Category: Communications

Body Language

We all speak at least two languages. While we’re talking one language, whatever it is, our body is speaking a language of its own. Quite often, our voice and our body are saying two different things.

When I taught live classes for trainers on the assembly line, I taught body language, a great communication device for getting the message across. Yet sometimes, the idea that gets across may not always be the one you intended to send. It’s easier to talk pleasantly than for the body to hide being anxious, or bored, or worried. Yet, body language is essential. People will read the body language before they hear the words.

As we progressed into communicating with email, the ability to read the body language was not there. It made the information sometimes hard to completely understand because we were so used to having body language as a part of our communication.

Today we have video email, also looked at as face-to-face conversations. There are Face Time, Skype, and Zoom, to mention a few. As we move more into video chat and face-to-face meetings over the computer, once again, body language comes to the forefront.

It looks as though we need to be careful about what the body screams while we are softly talking.

What does your body say when you are trying to make a point?

How

How does anyone know what you are thinking? How does anyone know what you are feeling? How do you help others to understand what they need to know about you? And how often do you know whether or not you are ignoring the communication process that you need to keep interactions between yourselves and others fluid and moving in the proper directions?

We find ourselves endowed by our creators with great senses which we can use to communicate. We have eyes to see, a tongue to talk, ears to hear, the feelings of touch, and the beautiful odors of smell. When one of our abilities falters, other senses step up to take on a part of the burden of finding and translating the knowledge.

It is up to us to use our senses wisely. We must communicate with everyone, from the youngest to the oldest.  We should communicate thoughtfully and provide the best of ourselves to those around us. Those who we are close to and those close to us. It is in this communication that not only do we help others to grow and thrive; it is the way that they help us to do the same.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

As We Would Treat Ourselves

Why would we treat anyone else differently than we would treat ourselves? Should we demand more from someone else than we could do in the same circumstances? And even if we expected them to provide that extra service, are we requesting that service in a way that we would be willing to give it if the shoe were on the other foot?

We all believe that we are reasonable people. And the questions we asked for others or the demands we put upon them are fair to the situation. Yet sometimes, we need to ask ourselves, “How would I react if somebody asked me for information or to do something the way I just spoke to that person?”

We would all like to believe that we are even-tempered and caring about others. Unfortunately, sometimes, our own whole nature is not quite up to par. Please remember it’s not what you say that counts as much as what the other person heard you say. And most of the time, the words serve very little importance. The words themselves get skewed by tonal inflection and body language. When everything is stacked together, the words by themselves mean very little.

If you’re not getting your questions answered. If you feel like everyone is an idiot, or that no one will tell you the truth, you need to start by checking in the mirror. If the whole world seems to be against me, I have to take a look at the law of averages and begin by looking at what I am doing. Weighing the option of 7+ billion people in the world decided to have a pick-on-Mike day, or Mike having an off day? The odds just don’t stack up in my favor, and therefore, I need to assess and make the change.

We need to remember that people are fundamentally good. We want to help others. If others are in a stressful situation, we want to put them at ease. If they say, “I don’t know, you should ask the person in charge of that,” it usually means they are telling the truth. And they have given you the next step to help you find an answer.

In this day of specialization and more work being done by fewer people, we may not know, but we can get you to the person who does. And this is very good. I would rather know this and ask a second person, then have the first person who has no clue whatsoever, giving me an answer that they have just made up to keep me happy and quiet.

I know many workplaces of today seem busier and less personally connected than workplaces of the past. Yet, by being able to ask questions that lead you to the right people, and with use of your smartphone or tablet to help you learn a little more of what you are asking about, we all end up a little smarter. So, before our body language goes negative and the inflection gets surly, check the person in the mirror and make sure that person is on even footing.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Tell Me About It

It seems that we are more and more communicating with things and not with people. Phones have menus whose aim is to remove people and get you to the computer, or maybe a person, you need to work with faster. Our uninvited advertising calls are run by computers and computerized bots for the most part. And they are so good, that you can miss the fact you’re talking to a computer. With Cortona, Seri, Alexa, and all the other virtual assistants in our computers these days, we find ourselves talking even more to our computer, laptop, tablet, or phone. Speaking with another human is becoming more of a rare indulgence.

I find our new communication with computers interesting. The lack of human interaction has grown to the point some organizations are now offering a listener. The listener interacts with clients by listening to whatever the client wishes to talk to him about. He does not initiate conversation or dominate the conversation. The listener does empathize with the client, asks questions, and can offer an idea. I believe the best thing that a listener can do is either ask a question which helps the person to find clarity in the situation or questions which help the client consider alternatives.

Many people when offered a listener to talk to, shy away. I think this is because they are afraid they’re going to be judged in some way. As we begin to lose human interaction with those around us, our imaginations sometimes take over, and we can find ourselves paranoid, worrying about who will judge us who will try to take advantage of us, and who will mock us. I believe these fears are evidence of the pain suffered when social beings are isolated. We see this in the incarcerated, the elderly, and the ostracized.

I can also tell you many aggressive, angry and antisocial people feel so much better and content after talking to some who have taken the time to listen. They see that they have been able to exchange ideas with another human being and honestly be heard. They often would like to know when they can come back and talk again.

If I may suggest, talk to each other from time to time.  You may find empathy with others, you may keep fears at bay, and you may see that you feel better and are a little more outgoing,

Thanks for being with me today.  I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Quality

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday.  Our blog today comes from 2016 and is on Quality

Quality goes hand and hand with reputation.  A person or company with good quality will usually have a good reputation.  A person or company without a quality product or output will still have a reputation, it just, most likely not be a good one. In many Pacific rim industrial centers, quality is related to morality.  A person who produces items of poor quality is looked at as someone with poor morals

Quality discussions and ideas are found online, in isles of books, and in billions of dollars’ worth of consulting and training that are sold each year.  TQM, 8-D, Six-Sigma, 5-S, just name a very few of the thousands of methods used in various industries and companies, ranging from electronic system technologies to healthcare and on to the service industry. 

Quality does not just naturally happen.  You have to work at quality to have a good quality.  Do you have to buy all those books, and experts, classes?  NO.  You should know a couple of things about quality and be willing to put a little time into quality.

I want to tell you of a study that took place in the very early 1900s.  Scientists were trying to find out the best environment for factory production.  They called all the workers together and explained what they were doing and why.  Then they started playing with the environment in the building.  They made the lights brighter for a while, and then dimmer for a time.  Then they made the factory colder, then warmer.  As they went through all these steps and more, the scientists explained to the workers what they were doing next and why.

Every time the scientists changed something the production output kept going up.  It took a little time, and then the scientists began to understand what was happening.  Production kept going up because the scientists kept meeting with the production crew and talking with them.  Thus the first rule of communication:

Good quality requires good communication.  And, to have good communications, there must be trust.  So, remember the notebook and writing implement I mentioned in the preface of the book?  If you have not started yet, it is time to make some notes, we are about to get hands on because this is important.

Time to make a Quality Tree.  The main Trunk of the tree needs to be trust. 

Without a full trust of everyone involved, good information will be shared and bad information will be hidden.  Without trust fingers point, blame grows, hidden factories and lower quality quickly become the norm. 

So start to draw your tree.

The largest of the branches is communication.  Communication keeps everyone in the loop.  Quality communications ensure no surprises either up or down the line.

Accountability – Accountability is not finger pointing or punishment when things go wrong.  Accountability is and needs to stay positive and rewarding as virtue is bestowed upon all who are part of an organization.  With accountability comes pride in a job well done, a feeling of accomplishment, and a sense of being part of something important.

Too many companies treat their people as throw away items.  Making outrageous time demands, threatening, and not properly training or motivating their workers.  These are the companies that do not have a structure of Accountability; and quite often do not have a history of quality because of a breakdown in Trust and accountability.

To help communications flow smoother, there is a flow to follow.  First, listen and then speak.  Too often management and supervisors come into a problem, talk a little, shout a little, pass around a few threats, along with an insult or two and then consider the possibility of maybe listening to someone.  The problem is by the time they are done, no one wants to talk to them anymore, and the only question is, “Who does this person think they are?”

Keep in mind the rule of thumb.  Two ears and one mouth means listen two thirds and talk one third.  To talk more usually means talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Measurement – Knowing what is good and bad about the product and how long it takes to make the product is very important.  Hiding or camouflaging any problems or longer assembly times causes hidden factories.  Hidden factories become very expensive and very costly.

When I was a process engineer, I had several people come and tell me about a recurring problem on an assembly line.  Knowing how errors get blown out of Proportion, I checked the Shop Floor Data Collector to see what it would tell me.  I only saw one error, not several.  I did notice the line was running slower than it should, and was behind on the total number of units built.

I went out to the floor to investigate and see for myself.  When I got to the Quality Control Inspection Station, I found the answer.  The Quality Technician was trying to help the line.  Any of the various types of errors she found were only scanned once for that day. She set all of the units with errors to the side and fixed them herself so the build line would look better on paper.

I appreciate anyone who wants to help a line do better. However, this action did not help.  Engineers hear all types of stories, both good and bad most of the time.  To make sure they see the right good and bad points, engineers rely on data.  If the data is wrong or being manipulated it works against the workers and not for them.  Anytime an engineer sees a problem as shown in the data, that engineer is working on a root cause analysis and a permanent fix to the process. 

The person who caused the problem was working with a sense of fear for her fellow workers because the factory was undergoing layoffs.  It is important to remove fear by replacing it with accountability, trust, and communications.  She let her fears, flamed by rumors cause a set of quality failures on the line because she had no one she trusted to tell there was a problem and ask for help in getting it fixed. 

Maybe the real trick is to take out the fear?

Thank you for being with me during this Throwback Thursday.  I hope you liked it.  I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Back in the Electronic Age

I often make a joke about what would happen if all of our modern electronics suddenly stop working. Do you know what would happen? We would be thrown back all the way to the 1970s.

Some people feel that modern electronics is more of a hindrance than it is a convenience. I was able to decide for myself this week as my incredible four-year-old phone’s battery died. As I began to miss important calls, and meetings with my accountability coach, I started to feel the years melting backward.

 Four years is not a long time, yet I started by looking at getting a new phone. Because I was in the middle of a plan change, I was not authorized to purchase a new phone online. I was told to go to a local store.

I went to a store in the mall, and the clerk advised me to go to the repair center for a new battery. The repair center was amazed that the phone’s battery had lasted the four years and they asked me what I wanted to do. It turns out four-year-old phone batteries are not always available, even at the repair center.

The people at the repair center were very kind though.  They checked out my account online and helped guide me to a phone that would do what I needed and fit into my limited budget.  They made the transition fast and even transferred my apps and data from my old phone to my new one. 

I truly appreciated the folks who helped me, and I am in a far better place than I was two days ago.  For now, I am comfortably back in the electronic age and ready to move forward into Tomorrowland.

If you have a chance, please give me a call.

I hope we can be together again tomorrow.

 

Good or Evil

Like all great things, the computer has within it the ability to produce great good, and at the same time evil and aggravation. Actually, the computer is just a set of circuits. It is built out of silicon and other minerals and there to do the bidding of whoever controls it, and puts it into action. My contention is that evil does not live in inanimate objects. Neither does good.

Good and evil lives within people. Thousands of years ago when we lived in villages and did not know where the next settlement was, the good and evil were able to stay right there in that one community, although every community had good and evil within it.

As we migrated throughout the world and grew in numbers, so did right, and so did wrong. Today, from any room in our home or even outside of it, each person can reach anywhere on earth, or in orbit and communicate with anyone else. That means good has a worldwide reach. From anywhere in the world to anywhere. And because of that, so does evil.

Remember it is not the equipment or the inanimate objects which allow the reach to every part of the world that causes good or evil. What causes good or evil are the people making the connections. So, before you connect with one another, you have a burden. Your burden is to think. So is mine.

We must think of whether or not we’re doing good or evil. We must consider this with the thought of both intentional and unintentional consequences. If we do good for others, we do good for ourselves. If we do evil unto others, we are only doing evil unto ourselves.

As an experiment, Please look at today’s picture and tell in the comments if you think it is good or evil.

Heavy thoughts for Friday, yet something to think about for a weekend or more.

Thanks for being with me today and have a great weekend.

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