All kinds of communication tools have been around almost since mankind developed speech… but even though these concepts give anyone from a senior director of a multinational company to an intern on their very first day an advantage over everybody else, too many people find out about them and then, sadly, forget all about them again.
Here are three communication concepts to give you the upper hand during an initial interview, or a meeting with someone you hardly know.
You need to be focussed: on both sides of the interview table, real business issues need to be discussed. If you’re passionate about those issues, and know them inside out, back to front and upside down, too – in addition to all those sub-issues related to them – then this kind of focussed, in-depth knowledge will help to identify “good fit” associates, employees, vendors and clients. It’s also a way of saving valuable time – both yours and theirs – because if it’s painfully obvious a “good fit” isn’t happening, then it lets you explain why it’s not happening and draw the meeting to a close without giving offence.
You need to understand not just your own intentions, but also those of others: probing, but respectful, questions about intentions can go a long way to revealing how well the respondent’s thinking compares with the culture of an organisation. That’s especially true in the case of employment interviews, where it’s easier to gain an idea of the way the applicant relates to your organisational culture, and how much effort it would take to steer him or her in the right direction later on.
Don’t take unfavourable traits: even though someone may appear highly strung at a job interview, do remember that an interview is an artificial situation and there’s a great probability that person is completely different in real life and all that’s happening is that they’re suffering from a case of interview nerves. On the other hand, it may be that they want the job so much it’s clouding their thinking processes. It could be that the person who appears strident and judgemental is merely trying to hard to make a positive impression on you. A little careful probing instead of making an assumption could end up gaining you a very valuable employee.
Sazneo.com is a team management system that allows various employees within a business to collaborate effectively on multiple tasks internally or externally with clients. It is communication for all. Group conversations are secure.
