Communication Tips For Teams – Part 2

The language we use has a great impact on the outcome of our communication. Here are some other tips to help the teams: See part 1.

• If you ask someone, “Tell me if you need me to come over,” he or she may not feel comfortable admitting that he or she needs help. But if you ask, “How useful will it be if I come over from 0 to 5?” you will get a more accurate answer.
• When we are not getting a clear answer to help make a decision. Ask, “How strongly do you feel that we should stop the trial now?” or “What is the probability this trial will fail?” These types of questions provide a view of what everyone’s thinking and you can ask the reason for certain things to get a better understanding.
• When a change initiative is presented to people, it invokes fear and stress, as they feel that it will be a permanent change and they may not have control over it. People feel stressed to performing. Instead of handing down a mandate to announce an experiment, “Let’s do this for a month and then we will talk about what we learned and how we like it. If it turns out to be unhelpful, we can reverse the policy in a month”. Let everyone voice their concern regarding the outcomes of the experiment, and listen to people. If people’s suggestions are dismissed, it will be worse than pushing change on them without their input, as trust will be lost. Make a plan to review the results periodically with everyone. 
• When you do not agree with a group idea and want them to try something else, make an observation and avoid the judgment by saying, “I see another option that has not been discussed yet.”
• For effective collaboration, recognize and celebrate the divergent thinking everyone brings. Involve the people who are closer to the problem to come up with a solution. Ask what and how questions:
  • What would the next steps look like?
  • How does that align with what the user might need?
  • How does that simplify the process for the customer?
  • What assumptions is that based on?
  • At the end of the discussion, decide on one approach and explain the reason for choosing that approach. If some people have provided different approaches, there is no need to try to convince them that other proposals are wrong. Only get commitment from everyone to support the decision.
• Get commitment instead of compliance. If there is a change that has to be introduced and you know that it will not be possible to get a consensus, you decide to go forward despite the objections because no new ideas are coming and the current way of working is not working. Invite questions by asking 
  • Knowing that we are moving forward, what makes you uneasy and how can I help?
  • What questions do you think your people will be most concerned about when you go back and tell them that we are moving forward with this change?
• Some people find it hard to say no and overcommit, which causes stress. The following sentences can be used to learn more or defer yes:
  • I would like to hear more about what you are expecting from me on this project. How many hours do you think you will need from me and when does that work need to be done?
  • I can’t say yes right now. Let me think about it for a few days before I make a commitment. 
  • It sounds like you need a commitment now; that’s not possible for me. I think you will need to find someone else.
  • Based on what you are telling me, it sounds like you need four to six hours in the next two weeks. I can commit to three hours next week and three hours after that. The rest of my time is already committed to other projects.How well does that work for you?
• If you or the team do not agree with your boss’ point of view, ask him or her something like, “Would you like to hear what the team sees here?” This allows him or her to say no, which gives a feeling of safety and control over the situation. After sharing your team point of view, ask, “So what would you like us to do?” Which will give you the ability to influence decisions without threatening the boss.