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Want Better Results? Have Better Conversations

Guest post by: Elizabeth Freedman

Article Overview: The importance of having good communication skills

Want Better Results? Have Better Conversations

What would it mean to your business if….

Sales professionals had better conversations with prospects?

Leaders had better conversations with clients?

Managers had better conversations with their teams?

Employees had better conversations with each other?

It isn’t any secret that it makes bottom-line sense to have great conversationalists within your organization. Did you know:

• Organizations who rate high on communication skills are up to 43% more productive than other companies (Hay Group)

• Employees who don’t receive ongoing communication and coaching from team leaders are 35% more likely to look for a new job within a year of starting (ASTD)

• Operating income improved 19.2% over a 12-month period and net income improved by 13.7% for professional services firms that ranked highest in employee engagement and communication (Towers Watson 2011 Global Survey)

How can you create an environment in your workplace that creates great conversationalists? Start by getting feedback on your conversation skills now: Ask employees to rate their managers’ communication skills – find out how often their manager updates them, provides them with key information, or simply creates uninterrupted time to have one-on-one meetings with them. Build a formal ‘conversation audit’ into your organization’s process – ask clients to review the communication skills of their sales representatives, and so on – and you’ll start seeing where your strengths and opportunities to improve are.

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Article Tags: Communication, relationship building



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