Have you had a training session with a client before, and you've kind of got off the end of it and you've thought, “Oh my goodness, they were upset, frustrated, or even kind of angry” or if you’re feeling nervous after it. Here are some of the reasons why that can happen with a client.
The client can struggle to articulate exactly what they're after; that's pretty natural for human beings to do. That can cause some frustration if they feel or think they believe that you may not fully understand if you didn’t ask any questions.
Now how do we get communication between the two parties so they fully understand each other? It's called closed-loop communication. Now your responsibility in the communication is to repeat back the instructions that the person has shared with you. The best way to do it is to say, “If I may, allow me to repeat back what you've just said to confirm that I've got the full understanding” or “Allow me to bounce that back just so I can check that I've got the full understanding.” And then you repeat back what has been shared with you. In addition, it is also critically important that if you don't understand something, to actually take time out and seek to understand, ask questions or ask for the instruction to be repeated.
We learned this lesson from a mentor of our founder Matt Kesby, his name's Chris McChesney, and he wrote the book “The Four Disciplines of Execution” for Franklin Covey and he’s a global practice leader at Franklin Covey for the Four Disciplines of Execution. He said, “Matt, whenever you're in the room with the C-suite executives, like CEOs, it's really important that if you hear a three-letter acronym or a term or something that you don't understand, you must stop the conversation and check for understanding”.
And you go, “From what I just heard my understanding is this <insert what you heard>. Is that correct?” or “my understanding is this <insert what you heard>. Is that correct? Is that accurate?”
What that does is it practices Habit 5 of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. By repeating back what the person who's sharing information with you has said, that's the point that the other party can confirm that you understand and because if we respond with “I understand” or “noted” or “okay” - that’s not closed-loop communication. It's fast, it's efficient, but it's not effective. You need to slow your communication down, and I guarantee you that when you do this, the other party will appreciate you so much, your confidence will lift, and you'll find that your relationship - the dynamics - completely change. You'll evolve to the next level, I can guarantee you this.
Our June Learn Awardee had the following feedback from her client:
“Aiza asks questions. This fills me with confidence as she is thinking about what she is doing and wants to learn and increase her knowledge of our industry”
This is a game-changer for you in your relationship with your client. They're going to really appreciate the fact that you've got such a mature approach, it gives them confidence that you understand or that you want to be better at learning your job. You will find that by slowing down just a little bit will rapidly increase your knowledge, the depth of your relationship.
Practice it daily! To your greatness, you got this!
We believe in you, you are brave, resilient and remarkable.
Fiona Kesby is the CEO and co-founder of GO-VA.com.au. An Australian owned and operated Managed Operations in Cebu & Clark, Philippines. Managed Operations is the ideal middle ground between full outsourcing and setting up your own company. GO-VA provides a home for your global team where you can select whom you want on your team and train directly, giving you more control compared to traditional outsourcing. GO-VA is a values-based company, that encourages a love of learning, execution, care, finding a way, drive, humility, and gratitude. Fiona currently lives in Cebu and has experience offshoring tasks since 2008. She has 18 years experience in Recruitment. She is passionate about creating a remarkable culture that attracts and retains the best talent in the market, creating a culture that builds team members' confidence and developing leaders without titles. If you are looking for a new career apply at https://www.go-va.com.ph/ If you are looking for assistance to set up your own global team contact success@go-va.com.au
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