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u s in e s s a n d M a n a g e m e n t

Communication Skills for thePracticing ProfessionalPart 2

By Richard B. Hayter Ph.D. RE . Presidential Member Fellow ASHRAE

In the March 2004 issue oi ASHRAE Journal we discussed

the importance of honing co mm unication skills to effec-tively convey ideas, regardless of whether they are focusedon the technology of our business or the management of it. Wecan all significantly improve these sk ills if we make a consciouseffort to do so.

In that article, we concluded with some tips on effectivelistening. Here we will focus on another important part ofcommunication—speaking.

Most of us are com fortable speaking one-on-one with anassociate or within a small group but are generally less com-fortable speaking to a larger group, particularly one m ade upof individuals we do not know, or whom we feel may be critical

of our presentation. Fortunately, many of the techniques usedin conveying an idea to a small group of friends are identical tothose used with a larger audience. R emem bering that simple factmay give us the needed confidence to speak to a larger g roup.

A political candidate once used the campaign slogan Listen,Care and Respond. It is my opinion that those three w ordscan help us prepare for a presentation, whether it is for a smallgroup of p rs or a large group of strangers.

Listen to those to whom you will speak. This is a criticalfirst step in defining opportun ities and problem s. Here, listenis more than just hearing. It means learning about the particularneeds of your audience. It is important that you know your

audience before you speak. Care for your audienc e by making the effort to understand

its needs and providing specific solutions. Do not simply dustoff an old speech, but prepare materials that directly relate tothe group's current needs. A lways build on the strengths of youraudience, as you understand them. Christopher Reeve said it

best when he stated, When you look at people, observe theirabilities, not their disabilities.

Resp ond to the needs of your audience through your com-munication w ith them . Certainly parts of previous presentationson the same topic will be valuable resources, but it is importantto customize your presentation to include information that you

learned as you listened. Develop techniques that encouragefeedback as you speak. Simply asking if there are questions

may not be sufficient. You may need to introduce some probing

issues to get preliminary responses.I learned some simple but effective techniques from professionals during comm unication training. One of those methodinvolves associating mean ing to each letter in the word speak .This is similar to the technique we shared in the 2004 columnwith the word listen.

• S = S t ruc tu re . As you prepare your speech, consider thestructure of the presentation and share that structure withyour audience. It will help people follow your outline andunderstand how each part builds on the next.

• P = Purpose . What is the purpose of your speech? Is it

to be informative? Is it to be persuasive? Is it purely for

entertainment, or is it a combina tion? Regardless, as trivialas it may seem, make sure you know. A t times, it's appropri-ate to tell your audience the purpose upfront, particularlyif you are trying to be persuasive. Don't wait for them totry to figure out your point at the end.

• = E n t h u s ia s m . Be enthusiastic about your topic. Ifyou're not enthus iastic, your audience certainly will not beParaphrasing Henry Ford, Enthus iasm is the irresist-ible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.

• A = Audience . As previously said, know your audienceand its needs. Make sure you listen, care, and respond.

• K = Knowledge. This probably sounds insignificant be-

cause you obviously have knowledge about your subjectbut many speakers fail when confronted with a challengeand do not have the knowledge to respond. Study yoursubject before you speak and then study some more.

A SHRA E provides a number of valuable resources to assiswith our engineering decisions and also offers nontechnicamaterials to enhanc e our professional skills. One such material TheA SHRA E Speakers Manual,is available on the ASHRAEWeb site at www .ashrae.org/speakers.

Speaking before ASHRAE members is an honor and a joy. I

hope you will give it a try.Richard B. Hayter, Ph.D., RE., is associate dean of engi-

neering for external affaires at Kansas State University inManhattan, Kan.

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