast, these are more than just Danger Phrases--these are Purge Phrases, or phrases you should never say, and there are no Power Phrase with which to replace them. Make sure to put these 4 phrases on your professional Danger Phrase / Power Phrase list. For more, check out http://www.powerdiversity.com.

One of the goals that all professional communicators must strive to achieve is staying in the response mode and staying out of the reaction mode. The reaction mode is: first thing into the brain=first thing out of the mouth. As we mature and grow professionally, we learn that first thing into the brain is generally the worst thing that can come out of the mouth. But how do we stay in the response mode-which honors the other person while honoring ourselves-ALL the time? That’s what MAGIC POWER PHRASES help us do. A MAGIC POWER PHRASE has two parts: 1- An affirmation such as, “Interesting...You don’t say...Wow...” to show you’re listening and engaged. 2- A question or request that throws the ball back into the other person’s court, such as, “Why would you say that...Why would you think that...Why would you ask that...Why would you do that...Tell me more about that...” It sounds simple, but most communicators never practice using magic phrases, and then when they need them, because they didn’t practice them, they have trouble using them correctly. Practice using the following 5 magic phrases this month, and watch your communication success skyrocket! That’s interesting; Why would you ask that? That’s interesting: Why would you think that? That’s interesting: Why would you say that? That’s interesting: Why would you do that? That’s interesting: Tell me more. Make sure to stop by http://www.powerdiversity.com for the podcast that goes along with this lesson, as well as other communication tools that can help you communicate more effectively, deal with difficult people, and of course, slay office Energy Vampires.

Out-perform the competition by learning this one simple professional communication tactic. For more, visit http://www.powerdiversity.com

THE BLAME GAME In every organization, there will be customers who want to blame someone else for their troubles. Who’s actually to blame for the problem is totally irrelevant. If you are in customer service and have to deal with the Blamer, remember that your role with them is to be the scapegoat, and your mission is to serve them by telling them whatever they need to hear so they can get un-stuck, and you can move along to the next customer while feeling good about the experience you had with the Blamer. The reason feeling good is so important is because everything you do is infused with the consciousness with which you do it. After work is over, you’ll go home and be with the most important people in your life, and how you treat them will be affected by how you treated your customers throughout the day. There are four bottom line things a Blamer is looking for (apart from something free, which is not going to happen in the following scenario) to keep their egos intact: They want someone to validate their story They want someone to take responsibility They want to know “what you’re going to do about it,” They want to know it won’t happen again The professional’s number-one goal is to give the customers what they want. This can be challenging when you’re dealing with difficult and demanding customers, especially if you know the story they’re telling you isn’t true. For example, let’s say a customer’s utilities have been cut off, and that person is upset, claiming he or she never got the bill. The savvy professional can achieve the goal of giving the customer what they want, while maintaining their professional demeanor, and keeping their ego in tact all at the same time, simply by using the passive voice, and a simple 4-step process: Acknowledge the possibility that it happened as the customer says it happened. For example: “It certainly is possible that a mistake was made.” or “I understand sometimes things don’t show up in the mail.” Now their ego has been validated, (even though you didn’t say a mistake was made) and they’ll be ready for you to... Take responsibility. For example: “But you’re in luck...my name’s Dan, and regardless of what happened to get us here, (notice you’re “with” the customer) you’ve found the right person. I’m the one who can help you with this.” Now they feel confident in your abilities, know you’re with them, and are ready to hear you... Take corrective action. For example: “What we can do now is get this last bill paid, which will bring the account current.” And now that you’re in the process of “fixing” the problem... Suggest preventative action. For example: “In the future, if it’s the 5th of the month, and you still haven’t received a bill, just come down or call us, and we’ll be able to help you take care of your monthly balance so that this never happens again.” Of course, many customers will struggle and squirm a bit before getting un-stuck, and when they do, remember that you are totally in control of the situation, and don’t take the bait. Simply use the broken record, and keep repeating steps 3 and 4 until the customer realizes that you are going to stand your ground, and maintain your professional demeanor. It’s easy and more effective as long as you use strategies rather than just winging it. When we have strategies such as this one to help us deal with demanding or difficult customers, we will enjoy a more stress-free day at work, and be more present and positive with those we love--after work. For more, visit http://www.powerdiversity.com