hybrid workplace Archives - Language at Work

Do They Need More?

Judy Pollock — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 21:59:08 +0000

Is your virtual training giving you everything you need? Or do you need more?Many of our training participants and clients say that the quick, on-line virtual sessions are terrific for many people: tips, instruction, explanations, and some discussion. A few hours- a lot of people – pop in, pop out. This is a training development that the pandemic taught us, and it helps keep training going.But, many people need more than instruction; they need to DO the strategies being learned. They need to try the tips, and see how they feel, and how they work. They need an instructor to monitor their efforts and give feedback and guidance. Virtual, on-line sessions don’t have time to offer this valuable element of training.In response to this need, we’ve developed Practicum Programs in which participants can do just that. Meant for up to 10 people, our Practicum Programs guide participants through sample exercises in which they perform, discuss, role play, and apply the lessons learned in a virtual program.Let us help you arrange a practicum to supplement your virtual training. It’s easy to offer them a little more.

Visit our website to learn more about how our courses and services could improve your operations — www.languageatwork.com.

Thank you.

Judith Pollock, PresidentLanguage at Work4931 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC 20016Phone 646-491-1089 www.languageatwork.com

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Learning to Read

Judy Pollock — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 17:51:55 +0000

Ah, September and Back to School! Many small people will soon be resuming their important work of learning to read. This is such an important skill; when one can read, one can learn almost anything. As adults, an important use of this skill is the ability to read people. As is true for many people’s approach to other reading material, the skill and effort one brings to the reading, the richer the encounter.

Hear me out: when we read a book or article we invite the author to speak to us. We commit to receiving whatever idea or information is being offered. To help us understand these ideas we notice the words that are used, the tone of voice, the structure and format of the presentation. To be sure we understand, we carefully consider what the author intends for us to know. Finally, based on our reading, we decide what we think or feel or believe about the topic and the writer, and we act or don’t act, accordingly.

People with whom we interact are offering ideas or information all the time, and that information is available to us – IF we are reading them. They’re saying what they think, how they’re interpreting what they hear, which words or topics are disagreeable, which terms resonate positively. They show when they’ve finished listening; they reveal when they want to hear more. They may use words, but often they use facial expressions and the language of their movements and gestures. All are clues to be considered if we are able to read them.

Does this reading skill help us? Imagine the success of your communication if you have all that information about your audience! Our new course, People Literacy, can open that book for you and turn the page on your communication.

The post Learning to Read appeared first on Language at Work.

Business Casual Communication?

Judy Pollock — Fri, 20 May 2022 17:12:32 +0000

Changes in the workplace are not just about location and timing. When workers return to an in-person work environment they’ll probably be showing changes in the ways they dress. Ads for current clothing trends offer “Business Comfort’ and “Power Casual” as workers embrace a less formal presentation of themselves.

Is workplace communication following this trend? Some people are hearing workplace conversations that seem to have adapted the power casual or business comfort style, in which messages are spared words or phrases that used to be the norm. Demands are easier to issue than requests. It’s much quicker to get to a salient point if one can avoid any softening commentary. No need to bother with the old style standards of discourse – just say what you mean. If one can speak casually or dismissively at home or at play, why put on formality just for the workplace?

Some of us were taught that the way we dress informs the way we behave, suggesting that in our sweats we couldn’t conduct a professional interaction, but that idea is being tested as we no longer insist that certain clothing items dictate our work behavior. Does the same hold for the way we speak to one another? Is work leisure a free pass on cordiality? Or can we still respect one another in our t-shirts?

Visit our website to learn more about how our courses and services could improve your operations — www.languageatwork.com. If it’s easier, call me directly at 202-298-7700. Thanks!Judy

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The Future of Work- Hybrid?

Judy Pollock — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 18:59:18 +0000

How much time do you spend thinking about how workplace changes are affecting you and your colleagues?

How will you plan, meet, discuss, monitor, collaborate, evaluate or just toss around ideas in an environment devoid of actual people?

How will you position yourself for career growth? And what’s the best way to be sure your ideas are being heard and considered?

If your contribution style is nuanced, subtle, and thoughtful, how will you fare in short, infrequent group discussions in which the more assertive voices are more likely to be heard?

Changes in the way workplaces are structured will require many adjustments. Are you ready to adapt to them?

Communication skills will be more important than ever as you adapt to different demands on your time, patience, space, flexibility, and creativity.

Need help? Talk to us about communicating in the hybrid world of work. If it isn’t here yet for you – it will be.

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Don’t Lose the Plot!

Judy Pollock — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 21:08:12 +0000

Everyone is reading or writing or obsessing about The Hybrid Workplace, and good for them. There is much to be learned, and a lot of energy and creativity is called for as each organization figures out what works best.

But what is happening to training during this time of change and transition? Long regarded as the easiest corporate activity to ignore or postpone when everyone snaps to attention during a crisis, training may be sliding off everyone’s screen right now.

Big mistake.

Training is not only an arena for information exchange. Training is where workers connect, share, and keep their career development engines humming. As they navigate the advantages and disadvantages of however The Hybrid Workplace is affecting them, workers face some issues of their own. Training can help them.

Training can:

Minimize proximity bias
Help individuals stay visible
Promote networking
Provide opportunities for contributing
Allow continued access to other workers and departments
Help balance control and trust

Organizing a new Hybrid Workplace without a strong training program is like a story without a strong plot line that starts off strong but veers off in disappointing directions. Keep your story strong!

Call me directly at 202-298-7700 to learn more about how our courses and services could improve your operations.

Thanks!
Judy

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