We had a really interesting talk by Terry Prone from the Communications Clinic on improving our communication skills at the recent Business over Breakfast event. Terry certainly practiced what she preached as everyone there was enthralled by her presentation! She began by giving us an amusing account of her first tentative experience in television, when she was nominated by her school to go an audition for Teentalk; a questions and answers programme aimed at a teenage audience on RTE which was hosted by Bunny Carr. Although she was not yet sixteen, Terry held her own as she was patronised by the panel at the audition and was invited to take part on the show. Having done so, she was invited back to take a place on the panel. She had clearly impressed all concerned despite her tender years.
She continued to impress when she was asked to become involved in Bunny Carr's Catholic Communications Centre in Booterstown and recounted how, when told by a clerical client that the clergy were the "shepherds of the flock" she reminded him that indeed they were shepherds rather than sheepdogs! The young man who was sitting in to observe Terry in action, confirmed that she was very well able to handle herself professionally with clients; he later became her husband.
Terry joked about the chances of an ex actress, an ex priest and an ex tv presenter all getting together to set up a business and look for funding during a recession, but clearly their professionalism won through. When recently, they found that it was time to move on, once again, they took the decision during an economic downturn, she gave hope to all the entrepreneurs in the room by demonstrating that it is possible to succeed.
Terry went on to describe how sometimes we have pre set ideas on presenters, particularly when they are female. She told us about one rather beautiful ex-model, who ran way over time when delivering the initial segment of a training programme. When asked what had happened, the girl explained that she was desperately trying to demonstrate to the group that there was no harm in her.
Terry went on to deliver a few very useful nuggets of information and told us that communication often starts in the wrong place. It should start with you, as the communicator, rather than those you want to reach. She described the late actress May Craig, working without an understudy, going on stage the night that her husband died, and the night that her baby died, because she had no choice. Terry described how the first question should be how can I make the audience happy or sad.
Terry is not a fan of using Powerpoint and is very much against using tools that can contribute to weakness, saying that people rarely need Powerpoint. She disagreed that it helps people remember, and indeed maintained that it often stands in the way of better communication. She also talked about other techniques often used in communication, such as mirroring the other person. Terry cautioned against these tricks: "Each person is unique and it is a mistake to categorise them". Keep communication simple, it sounds easy, but in fact it is very difficult to do.
Terry drove home the point that all good communication begins with listening and suggested that this may well give women the edge. She invited us to think of the good listeners that we know and suggested that they are likely to be women. Often men impede their listening skills, by attempting to solve the problem rather than truly listen. Good listening is at the core of motivation.
She finished off by going on to quote Tom Savage, her husband: "Every single communication either builds or slightly diminishes a relationship". What a scary thought! We often talk of communication as a "soft skill", Terry suggested that it is more correctly described as a survival skill.
This event was kindly sponsored by AIB.