tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28281118444045413762024-02-08T12:06:14.812-08:00Social Intelligence SolutionsAlways Remembering the Human ElementAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460128692425591683noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828111844404541376.post-57524225749010862522015-10-05T01:04:00.000-07:002015-10-05T01:06:00.022-07:00A Challenge: Communication Actions and Reactions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Developing your communication skills to become more
effective can be a tricky thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all, it is difficult to stop and analyse you
communication with someone midway through that face to face conversation or
when you are on the phone. If you stop suddenly to try to process the way
things are going the other person will wonder why you have stopped and, in a
prolonged silence, they will, inevitably, fill that silence by saying something
else which will throw you off your train of thought anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many communication experts have honed their knowledge
through years of study. Body language experts, for example, have studied
endless hours of footage that they have been able to watch, rewind and watch
again to gain their insights, naturally this makes them able to spot how people
are using body language almost instantaneously but for the rest of us, trying
to analyse body language while talking to someone is near impossible without
having to disengage from that conversation, which, in turn, means we lose
something from that communication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Communication is something that happens in the moment, it is
instinctive. How many times have we walked away from an encounter and thought
to ourselves “I wish I had said that not that”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One way to develop yourself is to take one particular theme
at a time and taking time alone to reflect on that theme. So here is a
suggestion for that theme and a challenge for you to complete it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>A challenge for the week.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Newton’s Third Law of Physics tells us that for every action
there is an equal and opposite reactions. If we think about this in terms of
communication we can develop our own sense of how effectively we communicate
and how communicating with others impacts on us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For example, think about a manager who hands a folder to an
employee and says “this needs doing immediately”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a simple level that action means that the equal and
opposite reaction is that the employee has to stop doing whatever they were
currently engaged in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[For the pedants out there who say “but what if they were
doing nothing?”. They still have to stop doing nothing in order to do
something, besides if they were doing nothing what on earth are you paying them
for!]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a more complex level, different employees will react
differently to the action demanded. One may enthusiastically relish being given
the challenge whilst another may inwardly worry at the amount of work they had
to get completed by the end of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The crux of the matter is that every communication action
elicits some form of reaction, albeit not necessarily a scientifically equal and
opposite one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the challenge for the week is for you to identify the
reactions to you communication actions. Obviously it would be impossible for us
to analyse every single interaction we have, so the aim this week is to pick
something every day, a team meeting, a performance review or an appointment
with a customer, something that is in your diary and before that meeting think
about the type of reactions you want to your communication actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, following the meeting, reflect on the actions and
reactions that took place. Did you get the reactions you wanted or expected
from you communication actions? If not how could you change your actions next
time. It is also equally important to reflect on your reactions to what other
people said, did they fill you with doubt or have you nodding enthusiastically
in agreement?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The more opportunities we get to take time to reflect on
communication the better we can develop our own sense of communication when we
are in the middle of it so there is no need to stop midway through but we can
analyse as we go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One way of learning is to share thoughts and experiences so
I have created a Facebook Page for you to add you thoughts and comments on your
communication actions and reactions (link below)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So take the challenge this week, share your experiences and,
most importantly, become a more effective communicator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Social-Intelligence-Solutions-563253333822204">Click
here for FACEBOOK link</a> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460128692425591683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828111844404541376.post-20584898604040169222015-10-01T06:20:00.001-07:002015-10-01T06:23:36.704-07:00You Need Social Intelligence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How many interactions with another human being have you had
today?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even if you have been isolated from any physical contact
just by reading this you are interacting, to a degree, with me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You communicate with others in many different ways every day
and, to maximise the success of those communications Social Intelligence is a crucial
ingredient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what is Social Intelligence?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fantastic Daniel Goleman states, <o:p></o:p>“The ingredients of social intelligence as I see it can be organized into two broad categories: social awareness, what we sense about others—and social facility, what we then do with that awareness” (Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships 2006).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />And Karl Albrecht says Social Intelligence “is the ability to get along well with others, and to get them to cooperate with you” (<a href="https://www.karlalbrecht.com/siprofile/siprofiletheory.htm">https://www.karlalbrecht.com/siprofile/siprofiletheory.htm</a>)<br /><br /></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both of these definitions give us an insight into Social
Intelligence and why it is important that we understand and apply Social
Intelligence in our daily lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly there is the need to have a sense of other people.
How easy is it to get lost in your own world and not really take much notice of
the people around you, think about a time when you were so intensely involved
in a project that it was only that on your mind when a colleague spoke to you
and you barely registered what they said, or, to flip it around, how do you
feel when you are trying to talk to someone when it is quite clear their mind
is elsewhere?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this fast-paced, high-tech, digital world it is so easy
for us to become distracted from interpersonal contact and our sense of others
around us. Take a look around your local coffee shop and count how many people are
more focused on their mobile devices than with the people they are sitting
with? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the first thing to do in order to develop and hone your
Social Intelligence is to begin to become more aware of those you are
interacting with. By simply giving someone your full attention you make them feel
that you are interested in them and you are able to get feedback, both verbal
and non-verbal, from them that allows you to adjust your message appropriately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we can develop our social awareness we can then move
toward facility – what we do with that awareness, and get people to cooperate
with us. Successful cooperation is a situation where both parties get what they
want, a win-win outcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have known plenty of salespeople whose sole aim is to get
their customers to buy something and they will use every weapon in their
arsenal to get that sale. However sometimes even though they get a sale at that
point, overall they have lost out because they have probably put the customer
off coming back again. The good salesman achieves that sale by using Social
Intelligence and being aware of what the customer really wants, facilitating
the customer’s choice and has a customer who leaves happy with what they have
purchased and happy with the service they received, increasing the likelihood
that the customer will return in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Similarly the good manager will use their social awareness
during interviews and supervisory meetings with employees and ensure that there
is a win-win situation where the manager gets the employee to understand what
the business needs of them and the employee leaves enthused to achieve that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a simplistic overview of Social Intelligence, but
Social Intelligence is a crucial part of success in human interaction that
achieves long term success both in business and personal life. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460128692425591683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828111844404541376.post-75090537307162083072015-09-24T02:42:00.000-07:002015-09-24T02:42:20.337-07:00Who Are You - No Who Are You Really?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How many profiles of you are there out there?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Social Media profiles, website profiles, C.V./Resumes,
company profiles etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Probably quite a few nowadays but how many truly reflect the
real you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is not to say those profiles are lies but they are all
designed for a purpose and written for the platform they are placed on. They
are usually extremely brief and do not fully explore the person that is you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet honestly reflecting on ourselves and our abilities can
help us improve our lives as we identify areas we can grow and question
ourselves on our beliefs to break unhelpful beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For example, personally, having had considerably more
positive than negative feedback on my writing I will state that I am good at
it, having started with the school newsletter writing is a passion that has
always been buried within me, but is it my best quality? I can also claim to be
a specialist in communication having studied it extensively and spent most of
my working life in customer facing roles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet, in reality, what I truly think I am best at is helping
others. I have informally and formally coached many people through their NVQs
or other qualifications, I have supported people through personal and
professional problems. It is why I hugely enjoy training others and why I have
also tended to drift into roles that involve helping others in some way. I am a
person who will patiently question and prompt to aid learning rather than someone
who gets frustrated and says “I’ll just do it myself”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, to me, this quality has been a double edged sword.
Frustratingly I often seem to be better at helping others than helping myself
and, occasionally, people coming to me for help feels like a burden more than a
pleasure, because of this it means I am probably less likely to promote what is
probably the best quality I have!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet by recognising the issues there I can begin to break the
shackles and start to move forward with the recognition the, perhaps, the best
way to help myself is to really embrace my ability to help others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The reality of life is that we always try to present a
certain image dependent on the situation we are in at that moment. Yet it is vitally
important to our own well-being that we can be grounded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, it would be wrong to say that this sort of
self-reflection is easy. Remember the first time you heard your voice played
back to you and how odd it seemed? How we see ourselves is not always the way
others see us and although the voice thing has a physiological reason there are
psychological elements involved which are probably best shown in issues with
body image etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Yet, short of going
to a professional in such matters, we can do some of the work ourselves, we can
talk to those close to others and ask them what they would describe as our best
qualities and then reflect on the reasons why people would say that. We can
also reflect on where we have been successful in the past but doing this
honestly recognising that being successful is not always associated with a
sense of achievement. We could have easily excelled at doing something but we
felt, at the time, that achieving that success was hard work and not a success
worth celebrating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was it you did to make that success and how many times
have you done something similar to achieve results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If we want to improve our lives, our income or abilities
etc. we need to reflect and be honest to ourselves about what we are good at
and where we need to improve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, we will sell ourselves in different ways to different
audiences but trying to achieve that grounded sense of self allows us to add an
air of honesty to those profiles and allows us to grow further.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460128692425591683noreply@blogger.com0