Rashmi * worked as a product manager for a well known IT firm in Silicon Valley.
A self starter, she contacted me for personal coaching after scoring mediocre points on communication during her annual review.
After our initial consultation,I told Rashmi that there were two big reasons that native speakers were having difficulty understanding her.
The first reason was because her rate of speech was often too fast for her clients and customers to understand.
The second reason was because her manner of speaking on the phone and during meetings didn’t sound friendly, inviting or inclusive to her colleagues.
When I told Rashmi my perception of her current communication style, she was shocked!
Rashmi had always assumed that she spoke with a clear pace that was easy to understand. She never realized that her rapid speaking pace, especially when on the phone and at meetings was much too fast for her colleagues and clients to process.
Secondly, Rashmi considered herself to be a friendly person. She was an extrovert who really liked working with people. When she found out that a tone of friendliness and inclusiveness wasn’t coming through when she spoke, she felt terrible!
In fact, at first Rashmi didn’t quite believe me when I told her how Americans were reacting to her communication style…but that all changed once she started to implement my advice.
In our sessions Rashmi learned how to ask difficult questions in a manner that was clear yet friendly.
She learned the best phrases to use when leading a meeting and how to say them in a way that inspired confidence, enthusiasm and input from her colleagues.
She learned key techniques for speaking clearly over the phone. She also learned to pronounce her manager’s name perfectly. He appreciated that.
Here’s part of an email message that I recently received from Rashmi~
Hi Susan,
I just had a great phone meeting with a support person….
It was a complex scenario to explain and he understood me very well without me repeating it. And I was pausing after each important word.
Just like Rashmi, you may not realize exactly what it is about your current communication style that’s keeping you from really connecting with others. You may not realize exactly what it that’s creating misunderstandings
And as I told Rashmi, there’s no need for you to feel bad about not knowing what your specific communication problems are, because most people don’t.
You’ll immediately recognize your own issues when you participate in the trainings.
* I’ve changed her name to protect her privacy.