Can You Hear Me Now?

Can You Hear Me Now?

“Did you say something?…Are you there?”

Too often we find ourselves repeating the same information over and over again. Whether we’re at home or in the workplace, we seem to spend more time repeating our information than giving new information to our employees. This can be frustrating; especially in the workplace!

Constantly repeating one’s self can really be a downer! It can cause burnout, stress, and depression.

Gettin’ Noticed

MiltonLook at Milton in the classic movie “Office Space” as an example of employee burnout. His boss continually talked down to him, spoke through him, and didn’t listen to what he had to say.  Consequently, Milton eventually set the building on fire. I think he got noticed after that display or resentment…

Sheesh! What does it take to get noticed in the workplace?

On the other end of the recognition spectrum, try to think of someone in your workplace who does seem to get the limelight often enough. Many questions come to mind:

  • What attributes do they have?”
  • What behaviors do they exhibit?”
  • “Does your boss seem to listen to them?”
  • “When will my boss listen to me?”
  • Have you felt that way? I certainly know that I have.

    Gettin’ My Turn

    It seems that only certain people tend to grab the limelight when it’s just in our reach. What can we do? How can us “unnoticeables” become noticed? Smile…Be optimistic about your current position…Make yourself shine. Just be a happy worker and get promoted.

    Seems simple, right?

    There are some important ways to employ your ideas to make sure that you are heard and respected in the workplace. One important thing to remember is to properly research the topic about which you want to be understood. Another important thing to remember is to have all of the facts ready for any questions that may come up.

    Present the facts confidently and own the information.

    Gettin’ the Facts

    Also, remember to talk about how you are able to impact your topic at hand. Become a leader on your topic and seek out the information yourself. Also remember to control your emotions. When you present facts, you are much less likely to tie it to how you feel.

    Facts convey no emotion and tell the listeners the current situation as it really is.

    Another aspect to be heard at work is to make a positive impact, even a small one. The only person you can change is you. Take the FISH! model of work. Look for ways to make work fun. Try to implement new strategies to get yourself out of your rut. Talk with your boss about developing a FISH! committee.

    If you have ideas about how to improve your work area and productivity for you and colleagues, get the facts, and present them to your boss.

    You will be surprised how facts can influence decisions. That is a lesson I have only recently learned myself. When the facts are presented, the reader or listener is then given the opportunity to decide what to do with it instead of trying to seek more information.

    So how have you felt when your boss didn’t seem to listen to you? Did it cause you frustration? Did you ever have fleeting thoughts of burning down the building? Or did you try to work on being a better communicator? And when it comes to others around you, how are you doing at trying to become a better listener. Are you developing those skills on a regular basis?

    ——————–
    Greggory Wright is Quality Improvement Coordinator at Scott and White Health Plan
    He is a Ph.D candidate in Industrial Organizational Psychology

    Email | LinkedIn | Web | Blog

    Related articles by Zemanta

    Enhanced by Zemanta

    L2L Contributing Author

    Categories

    Subscribe!