Communication Style Paper
AA Professor Course 6315 Feb 26, 2013 COMMUNICATION STYLES: ANALYSIS OF THE INTERACTION This paper analyzes a specific interaction. The purpose is to see how changing the communication style according to the subjects involved can have different outcomes. The topics covered in this paper are (1) Subjects Involved, (2) The Specific Interaction and Analysis, and (3) Conclusion. Subjects Involved The nature of the two subjects involved in the study makes the analysis interesting due to their opposite communication styles. Any miscommunication between the two can result in undesired outcomes.
The following paragraphs describe the two subjects and their communication styles followed by the discussion of the particular interaction and its analysis. Subject 1: The Candidate “Sales Manager” The one thing that separates the Sales Manager, Brian, from everyone else in the office is his desire to be liked by everyone. Brian cannot handle rejection of any kind. He is the person to approve any changes in Sales recommendations to the investors. Convincing Brian to do anything other than what he wants is quite a task. Each time one is about to convince Brian, something magically appears that takes him away to a different task.
Subject II: The Noble “Me” I am the second subject. Being a “Noble,” getting into long discussions over rather straight forward issues is difficult for me. Arguments are pretty simple for me. The solution is either this or that. I have a need to make a decision and move on to the next task with the least amount of time wasted. The Specific Interaction and Analysis Brian has been the Sales Manager for the last five years. The office environment is open and democratic. All important issues are discussed in weekly friday morning meetings.
Agendas for monday morning sales meetings are finalized on friday along with the recommendations for different investment properties to be presented to the investors the following week. In the weekly discussions, Brian’s job is to listen to the recommendations of the Sales Team which is led by me. Every time, when we need to finalize the recommendation, the discussions get heated and Brian just changes the topic and starts discussing something else. Each week, we end up with an argument trying to convince each other of the investment pick of the week, without coming to an agreement.
Every argument leads to Brian discussing a completely different topic. It became a real problem for the sales team, as we left the meeting without a clear understanding of to present to our investors in the coming week. Once I understood Brian’s communication style, I discussed our course of action with my team. Under no circumstances were we to start an argument. Our tone of voice was to remain calm and in control at all times. We offered our views as an alternative without trying to direct or control him. The discussions were longer than what I would have liked but the results were ncouraging. After weeks of unclear outcomes, we were able to come up with clear investment recommendations for our sales team to present to our investors. Conclusion I learned that knowing the other person’s style of communication makes the communication process a little easier. I always knew about the differences among people but never gave it the required thought to help me communicate better. I now alter my communication style depending upon the person I am dealing with resulting in more effective communication.
