No matter where we sit around the business table, we sling our professional spiel. Our buzz words, our technical words, our “I’m part of The Club” words.
In our minds, we showcase our expertise. However, in the minds of our audiences, teams and stakeholders, we just may be showing off. About how smart we are. And how smart they are not.
Think about the experiential value of our professional spiel. Are we inclusive? Or, something else, entirely? Intentionally or not?
Our professional spiel creates stakeholder and customer experiences. For better or for worse. What do we really communicate?
Now, most of us have heard newbies (including ourselves) slinging professional lingo around in presentations. Because they were coached or managed that using these terms makes them “sound” more experienced than they, in fact, are at the moment.
And then what happens?
Next, real-deal more experienced professionals call them out; test their newbie acumen against experiential reality. No matter how much role-playing occurs in training exercises, what business reality “sounds like” and “looks like”, real-time, is neither artificial nor staged.
Then, again, most of us have heard seasoned professionals (perhaps even ourselves), slinging around professional lingo during presentations. We rely on lingo which intimidates the one half of the room which has absolutely no clue what our big fancy terms mean.
Do we establish our professional credibility? Oh, yes! But, at what price? If we seek buy in, well, no, thank you. Because instead of an invitation for everyone seated around the table to communicate and collaborate, the clear message we deliver is one of marginalization. Even professional elitism.
Yet, some of us experience the credibility and buy in generated by confident professionals who truly understand the power of professional spiel.
First, these leaders separate the terms from their actual meaning, syntax. Then, these leaders carefully select alternate phrases which clearly communicate to everyone seated around the table. Regardless of pay grade, job title or level of education.
Because these leaders understand that gaining the buy in to accomplish big hairy audacious goals, and those little thorny in-between tasks, requires that everyone feel part of the solution.
When that happens, and some of us have been part of these types of teams, everyone takes their seat at the table. And moves beyond being classified as either innovator or order-taker. Knowledge worker or manual worker. Business person or STEM professional.
When that happens everyone does, indeed, have each other’s backs. We all get to the finish line together.
Have you ever been on a collaborative, communicative team that was “magic”? What was the impact of your experience on your professional trajectory? Would you like to create this type of team, moving forward?
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Babette Ten Haken brings her One Millimeter Mindset™ speaking programs and workshops to organizations and associations, like yours, who want to leverage collaborative business models and profitable workforces to retain the customers you work so hard to win. Her programs catalyze communication and collaboration between disparate or siloed groups, especially in industries with technically-focused stakeholders.
She is a member of SME, ASQ, SHRM and the National Speakers Association. Her playbook of communication hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com. Babette’s speaker profile is on the espeakers platform.
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