Conversations

Conversation

Talk between two or more people in which thoughts, feelings, and ideas are expressed, questions are asked and answered, or news and information are exchanged. The informal and formal exchange of ideas by spoken words. Oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions or ideas.

Types

Chat: The least formal of all conversation, whether it is a father talking to his son about girls or a gossip between two women. head-to-head, : means a confidential conversation Dialogue: A two way conversation that may involve opposing points of view. Parley: A formal discussion between two group of people, especially one that is intended to end an argument. Colloquy: The most formal of all conversations. Communion: Sharing thoughts and feelings with some one who is in a close relationship.

Essentials of a business Conversation

Conversations must be About the Issues that Matter Most:

A conversation must be focused on the most important issues facing the organization the companys strengths and obstacles to performance. Formal conversations will be rewarding if focused. Conversation must be united and public: Successfully realigning an organization with a new strategic direction almost always requires simultaneously changing the worldview and the behavior of whole set of dependent playersthe CEO, the senior leadership team, and mangers down the line. This will not happen without a collective, public conversation. The term collective suggest the several levels of management across important functions and value chain activities have to be engaged.

Conversation must be structured: Structured conversations, which are guided by rules for listening and speaking, are an essential part of take in observation practice. In a typical structured conversation, practitioners meet in group with a facilitator who leads them through a set of prescribed steps. These steps may include presentation of a focusing, close examination of work, description of work, clarifying questions, feedback to the persons observed, and reflection on the process.

Conversation must allow Employees to be honest without risking their jobs: In many companies, managers talk about deliberate problems with one or two people they trust but pull their impact in more public settings for example, some companies might aware of the tensions exist between their regional entities and the functional departments. They also might be aware that the senior team has not been managing effectively, and many mangers may also doubt their presidents ability to lead the organization out of the mess. None of these issues may be discussed publicly, for two reasons. First, mangers fear that being honest would hurt their careers or even endanger their jobs.

Conversation Management

Involve Everyone : A good conversationalist is not one who holds his/her listeners by his her speech; but one who involves everybody in the conversation. You must remember that there are others in the group as well who may have something to contribute. You must give a chance to every one who wants to speak by involving every one, a conversation becomes more interesting, more informative, and more resourceful. Arouse and sustain interest: Conversation are successful only when all the participants take an interest in the talk. Its a joint undertaking, and once a person joins he or she needs to fully participate in it. To make it interesting one should fill it well with questions, answers, views, expressions, thoughts, statements, and information.

Engage in active listening: Try to understand, read and paraphrase the sender's message to understand it. You can follow given core listening skill: Inquiry: Ask open questions that provide information and meaning, such as, what did you notice? or What did you think? Paraphrasing: Ask questions that check your understanding against what the other person intended. Acknowledge: this is the powerful tool for defusing negative emotions.

Encourage: This is a key factor for successful conversation. It gives the other person permission to go on with what he or she is saying, it can start the other person talking.

Questions: Questioning is the single most used category in conversations. Question can clarify meaning and avoid problems. Inform: Informing conveys a message to your counterpart. It make your counterpart aware of something. It can help to lead the conversation in a particular direction.