Hard-boiled police detectives love using web-cams for interrogating suspects, don't they?
Customs officials ask suspicious travelers to dial into conference calls.
And you probably asked your spouse to marry you via an e-mail message--flagged, of course, with a red exclamation point.
Why do these three scenarios sound ridiculous? In high-stakes communication situations, we depend upon the cues (and clues) provided by a face-to-face encounter.
No other dialogue offers such a rich environment for getting to the truth regarding people's motives and trustworthiness.
It's a lesson worth bearing in mind, when recession-battered budgets sing the siren song of virtual meetings rather than the real kind.
Webinars, product demos, video conferences, and social media offer tremendous opportunities for personal and business growth, at a fraction of the cost of corporate travel. But in make-or-break situations where maximum trust and credibility are called for, there is simply no substitute for the personal touch.
The Wall Street Journal made this argument recently, in a special advertising section on global business travel. Clearly, author Joe Mullich in "The New Face of Face-to-Face Meetings" (WSJ, September 22) and the section itself were encouraging corporate travel rather than the virtual kind. Yet it's difficult to argue with the viewpoint that companies need to appreciate the effects of certain kinds of cost-cutting. This sentence in particular, from a spokesperson of Oxford Economics USA, is hard to ignore: "The research informs us that when a company reduces its travel budget, it loses both revenue and profits, giving competitors a real advantage."
A psychologist who analyzed research in this area found that "group processes and outcomes that require coordination, consensus, timing and persuasion of others" benefit from in-person communication. And a survey of business publication subscribers reveals that meetings are particularly effective in negotiating contracts, senior job interviews, and listening to customers. "Anything with new customers, closing sales, and improving the top line is still done face-to-face," according to Fay Beauchine, president of the National Business Travel Association Foundation.
Given today's tightened budgets, more emphasis is being placed on measuring the impact of meetings, conferences, and trade shows. That makes perfect sense. Going completely digital to the detriment of human contact, trust-building, and long-term relationships, however, doesn't.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
When Your Presentation Encounters Hostility
If an audience appears to be hostile or agitated, you need to act fast, says Dr. Gary Genard, president of Public Speaking International, who offers training on presentation and speaking skills worldwide.
"First, you should have seen this coming," he says. "Don't be like a deer in the headlights. Prepare yourself by knowing the political climate, how much to share, who will be in the room, and how they like to receive information. Know your audience's need and expectations, otherwise you'll be flying blind."
If you understand your industry, your clients, their cultural biases, and their needs, you should be able to deal with anger, resistance, or hostility with confidence, he says. Genard provides these seven tips for overcoming resistance:
1. Understand the type of resistance you're facing. "The more information we have at our fingertips to counter the resistance, the more accurate we'll be in the action we take. Is the resistance institutional? Fact-driven or cultural? Is it a flaw in your logic or an ego-trip for the questioner? In other words, you should be alert to what's coming your way and respond honestly. Look below the surface; look for subtext – the real action beyond the scene. Does the audience need an emotion validated? If they do, show them you understand."
2. Listen for emotions. "Even in an emotional storm, there may be subtle differences as to what you are hearing and what you can respond to," says Genard. "Emotions, not your message, may be making your audience hostile toward you. You may represent a point of view or a company to them; therefore, you provide a convenient target for the audience to attempt to redress a recent problem or vent after decades of resentment and anger. You don't have to change your message; instead, deal with the audience's emotional response."
3. Recast erroneous assumptions. "The more serious the assumption, the faster it must be countered," says Genard, saying that you may even interrupt (politely, of course) the erroneous statement. Why? Because the more time that goes by before the error is countered or corrected, it starts to set like cement."
4. Welcome unclear or fuzzy arguments. "If an argument is unclear or fuzzy enough, it's a gift to you," says Genard. "You can go anywhere you want with it. It's your golden opportunity to express your critical messages all over again in a different way."
5. Go low-key and conversational. "The more someone rants and raves at you, the quieter you should become," says Genard. Why? Because everyone else in the room will quickly realize that the person ranting is out of line. They will see the contrast immediately between the raving person and the considerate, soft-spoken, and reasonable person (you).
6. Be aware of your tone. "Watch how are you saying what you are saying," says Genard. "The best arguments in the world will fail if they sound defensive or angry. Audiences will remember a presentation’s tone far longer than they will recall the facts and statistics."
7. Disagree neutrally. "There will be many opportunities for you to demonstrate your rapier wit and responses when you are faced with skepticism and hostility. Resist every one of them, for the reasons given above," says Genard.
In summary, Genard says to think in terms of shaping the issue. "In other words, frame your message in ways that work to your advantage," he says.
More information on these tips can also be found in Genard's book, How to Give a Speech: Easy-to-Learn Skills For More Successful and Profitable Presentations, Speeches, Meetings, Sales, and More! (Cedar and Maitland Press, 2007). You can find the book at amazon.com or at PublicSpeakingInternational.com.
"First, you should have seen this coming," he says. "Don't be like a deer in the headlights. Prepare yourself by knowing the political climate, how much to share, who will be in the room, and how they like to receive information. Know your audience's need and expectations, otherwise you'll be flying blind."
If you understand your industry, your clients, their cultural biases, and their needs, you should be able to deal with anger, resistance, or hostility with confidence, he says. Genard provides these seven tips for overcoming resistance:
1. Understand the type of resistance you're facing. "The more information we have at our fingertips to counter the resistance, the more accurate we'll be in the action we take. Is the resistance institutional? Fact-driven or cultural? Is it a flaw in your logic or an ego-trip for the questioner? In other words, you should be alert to what's coming your way and respond honestly. Look below the surface; look for subtext – the real action beyond the scene. Does the audience need an emotion validated? If they do, show them you understand."
2. Listen for emotions. "Even in an emotional storm, there may be subtle differences as to what you are hearing and what you can respond to," says Genard. "Emotions, not your message, may be making your audience hostile toward you. You may represent a point of view or a company to them; therefore, you provide a convenient target for the audience to attempt to redress a recent problem or vent after decades of resentment and anger. You don't have to change your message; instead, deal with the audience's emotional response."
3. Recast erroneous assumptions. "The more serious the assumption, the faster it must be countered," says Genard, saying that you may even interrupt (politely, of course) the erroneous statement. Why? Because the more time that goes by before the error is countered or corrected, it starts to set like cement."
4. Welcome unclear or fuzzy arguments. "If an argument is unclear or fuzzy enough, it's a gift to you," says Genard. "You can go anywhere you want with it. It's your golden opportunity to express your critical messages all over again in a different way."
5. Go low-key and conversational. "The more someone rants and raves at you, the quieter you should become," says Genard. Why? Because everyone else in the room will quickly realize that the person ranting is out of line. They will see the contrast immediately between the raving person and the considerate, soft-spoken, and reasonable person (you).
6. Be aware of your tone. "Watch how are you saying what you are saying," says Genard. "The best arguments in the world will fail if they sound defensive or angry. Audiences will remember a presentation’s tone far longer than they will recall the facts and statistics."
7. Disagree neutrally. "There will be many opportunities for you to demonstrate your rapier wit and responses when you are faced with skepticism and hostility. Resist every one of them, for the reasons given above," says Genard.
In summary, Genard says to think in terms of shaping the issue. "In other words, frame your message in ways that work to your advantage," he says.
More information on these tips can also be found in Genard's book, How to Give a Speech: Easy-to-Learn Skills For More Successful and Profitable Presentations, Speeches, Meetings, Sales, and More! (Cedar and Maitland Press, 2007). You can find the book at amazon.com or at PublicSpeakingInternational.com.
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