Connections
For Great Communications!

Would you like to have:

• Better business communication skills?
• Better conflict resolution skills?
• Better interpersonal communication skills?
• Better listening skills?
• Better employee engagement?
• Higher performance and profitability?
• Better non-verbal communication skills?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you have selected the right book!

In Connections, author Chuck Clayton helps you improve your communication skills by strengthening your Connections. With clear insights, interactive examples and fascinating stories, Clayton explains simple and powerful tools and techniques to help you connect and communicate with those people who can enrich your life personally and professionally.

Excelling in a field of expertise isn’t enough today. Strong communication skills are equally important to be successful. This timely book is written to help you achieve your goals. Connections teaches:

• 7 principles of effective communication
• how to become an exceptional listener
• how to get great service
• how to resolve conflicts
• and much more…

Selected excerpts from the Introduction to Connections:

Change your paradigm; change your life.

Years ago I worked in Houston Texas. While there, I attended a going away party for a secretary who was leaving the company for a promotion and more money. The party was heartwarming. I could see that she was touched by all the people who told her how much she would be missed, and how difficult it would be to replace her. People came from all over to wish her the very best.There was a tremendous outpouring of emotions and feelings that one rarely sees at a place of business. The hugs and tears seemed to go on forever.

This charming woman deeply cared about her co-workers and they deeply cared about her. She had truly “connected” with them.

It was impressive to see first hand how this woman was able to connect with others on an emotional level. She enriched their lives significantly—and she had a much more enriching life as well.

Do some people have a special gift?

Why is it that some people seem to go through life effortlessly connecting with almost everyone they meet? Why do they have great relationships with their parents, siblings, mates, children, co-workers and friends? Why do they seem to be in the right place to get bargains in their everyday transactions while others struggle to get a fair deal?

Are they just lucky? Do they have a special gift?

The answer is neither. People who connect effectively with others use simple, but effective and powerful communication techniques that help create better relationships. This produces better lives for themselves and the people they connect with.

True communication is about connections. If I need something from you I must connect with you so that you are persuaded to assist me. The same is true if you need something from me. Thus, it’s fair to say that the words “communication” and “connection” are frequently interchangeable words conceptually.

When we talk with someone it is common to think only of meeting our own needs. We are talking, but not necessarily connecting. Instead of focusing only on what we want, a paradigm shift needs to take place. When you change your paradigm, you change your life.

When the focus shifts from meeting our own needs to encompassing another person’s needs as well, the entire landscape of communication changes and something magical happens! The dialog between two people improves significantly. Both people buy in to each other's needs and effective communication is the result.

Simple truths

Traveling to many different places teaches some simple truths. Although cultures, upbringings, economic opportunities, education and a myriad of other factors are different, most people want many of the same things out of life. We want to feel loved, respected, useful, self-expressive and live in a safe and comfortable environment in our ever-changing world.

Using this simple concept as a foundation for understanding we can break down the barriers of poor communication and personal isolation by striving to meet the needs of others—while meeting our own needs as well.

In business school I learned quickly that the reason for any business was simple: “To make a profit.” The difficult part wasn’t understanding this concept; it was applying it in the real world. Learning and understanding business well enough to make a constant profit takes years of diligent work and study.

The same is true of communicating with others. The concepts are straightforward. It’s the application that is challenging. What works well for me won’t necessary work for you. And what works for you won’t necessarily work for someone else. This customization of communication may seem a bit difficult, but it is part of the beauty that makes us all different.

By learning some basics of human nature (such as the need to be feel important and heard) we create a solid foundation for great relationships where communication flourishes. But, like business, the application takes time, diligence and a constant willingness to learn and apply the basics as well as all of the nuances of effective communication.

The need for strong connections in business

Today it is not only important to be competent at our chosen career; we must be equally competent at interacting with people. The lone wolf mentality is dead. In the past, “doing your job” was frequently good enough. The complexity of our work along with the diverse group of individuals we interact with, makes powerful and effective communication skills critical for success.

People with strong communication skills are recognized and rewarded in today’s companies. Job skills are clearly key, but having the ability to communicate and promote personal ideas, get along with others and be capable of handling a wide array of communication challenges are keys to professional advancement.

People with good communication skills are more engaged (committed to helping a company succeed). This engagement contributes to high performance. And, high performance is closely linked to company profitability.

This leads to the premise of this book.

Premise

Creating strong connections improves communication and increases employee engagement, which leads to increased productivity and profitability.

Creating Strong Connections

Improved Communication

Increased Employer Engagement

Increased Productivity and Profitability

Figure 2: How creating strong Connections leads to increased productivity and profitability in a company.

Purpose

The purpose of this book is to explore some simple, but powerful tools and techniques that can be used to connect and communicate with people who can enrich your life professionally and personally. These methods are created to help give you a higher level of awareness and understanding of communicating with others.

In order to effectively use these methodologies it is critical to be willing to become a student of people. This is the most important fundamental mindset that is required to learn and apply the information presented in this book.
The good news is that the world is a classroom. It is open seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. The skills that are needed are to think through, learn, and then apply. There are an infinite number of useful lessons we can learn by becoming a student once again.

Good communication is a lifelong project. Thus, this book isn’t about perfection, it’s about improving the level you are currently at and thereby enriching your own life as well as the lives of others you connect with.