To be honest, before I began reading the prompt for
this week’s blog, I judged the title of the blog. I saw that the blog was named
credibility and I began to think about all of the ways that I am credible. I
thought to myself that I am not the best communicator, but I am credible, so
this should be an interesting assignment. Once I read the prompt for the blog
and realized that credibility referred to persuasive communication, I felt a
bit different about the assignment.
Whalen and Ricca (2007) discussed the pillars of
credibility some of which include (a) expertise, (b) trustworthiness, (c) goodwill,
and (d) dynamism. Though I do not consider myself a persuasive person, I do try
to create trustworthiness and goodwill with everyone I interact with. I make a
point to treat everyone with respect and build trust with them because I
believe trust is important in building all relationships. However, I feel like
I fall a bit short with the other two pillars (expertise and dynamism). However,
in an effort to become a more credible and persuasive speaker, one pillar needs
much more work than the other.
In terms of expertise, I have worked for my
organization for nearly ten years and have been the accountant for the
Foundation for over six years. I have expertise in the area of accounting and
the Foundation. I just do not have the self-confidence. Whalen and Ricca (2007)
reminded us to “think about the specialized training you have taken, the facts
you have at your command” (p. 124). When communicating with my co-workers, I
must remember that I have the expertise and they are asking me questions
because they trust my skill level in the subject.
One area I have always struggled mightily in regards
to speaking was my presentation- more specifically delivering my message in a
dynamic fashion. According to Mazur (2012), no matter how great your ideas or
content are, your method of delivery can ruin a presentation. I used to chalk
my struggle up to nervousness as I would rather do almost anything else than
speaking in front of a crowd. But that
excuse failed to be sufficient when I would fail to clearly deliver a message
to a single co-worker or leader. I have a tendency of mixing my words up and
sometimes delivering a different message than intended. I also have a
propensity to be very monotone and bland during my communication.
Mazur (2012) stated that scrambling through your
notes with no eye contact will create doubt in the audience that you know what
you are talking about. Anyone can get up in front of a group of people and
read. However, that is not a great form of delivery and the content will not be
memorable! Another habit that I have is not paying attention to the audience
which makes for communication that is not dynamic. Madden (2012) stated that a
dynamic delivery includes paying attention to the audience to ensure that they
remain engaged.
I once had to deliver a message to my co-workers
about a new change that was occurring with state matching donations (I know it
is lively material). I tried to prepare my presentation by practicing but it
still did not go well. One of my coworkers that I trusted came up to me and
said that all I did was read off of a paper. I got feedback- this is good! I can use this to get better. However, my
solution was to look up every couple of seconds and continue reading. Not the
best solution as my delivery continued to lack dynamism.
This blog comes at a great time for me as a tool of
self-reflection. Earlier this week, my employer held a conference which
included a keynote speaker. He was an associate professor at the University of
North Carolina- Chapel Hill. The purpose of his presentation was to offer tips
to the faculty about how to deliver a lesson in a style that reaches each type
of student. He discussed how students learn differently and that professors
should alter their teaching methods to better include every student. It was a
great presentation as he was full of life. He walked the stage so each person
could see him. He used inflection and jokes in his presentation as a method to
keep the attention of the audience. His presentation was full of examples of
what to do in the classroom and what not to do in the classroom to deliver a
memorable lesson. At one point during his ‘what not to do’ guidelines, he stood
behind the podium, looked down, and began to act as if he was reading a
psychology lesson. His voice was monotone and without life, as he rambled on
about important dates and psychological terms. He did not look up or engage the
audience for what felt like five minutes.
When he stepped back from behind the podium, he
asked the audience to guess how long that skit lasted. The answer was 56
seconds. As he was going through this example, a lightbulb went off in my head.
I began to think- Oh no… that is me! I looked at people on their phone and
daydreaming. The presenter who was easily connecting with his audience was able
to purposely lose them in less than a minute. If a dynamic presenter can
quickly lose their audience then how will I ever connect with individuals I
address? I thought to myself that I must begin to use dynamism as a form of
credibility. But, how do I begin to develop this pillar? What can I do to
become more dynamic in my delivery?
Whalen and Ricca (2007) argued that dynamic
communication begins with enthusiasm. A communicator should discuss ideas that
they truly understand and take the time to develop a plan to deliver these
ideas (Whalen and Ricca, 2007). That is part of my problem- I must be concerned
that the audience understands my message. If I put myself in their shoes and
make sure I am delivering in a way the message makes sense then I will take a
step in the right direction in terms of dynamism.
According to Time to Market (2017) listening is also
a part of being a dynamic communicator. I must learn to listen what is asked of
me and alter my delivery based on inquiries from my audience or followers. I
cannot appear to be credible if I do not listen to concerns and change my
delivery. I may look like I am prepared for the conversation, but this
preparedness could lack credibility.
I must also learn how to talk freely to my
listeners. (Whalen and Ricca, 2007) I will continue to lose credibility if my
conversations consist of a delivery that sounds robotic and rehearsed. Free
–flowing dialogue brings liveliness to the conversation which could also be a
form of credibility. Finally, I need to work on bringing enthusiasm into my conversations.
Enthusiasm will be a welcomed alternative to my monotone delivery and could
begin to help establish credibility through dynamism.
References
Maden, S. (2012). 10 Tips to Create and Give Dynamic Presentations.
Retrieved from http://burnsmcdmedia.com/careersblog/2012/12/18/10-tips-to-create-and-give-dynamic-presentations/
Mazur , M. (2012). The Importance of Dynamic Speaking Delivery | Dr.
Michelle Mazur. Retrieved from https://drmichellemazur.com/2012/10/importance-dynamic-speaking-delivery.html
Time to Market. (n.d.). Presentation Training & Coaching • Time to
Market. Retrieved from https://www.timetomarket.co.uk/presentation-tips/successful-presentation-tips/how-to-be-a-dynamic-communicator/
Whalen,
D. J., & Ricca, T. M. (2007). The professional communications toolkit.
Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
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