Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip, just like yesterday's, comes from the new book
Speaker 1: The Remix. In this book, workplace expert Lindsay Pollock give
Speaker 1: strategies for how wise managers can lead diverse teams. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to save ours and many headaches by becoming
Speaker 1: what Pollock calls a communication chameleon. If you've ever felt
Speaker 1: like you are communicating in a totally different language from
Speaker 1: your colleagues, especially those of other generations, you are not alone,
Speaker 1: she writes. Too many people believe that effective communication is
Speaker 1: about communicating the way you find easiest or best. Sometimes
Speaker 1: that works, but what is more important is communicating in
Speaker 1: the way that will best be understood by the person
Speaker 1: you want to influence. She can and use no matter
Speaker 1: what your role or job title. If you want to
Speaker 1: communicate across generations and all differences, you have to become
Speaker 1: an expert on how to best communicate with the people
Speaker 1: you want to communicate with. How do you do that?
Speaker 1: It's quite simple. You ask. That's it, she writes. Here's
Speaker 1: why asking is so wise. We can waste tons of
Speaker 1: time and energy worrying about the best way to reach someone.
Speaker 1: With a manager, we might wonder is it okay to
Speaker 1: call or drop by, or would the person really prefer
Speaker 1: an email? With a client. If a person doesn't respond
Speaker 1: to an email quickly, we might wonder if everything is
Speaker 1: okay and spend time brooding about this when the reality
Speaker 1: is that the person is often on the road and
Speaker 1: a quick text is the best way to get his
Speaker 1: or her attention. Some people never check voicemail. You can
Speaker 1: hate this all you want, but your unhappiness is unlikely
Speaker 1: to reform the person's habits. So pollock reck Men's having
Speaker 1: a conversation with anyone you communicate with regularly, ask these questions.
Speaker 1: What is the best way to receive an answer from
Speaker 1: you quickly? By phone, by email, by instant message, by
Speaker 1: dropping by your desk? How do you give feedback? Should
Speaker 1: you schedule a one on one? Should the person come
Speaker 1: up with their own feedback and present it to you,
Speaker 1: or do you like to start the conversation? Do you
Speaker 1: like to give feedback on a regular basis or in
Speaker 1: a more ad hawkway. What are your email preferences and
Speaker 1: pet peeves in general? Do you prefer shorter or longer emails,
Speaker 1: full sentences or bullet points or emojis? Okay, how formal
Speaker 1: are you? Do you mind quick texts with typos? Are
Speaker 1: you open to face timing, skyping or video conferencing when
Speaker 1: not in the office. Finally, Pollock recommends asking about general
Speaker 1: work habits because clashes and misunderstandings here can lead to
Speaker 1: all sorts of woes. So you a morning person or
Speaker 1: should you be left alone until you've had your coffee?
Speaker 1: Do you like to work from home or do you
Speaker 1: prefer to be in the office. Do you leave early
Speaker 1: on Wednesdays to attend your kids taekwondo class? Do you
Speaker 1: catch up and send a flurry of emails on Sunday nights?
Speaker 1: Does the person actually expect a response on Sunday nights
Speaker 1: or is this solely about his or her own convenience.
Speaker 1: Polic studies generations in the workplace, and she notes that
Speaker 1: sometimes the stereotypes are true. Maybe a baby boomer employee
Speaker 1: prefers the phone, but a millennial never thinks to use
Speaker 1: the calling function on their phone first. But there are
Speaker 1: plenty of texting baby boomers and maybe even millennials who
Speaker 1: prefer formal in person scheduled appointments. Just as a chameleon
Speaker 1: changes color based on surroundings, a communication chameleon uses the
Speaker 1: method and style that the other person prefers. Now, perhaps
Speaker 1: some people listening to this think, well, I shouldn't have
Speaker 1: to do this. People should conform to me, and you
Speaker 1: know many people will, especially if you're in charge. But
Speaker 1: if it's just as easy to text versus email, and
Speaker 1: you know the person you're reaching out to really prefers
Speaker 1: one of these, it's a sign of respect and understanding
Speaker 1: to choose the best one. It strengthens the relationship, and
Speaker 1: most of us are better off having people finding extra
Speaker 1: reasons to like us versus annoying little reasons not to
Speaker 1: like us. So take some time today to ask the
Speaker 1: people you communicate with what they like and what they
Speaker 1: don't and how they'd like to be reached. I promise
Speaker 1: this little exercise will lead to huge payoffs in the future.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
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