Conversations can be dynamic, in-teractive
and inclusive – impacting
the way we connect, engage, in-teract
and influence others, and
enabling us to shape reality, mindsets,
events and outcomes in a collaborative
way. They can move us from power over
others to power with others, bridging real-ity
gaps between how you see things and I
see things.
Conversational intelligence (C-IQ) of-ten
separates those who succeed from those
who fail – in business and in relationships
of all kinds. Intelligent conversations are
sources of energy and intimacy, connec-tion
and communication that empower us
to launch transformational products and
projects into the world. They are the gold-en
threads that allow us to move toward
and trust others; however, these threads
can also unravel, causing us to avoid others
in fear of loss and pain. Unhealthy conver-sations
are at the root of distrust, deceit,
betrayal and avoidance – resulting in low
productivity and profitability.
Words are the symbols we use to view,
think about and process our perceptions
of reality and the means of sharing our
perceptions with others. Yet few leaders
see “words” through this perspective, and
therefore lack insight as to how vital con-versation
is to the health, productivity and
“sanity” of their culture.
By learning how conversations trig-ger
different parts of our brain, and how
they either catalyze or freeze our brains in
protective patterns, you can develop the
conversational intelligence skills to build
healthier, more resilient organizations.
WHAT IS CONVERSATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE?
Conversations are the way we connect, en-gage,
navigate and transform the world
with others. High performance depends
on the quality of our culture, which de-pends
on the quality of our relationships,
which depend on the intelligence of
our conversations. Everything happens
through conversations.
Strengthen relationships and results
As we communicate, we read the con-tent
and emotions being sent our way and
we send content and emotions to others.
Conversations are more than the infor-mation
we share and the words we speak.
They offer a way to package our feelings
about our world, others and ourselves.
As leaders, we communicate that we
are upset or happy with almost every con-versation.
As we come to understand the
power of language in regulating how peo-ple
feel every day, and the role language
plays in the brain’s capacity to expand
perspectives and create a feel-good experi-ence,
we can learn to shape our workplace
in profound ways.
C-IQ gives us the power to influence
the way we interpret reality
Conversations impact different parts of
the brain in different ways, because dif-ferent
parts of the brain are listening for
different things. By understanding the way
conversations impact our listening, we can
Conversational
Intelligence
WHAT OPENS US UP AND
CLOSES US DOWN?
By Judith E. Glaser
26 ❚ JULY/AUGUST 2014 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL