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"Nonverbal communication is often used to accent or emphasize some part of the verbal message." - DeVite Human Communications

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"Nonverbal communication is often used to accent or emphasize some part of the verbal message." - DeVite Human Communications

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"Nonverbal communication may be used to complement or complete a message, to add nuances of meaning not communicated by your verbal message." - DeVite Human Communications https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2765&context=theses

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"Nonverbal communication may be used to complement or complete a message, to add nuances of meaning not communicated by your verbal message." - DeVite Human Communications https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2765&context=theses

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For many of us, the idealized image of working from home has been replaced by a harsh reality of barking dogs, fighting kids, and questionable internet connections. Fortunately, we're figuring out how to work in this 'new normal'. We're using Teams, Zoom, and other vehicles to connect more regularly with our internal colleagues and our project teams to keep projects moving. In some cases, we're communicating more often than we did when we were physically collocated; the distance has brought us closer because we've had to be more mindful about communicating.

What many of us are missing, though, is similarly mindful and deeper connection with our clients outside of day-to-day projects. As one way to build connection, now is an excellent time to start a program of focused client research, either implemented in-house or with a trained research consultant. As a communication strategist and facilitator of more intentional communication between AEC professionals and their clients, I have some thoughts about how to get started on both an immediate engagement strategy and how to continue that strategy once we are back working in our offices in a new way of engaging.

Understanding the Value of Client Research

The first step in any research program is to consider the value of research as a catalyst for more effective client engagement. A focused performance interview with a client or prospective client takes about an hour, is 100% focused on the client and their perceptions rather than on selling the capabilities or portfolio of the team, and yields a treasure trove of valuable insight that can be immediately integrated into how firms engage with and serve their clients. Clients will tell you exactly how they're feeling and what they need-we just need to listen.
Get Ready: Develop an Interview Guide
A great research program starts with a well-developed interview guide that contains the right questions and follows a logical flow. With a clear guide, interviews can be conducted by in-house team members or by an outside consultant, both with effective results. I've helped several design firms develop interview guides for their own engagement with clients, both for pursuit debriefs and project performance reviews. For example, we helped a national design firm develop an interview guide, and then we trained eight of their internal team members in how to effectively conduct and document interviews. My team and I have also conducted focused performance interviews with clients on behalf of both design and construction firms that yielded critical current perception information these firms can use to inform their engagement strategies.
Get Set: Develop a Target Client List
Concurrent with developing an interview guide, the firm must also develop a list of targeted clients and decide whether they wish to engage in a singular data-gathering engagement or establish a more regular engagement program. This will determine the selection criteria for participation in a study.

Some firms decide to do a one-time gathering of data, selecting a complete list or logical subset of clients over a certain size or of a certain type. Others decide to gather data regularly, selecting a subset of clients to participate in a set number of interviews each month or at key points in the project delivery lifecycle. In fact, most healthy firms create a regular program of client research as a central element of their client engagement and development efforts.
Go! Gather Data
Once you have an interview guide and a client list, you are ready to gather data. If using an outside consultant, make sure to select a team or researcher with two key attributes: the personality to engage clients in a friendly and detailed interview and the industry background to understand what they are hearing to facilitate follow up on fruitful lines of discussion.

I recommend interviewers document the conversation in real time; this results in an incredibly rich set of discussion notes and a detail-oriented write-up that can inform decision-making and discussion by the team and the firm. We've learned the value of not only documenting in real time but including a research associate on each of our calls whose sole responsibility is to document. This provides two sets of notes, increases the quality of the final write-up, and enables us to turn around the write-ups much faster to drive discussion within our client organizations.
To Participate, or Not to Participate?
Here's the question I get all the time: "Will our clients really want to participate in this?" The answer: Yes and no. Clients with which you have strong relationships and who value you as a design or construction professional will participate, and with enthusiasm. Those who see you as a commodity probably won't. That distinction in itself provides a valuable data point.

For those clients who will participate, the interview and your follow up can be one of the most beneficial relationship-building things a firm can do. When we conduct interviews on behalf of our clients, we ask each interviewee if they'd like to add anything about which they haven't already been asked (typically at the conclusion of the interview). In at least one in five interviews we do, the interviewee says a variant of the following: "I know XX cares about clients like me because they are asking you to speak to me." Interestingly, we get this type of comment even from respondents who are otherwise negative about the firm for which we're gathering data.
The Critical Step: Follow Up and Follow Through
How the firm follows up with their clients and what the firm does with the data gathered are the most important steps in a client research and engagement process. Each interaction in the interview process is an opportunity for enhanced client engagement: at the point in time the client manager contacts the client to ask for interview, in the thank-you note you send to the client for giving you their time and candid feedback, and in the more detailed, focused conversation to follow up from the interview. Make the most of each interaction with timely and sincere engagement.

Firms can also deeply integrate what they learn from the aggregate of clients in their business development, marketing, and project execution strategies. We've had clients use what they learn to update their websites and create branded collateral highlighting key strengths or a summary of what they learned from industry-related questions, and to write focused publications about client-directed values and innovations.
Making Lemonade
Our clients who learn negative information from their clients about projects, team members, or reputations have a tremendous opportunity to heal relationships and to learn from experiences to improve performance on future projects. Even if the feedback received seems one-sided or even unfair, our clients learn information they can use to change the optics of a situation or to change how their teams communicate with clients to create more positive outcomes. Again, the value is in what you do with the information you receive.
Key Takeaways:

Whether you engage in client research using in-house resources or trained consultants, do it. Don't wait. This is an excellent time to engage with clients through focused interviews. Clients are also feeling disconnected from their project and consultant teams. As a result, a focused program of research - even a small number of interviews - can reinforce a positive relationship with an existing client or keep you and your team top-of-mind for a prospective client.

Make sure your research process is well-designed and executed using a logical and flowing guide and conducted by a skilled, flexible, and engaging interviewer.

Document the results objectively, completely, and quickly.

Send thank-you notes quickly that respond to the client with an attitude of gratitude, regardless of the positive or negative nature of what you learn.

Follow up strategically, without defensiveness, to build a stronger partnership or to repair a process or a relationship.

Use aggregate data to review work processes, communication protocols, and the alignment of marketing collateral (websites, proposals, brochures, etc.)

All In
Clients, even busy clients, understand the value of teams learning about how they are perceived and how projects are going. Most clients are grateful for the opportunity to participate and to share their thoughts and ideas. Don't assume your clients are too busy, and don't assume that regular client meetings substitute for the opportunity for a client to say what they think and what they need in a non-threatening and engaging conversation. Research has value, and client conversations matter. We don't have to wait until we can be physically closer again. We can, and we should, build closer relationships right now.

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Becoming Closer While Far Apart: Client Research for Enhanced Client Engagement - Communication Resources

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For many of us, the idealized image of working from home has been replaced by a harsh reality of barking dogs, fighting kids, and questionable internet connections. Fortunately, we're figuring out how to work in this 'new normal'. We're using Teams, Zoom, and other vehicles to connect more regularly

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"You may also use nonverbal communication to substitute for verbal messages." - DeVite Human Communications

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"You may also use nonverbal communication to substitute for verbal messages." - DeVite Human Communications

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Eugene Cheng
Eugene is Lifehack's Entrepreneurship Expert. He is the co-founder and creative lead of HighSpark, offering presentation training for companies. Read full profile

You're standing behind the curtain, just about to make your way on stage to face the many faces half-shrouded in darkness in front of you. As you move towards the spotlight, your body starts to feel heavier with each step. A familiar thump echoes throughout your body - your heartbeat has gone off the charts.

Don't worry, you're not the only one with glossophobia(also known as speech anxiety or the fear of speaking to large crowds). Sometimes, the anxiety happens long before you even stand on stage.

Your body's defence mechanism responds by causing a part of your brain to release adrenaline into your blood - the same chemical that gets released as if you were being chased by a lion.

Here's a step-by-step guide to help you overcome your fear of public speaking:

1. Prepare yourself mentally and physically

According to experts, we're built to display anxiety and to recognize it in others. If your body and mind are anxious, your audience will notice. Hence, it's important to prepare yourself before the big show so that you arrive on stage confident, collected and ready.

"Your outside world is a reflection of your inside world. What goes on in the inside, shows on the outside." - Bob Proctor

Exercising lightly before a presentation helps get your blood circulating and sends oxygen to the brain. Mental exercises, on the other hand, can help calm the mind and nerves. Here are some useful ways to calm your racing heart when you start to feel the butterflies in your stomach:

Warming up

If you're nervous, chances are your body will feel the same way. Your body gets tense, your muscles feel tight or you're breaking in cold sweat. The audience will notice you are nervous.

If you observe that this is exactly what is happening to you minutes before a speech, do a couple of stretches to loosen and relax your body. It's better to warm up before every speech as it helps to increase the functional potential of the body as a whole. Not only that, it increases muscle efficiency, improves reaction time and your movements.

Here are some exercises to loosen up your body before show time:

1. Neck and shoulder rolls - This helps relieve upper body muscle tension and pressure as the rolls focus on rotating the head and shoulders, loosening the muscle. Stress and anxiety can make us rigid within this area which can make you feel agitated, especially when standing.

2. Arm stretches - We often use this part of our muscles during a speech or presentation through our hand gestures and movements. Stretching these muscles can reduce arm fatigue, loosen you up and improve your body language range.

3. Waist twists - Place your hands on your hips and rotate your waist in a circular motion. This exercise focuses on loosening the abdominal and lower back regions which is essential as it can cause discomfort and pain, further amplifying any anxieties you may experience.

Stay hydrated

Ever felt parched seconds before speaking? And then coming up on stage sounding raspy and scratchy in front of the audience? This happens because the adrenaline from stage fright causes your mouth to feel dried out.

To prevent all that, it's essential we stay adequately hydrated before a speech. A sip of water will do the trick. However, do drink in moderation so that you won't need to go to the bathroom constantly.

Try to avoid sugary beverages and caffeine, since it's a diuretic - meaning you'll feel thirstier. It will also amplify your anxiety which prevents you from speaking smoothly.

Meditate

Meditation is well-known as a powerful tool to calm the mind. ABC's Dan Harris, co-anchor of Nightline and Good Morning America weekend and author of the book titled 10% Happier , recommends that meditation can help individuals to feel significantly calmer, faster.

Meditation is like a workout for your mind. It gives you the strength and focus to filter out the negativity and distractions with words of encouragement, confidence and strength.

Mindfulness meditation, in particular, is a popular method to calm yourself before going up on the big stage. The practice involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing and then bringing your mind's attention to the present without drifting into concerns about the past or future - which likely includes floundering on stage.

Here's a nice example of guided meditation before public speaking:

2. Focus on your goal
Do I look funny? What if I can't remember what to say? Do I look stupid? Will people listen to me? Does anyone care about what I'm talking about?'
One thing people with a fear of public speaking have in common is focusing too much on themselves and the possibility of failure.

Instead of thinking this way, shift your attention to your one true purpose - contributing something of value to your audience.

Decide on the progress you'd like your audience to make after your presentation. Notice their movements and expressions to adapt your speech to ensure that they are having a good time to leave the room as better people.

If your own focus isn't beneficial and what it should be when you're speaking, then shift it to what does. This is also key to establishing trust during your presentation as the audience can clearly see that you have their interests at heart.

3. Convert negativity to positivity
'What if I mess up this speech? What if I'm not funny enough? What if I forget what to say?'
There are two sides constantly battling inside of us - one is filled with strength and courage while the other is doubt and insecurities. Which one will you feed?

It's no wonder why many of us are uncomfortable giving a presentation. All we do is bring ourselves down before we got a chance to prove ourselves. This is also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy - a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it already is. If you think you're incompetent, then it will eventually become true.

Motivational coaches tout that positive mantras and affirmations tend to boost your confidents for the moments that matter most. Say to yourself: "I'll ace this speech and I can do it!"

Take advantage of your adrenaline rush to encourage positive outcome rather than thinking of the negative 'what ifs'.

Here's a video of Psychologist Kelly McGonigal who encourages her audience to turn stress into something positive as well as provide methods on how to cope with it:

4. Understand your content

Knowing your content at your fingertips helps reduce your anxiety because there is one less thing to worry about. One way to get there is to practice numerous times before your actual speech.

However, memorizing your script word-for-word is not encouraged. You can end up freezing should you forget something. You'll also risk sounding unnatural and less approachable.

"No amount of reading or memorizing will make you successful in life. It is the understanding and the application of wise thought that counts." - Bob Proctor

Many people unconsciously make the mistake of reading from their slides or memorizing their script word-for-word without understanding their content - a definite way to stress themselves out.

Understanding your speech flow and content makes it easier for you to convert ideas and concepts into your own words which you can then clearly explain to others in a conversational manner. Designing your slides to include text prompts is also an easy hack to ensure you get to quickly recall your flow when your mind goes blank.

One way to understand is to memorize the over-arching concepts or ideas in your pitch. It helps you speak more naturally and let your personality shine through. It's almost like taking your audience on a journey with a few key milestones.

5. Practice makes perfect

Like most people, many of us are not naturally attuned to public speaking. Rarely do individuals walk up to a large audience and present flawlessly without any research and preparation.

In fact, some of the top presenters make it look easy during showtime because they have spent countless hours behind-the-scenes in deep practice. Even great speakers like the late John F. Kennedy would spend months preparing his speech beforehand.

Public speaking, like any other skill, requires practice - whether it be practicing your speech countless of times in front of a mirror or making notes. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect!

6. Be authentic

There's nothing wrong with feeling stressed before going up to speak in front of an audience.

Many people fear public speaking because they fear others will judge them for showing their true, vulnerable self. However, vulnerability can sometimes help you come across as more authentic and relatable as a speaker.

Drop the pretence of trying to act or speak like someone else and you'll find that it's worth the risk. You become more genuine, flexible and spontaneous, which makes it easier to handle unpredictable situations - whether it's getting tough questions from the crowd or experiencing an unexpected technical difficulty.

To find out your authentic style of speaking is easy. Just pick a topic or issue you are passionate about and discuss this like you normally would with a close family or friend. It is like having a conversation with someone in a personal one-to-one setting. A great way to do this on stage is to select a random audience member(with a hopefully calming face) and speak to a single person at a time during your speech. You'll find that it's easier trying to connect to one person at a time than a whole room.

With that said, being comfortable enough to be yourself in front of others may take a little time and some experience, depending how comfortable you are with being yourself in front of others. But once you embrace it, stage fright will not be as intimidating as you initially thought.

Presenters like Barack Obama are a prime example of a genuine and passionate speaker:

7. Post speech evaluation

Last but not the least, if you've done public speaking and have been scarred from a bad experience, try seeing it as a lesson learned to improve yourself as a speaker.

Don't beat yourself up after a presentation

We are the hardest on ourselves and it's good to be. But when you finish delivering your speech or presentation, give yourself some recognition and a pat on the back.

You managed to finish whatever you had to do and did not give up. You did not let your fears and insecurities get to you. Take a little more pride in your work and believe in yourself.

Improve your next speech

As mentioned before, practice does make perfect. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, try asking someone to film you during a speech or presentation. Afterwards, watch and observe what you can do to improve yourself next time.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself after every speech:

How did I do?

Are there any areas for improvement?

Did I sound or look stressed?

Did I stumble on my words? Why?

Was I saying "um" too often?

How was the flow of the speech?

Write everything you observed down and keep practicing and improving. In time, you'll be able to better manage your fears of public speaking and appear more confident when it counts.

If you want even more tips about public speaking or delivering a great presentation, check out these articles too:

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Types of Nonverbal Communication That You Can't Ignore

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Eugene Cheng Eugene is Lifehack's Entrepreneurship Expert. He is the co-founder and creative lead of HighSpark, offering presentation training for companies. Read full profile You're standing behind the curtain, just about to make your way on stage to face the many faces half-shrouded in darkness in front of you.

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"You may deliberately contradict your verbal messages with nonverbal movements." - DeVite Human Communications. 

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"You may deliberately contradict your verbal messages with nonverbal movements." - DeVite Human Communications. 

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In the pressurised environment of an interview it is quite easy to start contradicting yourself directly or contradicting something you have written down, either on your CV or on Social Media. Below are 3 good tips to avoid interview inconsistencies:

1. Ensure that there is a natural flow between your LinkedIn profile and your CV

Your LinkedIn profile will generally outline your responsibilities whereas your CV will go into more depth in regards measurable accomplishments associated with these responsibilities. Ensure there are no contradictions between both prior to interview or an astute interviewer will question you about this inconsistency, something you may be totally unaware of.

2. Practice and Remember

There is a high probability that you will be involved in a series of interviews; pre-screening, first round, second round (etc.). Even if you are being interviewed by different people at different stages who are continuously asking the same questions, it is important to give consistent answers to the same questions at each stage of the process. For example if you describe yourself as a team player in a first round interview to you prefer working on your own initiative in the second interview, not only will the interviewer become confused but your credibility will come into question as they invariably will have access to notes from the first round interview.

Remembering your answers and continuously practising should prevent this unfortunate occurrence materialising.

3. Don't wing it

Preparation and practice are key. If you are "winging it", chances are that you will forget forget your answers from one round to another (or even in the same interview!) and start contradicting yourself.

This will be viewed as unprofessional and may even be perceived as disrespectful as it is obvious that you didn't bother to prepare.

In essence, avoiding interview inconsistencies is critical in maintaining your credibility in interview situations.

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3 Tips to Avoid Interview Inconsistencies - Abrivia

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0s In the pressurised environment of an interview it is quite easy to start contradicting yourself directly or contradicting something you have written down, either on your CV or on Social Media. Below are 3 good tips to avoid interview inconsistencies: 1. Ensure that there is a natural flow between your...

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"You can repeat or restate the verbal messages nonverbally." - DeVite Human Communications

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"You can repeat or restate the verbal messages nonverbally." - DeVite Human Communications

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Interviews bring feelings of anxiety and panic to most people. You know that the interviewer, as well as any one observing, judges you based on your responses. As a reaction to those feelings, you might repeat the same answers throughout the interview. As you try to think of something clever to say, you fall back on what you've already stated. Repeating yourself can work to your advantage or disadvantage in the interview.

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Is It Bad if I Keep Repeating Myself in an Interview?

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Interviews bring feelings of anxiety and panic to most people. You know that the interviewer, as well as any one observing, judges you based on your responses. As a reaction to those feelings, you might repeat the same answers throughout the interview. As you try to think of something clever to say, you fall back on ...