Page 307 - Lean six sigma demystified

Chapter 9 LaSer-FoCuSed Pr oCeSS innovation 285

One of the principles of NLP is “The meaning of your communication is the
response you get.” If your customers respond in a way that matches what you
think you said, it was a good communication. If they respond differently, then
your communication was unclear.
The language skills I learned have served me well in everything I’ve done. It
makes me a better husband, because I listen to what my wife says. It makes me
a better consultant and supplier, because I listen to what my customers want
and then try to deliver it in ways that match their words. I don’t always get it
right but I keep working on it.
Just because we speak English does not mean that we speak the same
language or that we have the same pictures, sounds, or feelings tied to any
given word. We have different core values that affect our speech and five
very different motivation styles that impact every aspect of our
communication.
Train your customer service people to listen and connect with customers on their
terms, not yours. It will make your business grow and help you retain customers.
One consultant I know worked with a major airline’s written complaint depart-
ment. He taught half of the service people to reply to the customer in language
that matched the words in the customer letters. Customers who received
matching language letters increased their travel on the airline; customers receiv-
ing the usual letters did not.
I wrote a book on how to motivate everyone and a quick reference card that
you can download from www.motivateeveryone.com/pdf/mejobaid.pdf. To find
out more about your own motivation and communication style, you can also
take our free online personality profile at www.motivateeveryone.com/nlpstyle.
html. Next, you will want to figure out how to measure your ability to deliver
what your customers want.

? still struggling

Think about a friend or someone you find it easy to talk to. Do they “speak your
language?” Now think about someone you have a hard time understanding. You
know they are speaking english (or your native tongue), but you just don’t seem
to understand what they are saying. Do they “speak your language?” Can you
learn to speak theirs?