Jul 23 2010
Communication & Resistence – Getting On The Same “Length Of Waves”
Communication is successful, only if it achieves your desired results.
It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve communicated well or if you think you’ve been crystal clear, what matters is that your communication is received and acted upon in the manner you wanted.
How many times have you said something to another person who has totally misinterpreted what you meant? Equally, sometimes we are on the receiving end of communication that makes us feel confused. If we can look beyond the communication and try to see a positive intention behind another person’s behaviour, then our relationships and interactions with people become more constructive and empowering.
When we communicate with people and if they are ‘not getting’ our point, then the responsibility is ours to adapt our approach until they do.
For example, if we have communicated a price increase and the reasons for that price increase, and our customers have not understood those reasons, the responsibility for this mis-communication lies entirely with us. Therefore, we can only judge the success of what we have communicated based on the reactions we get from other people.
In the same way, resistance from another person usually signals a lack of rapport.
Rapport is a vital ingredient when developing relationships because it builds trust and allows communication to flow. When that state of rapport is there, communication is a lot easier even if you do not agree with the other person. When we do not feel that rapport or connection, we have a tendency to ‘nit-pick’ or find fault.
Customers respond to people they perceive understand their position and are on the same wavelength. If we are encountering lots of resistance from a prospect or a customer, then it helps us to notice that we have not built sufficient rapport. Even if our prospect does not agree with what we are saying, rapport enables us to have an open discussion where we can get an honest reason for their reaction rather than a ‘prickly’ brick wall.
News: Great guest post tomorrow for you, and then on Sunday, “Lies, More Lies & Statistics!” – do join me if you can
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