Can You Hear What I See? (Pt. II)

Yesterday, we shared the importance of listening to your clients and prospects with the intent of identifying their primary communication style. We listed three styles that came from our research in neurolinguistics. Today, we dig a little deeper and offer a free tool to make it easy for you.

When you’ve identified the communication style of your prospects and clients, it’s almost magical how much better the information and understanding will flow. Here are a few ways to communicate with the different styles.

Communicating With Auditory People:

• Speak clearly and in plain language.

• Invite questions and discussion.

• Read instructions and directions aloud.

• Ask people if they can hear what is being said.

Communicating With Visual People:

• Invite visual people to write down directions or instructions.

• Discuss ways for the other person to view or see the information.

• In person-to-person discussion, watch for the “squint” expression, which indicates the visual person doesn’t "see" the message.

• In-person, maintain eye contact with the other person.

Communicating With Kinesthetic People:

• Encourage participation throughout the process or discussion.

• Be willing to answer a lot of questions about why and how things work.

• Invite questions about the “big picture.”

• Give examples, stories, situations and experiences — tie it to their reality.

Having your information seen, heard or felt involves presenting it in the style that your prospects and clients best understand. Taking these simple steps of identifying and then communicating in that style will lead you to greater relationship strength, understanding, and connection. Those things, of course, will lead to you having a greater ability to solve the problems of your clients and make more sales.

We created a Communication Style Identification Chart. Click here to send me an email and I’ll be happy to give you a copy. It will provide a more comprehensive list of how to communicate with each of the different styles.

Jeff Schmidt is SVP-Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can reach Jeff at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com or follow him on social media: Twitter and LinkedIn.