The I in iGROW

 

The I in iGROW is the first step to enhancing professionalism and is extremely useful when preparing for your upcoming conversation with clients or colleagues. Let's dive into the concept of Social Communication Styles.

 

Before I go into more details about Social Communication Styles, let me share a few general aspects of communication. Communication obviously works in two directions. However, we often share a message with our own mindset being leading. This probably means that we only reach people who have the same attitude towards the specific subject. This may seem a bit cryptic, so let me clarify with an example from my practice as a business coach.

 

I was working with an innovative and inspirational entrepreneur. His business was growing very fast. He asked me to review a meeting with his new board of directors. He presented a plan to triple the turnover in the year to come. But, being the enthusiastic entrepreneur, he did not understand why only one board member favoured his plan. He came disappointed to me with his story. 

 

What's going on here?

In the last few years, his business has grown immensely. It meant more employees, more structures and more plans to implement. So he decided to install a board of directors and choose a very heterogenic group of experienced entrepreneurs. Very carefully, he selected different types of personalities. I asked him if he had done this consciously? With a big smile on his face, he confirmed this. 

Very good, I said. So when you prepared your presentation, what was your strategy? I created a presentation with the sole purpose to get support from all board members for my expansion approach, based on an innovative, bold, and aggressive market strategy. So before going into the meeting room, I felt energized and confident. But, how disappointing were the reactions of three of the four board members! I couldn't get through to them. They heard my words, but it looked like the message did not arrive. 

 

I asked him how he prepared himself for the meeting? He starred at me a bit, annoyed. Before working on the presentation, did you use the Social Styles Method to plot all the board members into the matrix? Sorry, no! I focused on the presentation itself. It was very inconvenient of me because you have often pointed it out to me in the past. So I needed to focus on whom I would deliver the message. And I realize now that I created the content based on my paradigm, being a Promoting Style.

 

Let's summarize a few tips to follow!

1. Before going to a meeting and creating content, you first think about the audience. Who is going to listen to your message?
2. The easy way is to write the content from your perspective, being a specific Social Style. Then, force yourself to write three more versions connecting to the other three styles. Or make sure that the complete message contains arguments linking to all four social types.
3. Evaluate every time you have adjusted your message to the four styles, what approach was successful and which was not.

 

Visit the specific approaches connected to the four Social Communication Styles. It will help you model your message accordingly and create more impact and success!