Saturday, November 11, 2006
Keynote professional speaker Carole Spiers on the value of empathy
- to optimise business dialogue as well as improving relationships.
Someone said that good dialogue is the difference between hearing what you say and seeing what you mean.
And the difference is made by achieving empathy - a quality that can be taught, as demonstrated in one of my keynote presentations.
See me live at Ecademy in London
mms://www.qmsstreaming.com/e2006/epnnov2006carole.wmv
You have only to listen to people trying to conduct business on their mobiles to see just how much dialogue is wasted - a mass of words missing their mark, failing to convey the intended meaning or sentiment, and often leading to misunderstanding and conflict.
Empathy comes from that area where professionalism and good manners touch hands.
Take a small example: remembering people’s names correctly.
It is remarkable how much this can impact on a relationship, out of all proportion to the simple act itself. A forgotten or mis-remembered name immediately brings the other person down to office-boy level, even if quite unintentionally. Yet remembering someone’s name correctly after a long interval can put out a highly favourable signal, taken as a deep compliment. It actually goes to the roots of recognition and respect, earning particular gratitude from people newly arrived in a strange country, where their name may be hard to pronounce, and their self-image may be very humble.
On the wider scale, empathy is defined as the ability to identify and understand another’s situation, feelings and motives. (Boardrooms are all about making rapport between people with little in common, and you must be especially able to put yourself in the other person’s mind while choosing your words.)
Some people, of course, have a natural gift in this direction. But most people need to develop it consciously, and it should be treated as an important area of business instruction, no different from marketing or software engineering.
Other tips, which I can tell you much more about, include:
Don’t interrupt - allow the other person their say, even if they’re not articulate. Perhaps nobody else has ever heard them out, so you may earn much loyalty for minimal input.
Be there for them - don’t be half-concentrating on your watch or your screen; re-assure them that they have your undivided attention.
Listen and interpret - pick up on their unconscious signals, like vocal inflexions or body language. You may be able to see what they’re trying to express, while others can’t.
Cheer them up - except in cases of severe reprimand, maintain an optimistic atmosphere, give praise when it’s due, make them feel generally welcome on the team.
Carole Spiers – inspirational motivational speaker occupies a special niche as an expert in Personal Development. She brings together the separate cultures of individual empowerment and executive management - proving to corporate business that empowered employees improve performance and output. Carole’s keynote presentations have educated and inspired audiences all over the world. She is also a high profile broadcaster, journalist and President of the London Chapter of the Professional Speakers Association.
Our publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. To sign up for our FREE success quotations http://tinyurl.co.uk/yhgv, or for more information email info@carolespiers.com to telephone +44 (0) 29 8954 1593 www.carolespiers.com
# posted by Carole Spiers @ 9:24 PM 
