One of our core values at gap intelligence is Trust and we’re committed to communicating like hell with positive intent in everything we do. Communication is an art form and a very valuable skill to learn and continuously develop with time and practice. I started at gap intelligence working in a data role with some communication. After a few months of trying both the data and the communications part of my position I realized that I was much more effective and comfortable with the communication part. As a member of the research group, I work with the MFP-copier and printer analysts and also work with several MFP-copier and printer dealers all over the world. My job focuses on different types of communication from interpersonal to professional.
Training Ground
Prior to working with gap intelligence, I worked in the banking industry and, funny enough, I also worked with dealers except they were car dealers. The bank I worked with financed a wide spectrum of auto loans and I was often negotiating contracts and rehashing applications that were declined. Working with car dealers and finance managers at auto dealerships is no joke. These guys are the real deal when it comes to fast talking and influence. They were good at what they did and through them I learned the art of sales, influence, and communication on a different level. I found this to be fun and challenging. Although many times they were not happy campers and there was definitely some yelling, a lot of complaining, and I definitely learned to put some fires out. But above all I learned not to take things personally.
For both professional and personal reasons, I decided to take a non-violent communication class. I learned how to speak with a more intentional focus on listening and how to express myself without being disrespectful, hurtful, or judgmental. This type of communication allows the individual to feel safe and listened to. This is when I also began to learn about the psychology of communication and complimented it with learning the practice of meditation. I cannot speak highly enough as to how this has helped me immensely in being able to practice neutrality and building resilience and self-mastery. In other words, staying positive no matter what happens. Continue to move forward, learn from past mistakes, and continuously become the best at whatever it is you do. It is about learning to manage emotions and staying neutral, meaning you’re not pulled one way or the other in order to stay focused and accomplish your goals in the most elegant way.
Being the Creator of Your Words
When communicating with people especially in a professional platform it is definitely coming from a sales standpoint. Whether you’re selling a product or you’re selling yourself. All people have creativity because we create everything we do. We create thought, emotion, words, and behaviors. The end result of these creations is the type of life you have created for yourself up to that point. We create both consciously and unconsciously all the time. With that said, are we really aware of how we communicate and what words we choose to do so?
To share a quote from Author Margie Warrell from her book You’ve Got This she states:
“We often don’t realize just how impactful our words are – both on ourselves and others. If we did, we’d do far less complaining! You also would never hear yourself saying things like “It’s impossible to…”, “I’m totally hopeless at…” or “I had no choice…” – all phrases which undermine your own power and limit your future in some way, albeit unintentionally.”
What Lies Ahead
With that said, we live in an information age and no longer in an industrial age and communication looks and feels very different. Most of our communication is done through some sort of technology. This can be challenging when trying to sell something but again this is where growth kicks in and we learn to shape and shift and transform language through the art of putting words together. I have also learned that in order to get a response from anyone via the internet and communicating through different media platforms you must tell people what you need them to do to engage. For example, you tell people to click on the link below to go to your website, or click on the subscribe button to subscribe, or leave a comment below, or give us a like and share the video if they found it to be valuable.
This also applies to reaching out to our copier dealers to work on different projects with us. And it works with anyone you want to engage in your industry. Being creative, respectful, and concise with how we communicate are some of the key ingredients to developing and sustaining the skill of communication. All while getting what you want and building strong relationships in the process. I’ve learned to be patient, creative, and persistent with my communication with our dealers and in writing to anyone. It reminds me of one of Albert Einstein’s quotes on communication where he states:
“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Simplicity is key. In other words, less is more.
Shaping Communication
I have also learned through communicating with the different copier dealers from different parts of the world –including India, Australia, Mexico, and Germany –is how each dealer or person is unique and interprets information in their own unique way. Learning how to tailor messages to certain personality types and cultures has been both fun and challenging. It’s pushed me to go beyond what is obvious into really thinking creatively as to how to get dealers to engage and respond. Every head is a universe within itself. Every person has their own lens and perceptions. This makes communication exciting and it inspires us to understand other people’s perspectives and interpretations of reality with respect and compassion.
Throughout history, communication has been imperative to the survival of human life. From hand gestures in the early days, to eventually writing on papyrus, to now where “every two days we create more information than we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003,” according to Eric Schmidt former CEO of Google. He said this 10 years ago. How much information and content are we creating now 10 years later in 2020? All content, information, or data is communication; how will communication change in the next ten years? And how will we change with it?
We see a sneak peek of this now with the quarantine, where more people are working from home. We can visually see that our use and dependency of technology is no longer an option, but a way of life. We are in the era of artificial intelligence and it will only continue to grow from this moment forward. Personally, I love communicating face to face–I like feeling the energy and sensing the vibrations of the other person– this human connection is so needed and important for our well-being. I’m staying positive that we will get through this social distancing and know that it is safe to be close to each other, to touch each other and to understand that as humans we are social animals.
For more than 17 years, gap intelligence has served manufacturers and sellers by providing world-class services monitoring, reporting, and analyzing the 4Ps: prices, promotions, placements, and products. Email us at info@gapintelligence.com or call us at 619-574-1100 to learn more.
