Famed Actor Alan Alda on the Secrets to Better Communication

The fact that he’s a famous actor is probably the least fascinating thing about Alan Alda these days. A likable and inquisitive guy, Alda spent 11 years interviewing scientists for the documentary show Scientific American Frontiers. The experience of trying to understand brilliant minds doing important work inspired him to partner with Stony Brook University to establish the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, which teaches scientists strategies for conveying their ideas to laypeople. It also inspired him to launch a deeper investigation into how people -- scientists, teachers, businesspeople, dentists and so on -- communicate. The fruit of that research is his surprisingly useful new book, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating.
                                         

Back when you were interviewing scientists, you ditched your lists of questions and proceeded with a sense of what you call “ignorance with curiosity.” You felt that having a list of questions was actually hurting your ability to communicate with people.
I think that’s true. My experience interviewing those hundreds of people was that if I asked them a question and they answered it, and then I asked the next question on my list, it was a sign to them that I wasn’t listening.

Plus, it only got you answers to the questions you thought to ask. Not necessarily the questions you should have been asking.
And the questions that are most important are the ones you think to ask in response to the other person.

I was surprised to learn you used to work in sales.
Yeah. I had to do something as a young actor to support my family. And I didn’t get it at first. I thought of selling as manipulating people, because that’s how I had been sold, and I really resented that. But I eventually figured out that focusing on the other person’s needs and not my own was the most effective way to make a sale. Later I came across this guy Daniel Goleman, who had written pretty much the same thing.

China’s Modern ‘Silk Road’ Plans Send AUD/GBP Exchange Rate Higher

The Australian Dollar saw an uptick in demand when markets opened on Monday after Chinese officials announced plans for an ambitious new ‘Silk Road’ inspired global trade system.

Last week saw the Australian Dollar to Pound exchange rate briefly plummet to a multi-month-low of 0.5667 before recovering to trend at the level of 0.5733 over the weekend.

Monday saw AUD GBP trend higher as investors reacted to the weekend’s news and the Pound remained weak following last week’s Bank of England (BoE) commentary.

Xi has championed the plan as the beginning of a new ‘golden age’ of globalisation amid concerns of rising protectionism in some major economies such as the US.

As a result of the excitement surrounding the ambitious plan, investors of commodities and risky trade-correlated currencies like the Australian Dollar have been showing increased interest in those assets.

Prices of iron ore, Australia’s most lucrative commodity, have also finally seen some gains thanks to the news after weeks or poor performance and a seven-month-low in prices.

Australia’s trade minister, Steven Ciobo, said there would be many opportunities for Australia’s businesses in China’s plan but maintained that decisions would be based on Australia’s national interest.

While the plan has received praise from many key global figures, it has also received vocal criticism. India has warned that the plan must heed international concerns on sovereignty and equality and must not be allowed to create ‘unsustainable debt burden for communities’.

The Bank of England (BoE) had left monetary policy frozen in its latest policy meeting and indicated that policy would remain loose even if UK inflation neared 3%.

This week will see the publication of highly influential ecostats from Australia and Britain which are likely to impact AUD GBP as market reaction to China’s plans and Bank of England news cools.

Learn to communicate effectively with your doctor

There is much to be gained by improving communication with health care professionals, especially physicians.  Positive outcomes include better care for the patient, less stress and illness for the caregiver, more efficient use of doctors’ time, reduced cost for the health care system and more satisfaction for all concerned.
                                                 

The public is invited to a free “Talking to Your Doctor” workshop at 10:30 a.m. April 17 at The Dale Association, 33 Ontario St. The speaker will be Jennifer Johnson, wellness educator for BlueCross BlueShield of WNY. Attendees will learn tips for communicating more successfully with their doctor and making the most of every visit. Call 433-1886 to reserve a seat.

Write questions down so you won’t forget them. Think about the main reason for your visit and what you expect from the doctor as you prepare for your visit. Making a list in advance increases the likelihood your office visit will meet your needs.

— The doctor has prescribed a specific treatment for your condition, but you aren’t feeling much better. Maybe it’s the wrong treatment for you, or maybe you’re taking the right treatment in the wrong way. Ask about alternatives for any treatment you find burdensome, such as a medication that must be taken in the middle of the night. Ask for clarification about the diagnosis and treatment plan and the reasons the doctor recommends it, what the treatment will accomplish, and restrictions on activities, food, or driving the and reasons for the restrictions. Find out about recovery and how long it will take to get back to normal, not just to feel better.

— A recommended treatment makes you uneasy.  Don’t rush into important health decisions. Usually there will be time to carefully examine your alternatives. Ask, “Why do I need this surgery?” or “Are there any alternatives to this treatment?” or “What are the risks and benefits?” Get a second opinion if necessary. Remember, there is a better chance of getting a second opinion of you ask for it than if you don’t ask.

4 Principles of Effective Communication for Business Success

Human interactions are complicated. We each have different temperaments, opinions, limitations, beliefs, worldviews, and childhood conditioning.

If you consider it, it’s amazing two or more people can communicate at all.

And the truth is we rarely do communicate well at work or home.

We can mitigate most workplace conflicts by applying a little more spirit and a little less ego.

Humans are hard-wired to be self-serving, but successful communication requires graciousness.
                                         

1.How to Be Gracious

The fastest way to achieve graciousness is to remember that the person you’re communicating with has inner tensions just like you.

They experience negative emotions like fear, anger, and guilt just like you. They have uncertainty about the future just like you.

Plato is often quoted saying, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a difficult battle.” He didn’t say it, but it’s still a good dictum.

Life is often challenging. Most of us have inner and outer turmoil. Or, as bestselling novelist Andy Andrews says, we’re either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or heading for a crisis.

2.Begin in a friendly way.

Whenever possible, start your conversations with praise and honest communication. Smile. A genuine smile helps people relax. (It will elevate your mood too.)

Be inviting and open instead of serious and demanding. To accomplish this, we must first be friendly toward ourselves.

3.Give honest and sincere appreciation.

How often do you offer genuine appreciation to your colleagues versus the times you criticize and condemn them (even if you don’t say it out loud)?

It takes training to show appreciation. Research reveals that our brains have a bias towards negativity. It reacts more strongly to negative stimuli than it does to positive stimuli. We tend to look at what’s wrong with people, ideas, and situations.

4.Become genuinely interested in others.

Interest starts with curiosity. If we’re all self-interested, how can you be curious about others? Realize that everyone you meet is a reflection of yourself. We are mirrors for each other.

Patients With Locked-in Syndrome May Be Able to Communicate After All

ALS progresses, the neurons that control muscle movement begin failing, one after another. Patients lose the use of their arms and legs, and eventually, their breathing. Now they’re locked in, dependent on a medical ventilator. The last to go is the eyes, a condition called complete lock-in.
         

How do you know what someone is thinking, if you can’t communicate with him or her? For a long time, scientists thought that, at this stage, patients were incapable of directed thought. But a team of researchers at the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, in Geneva, Switzerland, has new evidence that contradicts this, and a new way to get insight into what completely locked-in patients are thinking.

The way they did this was to apply traditional means of non-invasive brain scanning in a new application. EEG, which reads brain waves, can record a person’s awareness and vigilance. Near-infrared spectroscopy, or NIRS, measures the oxygenation of the blood in a person’s brain, which a lock-in patient can learn to control—if they are aware and vigilant.

Even just knowing the mental state of locked-in patients could have huge ramifications for the way we approach care for them. Birbaumer’s study featured just four patients, but each had chosen, while they still could, to continue to receive care and to stay alive. Using the new technique, Birbaumer asked each patient questions from the World Health Organization’s quality of life assessment, and received almost uniformly positive answers. All four people repeatedly responded “yes” to the question, “Are you happy?” But Birbaumer says only 5 percent of ALS patients choose to go on artificial respiration.

“The reason that people decide to die when they [have to] go on respiration is mainly caused by the negative attitude the environment and the family and the doctors have toward the disease and toward paralysis,” says Birbaumer. “The outside world are judging the quality of life terrible … doctors and the whole medical establishment and insurance companies and everybody reinforces that belief, and that’s why the people then die, which is a tragedy. This is an immense tragedy.”

How To Close Communication Gaps For A New Corporate Strategy

As an executive in a large Jamaican company, how do you ensure that good strategic ideas spark the right conversations between important stakeholders? Too often, these dialogues get trapped at the top or bottom of organisations so that fruitful meetings between leaders and those being led never take place. Sadly, poor corporate results ensue leaving everyone mutually mystified, annoyed and disenchanted.
           

By contrast, small companies have it easy. In a start-up in which I'm involved, a person with a bright idea is never more than one or two steps away from someone who can implement it. There's lots of opportunities to explore ideas in deep conversations, tearing suggestions apart in order to improve them. Obviously, this can't be done via email, memo or in a speech. These channels just don't get the job done.

If your company employs hundreds or thousands, quick water-cooler or coffee conversations simply don't take place. They take too much work. It's easier to let the status quo remain, along with stubborn, distant feelings. The top-down, one-way communication that remains is stilted, dry and dull. Over time, you'll also see the following three problems crop up.

The net result of these problems is that key information and strategies never make their way from the top of your organisation to the bottom, and vice versa. Left to fester, this condition makes the company vulnerable to disruption by smaller, nimble competitors. A typical example? Jamaica's Cable and Wireless in 2001 had leaders who ignored the threat of Digicel, even as many of their own employees knew better. How can your company and other large firms reduce the risk inherent in their size?

1. Offer internal strategy conferences
Conduct an internal symposium in which employees present critical trends and ideas. Demand a high standard of content and use it to shape the firm's strategy. Where necessary, teach employees the complexity lying below the surface via structured learning opportunities.

2. Create long-term brainstorming sessions
In structured workshops, give employees a chance to look 25-30 years ahead to select a preferred future.

3. Conduct research
While companies often rely on outside experts to tell them which direction an industry is heading, motivated employees can often do a great job if given the same time and resources. Their findings may have higher quality as they will be informed by their exposure to daily reality.

Overtime Rule Hang-Up Requires Careful Communication About Pay Decisions

If employers have announced employee raises or eligibility for overtime pay because of the Department of Labor's (DOL's) revised overtime rule, they may need to honor those commitments. Communications about the impact of a court's decision to temporarily block implementation of the overtime rule should honor any contracts created in prior messages about the rule.
           

The overtime rule was originally scheduled to take effect Dec. 1 and would have raised the exempt salary threshold from $23,660 to $47,476. Employers were left with the choice of raising the salary of employees within the range of the old and new thresholds to $47,476 or reclassifying them as nonexempt. But after a judge on Nov. 22 barred the rule from taking effect, employers aren't sure what to do.

Promised Pay Increases

"Employers should carefully consider all communications to employees, particularly promised pay increases that may have triggered employee reliance," said Kathleen Anderson, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg in Fort Wayne, Ind.

"If annual increases can be given to those employees who were expecting an increase to at least $47,476 per year, then that should be communicated as well," said Alfred Robinson Jr., an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Washington, D.C., and former acting administrator of the DOL's Wage and Hour Division.

Back-and-Forth Changes

But "if employers decide to undo already-implemented changes, they should emphasize the advantages of the original compensation method," Swartz said. "For example, they should emphasize the flexibility that exempt status affords and the benefits that come with exempt status. Of course, an employer's messaging will depend on the number of impacted employees and the company's internal assessment of employees' reaction to the back-and-forth changes."