Secrets of Top Performers
Over fifty communication professionals gathered at Techmart in Santa Clara to hear Kathryn Yates from Watson Wyatt share lessons from top performing companies about their communication best practices.
In its third study since 2003, Watson Wyatt has surveyed over 750 companies to examine the relationship between an organization’s communication practices and its business performance.
Linking communications to ROI is a challenge most companies struggle to achieve. However, Kathryn’s presented tangible action steps relevant to any organization striving to connect effective communication practices to financial results.
In this interactive presentation, audience members had an opportunity to complete a brief effectiveness quiz to see how they measured up to the high performers.
ROI Study Key Findings
- 60% of companies surveyed have a centralized communications staff
- Half of internal and external communicators work in the same department
- Average expenditure on internal communications is $61 per employee
- Highly effective companies were 80% more likely to report lower turnover rates
- Firms with highly effective communications experienced a 47% higher total return to shareholders from 2002-2006
- Companies who significantly improve their communications effectiveness can increase their market value up to 15.7%
For more information, please download Kathryn’s presentation. Look forward to seeing you at our next event on March 13 at eBay featuring Social Media — How Companies Are Engaging Their Workforce.
Best regards,
Susan Karnstedt
SV-IABC President
susan@karnstedt.net
SV-IABC Wins Merit Award For Community Involvement
Thanks to our team for leading our successful community effort last year! The SV-IABC chapter has been recognized for outstanding chapter management with a community involvement award of merit. The award was announced at the 2008 Leadership Institute conference in San Antonio, Texas.
IABC’s Chapter Management Awards recognize leadership abilities, management skills, creativity and teamwork of outstanding volunteer chapter leaders worldwide. Congratulating IABC/Silicon Valley on its award, IABC President Julie Freeman, ABC*, APR**, said, “IABC’s chapter management awards represent best practices in chapter management and leadership and serve as benchmarks for other chapters. This award recognizes IABC/Silicon Valley’s dedicated team of volunteer leaders and members for their commitment towards promoting the goals and objectives of the organization at the local level.”
Read the complete press release online.
Mark Your Calendar — Upcoming Events
March 13
Social media: Representatives from some top Bay Area companies will discuss how they're using social media as an internal and external communications tool.
April 10
Great places to work: Communicators from companies who made the great places to work list will talk about what it means to be a great place to work and what communications plays in making the list.
May 8
The Non-verbal Advantage: Please join author Carol Kinsey Gorman as she shares the research behind her new book. You'll be amazed at the insights you'll gain into what the body language of others is saying to you and how much you'll learn about your own nonverbal signals. And when you apply this new understanding to your professional relationships, you'll find that the nonverbal advantage becomes a key to business success!
The Silent Language of Leadership
Carol Kinsey Gorman, Ph.D.
The chief executive officer of an oil company showed up at a refinery in a designer suit and tie to discuss the firm's affairs with rank-and-file operators, electricians, and members of the warehouse staff — dressed in their blue, fire-retardant overalls.
After being introduced and walking carefully to the front of the room, he removed his expensive wristwatch (let's call it a Rolex) and quite visibly placed it on the lectern. The unspoken message: “I'm a very important man, I don't like coming into dirty places like this, and I have exactly 20 minutes to spend with you.”
That message was, you understand, quite different from the words he actually used to begin his comments: “I'm happy to be with you today.”
Which do you think those refinery workers believed ... the CEO's spoken words or what his body language said?
All leaders express enthusiasm, warmth, and confidence — as well as arrogance, indifference, and displeasure through their facial expressions, gestures, touch, and use of space. If an executive wants to be perceived as credible and forthright, he or she has got to think “outside the speech” and recognize the importance of nonverbal communication.
When a leader stands in front of a thousand employees and talks about how much he welcomes their input, the message gets derailed if that executive hides behind a lectern, or leans back away from his audience, or puts his hands behind his back, or shoves them in his pockets, or folds his arms across his chest. All of those send closed nonverbal signals — when the intended message is really about openness.
Then there is the matter of timing. If a leader's gestures are produced before or as the words come out, she appears open and candid. However, if she speaks first and then gestures (as I have seen many executives do) it's perceived as a contrived movement. And at that point, the validity of whatever is said comes under suspicion.
Nonverbal communication also plays a critical role in making sure the work force truly receives and understands key messages. If a leader is going to talk about new initiatives, major change, strategic opportunities — or if he/she has to deliver bad news — my advice is to do so in person. Every research report on employee communications presents one consistent conclusion: Face-to-face communications is the employee's medium of choice. This is because in face-to-face encounters, our brains process a continual cascade of nonverbal cues that we use as the basis for building trust and professional intimacy — both of which are critical to high-level collaboration, persuasion, and communication.
There is no doubt that you can gain a professional advantage by learning how to use nonverbal communication more effectively. Getting out from behind the lectern so the audience can see your entire body, fully facing the audience, making eye contact, keeping your movements relaxed and natural, standing tall, using open arm gestures, showing the palms of your hands — all are silent signals of credibility and candor. And a good coach can help you find the gestures and facial expressions that are most congruent with the messages you want to convey.
But body language is more than a set of techniques. It is also a reflection of a person's internal state. In fact, the more someone tries to control emotions, the more likely they are to leak out nonverbally.
Here's a recent example: The corporate communicator who brought me into her company to coach an executive warned me that he was a “pretty crummy speaker.” And, after watching him at a leadership conference, I was in total agreement. It wasn't his words — they were carefully chosen and well rehearsed. It was, rather, how he looked when he spoke. Mechanical in all his gestures, this man's body was screaming: “I'm uncomfortable and unconvinced about everything I'm saying!”
The question: Could I help?
The answer: Not much.
Oh sure, I could find ways to make his movements less wooden and his timing more fluid. But if a person doesn't care about (or believe in) what he is saying, his gestures will automatically become lethargic and restricted. What the executive needed most was genuine enthusiasm and passion about the company's new strategic direction. Because what employee audiences saw when this business leader spoke was exactly how he really felt!
And, of course, learning to align body language with verbal messages is only one side of the nonverbal coin. The other side — and here is where leaders can really set themselves apart — is the ability to accurately read the nonverbal signals that employees and team members display.
Peter Drucker, the renowned author, professor and management consultant, understood this clearly. “The most important thing in communication,” he once said, “is hearing what isn't said.” Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., is an executive coach, author and keynote speaker who addresses association, government, and business audiences around the world. Her latest book and program topic is THE NONVERBAL ADVANTAGE - Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work. For more information, contact Carol by phone: 510-526-1727, email: CGoman@CKG.com, or through her websites: www.CKG.com and www.NonverbalAdvantage.com.
—
Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D.
Kinsey Consulting Services
Carol coaches executives and delivers keynote speeches and seminars to association and business audiences around the world. She can be reached by phone: +1-510-526-1727, email: CGoman@CKG.com, or through her web sites: www.CKG.com and www.NonverbalAdvantage.com.
Author of ten books, including:
- The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work
- This Isn't the Company I Joined -- How to Lead in a Business Turned Upside Down
- Ghost Story: A Modern Business Fable
- Creativity in Business
- Change-Busting: 50 Ways to Sabotage Organizational Change
- Adapting to Change: Making it Work for You
- The Human Side of High-Tech
Watch a video summary of Carol’s new book:
Sponsorships
We accept sponsorships for our IABC events as a way to offset the costs of running the event and offer greater value to our members. The sponsorship rates are $750 for an exclusive event sponsorship, and $500 for a co-sponsor (maximum of two for any event.)
In exchange, we offer the following benefits to event sponsors:
- Sponsor logo and company description included in all event materials and on the registration site
- Mention in the event e-mail blast to our 600+ members
- Two event passes
- Thank you during the event opening
- Display of promotional materials (as appropriate)
The sponsorships are first come, first serve. We will usually accept only two sponsors for any event.
If you are interested in sponsoring an event or have any questions, please contact John Robertson, VP of Sponsorships at jrobertson@roico.com.
IABC Leadership Institute
IABC’s Leadership Institute from a Former Student’s Point of View
Justine Pelina
As the Director of Education and a recent San Jose State University graduate, I registered for my first IABC Leadership Institute to network and get a first hand look at what other chapters are doing to reach students. I left Mineta San Jose International Airport, by myself on a plane bound for San Antonio, Texas not knowing what to expect. 30,000 feet in the air, I kept thinking what is this event like, who am I going to meet, what will I learn from this experience?
As soon as the plane landed, I embraced San Antonio’s historic Alamo and breathtaking Riverwalk. Then as any student would, I began to prepare for the Leadership Institute like an exam. I studied the agenda, highlighted and took thorough notes.
In three days, I attended all the activities and gained interesting ideas for our chapter. The “RU 404? Re: Stdnt Chptrz? WAN2TLK? Ltz Do! (Cultivating Student Chapters)” session was exactly what I was looking for.
Overall, from the welcoming reception to closing, I would say I passed LI with flying colors. I met fascinating people from all over the world and even from right here in the Bay Area. Most importantly, I learned how to be a better leader. Sign me up for LI 2009.
— Justine Pelina
Director of Education, SV-IABC
Jpelina79@yahoo.com
Chapter News
Volunteers
Want to get more out of your IABC membership? Becoming involved will help you broaden your network, sharpen your communication skills, and have fun in the process. Currently we have a need for the following from now until the end of May, 2008:
- Survey Analyst: Use your analyzing skills to identify trends and make recommendations from the raw data of our annual membership survey. Reports to President. Time: a few hours in the April-May timeframe for the annual survey.
- Meeting Director: Put the faces to the names of your fellow members by checking in attendees at the monthly meeting and recruit other checkers. Reports to VP of Finance. Time: 30 minutes a month + recruiting time.
- Meeting Checker: Be the first friendly face that meeting attendees see by checking in attendees at the monthly meeting. Reports to Meeting Director. Time: 30 minutes a month; can be for just a few months at a time.
- Meeting Greeter: Significantly increase your network with an easy way to introduce yourself — by greeting attendees before the monthly meeting. Reports to the VP of Membership. Time: 30 minutes a month; can be for just a few months at a time.
- Accreditation Program Director: Assist your colleagues in their quest for professional growth by managing the accreditation program. Reports to Past President. Time: 5 hours a month.
- Judge: Get a first-hand look at communications Best Practices by judging communications award entries from other chapters. Reports to Judging Director. Time: 3 hours per event.
- Independents Roundtable Director: Showcase your managerial flair by managing the Independents Roundtable monthly program. Reports to VP of Programs and Professional Development. Time: 10 hours a month.
- Dining & Dialogue Director: Get to know your fellow members in a more intimate setting by managing the Dining & Dialogue program. Reports to VP of Programs and Professional Development. Time: 7 hours, 2 times a year.
- Newsletter Writer: Sharpen your pencil and write brilliant prose for the chapter’s monthly newsletter. At the same time, you’ll gain greater visibility among the membership. Reports to Communications Director. Time: 2 hours a month.
If you are interested, please contact Yvonne Thomson, VP of Volunteers, at ythomson@ebay.com or Deborah Hoard, Director of Volunteers, at dhoard@get-net-results.com.
Feature Article
Podcasting Series: The New Conversation
Over the next few months I will be talking with communicators in various fields about how they are applying new ways of thinking and new tools to corporate communications.
Laura Roman
SV-IABC Director of Communications
laura.roman@hp.com
Paige Street: Team Innovation in Executive Communications
Biography
Paige Street has been involved in the communication process for large enterprises since she joined Texas Instruments as a writer in 1978. An early employee of Compaq Computer Corporation, she was a part of new product development teams that enabled the company to become the first to ever achieve Fortune 500 status in fewer than four years. And when Hewlett-Packard announced their intended acquisition of Compaq in September 2001, Street was quickly moved into the “clean room” — an intensive pre-merger effort intended to integrate systems, people and process, while avoiding the mistakes of prior high-tech mega-mergers. Thirty years later, she leads a team of communicators who actively support IT executives intently focused on the journey to transform Hewlett-Packard’s information technology.
You can contact Paige at Paige.Street@hp.com.
Podcast information:
Artist: Mofessor
Album: Mac Jams
Song: “Mo’s Mackin live @ Mac’s”
http://www.podsafeaudio.com/
News From IABC National
Win a 2008 International Conference registration for SV-IABC!
IABC will award a complimentary registration to the chapter with the largest percent of members registered for IABC's June 22-25 International Conference 2008 International Conference in New York. SV-IABC could win a Conference, Lunch and Gold Quill registration, which is a $1440 value. (Just remember to enter "Silicon Valley" when you register.) If we are the winning chapter, the complimentary registration will be raffled off at SV-IABC's May 8 event.
IABC spruces up web seminar series
Check out the new faces and fresh content added to IABC's 2008 web seminar schedule:
April 22 — Becoming a Resonant Leader
Presented in association with Harvard Business, US$349 member.
Silicon Valley Job Opportunities
Find listings and more on http://jobs.iabc.com
Please email current job postings to me for upcoming newsletters; please be sure to include a direct contact name and email address with your posting.
Laura Roman, SV-IABC Director of Communications
laura.roman@hp.com
About the IABC Silicon Valley
For nearly three decades, the Silicon Valley Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (SV-IABC) has provided a professional network and learning community for hundreds of Bay Area communicators committed to delivering strategic, integrated communications. SV-IABC brings together a passionate group focused on improving organizational effectiveness and delivering measurable results. In an environment fueled by innovation and growth, our members represent diverse disciplines within communications. For more information visit: www.sv.iabc.com.