Your hosts, Merv Jersak and Tim Jerome, continue their discussion on improving oral communication skills for greater effectiveness in your project leadership. In this episode they discuss the importance of public speaking skills, managing debates, and guiding discussions to foster collaboration and achieve project goals. The conversation highlights techniques such as the Socratic method, effective meeting strategies, and the crucial role of listening. The hosts underline the need for project managers to ask questions, encourage the free flow of ideas, and practice public speaking to improve team dynamics and project outcomes.

Main Take-Aways

Project managers must master the skills of presenting yourself and your ideas using effective oral communication. You must (or should) learn:

• excellent facilitation skills for free flow of discussion
• effective meeting facilitation techniques
• discussion/debate with emotional intelligence
• the Socratic Method for fostering discussion and arriving at a conclusion
• active listening skills
• public speaking and presentation skills

Show Notes

Today’s Project Managers Coffee Chat: The Art of Presenting Yourselves and Your Ideas

00:29 Moving on from the previous podcast episode on how you come across to today’s focus on how to present yourself for greater credibility in your role as project manager.

01:18 Facilitation and leading discussions requires you to ask questions as well as impart information and instruction. You must allow for the free flow of discussion.

03:26 Effective meeting strategies require effective facilitation skills to achieve the objective for the meeting.

06:43 The mechanics of debate or discussion require an understanding of the effective use of emotional intelligence to ensure you focused on the issues not the person.

09:15 The Socratic Method is a useful oral communication skill to lay the groundwork of the discussion, solicit information, and guide the discussion to a conclusion.

13:45 Mastering the pause in conversation is an exceedingly effective tool for you to utilize in your project management communications.

14:51 Listening is as important as speaking in your oral communications.

16:53 Mastering the skill of presenting in public is one of the most valuable skills you can refine to make you a more effective, credible, successful project leader.

19:16 Being the calming force on the project is an important aspect of your role as project manager.

19:53 Introducing the next episode of tips, tools and techniques to improve your oral communication skills.