Effective Communication

How to Argue like the Wright Brothers

February 15, 2012 By Nagesh Belludi 2 Comments

The Wright brothers, most notable for inventing powered flight, also enjoyed developing their critical thinking by fiercely debating with each other.

Wilbur and Orville found debating and challenging each other’s viewpoints was a constructive way to identify solutions to a myriad of problems or resolve their interpersonal conflicts.

The Wright brothers often took two different sides of an argument, debated the subject, then switched sides and debated the opposing argument. Orville Wright once narrated, “Often, after an hour or so of heated argument, we would discover that we were as far from agreement as when we started, but that each had changed to the other’s original position.”

Idea for Impact: Only when you contrast your point of view with an opponent’s does your own make sense. Use the Wright Brothers’ technique of double-sided debate to question your own preconceptions about an issue and appreciate alternative perspectives.

Any Crisis Calls for Constant, Candid Communication

July 3, 2010 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

As the current crises at Toyota and BP highlight, how you respond to a problem or crisis is the ultimate test of your leadership character. Knowing how to step up your communications efforts to the right levels during disorder can be a powerful tool in managing a crisis. Here are seven key lessons for communicating during crises.

Be visible. Communicate and lead from the front. In a crisis, your key constituencies (your board, management, team, government, or the public) insist on hearing from the leader. Stay engaged and maintain consistency of purpose and action. Keep all the lines of communication open.
Communicate in real-time and explain your position. If you do not communicate frequently with your key constituents, somebody else will. In the absence of information, people will develop their own perceptions of the problem and its implications. Keeping your constituencies well informed diffuses many suspicions and uncertainties.
Be transparent and forthright right from the beginning. Face the realities of the problem and its potential consequences. Acknowledge what you know about the problem or crisis and go into detail about what steps you are taking in response. Proactive communication is reassuring and prevents perceptions of negligence and evasion from becoming realities.
Research thoroughly the challenges you face and your options for remedial actions. Be prepared to describe everything that matters at each moment. Carefully administer your communication plan with due consideration to possible litigations and penalties.
Be objective and calm. Avoid engaging in finger pointing and playing pass-the-parcel. Avoid criticizing and discrediting the victims or critics. Continuously verbalize empathy and responsibility, and announce plans for early resolutions and restitution.
Remember that your attitude sets the tone for the rest of your organization. If you take a defensive position, play victim or engage in finger pointing, the rest of your organization will react the same way. Through your communications, set a positive tone to build confidence within your organization and promote constructive responses.
As soon as the crisis dissolves, research and communicate opportunities to make fundamental changes to improve your organization. Reiterate your core values and missions. Revamp internal practices as necessary and follow through on all initiatives to rebuild your credibility. Consider organizational changes and new processes for managing future crises.

How to Write Email Subject Lines that Persuade

October 7, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Writing great email Subject lines is the single most important skill you can develop to improve your effectiveness with email communication. The Subject line is the first—and occasionally the only—element of an email that readers notice. By writing a persuasive subject line, you can help your readers identify the importance of your message and drive action.

Here are a few suggestions to write a great Subject line in every email:

State the objective of your email in a meaningful Subject line. Give your readers a clue of what your email is about and the response you expect.
The best Subject lines constitute the two key attributes of the email: [Context / Project] + [Action required / Message summary] E.g., “Need MATLAB help: how can I calculate 3D distance,” “Alternator repower: recommended solution,” and “Thank you for your insightful comments at the customer forum on Friday.”
Avoid indistinct and elusive Subject lines like “Hi,” “One more thing…,” “FYI,” “Can you do this,” or, “Help, please???”
Compose the Subject line after you compose the body of an email. The process of writing the body of the email will help clarify the key message you want to convey and the action you expect.
Prefix the Subject with an ‘URGENT’ if the matter is urgent.
Do not write the entire Subject line in ALL CAPS—this is the digital equivalent of shouting. Moreover, phrases in ALL CAPS are harder to read.
For shorter quick messages, try composing brief, all-in-the-subject-line emails. E.g., “Friday’s lunch: rescheduled to 1:00 PM [eom]” or “Reminder: feedback reports due by noon. [eom].” Adopt a few standard conventions and abbreviations (e.g., EOM for end of message) in your team.
When replying to emails, change the Subject line if the context of an email thread has changed during the course of the thread or if the Subject line in the original email was irrelevant or unclear.
Avoid discussing multiple topics in a single email. Send multiple emails, each with its own, meaningful Subject line.

Save Time by Meeting in Others’ Offices [Effective Meetings]

April 12, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Henry Ford Saved Time by Meeting Others in Their Offices

Here is a productivity technique practiced by Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company and automobile engineering pioneer.

One of his executives noticed that Ford almost always conferred with his managers in their offices instead of his own. Since, as the owner of the company, Ford could easily command them to come to him, the executive was curious about the reason for this practice. “I go to them to save time,” explained Ford. “I’ve found,” he said “that I can leave the other fellow’s office a lot quicker than I can get him to leave mine.”

Takeaway: If you tend to struggle to control the amount of time you spend in attending meetings and handling unwanted interruptions, offer to meet others in their offices. This technique discourages drop-ins and gives you a better handle on your participation: you could leave easily when you are contributing to the meeting.

How to Overcome Shyness in Initiating Conversations

March 24, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi 1 Comment

Uneasiness in Striking up Conversations

The introverts among us do not like being the center of attention and the life of parties. We prefer small get-togethers with a selected group of familiar friends. We have a tendency to shy away from interacting with new people.

We introverts are not very comfortable with small talk. We would rather choose meaningful conversations about a variety of topics that are closer to our hearts. Consequently, we are likely to find it difficult to strike up conversations in social gatherings, parties, and meetings.

Assuming Rapport

The Positivity Blog discusses a simple and effective technique to help initiate conversations. In essence, as opposed to initiating a conversation with uneasiness, act as if you are meeting one of your best friends. The resulting assurance will ease up the anxiety and help initiate and pursue a conversation with new people. In addition, the ensuing poise results in a more forthcoming body language.

I have adopted this technique to better myself in presentations and speeches, meeting new people at work and play, and overcome my own introversion to the extent that now people often label me as being talkative.

Pursuing Conversations

Here are a few more suggestions to help introverts get more comfortable in social gatherings.

Ask to be introduced. Ask your host or a fellow-attendee to introduce you to the other guests by citing common interests. This will help you connect with other guests over the topic of common interest and pursue a conversation more effortlessly.
Interact with other introverts. Surveys suggest that 60% of people tend to be introverts. You could identify like-minded folk through their shy body language, approach them, and introduce yourself to them.
Connect with extroverts. Extroverts like meeting people, enjoy interactions, and love introducing people to one another. Being around extroverts can help overcome some initial difficulty with starting conversations and engaging in small talk in unfamiliar social situations.
Learn and practice the art of small talk. Most people are enthusiastic about sharing their stories. Favorite sports, travel destinations, kids, opinions of celebrities, movies and other current events make great conversation starters. Steer away from conversations on social or economic status, health, faith, and other personal details. Watch for gestures of discomfort when you ask questions.

Pretending to Know-it-All and Failing to Admit Ignorance

February 8, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Often, professionals suppose that being considered smart, intelligent, or “on top of things” implies presenting themselves with much self-confidence, and requiring knowing everything. Consequently, they tend to force themselves to pretend to “know it all” and hesitate to respond with an “I don’t know.” When superiors, peers, or employees ask tough questions, they habitually fail to admit their ignorance and force some misguided answer out of themselves.

Think about it: having to know all the answers can actually be quite stressful. It drives professionals to think incessantly about potential challenges, risks, and outcomes. The constant pressure to be “on guard” can steer them towards supposing the worst.

“I Don’t Know; Let me Find Out” is a Perfectly Acceptable Answer

Effective professionals recognize that perfection, flawlessness, and other superlatives are often masks. They acknowledge what they do not know and promise to follow up in proper time and get the right answers. Rather than losing their standing, they gain the trust of their people.

Acknowledging that they do not have answers to all questions, releases professionals of unwarranted worry. This opens the door for others to assist with relevant inputs and promotes good judgment.

There is a downside, however, to repeatedly admitting not knowing many things. A professional is expected to be knowledge about all the essential aspects of her job and explicate all the relevant data to drive her decisions. Where the organization depends on her to know the answers to certain questions, any hints to heedlessness, neglect, or oblivion can weigh down her standing within her organization.

To Make an Effective Argument, Explain Your Opponent’s Perspective

December 12, 2008 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

“The man who can hold forth on every matter under debate in two contradictory ways of pleading, or can argue for and against every proposition that can be laid down – such a man is the true, the complete, and the only orator.”
– Cicero

“If you can’t imagine how anyone could hold the view you are attacking, you just don’t understand it yet.”
– Anthony Weston, ‘Rulebook for Arguments’

Explaining the Other Side of the Argument

Entrepreneur and blogger Ben Casnocha presents an effective discussion / debating / interviewing technique:

Here is one of the simplest ways to test someone’s knowledge of an issue: ask them to explain the other side of the argument. Ask the person who’s in favor of spending more money on marketing project X to explain the thinking process behind those who oppose the budgetary move.

I have yet to find a more efficient and reliable way to probe the depths of a person’s knowledge and seriousness about an issue than asking them to explain the other side’s perspective.

How can you effectively argue for your side if you don’t understand the arguments of the other?

Never Limit Your Ability to Learn From Opposite Perspectives

Never Limit Your Ability to Learn From Opposite Perspectives Habitually, we discard contrasting opinions without making an effort to explore their significance. We shape our attitudes and seek facts to support our own beliefs without contemplating the merits of opposite perspectives. We fail to realize that, when we do not understand opposite perspectives enough to justify their merits, we almost certainly do not understand them enough to dismiss them either.

Develop the curiosity to see the world from new perspectives and discover opposite circumstances, whether you believe in them or not. If you follow faith X, attend services of faith Y; if you are conservative, explain the liberal outlook; if you hold the western philosophy on a particular subject, reason the eastern viewpoint; if you oppose a particular legislation, argue the merits of legislation. Instead of asking ‘ why ,’ ask ‘why not .’

When you pause arguing with an opposite perspective and try arguing for it, when you switch your point of view briefly, you will witness a profound shift in your thinking.

Your own attitudes may look different when seen from the opposite perspective. It can help you reinforce your own beliefs and attitudes. This approach may open your mind to discover the merits, similarities, and weaknesses of your arguments that may not be obvious from your own side of the board.
People are often glad to work with anyone who is accommodating and tries to understand their perspectives. Therefore, your ability to persuade others improves.

Identify and Eliminate Passive Voice in Microsoft Word

November 5, 2008 By Nagesh Belludi 4 Comments

A previous article had promoted the use of active voice for persuasive communications. To summarize, sentences in passive voice (e.g., “Your feedback is appreciated,”) though grammatically correct, seem impersonal and obscure the responsibility of actions or feelings they convey. Sentences in active voice (e.g., ” I appreciate your feedback”) are simple, direct, persuasive, and easier to understand. See full article here.

You can use the ‘Grammar Check’ feature in MS-Word to identify and eliminate passive voice. To activate the check for passive voice, follow these three steps.

Identify and Eliminate Passive Voice in Microsoft Word

Step 1: Select ‘Tools’ from the ‘Options’ menu

Identify and Eliminate Passive Voice in Microsoft Word

Step 2: In the ‘Spelling & Grammar’ tab of the Options dialog box, enable the ‘Check grammar as you type’ and ‘Check grammar with spelling’ options. Select ‘Grammar & Style’ from the ‘Writing style’ drop down and click on the ‘Settings’ button.

Identify and Eliminate Passive Voice in Microsoft Word

Step 3: In the ‘Grammar Settings’ dialog box, enable the ‘Passive sentences’ under the ‘Style’ category. ‘OK’ and close all the dialog boxes.

Once you configure the check for passive sentences, MS-Word will squiggly-underline (in green color) most instances of passive sentences as illustrated below, just like it does squiggly-underline (in red color) spelling mistakes.

Identify and Eliminate Passive Voice in Microsoft Word

Clarity and ease-of-comprehension are two of the most important requisites to effective communication. Active voice can facilitate effective communication.

[Presentation Skills #5] Effective Fonts for Presentations

October 6, 2008 By Nagesh Belludi 1 Comment

Serif and Sans-Serif Fonts

Font families are classified according to their appearance: serif fonts, sans-serif fonts, monospace fonts, cursive fonts, fantasy fonts, etc.

Effective Fonts for Presentations

Characters in serif fonts have little projections or ‘tails’ (serif = tail in French) at the end of strokes and line widths that thin out on curves. The serifs guide a reader’s eyes to flow across lines of text. Conventionally, serif fonts are used for smaller text such as blocks of texts in newspapers. Serif fonts are harder to read from a distance. Examples of serif fonts are Times New Roman, Times Roman, Garamond and Palatino.

Characters in sans-serif fonts have more consistent line widths and do not have tails (sans = without in French.) Sans-serif fonts appear clear, fresh and balanced in shape and form. Conventionally, sans-serif fonts are used for larger text such as headlines or text in posters. Sans-serif fonts are the most popular choice for on-screen (TV, computer, etc.) text because of their clarity in display. Examples of sans-serif fonts are Helvetica, Arial, Futura and Verdana.

Fonts for Presentations

Sans-serif fonts are perhaps the best choice for presentation design because sans-serif fonts are more legible than serif fonts when projected.
With serif fonts, given the limited resolution of projectors, some of the thinner strokes tend to break-up or disappear when projected, especially at smaller sizes.
Characters in monospace fonts (e.g., Courier New and Monaco) each occupy the same amount of space. Use monospace fonts for tabulated information or computer console output only.
Cursive or decorative fonts easily distract the eye and make a presentation look unprofessional. Use such fonts sparingly in presentations.
Avoid using more than two fonts in a presentation; too many fonts lead to inconsistency in visual design.

Font Sizes: Larger the Better

Font size is measured in points. A point represents 1/72 of an inch; text in 72 points prints to text of one-inch height.

The choice of font sizes is dictated by the size of the room in which you will present. Choose a font-size that will make all of your text readable to everyone in the audience. Use font sizes of 32-48 points for slide titles and headings and font sizes of 24-32 points for the rest of the content.

Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 Rule of Personal Communication

October 4, 2008 By Nagesh Belludi

In communication, a speaker’s words are only a fraction of his efforts. The pitch and tone of his voice, the speed and rhythm of the spoken word, and the pauses between those words may express more than what is being communicated by words alone. Further, his gestures, posture, pose and expressions usually convey a variety of subtle signals. These non-verbal elements can present a listener with important clues to the speaker’s thoughts and feelings and thus substantiate or contradict the speaker’s words.

The most commonly and casually cited study on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages in personal communication is one by Prof. Albert Mehrabian of the University of California in Los Angeles. In the 1970s, his studies suggested that we overwhelmingly deduce our feelings, attitudes, and beliefs about what someone says not by the actual words spoken, but by the speaker’s body language and tone of voice.

In fact, Prof. Mehrabian quantified this tendency: words, tone of voice, and body language respectively account for 7%, 38%, and 55% of personal communication.

The non-verbal elements are particularly important for communicating feelings and attitude, especially when they are incongruent: if words and body language disagree, one tends to believe the body language.

If a speaker’s words and body language differ, listeners are more likely to believe the nonverbal communication of the speaker, not his words. For example, if a person states, “I don’t have a problem with you!” while avoiding eye-contact, looking anxious, and maintaining a closed body language, the listener will probably trust the predominant form of communication, which according to Prof. Mehrabian’s findings is non-verbal (38% + 55%), rather than the literal meaning of the words (7%.)

I have two arguments against the oversimplified interpretation of the “7-38-55 Rule.” In the first place, it is very difficult to quantify the impact of tone of voice and body language on the effectiveness of communication. Secondly, such quantifications are very subjective and cannot be applied as a rule to all contexts. Prof. Mehrabian himself has cautioned,

“Total Liking = 7% Verbal Liking + 38% Vocal Liking + 55% Facial Liking. Please note that this and other equations regarding relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages were derived from experiments dealing with communications of feelings and attitudes (i.e., like—dislike). Unless a communicator is talking about their feelings or attitudes, these equations are not applicable.”

This study is a convenient—if not accurate—reminder that nonverbal cues can be more valuable and telling than verbal ones. Therefore, to be effective and persuasive in our verbal communication—in presentations, public speaking, or personal communication—it is essential to complement our words with the right tone and voice and the appropriate body language.

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Effective Communication

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Uneasiness in Striking up Conversations

Assuming Rapport

Pursuing Conversations

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“I Don’t Know; Let me Find Out” is a Perfectly Acceptable Answer

Explaining the Other Side of the Argument

Never Limit Your Ability to Learn From Opposite Perspectives

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Serif and Sans-Serif Fonts

Fonts for Presentations

Font Sizes: Larger the Better

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