Bad meetings, helper’s high, and the power of silence
Every two weeks we’ll give you three communication tips. If you find them valuable, please invite someone else to subscribe to this newsletter.
There are good meetings and bad meetings
Meetings have been on my mind. I’ve been frustrated with our lack of vocabulary to label the myriad types of meetings. Peter Drucker categorized meetings to identify what makes them productive. One type is “A meeting whose only function is to allow the participants to be in the executive’s presence.”
Of that kind he said, “there is no way to make these meetings productive. They are the penalties of rank.” We wouldn’t know anything about that in the Army.
To enhance your communication ability in meetings, identify what kind of meeting it is. Start by learning the six kinds of meetings Drucker identified.
Sharing good news does your body good
You ought to spread some good news. Research shows it lifts your mood for a number of reasons.
Here’s one.
Expressing your good news reinforces its meaning and makes it more believable. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology concluded that sharing good news increased the perceived value of the news for the sharer.
Read about the other reasons why sharing good news is good for you and the person you share it with.
Let the silence speak for you
Silence can be awkward, but it can also be a powerful communication tool.
In conversations, silence can allow for emotion to appropriately inform next words. In public speaking, it can help you emphasize a point. And in teaching, it often gives learners time to struggle through the hard stuff.
You can let silence work for you. When you allow your audience to sit in the silence, they can martial the cognitive and emotional resources required to create meaning and make commitments.
Read about nine additional tips for public speaking and teaching.
