Communication: #3 C in ECE Leadership

Albert Mehrabian’s research on body language found that only 7% of the words shared during a conversation register with the person receiving the message. What is speaking more loudly than words are the tone of your voice (38%) and your nonverbal cues which is what your body language is conveying (55%).

If you want to be a good communicator, and let’s face it, if you are in leadership, it’s not an if but a must; it’s important to understand how each of these factors impact the communication you have with the people for which you are responsible.

Communication, at its essence, is not about hearing a string of words as much as it is about receiving words and all other cues, sorting the information received through your mapped brain, connecting and making sense out of it, which is finally followed-up by an appropriate action or reaction. And, this all happens almost instantaneously!

Understanding the different communication styles will ensure your message is provided in such a way the receiver is actually able to “hear” the message rather than the words. I particularly like the DiSC Model. In most cases, your conversations will be with someone who falls into one of the four categories outlined in the model. By understanding how each of the personalities communicates, you can adjust your conversations to maximize the effectiveness of your intent for the communique. If you are speaking to a group, you can make adjustments to cover the communication needs of each group as most likely, all will be represented in a group setting.

Here are a few suggestions to consider regarding communication. If you want a more in-depth study, let us know and we will alert you when our webinar series and other trainings regarding communication launch.

· Verbal: It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it. Make sure your words, tone of voice, and body language all line up with the intent of your conversation.

· Written: It’s often valuable to follow a verbal conversation with a written communique. The value is that it reminds people of what was said and agreed upon if they forgot or missed something in the original conversation. However, a written statement alone can be interpreted in a number of ways because it lacks your tone of voice and your body language. People have to read between the lines to catch the tone and it may not be what you intended.

· Body language: What is your facial expression saying? Where are your eyes focused? What are you doing with your arms and hands? All of this and more convey your interest in what is being shared, the value the speaker’s words hold for you, and much more.

Communication for leadership is a large and complex topic. Begin with understanding how to listen to and share information with other personality styles. Follow that up with a personal SWOT analysis on yourself and develop a professional development plan to increase your communication skills. There is much on the world wide web to help strengthen your knowledge and Seasonal Pathways can help with communication skills specifically designed for the ECE leader!