Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #934 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to aq.pharmaveterans@gmail.com for publishing your contributions here.
Communication always remains in as a subject for discussion. With the addition of new channels of communication, new dimensions are added. Human beings have come a long way in communicating with one another. Face to face talk, written memos, telephone talks, video calls, emails, messaging services, YouTube videos are various channels of communication these days. Interestingly, no communication channel has become obsolete; there has only been addition. It means that today, we are communicating via a broad range of communication channels. Each of these channels has different requirements, which should be considered for effective communication.
I would like to share few insights gleaned from two recent books. Ros Atkins, BBC journalist and host of the BBC Explainer series has published a new book titled ‘The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence. Charles Duhigg, a best-selling author and writer for New Yorker has published his new book titled ‘Supercommunicators – How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection’.
Both books are very relevant for improving communication further.
Ros Atkins
Ros Atkins’ Explainer series has become hugely popular because it takes up complex topics, and presents these in a precise way, without losing the nuances of the subject. He talks about his system of understanding and explaining while being an undergrad student at the university. The basic components of his system go as follows.
- First decide, what you wish to communicate – a topic may be small or large, but the speaker must choose what information shall be exactly presented. All components should be reviewed and selected.
- Then gather all relevant information – research should be done to gather all related information so that completeness is ensured.
- Then understand the information by explaining to yourself – at times, the presenter/speaker does not understand the subject fully but still tries to present. This may lead to situations where a pointed question will put the presenter in trouble. More importantly, when the speakers understand their subject well, they speak more clearly and confidently.
- Then organize and link this information – various pieces of information should be put together in an organized form.
- Then shape the information according to the audience – every audience may have a different level of perception and comprehension and therefore the information to be presented should be shaped accordingly.
- Then decide the way you will present it – this is about the delivery of information/ ideas. An exact way of running through the contents should be finalized.
- And deliver it with authenticity – If you know the subject concept well, if you have organized well, if your information is correct, then you will present with authenticity. Credibility decides the acceptance of presentation.
- And do have a ‘Hands Plan’ – this is interesting. The hands can become a big distraction if there is no plan about where to put these. Unnecessary hand movement, swaying around, too many gesticulations, are all distractions. It is better to decide where the hands shall be during the presentation.
- Prepare predictive questions’ replies – it should be anticipated as to what questions may be raised by the audience. Replies to such questions should be prepared in advance.
This is about face-to-face presentations. About emails, Ros has different recommendations. He wants everyone to write clear, concise emails which should have the most important information in the beginning so that the reader is tempted to read further. Secondly, the information being emailed should be in one place, in an understandable form, rather than in a long, jumbled mail which must be dug through to get the needed information. Most people, he says, do not read the entire email, and your massage will be lost.
Charles Duhigg
Charles focuses on making authentic connection with the people we communicate with.
We have so much technology around us that we may assume it is easier to communicate and connect with people. However, we still fail to connect with the people who matter most, despite our attempts.
We have an actual biological need to connect with other people through conversation. When two people are conversing, the activity inside their brains will become synchronized, known in neurology as neural entrainment. This is how when we share our experiences, our audience goes through the same emotions. People cry when they see sad scenes in theater or movies, laugh with comedians, and sway with music. This is the best time and way to transmit information.
Supercommunicators – “you probably know who to call if you are having a bad day and need someone to raise your spirits or make you laugh – that person is a supercommunicator for you. Conversely, you are probably a supercommunicator for them”. There are people who may be Supercommunicators for almost everyone and can be so consistently. It is because they tend to understand communication deeper than others, and they have developed strong listening habits to understand others, and they consider everything before saying something.
Duhigg says most conversations fall into one of the three types: emotional, practical, and social. In emotional conversations, we want to share our feelings. We have an emotional episode or experience which we want to share with others with the expectation that they will feel the same way. In practical conversations, we may want to solve a problem, or make a plan together. It may happen more often in workplace settings, but it is part of personal lives also. In social conversations, we mainly talk about how we relate to each other in a social setting. These conversations are more often done with people with whom we do not have closer connection.
Supercommunicators offer people the opportunity to have the type of conversation they need. They tune themselves to others which leads to becoming neurally entrained quickly.
Negotiations are the type of conversations where everyone wants to gain control. For this purpose, they have a quiet conversation in the beginning which is like testing waters to proceed further accordingly. Our need for control is even bigger in conflicts.
Duhigg argues that emotions influence every single conversation we have. If we pretend otherwise and try to ignore emotions, we shall be doing a disservice to ourselves.
The most important point about the book is this. Duhigg believes anyone can be a supercommunicator by acquiring certain skills.
[Quote] We can prove that we are listening by ‘looping for understanding’. It is where we ask a question and repeat it to hear it in our own words and then ask if we got it right. We can recognize the type of conversation by looking for little signals about whether someone is in a practical, emotional, or social mindset. Anyone can learn to do this. Our brains are hardwired for it; and when we do it, we become Supercommunicators. [Unquote]
Concluded.
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For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intention to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, however, it happens unintentionally, I offer my sincere regrets.
References:
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-am-i-making-myself-clear