Speaking a Language Clients Understand Austin Kirkbride August 24, 2017 We are passionate about change. We are social workers, scientists, behaviorists, philosophers, and physicians of change because we love to help people, crunch metrics, fix things, and ponder them. We each have a way of feeding our passion for change. And yet we all share a common ailment we forget to speak their language.

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS. 3 5 6 8 “Your expertise of English blinds you from seeing some letters. You know how to read so well that you can hear the sounds of some letters as you read over them.”

The Curse of Knowledge LECTURE: when we understand something, we find it hard to think about it from the perspective of someone who does not understand it Means something to you, but it's not at all obvious to other people.  And therein lies the danger – you think you are communicating effectively, but that's only because you already know what you mean; people who don't, have a hard time understanding what you are trying to say.” It’s also easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the more you speak “change speak” the more you sound like you know what you’re talking about. You are the expert, so you should be talking the talk, right?

Tappers vs Listeners Trader Joe’s employee mission – “to bring our customers the best food and beverage values and the information to make informed buying decisions.” FedEx employee mission - “absolutely, positively” arrive overnight In 1990, a Stanford University graduate student in psychology named Elizabeth Newton illustrated the curse of knowledge by studying a simple game in which she assigned people to one of two roles: “tapper” or “listener.” Each tapper was asked to pick a well-known song, such as “Happy Birthday,” and tap out the rhythm on a table. The listener’s job was to guess the song. Over the course of Newton’s experiment, 120 songs were tapped out. Listeners guessed only three of the songs correctly: a success ratio of 2.5%. But before they guessed, Newton asked the tappers to predict the probability that listeners would guess correctly. They predicted 50%. The tappers got their message across one time in 40, but they thought they would get it across one time in two.

Aware Attention Attempt Adopt LECTURE: So what is a solution? As an example, there are the 4 A’s Many have seen this – not new. Often used as a communication approach, but I’ve found it useful to describe the change approach to the unenlightened NCMP – “Non-Change-Management-People” It’s a simple way to help those who aren’t as cursed as we are to understand how the approach to change can work for them. There are others – find them. QUESTION: Anyone think of anything now?

Self-Awareness Pay Attention Attempt to find a clear way to talk about change client-by-client Adopt a different attitude about what they need to hear – not what we think they need to hear Don’t try to prove your knowledge, rather, speak the client’s language. Find the way to reach them before you start to dazzle them with your brilliance. Self- awareness Paying attention to the audience we’re talking to Attempting to find a clear, concise way of talking about change And adopting a different attitude about understanding what they need – not what we think they need to hear Different spin on the 4 A’s, isn’t it? Many may know these as communication catalysts – I mean steps – to helping an organization through change.

Their Speak + Change Speak = Understanding Combating lingo Making tea is easy! Start with water with around 150 parts per million (PPM) of balanced mineral content and add 2 grams of tea and boil to 180 degrees. Steep for 3-4 minutes. Be self-aware Listen with the ear of a new employee Tell a story Ask someone unfamiliar or new to our field to help Start at their level and make them care enough to want to learn more Think of your conversations like equations: TS + CS = U Their Speak + Change Speak = Understanding

Their Speak + Change Speak = Understanding Self-Awareness Pay Attention Attempt to find a clear way to talk about change client-by-client Adopt a different attitude Thank you Be self-aware Listen with the ear of a new employee Tell a story Ask someone unfamiliar or new to our field to help Start at their level and make them care enough to want to learn more Think of your conversations like equations: TS + CS = U Their Speak + Change Speak = Understanding