Effective Communication Some Practical Strategies for Understanding Others and Making Sure They Unde

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Effective CommunicationSome Practical Strategies
for Understanding Others and Making Sure They
Understand You1,2A Presentation for the
OhioHealth 2007 Nurses Orthopedic Education Day

• Kendall L. Stewart, M.D.
• April 13, 2007

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Why is this important?

• Communication is hard.
• But this doesnt keep everyone from trying.
• Perfect communication is impossibleeven with the
  people we are closest to.
• Always a challenge, effective communication is
  much harder in the context of a limited
  relationship.
• But there are some practical strategies that can
  help us become more effective communicators in
  all the relationships of our lives.
• If you aspire to communicate more effectively,
  you will want to give these strategies a
  tryrepeatedly.

• After mastering the information in this
  presentation, you will be able to
• Identify three common challenges to effective
  communication in the workplace,
• Describe three practical strategies for
  communicating more effectively
• Explain why these strategies make sense,
• Describe how to deploy one of these strategies in
  your everyday life and
• Assess the effectiveness of others who are
  attempting to communicate with you.
• Even a small improvement in the effectiveness of
  your communication will make a big difference in
  the quality of your life.

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What are some of the communication challenges in
the workplace?

• There are too many incoming messages.
• We dont want to hear what others have to say.
• We suspect that others are spinning.
• Messages are frequently inconsistent.
• People talk too much.
• Folks tell us more than we want to know.
• The message is not clear.
• Emotions get in the way.
• People forget to tell us how to do whatever it
  is.1,2
• And so on

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What are some of the key steps in an effective
communication process?1,2

• Prepare to communicate.
• Build the best relationship possible.
• Focus on the common ground.
• Focus on others needs.
• Listen intently.
• Wait for others to pull your opinion instead of
  just pushing your opinion on them.
• Ask permission to persuade or speak frankly.
• Know your stuff.
• Tell your own story.
• Let your passion show.
• Make a compelling case.

• Invite personal participation and engagement in
  the communication process.
• Solicit feedback to confirm understanding.
• Use self-deprecating humor.
• Anticipate, encourage and address opposition.
• Never become argumentative.
• Tell people only what they need to know.
• Take a problem-solving approach.
• Identify the best optiontentatively.
• Request a modest but meaningful commitment.

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Take a problem-solving approach.

• Why should you?
• It is so unusual.
• It provides a sense of direction.
• It discourages digressions.
• It favors objective analysis instead of emotional
  froth.
• It invites any participant to get the group back
  on task.
• It decreases discussion fatigue.
• It focuses on action.

• How can you?
• Pose the problem as a concise question.
• Invite listeners to brainstorm every possible
  solution.
• Create a pro and con list for every option.
• Pick the best option.
• Decide to deploy the best option and agree on
  next steps.
• Decide who is accountable for doing what.
• Decide when they will do it.

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What have you learned?

• Communication is hard.
• We usually know exactly what to do, but its the
  doing it thats so hard.
• While the communication process is complex and
  typically quite flawed, you own part of that
  process and youand you alonecan improve your
  part of the process.
• Adoptingand adaptingthe steps outlined in this
  presentation can help.
• While your communication process will rarely work
  perfectly, with communication a little
  improvement goes a long way.1,2

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Where can you learn more online?1

• Learn more about how to achieve and sustain
  personal health and fitness at www.sparkpeople.com
  . Please remember to enter kendalllstewart as the
  person who referred you when you sign up.
• Download the classic principles for Dale
  Carnegies classic, How to Win Friends and
  Influence People at http//www.dalecarnegie.com/go
  lden_book.jsp?keycodegoogle06WT.srch1WT.mc_id
  G_Communications.
• Download a copy of this presentation at
  http//www.somc.org/NRSOMCPress/Presentations.htm.
  
• Order a copy of A Portable Mentor for
  Organizational Leaders at http//www.somc.org/NRSO
  MCPress/SOMCPressBookPage.htm.

1Please visit www.KendallLStewart.com to download
related White Papers and presentations.
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How can you contact me?1
Kendall L. Stewart, M.D. VPMA and Chief Medical
Officer Southern Ohio Medical Center President
CEO The SOMC Medical Care Foundation, Inc. 1835
27th Street Suite B-01 Portsmouth, Ohio
45662 740.356.8153 stewartk_at_somc.org
Webmaster_at_KendallLStewartMD.com www.somc.org www.
KendallLStewartMD.com
1All speaking and consultation fees are
contributed to the SOMC Endowment Fund.
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Are there other questions?
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