Author: Satish Kakri

The act of explaining anything is the key component at workplace communication. The ways and also the means in which explaining does happen are very important skills which executives must understand as well as practice.

The What and Why of Explanations?

We will describe in detail the various facets of explaination is very important. In fact explanation is the most commonly used process. Besides it is a very versatile one. To give examples, you explain opinions, you describe facts, you explain theories as well as hypothesis or conclusions and deductions.

To give further examples why will, does or did something happen. It could be also about how will does or did something happen or even it could be when or where will did or does something happens. The people that study will always tell us that explanation does have a number of things in common. The common features are:

1. Statements based on a logical such as because of this, so therefore  we have come to a particular conclusion.
2. Using words and phrase referring to a cause and effect relationships such as them as a consequence, so then etc.
3. Statements about relationships about the words like first, then, following and finally. The language you use often adopts or uses the present tense such as are turns or happens. It could also be for action related words like fully, rises or changes; also even for non – human participants such as the computers, the sea or the environment. Further the conjunctions like when, then or first are also used in the explanations.
4. Explanations also uses general nouns like boats, birds and passive statements such as a saturated are changed or pronouns such as they and there. Despite all the complexities, the Explainations are a ommonly used way of communication.

Definitions OF Explaining

With the above background, we would like to define explaining as the way to smoothen out. Iron out, take out the roughness, from or to open out, unfold, spread out or flat out a material object or to make plainly visible or to display. The definitions that we generate for ourselves Is that you can directly link the process of communication.  A description of an event, process or a state of affairs that attempts to illuminates make clear its causes , content and consequences.

Ways and Means OF Explaining:

Explaining at the core is an explanation which can  either be: Written language or spoken language with non-verbal communication and body language or both of above. However it is not an either / or situation as you ca gives an explanation in the form of a letter or a report and then support the same with spoken words or written communication.              

In Negotiation, it is necessary for both the parties to be prepared for conversation with a view to negotiate a conflict or a problem. We call it a conversation because it needs to be conducted in the same spirit if there are two parties.

Since both parties are fully aware of the fact about what they want, there could be a certain amount of conflict, but the important fact remains that both parties would want to resolve their particular issues with amicable discussions. That is the only reason why both of them have to meet on the discussion table.

In your preparation, you must have identified the acceptable limits of the core areas. This means that you are always prepared  to forgo some of your demands while the conflict  would be described a number of demands while the conflict would be described a number of demands on various aspects of the problems. In the same manner the opposite party would have to also prepare and had already decided to what extent they put forth there proposals, it should match and meet the requirements of both the parties. Therefore each must take his particular position carefully. Its is then in that cordial atmosphere you are taking a particular position which does not reveal in entirety  what you can trade off, for the resolution.

Then begins the most important part, bargaining on both the sides, and it is for you that you do your best so that your arguments are not heated up and the cordial atmosphere is maintained. For this there are certain do’s and don’ts which is recommended for all the negotiations. First of all let us focus on what needs to be avoided.

1. Nothing should be said in a manner that irritates the other parties. So therefore the choice of words and the way you speak are very important.

• Whenever a proposal is made by one party the negotiator is to immediately offer a counter proposal in a manner that it is not out rightly rejected.

• In any case everything cannot go on in a goody – goody fashion. So one should be prepared to face the heated arguments or defends form the other party. But always the best response to an attack other party. But the best response to an attack is by understanding and assimilating before you give a suitable reply. Active listening and staying cool are critical.

• Sometimes an argument can be diluted by many reasons which may support your cause. This must be leveraged by the skill of alertness and of remaining cool.

Now let us consider what are the particular steps that must be taken to improve your negotiation.

1. You need to give advance notice of your  action or your behavior. This means that you must deliberate overtures and do nothing beyond. It helps to maintain the very formal as well as polite manner in which the conversation goes on. It avoids the danger of the tempers rising.

• Disagreement patterns that start with a statement of explaination should be expressed before the statement of disagreement. 

• The discussions need to be summarized so as to avoid any miscommunication  or qny misunderstanding. It is necessary to maintain  and promote clarity.

• Information that encourages the other negotiator must reveal more so that more may be requested for. As they say, it is only by asking that you get anything. It also helps you with controlling the negotiation and providing time to think when the opposite party is generating answers.

• Skills negotiations also give more information about feelings and motives in a very polite and decent fashion.

The overall objective of negotiation always should be to find a win – win of acceptable middle path.

It is very important for a negotiation to understand the strategy & tactics which he may to have to adopt. While a strategy is a plan that is made, the tactics are the one the stop decisions that may have to be changed that may come in to force due to some unexpected conversations.

For Example,  the strategic decision of a journey  will start where the journey starts and where the journey concludes.  The mode of travelled by car, train, plane, or by boat are specified in the strategic decision. However the tactical decisions are somewhat similar to any army general when he finds something unexpected that is happening by the enemy. When he notices a change in the decisions of the enemies tactics, he changes the actions on that line.

In your negotiations skills your strategic decisions are about the outcome and the pace of the bargaining process.  Your tactical decisions are about the details about how you would react to the ploy of the opposite party.

You cannot understand and correctly visually the action what he opposite party might have taken. So therefore the tactics might assume a seriously great amount of importance.  The preparations steps can be divided into three steps:

1. Stage 1. In the initial stage of the negotiation, you have to be very formal. You may tell each other, broadly speaking your objective but beyond, you will not explain any important detail.

• Stage 2. In the second stage of negotiation, time is spent, always trying to find various pathways to possible agreements.  However even at this stage you will not commit yourself and also keep an open mind for the negotiation to continue.

• Stage 3.  In this final stage you will once again return to the more formal way of behavior, having identified some possibilities in the previous stages, efforts will have to be made to convert one of the possibilities into concrete realities of the complete agreement. But this may not happen directly, there could be many missing links. In case that happens, you keep the discussions line open to sit and negotiate this topic later.                    

Negotiation is a conversation between two person or a discussion between more than two people. The main objective of such a conversation is to resolve such a conflict which people have been harboring in their own mind. Therefore how to be a great negotiator becomes a very important part in life. The Negotiations skills are actually a tool with must be used with proper discretion and with proper preparation. The following steps are actually recommended by experts.

1. You must understand the conflict or problem. It is necessary to contemplate and apply your mind to understand the genesis of the problem or the conflict.  While analyzing it, you must also observe the reasons or the roles people have to precipitate the matter in hand.

• After you understand the particular problem you have to decide what exactly do you want. Any particular negotiation cannot proceed if you want it all. Therefore you should be prepared to follow the principle of give and take. You may like to draw a line to which extend you go in order to find a mutually acceptable solution.

•  In the meanwhile you must also, look at the problem at the opposites point of view. You must also note down what he or she would like to achieve through such negotiations skills. Having thus studied and understood the problem, you must contemplate how you will conduct yourself.

• You must go to the negotiation table with an open mind. Then try to recapitulate your assumptions or your prejudices in relations to the opposite party or the situation. This will definitely help you to thwart these thoughts which otherwise may impede the success of negotiations.

• Active listening is definitely critical. You hould not be anxious to speak. You should be wanting to listen. As the famous writer of the famous book, ‘7 Habits Of Successful People, says that first you must first understand and then be understood. This principle is bound to work wonders, in finding and concluding a particular solution. Incidentally, Lord Almighty has given us two ears and one mouth. So we must listen twice as much as we speak.

• As the discussion proceeds try to encourage the opposite party to take a proper stand. However if it does not happen, then you must project your propose politely. Here you need to remember that you should ask some thing more than what you have decided to trade for. There must be some room for giving some ground to your opposite party also so that they must have there say as well.

Organization persuasion is a particular important. It is the duty of the leader to understand the attitude and conduct of his or her leaders. This should motivate the leaders to do whatever should be done, so that personal tendencies are set aside and the thoughts and actions of the teams are fully aligned to the company’s vision as well as objectives.

Apart from the employees the organization has to deal with various outside agencies. These could be regularity authorities, investment broker, bankers, venders, etc. Of course the customers and the employees come first. As has been said above the structure of the organization should be such that efforts to achieve the organization’s goal should be absolute. The importance of structure of the organization can never be undermined.

The organization needs security. The organization also needs loyalty of the customers and the employees; Often these could be some conflicts of interest, which the organization must identify and then must iron them out sooner than later. Everyday working life of our people needs to be considered very sympathetically. Employees continuously working under tension can never  give there optimal performance. If an organization is insensitive of the organization is not such that the employees see there goals fully aligned with the golas of the organization, it is therefore a series flaw.

Thus having a structure in place, in managers who act as an agent of the management, to tactfully use his or her skill to encourage the change in your attitude. There could be three different aspects of the working life of the employees.

1. The rewards that employees work for.
2. The value that you place on the organizational goals.
3. The compatability of your goals and needs with those of the organization. The persuasion takes place primarily and not exclusively from the organization to the employees.

Money is undoubtedly the most important motivation. However it is not  only motivation. However it is not the only motivation, for example the people with high self esteem would not like to work that does not give response or recognition to the efforts and work done by them. They would rather except smaller salaries where the find they are an integral part of the organization. In such situation the employees recognize and start feeling that the organization belongs to them. This sense of belonging motivates them to put there very best. The managers and the structure of the organization both can contribute to such a happy situation.

When you think of persuasion, you will realize that this thing will happen pretty much anywhere and everywhere. Persuasive situations are pervading everyone’s lives.

The underlining objectives of persuasion could be any one of the following:

1. Agreeing to an existing attitude of one or both the participants or more than one participant.

• Changing the attitude when required due to changed circumstances or any other reason whatsoever.

• Modifying the existing attitude, retaining the core principle. It can even be creating  a new set of attitudes.

As we find these outcomes or desired outcomes  that are quite different form each other. Therefore it may be said that communications have to be very focused  and aligned to the desired objectives. When the experiences was positive or negative or the experiences are forced to change the attitude even if  there was no prior experience: it all depends on the communication. There can be many workplace situations in which a change in attitude of a person is not enough. It has to be followed by behavior or action. The attitude of the staff attending to customers particularly there complaints has to be positive as well as cordial.

What are the persuasive overtures? When you look at the how of persuasion, the complexity increases. It means how through persuasion you try to achieve a certain objective or objectives from the team members or all the employees. This concept may also be  used when you have a one on one situation. Between individuals or the manager and his team or an organization and an individual; these are all various persuasive situations and accordingly overtures.

Now let us look at one to one influences. We all have a rich repeatour of experiences. These may begin of experiences. These  may begin on a child of their parents, then of there teachers, friends and people around them. These influences shape certain assumptions which a  grown up adult may adopt. The assumptions may be right or wrong, if not in absolute terms, but surely in relative terms. Thus in  a particular organization which finds the assumptions which  are harbored, by individual or individuals, who are conflicting with the vision of the organization. These need to be corrected by using the technique persuasion.

Even a normal common place conversation has an agenda, often without our consciously knowing it. Thus when you talk and share ideas with others, you may want to persuade them or influence them to your own personal way of thinking. It is possible that you want them to join any of your society or any group or it may be that you want them to change their own view point on any particular topic.

Whether we realize or not, everyone is engaged in persuading other people. The entire advertising industry depends on the single objective of persuasion. Often times it is done in a very subtle way while at certain other times, there, might be a logical reason and a direct talk.

There was a very popular book, a few decades ago named, ‘The Hidden Pervades.’ Now let us examine an advertisement on a television screen. You may find a celebrity, a hero, or a heroine using a particular product of daily use. Thus if a person of your liking uses a particular brand of soap, you may feel a good reason for trying it yourself. Likewise, such examples are found in abundance in any category of advertising. The social media today, breeds a set of a lot of influencers. These influencers try to influence their own community with various posts where they project their own opinion. Persuasion may be seen sometimes as unethical or sometimes may be felt to be sometimes manipulative. Sometimes it is so felt, as a result of this unethical action to persuade, managers may cross the course of ethical business.

There are four fundamental principles that are identified by experts in this particular aspect of communication. These are listed below:

1. You need to recognize that persuasion is an act of communication. It is an exchange of ideas and thus it is a two way process.
2. Unless coercion or manipulation, it is to be recognized as a conscious act which respects the autonomy of everyone.
3. You need to recognize and acknowledge that besides a particular outcome of persuasion, there is a certain change in attitude, particularly of the persuade.
4. You need to be conscious of the fact that the roles of the persuader and the persuade are not mutually exclusive. The conversion or the discussion might lead to a change of attitude of all the participants involved in the particular discussion.

Body Language is a strong means of communication. So therefore we need to spend time to learn it. But we do not have to stop there. In fact later learning the nitty gritties of body language, we must know how to use to develop our influence and achieve our success.  There are a number of important steps that we must for improving our body language.

1. We need to be body conscious. It does not mean that we become self conscious, but it does not mean that we all the time remain self aware about how you are using body language to enhance your body personality and augment your own self esteem.

•  Using a mirror in the privacy of your own homes, may be the starting point to understand how you look when you are both angry or happy. Your body will also help you to understand how you feel at a particular moment, when you start listen to what your body language is saying. Therefore it will be worth in spending some time to practice the various facets and moods of your body  language. You must also realize that positive body language brings certain positivity in your mind. Therefore also we should practice to maintain a growth oriented , enthusiastic and optimistic body language.

• We need to have the pursuit of knowledge. We all understand that books are our best teachers.  These are our best friends because we can refer to them as and when necessary. Mastering and using all the beneficial information, that you darw form the books should not be considered your task, it should be your recreation and one of the habits that you love to do. Try to remain relaxed, instead of developing any self-consciousness, but the elegance must come out form your relaxed and calmed demeanor. You must practice poise for it is your best friend when you stay in a society. You must ensure that your body language is always in sync with your words. In this manner, your words will become even more powerful, influential as well as positive.

Along with the above points, you must keep in mind the following:

1. Stop touching your face persistently as that shows that you are anxious.
2. Sit up and stand with a straight back but you must have an open posture.  This will tell people that you are relaxed as well as confident.
3. When you are talking to somebody you must direct the most positive gestures towards the listeners.
4. Whatever may happen, you must stay calm, free and open.
5. You must have practiced, because if we have to improve to many things at one time,  nothing will change at all. A protocol of one step at a time, but with all seriousness will be far more  useful will make changes that will improve your body, rather than by taking some big steps.

When you convert your personal views into a gaze, it is worth remembering that sometimes, making a small difference in any one’s life in any aspect can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of its use.  

Blog is curated by Vikram Kakri.

Facial expressions are critical in meetings whether it is one to one or in a group. After the pandemic because personal meetings have substantially reduced, the amount of virtual meetings have become even more important. While using the virtual conferencing platforms, like Zoom, Cisco Webex, Google Meets, etc , we can see each other. If we are addressing an audience, we can still have a really fair idea of the body language of people. In such a case it is hard to understand the facial expressions, but the applications are such that when two persons are talking to each other, both come to the center of the virtual meetings hall where they can see each other and understand each other’s facial expressions. In such case the audience can also see the speakers and judge the person’ s facial expressions.

It is important to note that your facial expressions communicate ypur feelings and emotions. Thus you are in a position  to understand what is not said, but what is going inside the mind of the speaker. The muscles around the eyes, forehead, eyebrows, cheeks, jaws and lips make such movements which can easily be identified when you are very careful.

Gaze is another important aspect of body language. The gazing can be done intermittently for a very short duration or it can be for a longer times. People use the gaze technique in a wide variety of ways. Lovers gazes into each other eyes  to express their love. Men express their  dominance with extended gaze. In most cases however your gazing, will be limited by the cultural and social norms of the place that you inhabit.

Using gaze to communicate with those around you in a properly  used pattern of behavior. Even speakers addressing form the stage can use gaze to reassure people that he / she is talking to everybody in the hall. Of course it requires a lot of experience. But it is seen easy way to connect with the audience.

The experience                of touc, much of the warmth and affections that the child receives from the elders is based on expressions of touch. The older people would caress, pat,etc to express there fondmness towards the children. However touch is not limited to that, even the world leaders when they meet each other they express their friendliness and warmth with handshakes, embraces and patting on the shoulders. This can happen when you first meet somebody. But this can also take place during your conversation.

Space is another aspect of communication, which one has to understand clearly. The way you position yourself in the space, when you are meeting important people expresses you desire to meet. Often other times it refers to the confidence to reach out to people.

Posture si not to be undermined. In  fact the elegance that you can portrays, depends largely on your posture. The way you sit, the way you stand, the way you walk, theposture when you  are having a close communication,  or the posture when you are having a formal communication, your posture must be proper. Appearance is the first noticeable thing when you first meet and greet somebody. It states about your personality, your self personality respect or your self esteem and the way you respect others. It talso tells other how careful you are about your clothes, your dress about grooming in general which includes how you smile.   

Blog is written by Vikram.                                  

Most of what we communicate is not limited to speech but body language gives a lot of meaning. Some surveys reveal that as much as  seventy per cent of communication emits from the body language.

Language as we know is an important means of communication, at the cost of repetition we can say that spoken words provide less than thirty per cent of the meaning to the listener. The way the words are spoken provide around fifty per cent of meaning when we include facial expressions, postures, gestures, eye contact, etc. One should focus on body language as well as on the words that one speaks. Understand and communicate with body language is found to be very effective.

Both  body language or non – verbal communication provide the majority of content in many situations. In the current scenario, when virtual conferences and virtual communications are pervading in all lives, we need to focus on our voice, particularly on our emotions which happen to come out much more when we are speaking in person. Of course there are applications where the speaker is able to see the person in which case the facial expressions become extremely important. The technology also provides for some virtual discussions among many people.

However this technology needs to developed further when you use non – verbal communication, you need to overcome the limitations as for example when explaining the shapes or indicating directions. You can definitely however overcome these shortcomings with practice.

Now let us look at the components of Body  Language:

1. Gestures: Now we talk about gestures. When you send a visual signal to someone, the gesture is deliberate as in a wave of recognition. When you scratch your head it shows that you are thinking something. Though at present these gestures can be put to limited use, the time is not for when we will overcome the discussions.

• Emblems: Emblems are deliberate gestures that can have a direct verbal equivalence. Used in a wide range of situations, the emblems will replace gestures for crane drivers, fire fighters and televisions floor managers.

• Illustrators: Next what we can use deliberately as illustrators, these purposes are to illustrate, repeat, complement or underline what has been said. The examples are:

1. Guidelines like pointing, beaconing.
2. Facial Signs like movement up and around.
3. Form or Shape gesture which describe the shape and a space of things.
4. Body actions signs which mimics or replicates body actions.

• Regulators:  Now we talk about regulators that are used in communications. They are used in communication. They are used to show interest in what is being said and also to signal that you you want to say something. Unconscious  gestures are just as important as the conscious counterparts. They are termed as, ‘Leakage Gestures’. As they display or hint at your inner and often hidden feelings, thoughts and emotions. These might occur in-spite of your best efforts to control these emotions.