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Are you communicating, or just talking?
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Are you communicating, or just talking?
A lot of money rides on the outcome of a recruiter`s verbal communication, but this is not traditionally an area that receives much attention, says trainer Ross Clennett.
Recruitment is a "verbal profession", he notes, where "successful outcomes are overwhelmingly accomplished through verbal skill, as distinct from written skill (e.g. solicitors or authors) or analytical skill (e.g. scientists or accountants)".
Heavy involvement in student theatre and politics - where Clennett learned to hone his skill with the spoken word - gave him a "head start" over other recruiters his age (22) when he entered the industry, he says.
"This included learning to use a combination of the components of the human voice (volume, pace, pitch, tone and timbre) to create maximum impact."
But today, he notes: "My observation of many recruiters is that they talk a lot but communicate very little. Communication effectiveness is measured by what the other person understood. It matters not what you were intending to communicate, the only thing that counts is what the other person took from what you said."
Here are his 10 recommendations for improving your verbal communication skills:
1. Slow down - "We are always speaking more quickly than we think we are, so reducing your speaking rate may sound odd to you but I promise it`s a relief to anyone listening to you."
2. Make one point or ask one question per sentence - "It didn`t seem to harm Molly Meldrum`s career but torturously long diatribes will see your listener`s attention wander and your message lost."
3. Avoid leading questions - "If you ask your candidate `are you looking for a job in the CBD?` it`s easy for the candidate to guess that the `right` answer is `yes`. An open question such as `what are your preferred options in terms of location for a job?` is far more likely to generate a truthful response."
4. Remove excess words - "`Would you accept an offer of $80k plus super?` is far more powerful than `the client is looking to offer $80k plus super, would you be okay with that?`"
5. Respond to a generalisation with a specific - "If the client says `I can interview anytime tomorrow` I suggest you respond with `what is the earliest time you can commence an interview and what is the latest start time for an interview and how much time should I ask each candidate to set aside for their interview?`"
6. Make specific claims rather than general statements - "`Last year my firm filled 83 qualified accounting roles with 36 different organisations, across 15 different sectors`, communicates much more about your capability than the blandness of `we are a boutique recruitment company who recruit a lot of qualified accounting roles with many reputable organisations`."
7. Slow down - "Did I mention that most recruiters talk too quickly?"
8. Cut out superlatives - "Describing every other candidate as `fantastic`, `brilliant` or `sensational` creates the dual problem of setting the client`s expectations unrealistically high and also making you sound like Natalie Bassingthwaite on So You Think You Can Dance. Enthusiastically asserting our professional opinion of a candidate should never be confused with sounding like a fawning groupie or desperate second-hand car dealer."
9. Use pitch, tone and emotion appropriately - "Waxing lyrical to candidates like they are your best friend is just as ineffective as deferentially sucking up to a client as if they had the power to grant you a lifelong supply of free chocolate. As a professional with a strong sense of purpose and identity people should experience consistency in the way you communicate to them, whether they are a client or candidate."
10. Slow down - "Just in case you had forgotten. Talking faster does not speed up placements."
Source:
http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=39619&strea
Recruitment is a "verbal profession", he notes, where "successful outcomes are overwhelmingly accomplished through verbal skill, as distinct from written skill (e.g. solicitors or authors) or analytical skill (e.g. scientists or accountants)".
Heavy involvement in student theatre and politics - where Clennett learned to hone his skill with the spoken word - gave him a "head start" over other recruiters his age (22) when he entered the industry, he says.
"This included learning to use a combination of the components of the human voice (volume, pace, pitch, tone and timbre) to create maximum impact."
But today, he notes: "My observation of many recruiters is that they talk a lot but communicate very little. Communication effectiveness is measured by what the other person understood. It matters not what you were intending to communicate, the only thing that counts is what the other person took from what you said."
Here are his 10 recommendations for improving your verbal communication skills:
1. Slow down - "We are always speaking more quickly than we think we are, so reducing your speaking rate may sound odd to you but I promise it`s a relief to anyone listening to you."
2. Make one point or ask one question per sentence - "It didn`t seem to harm Molly Meldrum`s career but torturously long diatribes will see your listener`s attention wander and your message lost."
3. Avoid leading questions - "If you ask your candidate `are you looking for a job in the CBD?` it`s easy for the candidate to guess that the `right` answer is `yes`. An open question such as `what are your preferred options in terms of location for a job?` is far more likely to generate a truthful response."
4. Remove excess words - "`Would you accept an offer of $80k plus super?` is far more powerful than `the client is looking to offer $80k plus super, would you be okay with that?`"
5. Respond to a generalisation with a specific - "If the client says `I can interview anytime tomorrow` I suggest you respond with `what is the earliest time you can commence an interview and what is the latest start time for an interview and how much time should I ask each candidate to set aside for their interview?`"
6. Make specific claims rather than general statements - "`Last year my firm filled 83 qualified accounting roles with 36 different organisations, across 15 different sectors`, communicates much more about your capability than the blandness of `we are a boutique recruitment company who recruit a lot of qualified accounting roles with many reputable organisations`."
7. Slow down - "Did I mention that most recruiters talk too quickly?"
8. Cut out superlatives - "Describing every other candidate as `fantastic`, `brilliant` or `sensational` creates the dual problem of setting the client`s expectations unrealistically high and also making you sound like Natalie Bassingthwaite on So You Think You Can Dance. Enthusiastically asserting our professional opinion of a candidate should never be confused with sounding like a fawning groupie or desperate second-hand car dealer."
9. Use pitch, tone and emotion appropriately - "Waxing lyrical to candidates like they are your best friend is just as ineffective as deferentially sucking up to a client as if they had the power to grant you a lifelong supply of free chocolate. As a professional with a strong sense of purpose and identity people should experience consistency in the way you communicate to them, whether they are a client or candidate."
10. Slow down - "Just in case you had forgotten. Talking faster does not speed up placements."
Source:
http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=39619&strea
