Newsletter topics: Social Media, Listening Tips, Knowledge Management, Coaching, Social Media (a cartoon), Professional Development

• The Pervasiveness Of Twitter
• More Than Words - Tips To Hone Great Listening Skills 
• Finding A Bigger Can 
• The Dirtiest 4 Letter Word  
• RSS Feeds (a cartoon)
• Why Professional Development Matters

 

We all know the value of superlative communication skills.  However, too often when we think of being a great communicator we think ‘words’ – what we say and how we say it.  But a crucial aspect of being a great communicator is having great listening skills.  Excellent communication is a two way street – here are some tips to hone your listening skills:

Repeat it back.
One of the best ways to ensure you’ve heard correctly is to repeat the information as it’s given.  This will help to avoid misunderstandings down the road, and indicate in the moment a high level of involvement.  It proves you were listening and helps you remember what was said later.

Write it down. 
Remember taking notes at school?  For memory retention this is a great tool.  At a directors’ meeting, a job interview, or a sales pitch, let your audience know you’ll be taking notes and write down all the important points. 

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I believe that we have all heard some form of the expression that “once you have opened up a can of worms, the only way to get them all back in is to open a bigger can”.

I was reviewing Polyani’s early writings on tacit knowledge recently, and I came across a theory that begins to explain this phenomenon, at least partially.  In his discussions of “knowledge emergence”, Polyani refers to the biological sense of the word, different from the later use by Nonaka and Nishiguchi.

In a nutshell, this theory of emergence posits that strata “emerge” in biological terms, in order to control or adapt to the weaknesses and incompleteness of the preceding stratum.

Before everyone dozes off, if it’s not already too late, let me use the same metaphor that he used to explain these strata: human speech.

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When my daughter was about 3 or 4 I began asking her to do things to push her past her limits. She always felt she performed quite well, because she received a lot of encouragement for just attempting to do things most people would say 4-5-6-7-8 year olds aren't capable of doing. I would get her to do things, like asking her to take her bowl and put it in the sink. Although I knew she couldn't reach the sink, I just wanted her to try to reach anyway. Dropping the bowl was OK. After a couple of futile attempts, I picked her up so she could place the bowl in the sink. She still felt accomplished in feeling like she still did it herself. Another time I asked her to help me clean an imaginary dirt spot on the wall that was out of her reach. After she tried and figured out she couldn't reach, I picked her up. She cleaned the spot. She felt very satisfied with her accomplishment.

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Historically, recessions have provided opportunities to grow business and personal wealth.  For the purpose of this article, WEALTH is defined as an abundance of valuable resources or material possessions; an abundance or profusion of anything; a plentiful amount (Merriam – Webster).  No doubt, it helps to have wealth to weather an economic down turn!  We all have heard or personally know about managing wealth during a time like this.  You have probably recently experienced some of this management in your personal bank account or in your company’s budget and expenses.  But finance alone does not make a company wealthy.

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Bruce Newman is the editor-in-chief of the PI Newsletter.  Contact him at: newsletter@prodinst.com

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