Page 60 - DENG102_COMMUNICATION_SKILLS_II

Unit 3: Conversation Building

notes

Note the Phantom system

General Montgomery, Supreme Commander of Eighth Army in North Africa during WW
II (and later in Europe), received – like every Commander – the routine situation reports
on a daily basis, which his staff prepared, next to those from the different units of his
vast army. But he did not want to only rely on these routine channels of information.
Montgomery took the revolutionary step of establishing his “Phantom” system of liaison
officers. These were carefully selected young soldiers chosen for their bravery, their
initiative, their manners and their independence. This corps d’élite had unusual powers.
They had carte blanche to travel anywhere and observe anything, but had no power of
command. They were the eyes and the ears of the commander. Each morning they drove
out to the farthermost parts of the front, using motorcycles, jeeps, or aircraft (Piper Cubs)
and then returned to report directly to Montgomery late in the afternoon. They just told
him what they saw. In this way Montgomery, in addition to the routine daily reports from
the different units, also received the latest first-hand eye witness view from the entire
front.
Despite the special position of these young men there was never any friction between
them and the units they visited, because of the manner in which Montgomery handled this
group of liaison officers and the information they gathered.

3.2.3 characteristics of Good conversation

People spend more than half of their entire day at their work places, so they are bound to be
involved in informal conversation. Sometimes out of choice, sometimes due to obligations.
But even an informal conversation at work place has some protocols. Actually, not essentially
protocol, they may be called as characteristics of a healthy informal conversation.
1. Talk in their Terms: Studies have proven that the relationship is better and more productive
if you talk with prospective customers at the same rate of speech that they talk with you,
because people usually like to listen at the same speed that they talk.
Similarly, different people have different preferred methods of communication and they
often send messages in the manner they like to receive messages. Some people prefer to
communicate in person; others leave a lot of voice-mail messages; others use e-mail; others
use memos; others, maybe the company intranet.

When we hire people from much larger corporations, we find that they often alienate people
by relying too heavily on memos. In any company or department, communication will
be stronger and people will work together better if you can standardize communication
methods.
2. Have a Positive Body Language: Body language accounts for more than half of what other
people respond to and make assumptions about when they are connecting with you. And
more often than not, you’re not consciously thinking about it. By becoming conscious,
you’re 50 ahead of the game.
You can’t multi-task speaking and listening. If you’re talking, you’re not listening. This
rule also applies to the talking inside your head. If you’re thinking intently about what you
want to say, you’re not listening to what is being said.

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