Self-organization & Communication
Self-organization
Advanced time management.
Today it is not enough to know the techniques of time management. It is necessary to systematically manage a large number of tasks and information. Clearly and correctly prioritize in the mode of uncertainty. Time management is no longer just calendar slots and productivity rules, but a comprehensive operating system for life. Learn the basics and build your own self-organization system.
Discipline and reliability.
Strive to be a person who performs tasks on time, does not allow delays, does not violate agreements and promises. For you it is a skill, for others it is your characteristic. Demonstrate reliability to people. There are people to whom the main thing is to deliver information, they will understand the task themselves, clarify the details and make the result. They definitely won’t forget, won’t let you down or will warn you about the changes in time. There are also people who need to be reminded and monitored, but there are no guarantees. Such people are unreliable. I think it is not necessary to explain who is more pleasant to deal with and work with. If you have problems with this, then figure out what’s bothering you and how to fix it. Be the ones who keep promises and who you can rely on.
Communication
A skill that is included in my personal top. When people think about developing communication, they often focus on negotiations. They present the negotiations as a scene from the movie “Vicious Passion”, where Richard Gere verbally presses an opponent and knocks out a good deal. Negotiations are not about that. Negotiation is the ability to negotiate. Set yourself a goal to learn how to negotiate, and the development of this skill takes on a different meaning.
You don’t need to learn how to manipulate people, resist monsters and squeeze. Look at communication as the ability to convey thoughts, explain, get to know and hear people. Then everything will be fine with the negotiations, too. Communication, self — organization and enthusiasm for learning are the main skills that I test in interviews. With such a set, it is easier to teach a person about a project approach and problem solving.
Ability to explain.
Explaining is an incredibly difficult activity. Although many people think that it is easy. Often, they also think that they explain well, and people are stupid and do not understand anything. With such a philosophy, you will not go far up the career ladder. If you remove the facts that all people have their own picture of the world, experience and peculiarities of perception of information, then it is still very difficult to explain. If it were so easy, then you wouldn’t be nervous when you explain to your older relatives how to use the phone.
For an objective assessment and training of the skill of explanation, use the Feynman method. It is used for teaching, and there the first stage is called “teach this to a child”. When you describe something in simple words that even a child can understand, you help yourself to understand the essence on a deeper level. Understanding the essence helps to simplify. Try it and see for yourself where the difficulties arise. I’ve spent years training this. From explaining to parents how to use a computer, to transferring complex projects at work. I hope I’m doing well, and everything is clear in the book. When you become a master of explanation, you will see how your thinking and relationships with people will change.
Brevity.
The skill is included in the ability to explain, but I single it out separately, since at the time of writing the book, brevity in oral speech is a personal challenge for me. It is very difficult to be concise when explaining complex things, but I try to learn the skill of brevity. The fast pace of life, information overload and lack of attention of people does not work in our favor. Therefore, brief communication means effective. There is no need to confuse brevity with superficiality or dryness of information.
Be concise without compromising the meaning. Therefore, learn brevity in order to convey more meaning with fewer words. You will definitely stand out from the chattering majority. It will also help to structure thinking and speech and concentrate the attention of the interlocutor. Save people time, communicate the main thing and get feedback faster.
«Brevity is a force against inattention, extraneous interference, excessive information and irritability”
Joseph McCormack
Visual communication.
It is proved that the key type of perception for a person is visual one. Throughout human evolution, visual information has been paramount. Everyone knows that it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. Visual communication helps to think and explain. If a person hears the information, then after 3 days he can reproduce only 10%, and with visualization this number goes up to 65%.
You don’t have to be an artist. Even the most primitive, but logical schemes will help to convey the message faster and clearer. Every day I reason with drawings, keep notes of meetings, take notes and draw diagrams of processes. It’s a habit that helps me a lot. Learn scribing. Or rather, start using it, since you already know how to draw.
Scribing is the process of visualizing complex meaning with simple images, in which the rendering of images occurs in the process of conveying information.
Train the ability to explain complex things using visualization. Someday you will definitely have to or already have to draw on the blackboard, explaining thoughts to people. Without preparation and presentation. Be ready to make a great impression and get the result.
Argumentation and facilitation.
We constantly have to convince people and justify our position. At work, at home, at school, at the airport, or in line. All our lives we practice and improve these skills. But many people still cannot understand others or justify their point of view. Especially if several people participate in the discussion. Useless meetings are held in companies where no decisions are made. Conflicts arise in teams, and efficiency decreases.
The inability to negotiate is like herpes. It exists in every person, but you don’t know when it will appear. They even came up with such a role as a facilitator. This is a person who provides successful group communication. He follows its logic and does not let it go to wrong places. How to approach logic is written in the section about optimizing thinking. Being a facilitator for yourself and the team is a very valuable skill.
When you look at any explanation or communication as a construction of theses, arguments, arguments and proofs, you will look at people’s conversations differently. You will be able to effectively manage group discussions, help participants identify problems and make decisions through constructive dialogue. Facilitation is not only associated with complex discussions. The skills of the facilitator will also be useful for brainstorming or synchronization with the team.
Storytelling.
I have always considered storytelling to be the lot of screenwriters and before its popularization by marketers I did not pay much attention to it. Many people still think so. Although storytelling helps us explain, sell, negotiate and make an impression every day. In 2014, at every interview in Moscow, I was asked if I was from that Donetsk we all heard about. Everyone was aware of what was going on there and asked a lot of questions about the move. I told my story, and they listened to me with their mouths open.
They liked these stories, and it helped me to establish contact and win over HR. I realized that later. I didn’t try to use storytelling on purpose, because I didn’t know what it was. Stories help to interest, and therefore capture people’s attention. It helps a lot in communication. Storytelling is much more than just a skill. These are psychology, copywriting, empathy and attention management. I highly recommend reading where storytelling is used, and how it can be useful. Learn specific storytelling techniques and practice. They will definitely strengthen your oral and written communication. You will also begin to notice these techniques in films, and you can always pretend to be smart pants later.
Networking.
Networking is not a skill to endlessly make new acquaintances. Networking is effective communication for building a network of contacts and achieving your goals. The ability to find the right people and get to know them is very valuable. Communication is already a complex soft skill, and then you also need to make acquaintances from scratch. Not acquaintance with a girl or a guy, but business contact with the search for mutually beneficial. To do this, you need to be able to present yourself and quickly establish contact with people. Learn to consciously plan and shape your environment.
Hone the algorithms of dating, self-presentation and strengthening relationships. At work and in life, this will always be a trump card that can be played. It does not mean that you need to be selfish and make friends just for the sake of profit. Strive to be yourself and someone that people will want to get to know themselves. Look at people as partners, but first focus on yourself. Ask yourself the question: how can I be useful? Try to help and do not be afraid of new acquaintances in any circumstances. People are just as afraid to talk to you as you are to them.
Help them get rid of fear, start first. Subscribe to Anton Telyakov to relax and make sure it’s not scary. Anton makes jokes of people on the street. Makes it cool and funny, without obscene language and negativity. I strongly advise you to subscribe to him in order to learn first contact with people, storytelling and attention retention. He does not teach this on purpose, so we will have to observe for ourselves. You will be surprised how long people can talk about the most absurd topics and be polite in extreme situations. I hope Anton will do a course on communication someday. This is always needed. Watch his pranks and you will understand the joke in the previous sentence.
Use communities and human guides for networking. There are plenty of them now, and there are people ready to help everywhere. You just need to write. Think about which social circle you want to get into, set yourself a goal and decompose it into tasks. You know what to do next. Practice. As with any skill, it will be easier with experience. Build your environment for development, establish trusting and strong relationships with people. No one knows what kind of acquaintance will create a turning point in your life for you.
Digital care.
By digital care, I mean the convenience of the consumer of your information in written communication. We’re all online already. Every day people exchange a huge amount of information. Digital literacy has become hygiene. People have mastered email clients, messengers and conference services. People who take care of the submission and assignment of information will always stand out from others. As a basis, it is better to study digital etiquette, so as not to be a person who records a two-hour audio message without warning or writes a hundred separate messages in a row.
Then you need to develop the ability to understand what the recipient will do with your information. Take care of its appearance, structure, readability and further usage scenarios. Previously, at work, I often had to request an assessment of the work at the request of the client. I received two kinds of assessments with notes. Some sent their arguments, which I had to digest and structure in order to send to the client. Others sent the text in the first person, which I copied and forwarded. Such concern for the consumer of information creates a good impression, increases your coolness and brand consistency. According to my observations, such care is a very rare skill, so hurry up to engage in working on it.
