In my last post I shared How to Hear What a Person Needs in their Interactions with You: Blending with Need-Style.
I covered the four communication needs: action, accuracy, approval and appreciation. We talked about how these four needs get communicated through the style or structure by which a person speaks. And there are indicators, when you notice them that allow you to speak to the need.
This post will cover how you can speak to the need for two of the communication needs: action and accuracy.
Action = Get to the point
The person with a need for action will speak directly, and to the point. There’s no mincing of words here, as momentum and movement are of a high priority. “Just do it.” She is likely to speak in a commanding and authoritative manner. Blending reveals that when a person is direct and to the point, you want to be direct and to the point in dealing with her.
Accuracy = Give the details
The person with a need for accuracy will speak indirectly, offer a lot of detail, and take her time before arriving at the point. You may find yourself wondering… about the point of it, but eventually she’ll get there.
“It is, perhaps, potentially important to take into consideration a variety of options and possibilities before drawing a conclusion that might prove erroneous over time. Therefore, after careful consideration, and having thoroughly examined all possibilities, one is left with the idea that perhaps we ought to do it.”
When accuracy is important, she is likely to ask questions to acquire information, or make long statements to establish facts and stimulate thinking. Blending reveals that when a person is indirect and detailed, you want to be indirect and detailed in your communications with her.
Mull this over. Give me your thoughts. Have you encountered these needs? Do you have other ways of communicating powerfully with people with the need for action and accuracy? I’d love to compare notes with you.
Next post, we’ll cover how to speak to the needs of approval and appreciation.
Change your mind. Change your life. Change your world.
Be well,
Dr. Rick
Related posts:
1. How to Hear What a Person Needs in their Interactions with You: Blend with Need-Style
2. WSJ’s “Avoiding Conflicts, Too-Nice Boss…” Steps You Can Take
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Dr. Rick,
Great post!
I’ve been a Toastmaster for some years now – always eager to improve my communication skills. Unlike some of the Toastmaster projects I have been exposed to, I find the concepts you provide here both practical and refreshing.
I look forward to visiting your site often. Thanks for sharing your experience and expertise.
Galib
Very nice distillation.
The most important thing I do is reset my own expectations. If I know it’s a sprint vs. a marathon, I can get my head in the right game, and that alone makes a big diff.
I got trained in PQ/PA (precision-question / precision answers), which means I can cut to the chase or cut through fluff, but I balance that based on the scenario and interaction. It’s great when I have somebody who wants to get to the point. It’s not great when somebody wants to chew on the experience or elaborate. To be safe, I generally assume somebody wants dialogue, then tailor it from there.
Separate, but related — Now I try to figure out somebody’s convincer strategy. I’ve wasted so much time until I finally realized that no matter what I say, my manager doesn’t care until 3 other people say it. It’s his concinvcer strategy. When you don’t know the convincer strategy, communication is like a buckshot approach (spray a bunch of stuff and hope something hits the mark
I’m in the process of learning some new techniques, but a quick tip one of my mentors shared with me is, if it’s a debate or argument, have a frame:
1. facts – look it up
2. policies, which is better. decide
3. values – subjective
#2 you resolve by an agreement on outcomes and metrics.
OK, one more quick point — I’ve found it helpful to pick up somebody’s preferred learning styles (concrete/random, concrete/linear, abstract/random, abstract/linear) If they want concrete, I get concrete before I abstract.
Thanks for the comments, Galib and J.D.! Keep coming back, I have so much more to share!
be well,
Rick
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