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Hi - firstly I am new here.  I've been listening to the podcasts for some time though, and am working my way through implementing alot of the ideas.

But I'd like some advice.  I have one direct report, who talks too much.  He knows his stuff, is a good performer in other respects, but just takes 5 sentences to say what could have been said in one.  And most times, he gets his point across clearly in the first sentence, but just can't stop talking.

Whats the best way to address this with him in my one-on-ones?

Singers's picture

The key is always to understand WHY. Get to know DISC and you will understand the reason for why he communicates "more then you see necessary".

Everyone is different, you're direct might get benefit from understanding how his way of communicating comes across to some people.

Kind Regards
Mads Sorensen
Disc 4536

flexiblefine's picture

It sounds to me like your natural communication styles are very different. You prefer that your direct simply get to the point and get finished, and he prefers to give you more detail or interpretation.

You should probably pay close attention to the various DISC podcasts and look into the DISC assessment offered in the "Products" section of the site. With the advice in those casts, you can figure out more about your directs' tendencies and find ways to let your directs know your own preferences better.

I'm a high S, high C, so I could go on and on, but that's not what you're looking for. :)

flexiblefine
Houston, Texas, USA
DISC: 1476

jarber's picture
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 I've had several directs with the same tendencies (to the point where many others on the team said "she talks too much"). In one case, the person talked a lot to figure things out (and she seemed to use repetition to think and hone her ideas). In the other, the person just was very detailed oriented and didn't see the big picture.

My latest thinking is to use the 10-10-10 minute model for the one-on-ones and keep them to it to get them to focus and learn how to do an "executive" summary.

But I couldn't figure out a "nice" way to say that "you need to pay attention to your audience and often your peers don't want to hear the long version...."

 

jb

stephenbooth_uk's picture

 Totally agree that understanding your DISC profile and that of your directs will help a lot.  You don't say if anyone else has problems with how much this direct says, perhaps it's that you're excessively terse?

You can still coach your direct on communications skills though.  I'm probably a lot like your direct but, if I concentrate, I can be less verbose.  I did a quick Google search for coaching resources that might be useful to you:

Most of the other results I found seemed to be people hawking their communications skills courses, may be worth considering.  A lot of assertiveness training is about communication and brevity.  Taking a long time to get to the point (or continuing to talk after you've made your point) can be a sign of lack of asserttiveness or confidence.  Perhaps explore if assertiveness/confidence might be part of the issue and if required work on that.

Stephen

 

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Skype: stephenbooth_uk  | DISC: 6137

"Start with the customer and work backwards, not with the tools and work forwards" - James Womack