Contents
Why Communication Gaps Are Prevalent
Strengthen Your Personal and Organizational Effectiveness
Section 1: Gaps in Everyday Interactions
2. Getting Through: Responsibilities of the Sender
Create a Captivating Appearance
Try New Ways of Communicating Your Message
Unclutter Your E-mail Messages
Highlight Important Information
Notice How You Come Across to Others
Be Forthcoming with Your Reasoning
3. Misinterpretations: How Messages Cause Confusion
Two People Separated by a Common Language
4. Untangling Tangled Interactions: Reaction of the Recipient
Intake: Candid Camera, with a Twist
Interpretation: Multiple Modified Meanings
Feelings: What Happens on the Inside
Application #1: Untangling a Previous Interaction
Application #2: Untangling an Interaction in Progress
Application #3: Helping Others Untangle Their Interactions
Application #4: Untangling Patterns of Behavior
Application #5: Understanding the Absence of a Response
Application #6: Untangling Common Personal Traps
A Few More Guidelines and Some Words of Caution
Section 2: Gaps in Building Relationships
5. Building a Strong Foundation
Foundation-Building Takes Time and Effort
Build the Foundation While Building the House
6. Appreciating and Benefiting from Communication Differences
A Framework for Discussing Communication Preferences
Where You Get Your Energy: Extraversion (E) versus Introversion (I)
Helping Yourself and Each Other
How You Take In Information: Sensing (S) versus Intuition (N)
Helping Yourself and Each Other
How You Make Decisions: Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F)
Helping Yourself and Each Other
How You Relate to the World: Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P)
Helping Yourself and Each Other
7. Understanding the Other Party’s Perspective
Start by Scrapping Your Labels
The Constraining Influence of Labels
Transform Irate Customers by Transforming Yourself
Ponder Factors that Influence Other People’s Behavior
A Technique for Considering the Possibilities
Improving Relationships with Other Parties
Prerequisite to Considering the Possibilities
Observe Possibilities from Different Perspectives
Consider Their Case in Making Yours
8. The Care and Feeding of Relationships
Segment #4: Complaints with Recommendations
Other Applications of the Temperature Reading
Select the Appropriate Communication Channel
Create Relationship-Tending Roles
Compassionate Listeners and Guides
9. The Communication of Caring
Contributors to Customer Satisfaction
An Investment in a Relationship
Identifying Individual Differences
The Importance of Explaining “When”
Communicating in Times of Uncertainty
The Communication of Non-Caring
10. Gathering Customer Feedback
Three Feedback-Gathering Flaws
Flaw #1: Inconveniencing Customers to Get Feedback
Flaw #2: Making Customers Uncomfortable About Providing Feedback
Flaw #3: Ignoring the Service Attributes That Are Most Important to Customers
Asking the Right Questions and Asking the Questions Right
Face-to-Face Feedback-Gathering
An Innovative Approach to Assessing Customer Satisfaction
When and How to Gather Feedback
11. Service Level Agreements: A Powerful Communication Tool
Success Factor #1: Use the SLA as a Win-Win Tool
Success Factor #2: Don’t Arbitrarily Rush SLA Development
Success Factor #3: Create the SLA Collaboratively
Success Factor #4: Include All Key Elements
Success Factor #5: Learn How to Create an SLA
Success Factor #6: Manage the Implemented Agreement
The Stages of Response to Change
Stage 3: Practice and Integration
13. Changing How You Communicate During Change
Expect Individual Differences in Response to Change
Treat the Old Status Quo with Respect
Provide Information and More Information
Say Something Even When You Have Nothing to Say
Empathize, Empathize, Empathize
Involve People in Implementing the Change