 |
  
|
 |
Brett Rutledge Editorial March 2009
Welcome to "The Editorial " – our effort at helping develop effective communication in business and exposing examples of ineffective communication in business or what is technically known as crap. From the desk of Brett Rutledge, World Champion of Public Speaking we will be delivering you informed opinion on communication issues of the day and cutting edge advice to assist you in developing the most important skill set you can bring to the business environment – your own communication skills! If you have an opinion or a comment of your own about anything you read here, then as always, we would love to hear from you! Likewise, if you have a communication experience that would wow us with its brilliance or make us laugh or cry at it’s stupidity then get in touch!
Why Mobile Telco’s Hate Their Customers Did I say hate? I’m sorry; I didn’t mean ‘hate’. To hate your customers you would actually have to give a toss in the first place wouldn’t you? No… I meant they don’t care. Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, Telecom and 3 have pretty much zero interest in their own customers. How do we know that? Because they go to great pains to tell us – constantly. If you are not a customer of any given mobile Telco then the world is your oyster! Better prices, contracts, offers, phones, bundles, coverage and speed are all available if you are not a customer. If you are already a long-standing customer of any of the above Telco’s (you know… you pay then money regularly, have a contract, demonstrated some commitment, that kind of thing) then you get… NOTHING! I know how you feel – I can barely contain my own excitement. Their entire strategy is based around new customers or to put it more bluntly the other guys’ customers and they ignore their own. So, for those Telco’s who struggle to understand the massive lack of loyalty and huge churn rates among their customer base it is because you have communicated so effectively that leaving is our smartest option. Well done! As George W. would say "Mission accomplished! "
Putting Out Fires At The CFA As everyone is probably aware the bushfire season in Victoria has been absolutely horrific with a loss of life and property that has been staggering in its scale. The organisation charged with fighting the fire threat in Victoria is the CFA (Country Fire Authority) who by and large have done a sterling job in the most difficult of circumstances… except in one area of communication and policy. Specifically, the official advice or rather lack of it, they give to property owners faced with the decision to stay and defend their property or leave. This is potentially what such a conversation would sound like if you were a property owner seeking advice from the CFA as to what to do. CFA: Hello, Country Fire Authority, how can I help? For the CFA and everyone else – providing a laundry list of options is not helpful. People don’t need a list of the facts; they need the facts to be interpreted and conclusions drawn where they can be. At last count over 200 people died in the latest bushfires and while the above conversation may be an exaggeration it doesn’t change the fact that the official advice communicated to the people of Victoria by the CFA was not advice at all and certainly wasn’t helpful. This is one fire that the CFA can put out right now. Don’t wait to be told by the Royal Commission, just change the policy and improve the communication. Why Listening Is Not The Most Important Skill in Communication If I hear one more clown trying to tell me that the most important skill in communication is listening I think I am going to kill them. Whether you think it is active listening or empathic listening or any other type of listening that makes all the difference in communication let me assure you that you are fundamentally wrong! I am not saying that listening isn’t important; I’m just saying that it is not the most important. Try starting a conversation by listening and see how far you get! People will just think you are a psycho, a muppet or some weird combination of both indulging in a staring contest. The most important skill in communication is talking! You know, that thing that starts every conversation. That thing you think you are already good at and as a consequence don’t pay any attention to whatsoever. If your message isn’t getting through it is not because the other person isn’t listening it is because you don’t know how to express yourself. Talk about that for a bit!
Seriously… get in touch If anything here has struck a chord let us know and if you want some help in making your communication more effective please get in touch. Thanks for reading and see you next month! For booking details please email: info@brettrutledge.com |
