From Sarah Palin to Mark Sanford, from David Letterman to Jessie Jackson, why do so many people who are presumably comfortable in the public eye continue to say misleading and dumb things? Since when has "I misspoke" become a verb form? Why are there so many people employed in the White House just to correct Joe Biden's prepared statements?!

How is a consultant or any professional services provider to make himself or herself coherent and understood?

First, engage brain

If people accustomed to the public spotlight can make gaffes, anyone can and will. How do we minimize our own provocation to be misunderstood and misinterpreted when the result, for us, is a loss of potential or existing business? The last thing we want a buyer do ask is, "What did you mean by THAT??!!" (Ah, apparently not what you thought….)

First, engage your brain. Think about what you intend to communicate. Only the gifted few can respond extemporaneously and immediately with pearls of wisdom, and they're called the "gifted FEW" for a reason.

I don't believe in "dumbing down" language, which is terrible advice and makes you seem like a perpetual sixth-grader. But I do believe that you should think about three elements in language:
1. Accuracy: Choose words that convey your true meaning. Don't use "some" if "three" is what you mean, and don't use "probable" if you mean "possible."
2. Context: What makes sense where you are at the moment? You might say that "the customer is not always right," but I wouldn’t recommend "those pests of customers" in a business that deals with the public daily.
3. Power: If you want to spur someone to action, don't underwhelm them with, "We find this to be a generally effective and desirable course of action." Provoke them with, "Our most successful clients have done this to accelerate growth and profit consistently."

There is nothing wrong with taking a few seconds to formulate your thoughts, or say, "That's a great question and it deserves a great answer. Let me take some time to reflect on it and get back to you." Some of the most awkward situations I've seen occur when a consultant shoots back immediately with, "Good point, let me give you an example…." and there follows a few minutes of people staring at the ceiling waiting for the muse to strike.

Second, open ears

Too many people, intent on "selling," believe that they must anticipate where the buyer's conversation is going and head the buyer off at the pass, as if in some Western from the 1940s where everyone can ride and shoot well at the same time.

Thus, I've seen consultants break in to a buyer's commentary with, "Let me tell you what we'd do about that," or "We had a similar issue just last month with a client," or "Have you tried this?"

Have you tried being quiet? It's amazing what happens if you simply shut up and listen. When my beagle picks up a scent, all his other senses shut down and he won't listen at all, being totally mesmerized by what he smells. You should do the same. Just listen and disengage everything else. You'll be surprised at how much the buyer's language and examples are actually helping you to partner and provide services.

Here are three elements of superb listening:
1. Skip a beat: When the other person appears to have stopped talking, wait two seconds (one thousand one, one thousand two) before you begin speaking.
2. Make a note: This isn't a memory contest or a spelling bee. Listen and note key issues and patterns that the buyer raises.
3. Apply active listening: To encourage more valuable information, say, "In other words….," "Can you give me some examples of that?" and "Why do you feel that way?"

Understand?

With more stimuli than ever before, we are all in danger of miscommunicating and misunderstanding. The key is not perfection, which is impossible, but success, which is likely, if we take preventive action to ensure we're understood and understand the other person.

President Obama, referring to the 747 and fighter jet that buzzed Manhattan causing panic, said, "We blew it, our fault, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

'Nuff said.


© Alan Weiss 2009 All rights reserved.

Alan Weiss, Ph.D. probably has the strongest independent consulting brand in the country, and maybe beyond. He is the author of 32 books appearing in 9 languages. His newest is The Talent Advantage (with Nancy MacKay) from Wiley. He runs the unique Million Dollar Consulting® College three times a year. He has won dozens of writing and consulting awards and is a member of the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame.® Contact him at http://www.summitconsulting.com, or his blog, http://www.contrarianconsulting.com.