5 Mar What Does Your Handshake Say About You?
A handshake is one of the first things a client or colleague notices about you, shaping their perception of your strength, confidence, and ability to connect. Regardless of age or seniority, a well-executed handshake sets the right tone for any professional interaction. As a communication coach, I work with clients to ensure their handshakes convey confidence, approachability, and credibility.
The Power of a Handshake
Dating back to ancient Greece, the handshake has long symbolized trust and goodwill. Over time, it has become a universal sign of respect and connection. In professional settings today, it remains a key nonverbal cue that influences first impressions.
The Handshake Spectrum: What Does Yours Say About You?
Your handshake can project confidence and warmth, or unintentionally signal weakness or aggression. Use this 1-to-5 handshake scale to assess where you stand:
Level 1 – Soft touch, limp wrist, curled fingers; Impression Conveyed: Perceived as weak or lacking confidence
Level 2 – Light grip, minimal eye contact; Impression Conveyed: May suggest disinterest or insecurity
Level 3 – Firm grip, good eye contact, brief but controlled; Impression Conveyed: Conveys warmth, confidence, and approachability
Level 4 – Very firm grip, prolonged eye contact; Impression Conveyed: Can be seen as domineering or aggressive
Level 5 – Crushing grip, excessive shaking, or duration; Impression Conveyed: Viewed as overly aggressive, possibly intimidating
The ideal handshake falls in the Level 3-4 range: firm but not overpowering, with eye contact and a brief but solid grip.
Tips for the Perfect Handshake
- Practice Regularly: Test your handshake with trusted colleagues or friends and ask for feedback.
- Maintain Eye Contact: This establishes trust and connection.
- Be Mindful of Hygiene: Keep your hands clean and dry. If you tend to get sweaty palms, touch a metal surface (like a doorknob) beforehand to cool and dry your hands.
- Match the Energy: Your handshake should reflect the level of enthusiasm you bring to the conversation.
A handshake is more than just a formality; it’s a powerful communication tool that can set you up for success. Ensure your handshake conveys confidence, warmth, and professionalism
For more on the history and significance of the handshake, check out this article: The History of the Handshake.
15 Jan From Jargon to Clarity
In technical fields, your expertise is invaluable—but when sharing complex information with non-technical listeners, the goal isn’t to showcase your depth of knowledge. Instead, focus on helping them understand and trust what you’re saying.
As a communication coach with 30 years of experience, my advice is simple: “It’s not about you.” Your listeners need clarity, not complexity. Tailoring your message to how they want to receive it fosters understanding and builds trust. Here are three tips to simplify technical communication:
1. Start with What Matters Most
Begin with the key takeaway your listener cares about, then add the necessary context. Ask yourself, “What do they need to know right now?”
2. Use Analogies and Visuals
Relate complex concepts to everyday ideas. For example, explain a cell’s function as a factory or use a graph instead of raw data to illustrate trends.
3. Acknowledge Uncertainty Confidently
Transparency is key, but don’t overwhelm your listener with technicalities. Say, “While some data is still emerging, here’s what we know and how we’re addressing it.”
Before and After: Simplifying a Response
Question: “What’s the mechanism of action for this drug?”
Before: “This drug is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the PD-1 receptor, blocking its interaction with PD-L1, restoring T-cell activity in the tumor microenvironment.”
After: “This drug reactivates the immune system to attack cancer. Think of it like flipping a switch that helps the body see and fight the cancer cells again.”
Again, communicating technical information effectively isn’t about proving your expertise. By focusing on their needs and simplifying your approach, you’ll ensure your message creates the impact you want.
19 Aug Are You Seeing What I’m Saying?
In a fast-paced digital-hybrid work environment, effective communication is crucial for success. Speakers want to be both heard and understood. One of the best tools we use to help clients is lining up their verbal and nonverbal cues.
Our message becomes clearer and more impactful when our words and body language sync. We listen with our eyes.
By using appropriate hand gestures, facial expressions, and body posture, we can emphasize key points, convey confidence, and establish rapport with our listeners. This alignment enhances understanding, engages attention, and helps overcome distractions in a bustling workplace. Your body posture can convey enthusiasm, confidence, and sincerity, reinforcing the spoken words. A good speaker coach will help you master the art of synchronized communication, leading to more effective communication and collaboration.
13 Mar Controlling Nervousness Before Speaking
Whether you call it ’nervousness” or “anxiety’ or “fear of speaking,” it is a widespread experience for many people worldwide; you are not alone. The good news is that it can be controlled. This complimentary lesson will discuss the ‘real causes’ of this experience and some tools and techniques to control the nervousness.
Projecting Executive Presence Online
How to Lead from the Shoulders Up
Leading requires a lot of skill and effort. In today’s remote work environment, it requires even more. We know what is effective, required, and preferred in leaders who are leading remotely.This complimentary lesson provides a clear picture of the skills you need to be an effective leader in our remote business world.
5 Mar ChatGPT: When Your Technical Skills Are Eclipsed, Your Humanity Will Matter More Than Ever
That’s the title of an insightful article from The New York Times by Aneesh Raman and Maria Flynn. It states “A.I. could usher in a world of work that is anchored more, not less, around human ability.” As speech coaches, we can only respond with “Whew!”
Fascinated, we turned to A.I. and asked ChatGPT to summarize it. Here’s what we got:
The article discusses a significant shift in the skills valued in the economy, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (A.I.). While technical skills have been highly sought after, they are increasingly susceptible to automation by A.I. On the other hand, “soft skills” such as communication, empathy, and critical thinking are becoming more crucial and durable in the workforce.
It highlights the need to rethink workforce training, moving away from an overemphasis on technical skills like coding and data analysis. Despite the current focus on technical education due to its perceived competitiveness in the job market, there’s a growing realization of the importance of human-centric skills.
The emergence of generative A.I. is expected to impact various professions, potentially affecting all types of work to some extent. As A.I. takes over routine tasks, it’s predicted that future job roles will focus more on collaboration and communication, emphasizing people skills.
The article emphasizes the need to recognize and prioritize human capabilities in the age of A.I., rather than succumbing to fears about job displacement. It stresses the importance of people skills in effectively working with A.I. systems and underlines the demand for such skills across industries.
Leaders across sectors are urged to develop new educational approaches that align with the evolving demands of the economy, placing equal importance on training in people skills alongside technical skills. This involves reevaluating the prioritization of science and engineering over humanities in education.
Employers are encouraged to invest in educating employees not only in A.I. tools but also in people skills and interpersonal collaboration. The shift towards valuing human potential alongside A.I. could lead to increased equity in the workforce and broader societal benefits.
Ultimately, the article suggests that the future economy will be characterized by a “relationship economy,” where people skills and social abilities are paramount. This shift calls for a reimagining of what is possible for humans, both individually and collectively, and underscores the importance of investing in and valuing human capabilities.
As speech coaches, we work on refining these tools. It’s about creating muscle memory and a good coach can help you build that.
You can find the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/opinion/ai-economy-jobs-colleges.html