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Olivia Liddell - NDC London 2019 - Think Like a Trainer: Improving Your Communication Skills
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Think back to a time when you were in a conversation that could have gone better. Perhaps you said something the wrong way, or you walked away from the conversation not fully knowing if the other person even understood what you were trying to convey. Technical trainers rely on effective communication as the foundation of everything that we do. We help end users to learn how to use software and adjust to new workflows, through the process of constantly adapting to different backgrounds, skill levels, and learning styles. In this session, you’ll learn actionable strategies to begin thinking like a trainer, including: - Using active listening techniques to communicate with empathy. - Best practices for explaining technical concepts in non-technical terms. - Adjusting your communication approach for different communication styles. - Using problem solving skills to help you get unstuck during difficult conversations.
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Olivia Liddell - NDC London 2019 - Think Like a Trainer: Improving Your Communication Skills
- Think Like a Trainer: Improving Your Communication Skills Olivia Liddell @oliravi
- About Me ● Cloud Training Specialist at Cloudbakers ● Former Chicago Public Schools teacher ● First became interested in technology through hacking
- “A language is a system in which all the elements fit together,and in which the value of any one element dependson the simultaneous coexistence of all the others.” - Ferdinand de Saussure
- Agenda ● Best practices for explaining technical concepts in non-technical terms. ○ Active listening and empathy ● Adjusting your communication approach for different communication styles. ● Using problem solving skills to help you get unstuck during difficult conversations.
- Explaining technical concepts in non-technical terms
- ● Assumptions of prior knowledge or skill level. ○ “As I’m sure you already know…” ○ Just / simply / obviously ● Dismissive corrections. ○ “Well, actually…” ● Unnecessary technical jargon or acronyms. What to avoid:
- ● Use sequence adverbs when listing steps in a process: ○ First / next / then / finally ● Use shorter sentences. ● Check for understanding. ○ “Does that make sense?” ○ “What can I further clarify for you?” What to do:
- Active listening: Focus on Paraphrasing and Clarifying
- Paraphrasing and Clarifying: “What I hear you saying is…” “As I understand it, you’re having difficulty with…” “Can you tell me more about…?”
- Make relevant comparisons. ● Use metaphors and analogies that the other person can relate to. ● Don’t linger on the metaphor for too long. Connect it back to your main point as soon as you can. ● Have a few go-to examples ready to use. Practice!
- Make relevant comparisons. ● Multiple layers: Sandwich or lasagna! ● Many options to consider: Buffet! ● Different stages of production: Ingredients → Batter → Cake!
- Adjusting your communication approach for different styles
- Assertive Passive Aggressive
- Assertive Communication Characteristics ● Confident posture ● Attentive facial expression ● Enthusiastic tone of voice Verbal Cues ● “I believe we should…” ● “What alternatives do we have?” ● “In my opinion…”
- Assertive Communication How to Respond ● Mirror their body language. ● Show confidence and openness. ● Use “we/our/us” to emphasize collaboration and connectedness.
- Passive Communication Characteristics ● Low volume ● Up talk ● Slumping posture ● Avoiding eye contact Verbal Cues ● “This is probably wrong, but…” ● “I guess we could…” ● “...but only if that’s okay with you.”
- Passive Communication How to Respond ● Use positive body language. ● Acknowledge their contributions. ● Ask specific follow-up questions.
- Aggressive Communication Characteristics ● Loud and yelling tone of voice ● Talking over others ● Rigid posture ● Glaring Verbal Cues ● “You must…” ● “I’m right and you’re wrong.” ● “It must be done this way.”
- Aggressive Communication How to Respond ● Stay calm and pause before responding. ● Depersonalize the situation. ● Empathize with them. ● Be proactive, rather than reactive.
- Use problem-solving skills to help you get unstuck
- Problem-solving methodology ● Break the statement down into smaller pieces. ● Prioritize the pieces, but don’t overthink it. ● Solve them one at a time. ○ Choose a problem-solving strategy to assist you.
- Communication problem-solving strategies: Clarify Use a metaphorParaphrase Feel / Felt / FoundPositive framing
- “This needs to go back to the way it was before.” I’m feeling anxious... This might negatively affect other stakeholders. Change can be difficult for me. Positive framing Feel / Felt / Found Clarify
- ● Empathizing through Feel / Felt / Found: ● “I can understand why you might feel that way.” ● “I’ve worked with other clients who have also felt that it would be better to go back to the previous version.” ● “What I’ve found that can be helpful with adjusting is..."
- ● Positive framing: ● Assume positive intent. ● “I recognize that this change affects not just you, but also your entire department.” ● Remind yourself of what brought them to the conversation.
- Additional Resources ● MindTools: Metaphorical Thinking ● ACAS: Challenging Conversations and How to Manage Them ● Uncommon Schools: Teach Like a Champion ● Ferdinand de Saussure: Course in General Linguistics (1916)
- “A language is a system in which all the elements fit together,and in which the value of any one element dependson the simultaneous coexistence of all the others.” - Ferdinand de Saussure
Editor's Notes
- Swiss linguist in the early 20th century (1916) Known as both the Father of Structuralism and the Father of Modern Linguistics
- Poll 1: “Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled with trying to explain technical concepts in non-technical terms.” (hands down) Poll 2: “Raise your hand if you tend to over-explain things when talking about technical concepts.” When I over-explain something, it’s usually either because I don’t know the topic well enough (so I keep repeating the same things to make it sound like I do) or because I know it very well, and I want to share ALL of my knowledge with everyone! In this section, we’ll also talk about metaphors, as a strategy for anyone who struggles with not knowing how to get started with explaining technical terms.
- Transition: When we know something really well and in depth, this often makes us want to share more details than the other person actually needs.
- Story about Don’s class: Raising hand to speak, and then having him ask, “What did the person who spoke before you just say?”
- So far we’ve talked about how to avoid over-explaining concepts. On the other side of this, some of you might struggle with not quite knowing how to get started, and you feel that you can’t find the words to describe what you want to say. Example: Cow milking and filtering data.
- Communication styles can be context-specific, so it’s important to not associate a single communication style with someone’s personal identity.
- Learning how to respond to this style can be especially helpful for people who tend to have a more passive communication style.
- Learning how to respond to this style can be especially helpful for people who tend to have a more passive communication style.
- Example: Someone who came up to me before a training and was very friendly, told me she had a lot of questions and was excited to learn. But then during the training, she didnt ask anything. She stayed quiet the whole time, and her entire demeanor and presence became a lot more passive as more senior employees started to take over. So afterwards, i used these strategies to change how i was communicating with her. Use positive body language to engage them (open posture, maintain good eye contact, smile, etc.) Acknowledge their contribution. (“That’s interesting.” “That’s a great question.”) Ask specific follow-up questions. “What do you see that makes you say that?” “In your experience, which approach tends to work best?”)
- Example: Someone who came up to me before a training and was very friendly, told me she had a lot of questions and was excited to learn. But then during the training, she didn’t ask anything. She stayed quiet the whole time, and her entire demeanor and presence became a lot more passive as more senior employees started to take over. So afterwards, i used these strategies to change how i was communicating with her. Use positive body language to engage them (open posture, maintain good eye contact, smile, etc.) Acknowledge their contribution. (“That’s interesting.” “That’s a great question.”) Ask specific follow-up questions. “What do you see that makes you say that?” “In your experience, which approach tends to work best?”)
- Example: “I have no idea what youre talking about, and you’re just doing a really bad job at training us right now. Who else here agrees with me? “ Use positive body language, especially if the other person isn’t. Stay calm; breathe deeply and count to 3 before responding. Depersonalize the situation and try your best to empathize with them. Instead of being reactive (what’s wrong), focus on being proactive (how to solve the problem). “I can see how that might be frustrating for you. Here’s what we can do to solve this…”
- Example: “I have no idea what youre talking about, and youre just doing a really bad job at training us right now. Who else here agrees with me? “ Use positive body language, especially if the other person isn’t. Stay calm; breathe deeply and count to 3 before responding. Depersonalize the situation and try your best to empathize with them. Instead of being reactive (what’s wrong), focus on being proactive (how to solve the problem). “I can see how that might be frustrating for you. Here’s what we can do to solve this…”
- Explain that technical problem solving usually involves a lot more steps. But since this is done in a real-time conversation, I wanted to distill it down to the most straightforward framework that you can actually feel comfortable with using in a conversation. Unpacking metaphor: A suitcase, vs. all of the separate pieces that are contained within it.
- Transition to Homer slide: “If I do use a problem-solving approach, the structure helps me to stay focused and communicate effectively. When I don’t take a problem-solving approach, and I try to just wing it, here’s what happens.”
- Example context: G Suite migration and potential loss of features This can be considered a difficult conversation because the client’s ideal timeline and/or outcome might not align with what is actually possible or feasible.
- Transition: Positive framing!
- Remember what brought them to the chair.
- Pronounced “AY-kas.” (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) provides free and impartial information and advice to employers and employees on all aspects of workplace relations and employment law.
- Language is very complex. It has a structure that allows it to be broken down into any number of different pieces. These smaller pieces are what help us to see that there’s a lot that goes into not just what we say, but also how we say it. So as you begin to use the strategies that we’ve discussed today, you’ll improve your communication skills, as you’re moving forward and putting all of the pieces together. Thank you.
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