Only You Can Make Shift Happen
In last week’s blog, we concluded our month on customer service by saying that exceptional customer service requires engaged employees. A key ingredient of engaged employees is effective communication. It turns out that effective communication is a key ingredient to your overall success ~ everywhere ~ so we’re going to spend this month exploring communication strategies.
The importance of effective communication is not news to you ~ or anyone else.
So what’s the problem? In the conversations we’ve had over the years in our classes, it’s clear that one of the most widespread causes of communication breakdowns is that both people get stuck.
When we say stuck, we mean you can only see your own perspective; you only have your own beliefs, values, opinions and experiences and they are the truth for you. The bad news is that all these elements of your perspective prevent dialogue.
The good news is that if you are willing to consider the other person’s beliefs, values, opinions and experiences, then you can get unstuck. You do this by asking yourself, “What could possibly be true about this person’s perspective that makes him or her behave this way?”
Just by considering another perspective as a potential truth you can shift into dialogue. You will get a breakthrough instead of continuing the breakdown.
How can you tell if you’ve shifted?
The true indication that you’ve shifted is the response of the other person. You will see it immediately. A positive response from the other person means that you have replaced judgment (I know I’m right!) with curiosity (What else could be true? How could they be right too?).
Next week…another kind of breakdown and what you can do about it.
