Practical Ways to Im

prove

Team Communications

@yogacat13

Who am I?

• Ly nn My ric k , a k a @ y oga c a t1 3• Co -fou nd e r of Ag ile

E nv ironm e nt• 2 0+ y e a rs of e x p e rie nc e• Pa s s iona te a b ou t he lp ing te a m s

work b e tte r toge the r!• Run the Lond on Com m s D ojo

London Comms DojoDeliberate practice for communication skills

● Started in June 2013● 150+ members currently● We cover topics such as: Introductions, Feedback,

Reading People, Body Language, Presentation Skills, Negotiation Skills and Dealing with Difficult People

Why do I do this?

• In all industries, communication skills are the key to a successful team

• People need a “safe” environment to step outside their comfort zone and try new things

• It's helping people!

Lost Cat's model of learning

Stress-Performance curve

Yerkes–Dodson law

Why are communications so important?

• We all communicate every day, in many ways: verbally, non-verbally, electronically (e-mail, social media etc.)

• David McClelland's work in 1973 showed us that intelligence alone does not predict success! We need other skills too.

• Dan Goleman's work has demonstrated the importance of Emotional Intelligence, including communication skills, in achieving success.

What is a dojo?

● D ojo m e a ns a 'P la c e of le a rn ing the wa y '

● Ka ta m e a ns a 'Wa y of d oing '● D e lib e ra te p ra c tic e m e a ns b e ing

foc us e d a nd goa l-d ire c te d , s tre tc h ing y our a b ilitie s , re c e iv ing fe e d b a c k , a nd ref e c ting on y our p e rform a nc e .

How it works

• People work in small groups• We present the scenario to be practised• Each cycle is a pomodoro (25 mins)• When time is up: 5 -10 min break to share

results with the group and refect

Kata Review

• What did you learn?

Body LanguageKinesics• Between 50-80% of human communication is non-

verbal• Especially important in “frst impressions” - you only

have a few seconds . . .• Mostly unconscious, but if you can become more

conscious about your body language and reading others you will have a communications advantage!

Body Language

What does it include?• How you position yourself• Proximity to others• Facial expressions• How your eyes move• How/whether you touch• How you might use “props” or fdget• Breathing, perspiration, fushing etc

ProxemicsZone Distance For

Close Intimate 0-6 inches0-15 cm

Lovers, physical touching relationships

Intimate 6-18 inches15-45 cm

Intimate relationships, also contact sports and crowded environments

Personal 18-48 inches45-120 cm

Family and close friends

Social, Consultative 4-12 feet1.3-2.6 m

Social and business contact

Public 12 feet+3.6 m+

No interaction; ignoring

Facial Expressions

Happiness :-)Sadness :-(Fear 8-[ Disgust :-#Surprise :-OAnger >:(

The recognition of these basic emotions in facial expression is consistent across cultures - “nature”

The eyes have it . . .Signal Meaning

Looking right (generally) creating, fabricating, guessing, lying, storytelling

Looking left (generally) recalling, remembering, retrieving 'facts'

Eye shrug/roll Frustration

Widening eyes Interest, appeal, invitation

Direct eye contact (when speaking)

honesty - or faked honesty

Direct eye contact (when listening)

attentiveness, interest, attraction

Blinking frequently Excitement, pressure

Eyebrow flash greeting, recognition, acknowledgement; if held longer, surprise and/or fear

Things to remember

• Context (ex., if it's cold in the room, crossed arms may not be defensiveness)

• Sufficient sample size and evidence (you need more than one indicator to be sure, especially when faking or deception might be involved)

• Culture/ethnicity (ex. Personal space differences)• Age and gender • Other factors such as stress, nervousness, insecurity;

be careful drawing negative conclusions

Kata: First ImpressionsTask: Get into groups of three:

● “Joiner” silently approaches the other two as either:● Colleague joining clients for a meeting,● Job Applicant meeting interviewer● Friend meeting friends at the pub, or● Family member joining a family outing.

● Two members decide based on body language alone which of the three the Joiner is

● Joiner confrms his intent ● Discuss, and rotate round so each person tries at least two roles as

Joiner.

Results

• People were generally pretty good at this when they focused on it.

• They all admitted though that when in “work mode” they sometimes did not take the time to observe.

• Most were completely unaware of their own body language.

Reading People

What tools do we have?Facial expressions/body languageCultural knowledgeExperienceMBTI (and other types of assessment tools)

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Kata: Determine MBTI of someone else

Task: Get into groups and organise yourselves into “team members” and “new team member”:

● New team member has just joined, and the team members are getting to know them

● Talk for fve minutes, then team members state their impression of the MBTI of the new team member

● New team member shares their actual MBTI with group● Discuss, and rotate round if time

Results

• Many participants indicated that they hadn't considered trying this before.

• In the following months, participants shared with me that this had really helped them understand “that guy” they had always had trouble with in the office.

• Some people questioned why we had to put people in boxes – the “special snowfake” principle at work.

Feedback

• We focused on both positive and constructive feedback, specifcally avoiding the word “negative”.

• This one differed from other dojos in that we did two katas, one for positive and one for constructive.

Positive FeedbackHow often do you give or receive positive feedback?

● Praise is very motivating, but only if it is genuine● A simple “thank you!” goes a long way● Be specifc and give information, “The report you

prepared was very well organised. You took a lot of information and made it understandable. Good job!”

● You can't do this too often! (go ahead, try!)

Positive Feedback

Constructive Feedback● No one is perfect (not even you)● Constructive (not negative) feedback is intended to help

improve performance, at all levels● In person, and in private● Avoid the dreaded “feedback sandwich”: “this was good, BUT”● Avoid personal comments; focus on the work● Consider starting with a question: “How did you think that

task went?” Most people already know if they didn't do well!● Never give feedback when you are angry or upset● Be prepared if the receiver reacts badly

Kata: FeedbackTask: Get into groups and organise yourselves into “giver”, “receiver” and “observers”:

● Focus on the feelings you and the other person have while giving and receiving the feedback

● Rotate roles and try again, with each person rotating into each role at least once.

Results

• This has been by far the most surprising – particularly in how fearful people are of giving positive feedback.

• People were surprised that there is sometimes a “paradigm shifting” explanation for poor performance.

• Practice is the only way to become comfortable with giving and receiving feedback.

• Not one person has come back to say giving positive feedback made things worse.

How can this help me?

• Try the katas during a team meeting or coaching session.

• Focus on specifc events to make it relevant to your team. Ex, a good time to do feedback katas is before performance appraisals.

• Practice, practice, practice. Deliberately.

ReflectionReflection

Thank youThank you@yogacat13 on twitter

http://www.meetup.com/London-Comms-Dojo/

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