Through my experience with various work groups, I have confirmed that there is consensus on the importance of communication in the workplace. Most workers agree that problems arise from some communication-related issue, whether it is the absence of it or the ineffective way it is used. I have spent years studying this process at the organizational and leadership levels, and I agree with authors who propose that it is necessary to connect with others for communication to be effective.
Connecting is to unite, bring closer, integrate. A process that seems simple but many people struggle to achieve. As a facilitator and trainer, I have the advantage of observing this process constantly in diverse people, and I can provide a detailed analysis of when we connect and when we don’t.
I recently heard an author say that people connect with our stories and not with our statements. Needless to say, he is an author who specializes in “storytelling.” Storytelling humanizes, brings people closer, and allows them to identify with each other, in other words, to connect.
Recently, something happened that illustrates this point (people connect with stories and not with statements). My training topics are based on evidence-based theories and models to guide the content and help course participants have an objective understanding of the topics. However, my methodology is practical, not theoretical. I bring concepts to life with examples and everyday situations that help people visualize in a simple way aspects that can be very complex or very abstract in theory. What happened to me recently was that after offering one of my workshops, participants expressed their satisfaction and how much they had gained from the session. It was a very participatory and highly educational workshop.
The next day, I joined a virtual workshop on the same topic that I had been offering to continue my own learning. I was surprised to see that the trainer used in their presentation content very similar to mine, basically their written content referenced the same theories I had used in my workshop the day before. The difference was in the verbal communication.
This trainer read the written statements in the presentation (“bullet points”) and did not provide examples that humanized or gave realism to their content. Doing the analysis I usually do in these cases, I observed the lack of energy in the participants, the little or no participation. On a personal level, I could not see the relevance of the presentation because I did not connect with the message. I had nothing to repeat after having taken it. Because there were no stories, no examples, no realism. It is the stories that we remember the most and repeat the most when we have conversations with others.
There is always an analogy, a story, a situation that humanizes the concepts and makes them more relevant to people. This applies to presenters and trainers, but also to leaders! Leaders need to connect with others to exert positive influence, that is, to get others to do their work because they want to and not because they are forced to. Connecting is understanding what others value and using this knowledge to generate agreements and provide direction. We can compare the trainer I mentioned with a leader who gives instructions or distributes tasks but does not understand why the results are not at the expected level. When we deliver training and do not validate whether participants learned or know what to do with the content, it is recommended to reevaluate the methodology. Just like the leader who is not achieving the set goals, he has to stop and reevaluate his communication process and his ability to connect with his people. Body language and facial expression can give us signals, as well as silence. If people remain very quiet, do not ask questions, do not validate their understanding, and do not show enthusiasm towards tasks, these are signals to take action and identify how to improve our communication process.
Evvolution offers leadership development programs as it is key to achieving organizational results. We work both individually and in groups with excellent results. Contact us for more information and visit our page frequently for related topics.
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About the author: Wilda M. Torres, PhD in Industrial Organizational Psychology; President and Founder of Evvolution Consulting; Senior Consultant Organizational & Leadership Development.
Copyright 2024 Wilda Torres Dba EVVOLUTIONPR. All Rights Reserved.
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