(Community Matters) Wow, to be a fly on this wall . . . . Margaret Keys is one of our dearest friends and an extraordinary communications coach. (she and Steven are partners in a corporate communications consulting business.) Lee Walker is another dear friend – a serial entrepreneur, an early Dell Inc president, an uber, Austin community leader and UT Honors adjunct professor. Unfortunately, even money can’t get you into their training session for women on Thursday. So appreciative they’ve included EF’s Amanda Chiampi.
It’s an all day session to explore communications dynamics for women. They’ll focus on four aspects: authority, authenticity, personal style and frameworks (strategies for maintaining perspective and creating connection).
As women have come to the table in shared authority with men there are dynamics in play that can stifle communication, reduce credibility and perceived value and limit possibility. It is important to look at these dynamics together in order to share and normalize experience.
Many women use inherent skills to actively engage others in dialogue and encourage consensus. Often it is difficult to know how to move from engaging and listening to the strategic competencies of positioning and driving to a strong close or ask.
Often women avoid confrontation at all costs even when some “push back” is called for.
Many women discover that the very communication approach and style that helped them succeed in one context hampers success in another.
Competence and confidence stem from awareness and learned skills and strategies.
It is important to understand the unwritten rules of engagement; to demonstrate credibility; to be able to align quickly with a person or group; to be able to “think on your feet” and recalibrate moment to moment; to stay calm and focused when interrupted or challenged.
We will explore as a group:
1. The frameworks you use for perspective
2. How you are perceived
3. How you want to be perceived
4. How to put your thoughts and ideas in play
5. What your voice, body and words convey
6. When you feel in equal authority and when you don’t
7. What strategies help you feel more in control when nerves are triggered
8. How to meet confrontation
9. How to use strategic tools to help you position and leverage information (framing)
10. How to prepare in a way that lets you “think on your feet”
11. How to handle challenges without giving up personal power or authority
12. The power of “verbal economy”
Community Matters 