Executive Communication Coaches: Help With Business Communication
Coach is a common word in our society. We hear talk of life coaches, head coaches, Little League coaches, birth coaches, and executive communication coaches. Executive communication coaches? Who in the world are they, and why do executives need special coaches to help them communicate? Believe it or not, an executive communication coach is a very real and increasingly important member of many of corporate America’s organizations and businesses
Sometimes, what we want to say and what we actually do say is quite different. All the different styles of communication in the workplace can lead to frustration. Some employees may seem wishy-washy because they don’t want to seem bossy with their ideas, while others may seem domineering because they feel the only way to get their ideas heard is to be forceful. Executive communication coaches help us to strike a balance between expressing ourselves boldly without destroying the collaborative workplace atmosphere. An executive coach helps employees to be assertive while still remaining open-minded and keeping effective lines of communication open.
What does executive job coaching hope to achieve? An executive job coach helps to remove obstacles interfering with open communication. They believe that the suppression of the ideas stagnates the flow of communication and reduces creativity. Hampered communications can negatively effect organizational hierarchies and relationships and, at higher levels within a company, can damage revenue.
Speaking assertively should be fairly easy to do, but for some reason, many people are reluctant. One sports coach lists eight reasons why people seem to be unable to speak up for themselves: misplaced respect for authority, fear of negative consequences, self-doubt, fear of offending anyone, a desire to avoid certain issues, it’s their habit not to do so, they don’t know how to speak up, and when no one else is saying anything, they don’t want to be the first to speak up.
Everyone can identify with all or at least some of these in our interactions with others. All are barriers to good communication. The way a communication coach is helpful is that they work to purge those problems and difficulties from the workplace by identifying problem areas and working with employees to improve the situation. Coaches utilize a step-by-step technique called FACE, which stands for Facts, Appreciation, Consequence and Cost, and Expectation.
Let’s look at the several factors of this formula. The first step in communicating is to convey FACTS, and not opinions, about a situation. Then you need to show APPRECIATION for others thoughts. Then you must consider the COST/CONSEQUENCE, or how will the words or behaviors you use affect the situation and those involved? Lastly you need to make certain that your EXPECTATION of want or potential outcome is well known. The FACE formula is an effective way to achieve polite communication that will produce desired results.
One of the ways that executive communication coaches are able to help your business office is to expertly teach colleagues how to better communicate with each other so that the office is far more productive overall.
Executive communication coaches help people have the courage to express their ideas in a work situation in ways that are most effective. This is important because many people are so concerned with expressing thoughts too strongly and thereby pushing listeners away, while other people believe that their message must be presented with too strong of a force in order for it to be heard. To strike the best balance between these extremes, executive coaches can help you to express thoughts while allowing for open communication as well. This executive job coaching helps to remove obstacles interfering with open communication.
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