Lynne Breil, Carol Hess and Bev Wise Hill had a message for hundreds of their fellow professional women Oct. 26Good communication skills matter in the business world.
"You are a package, and nothing should interfere with your brilliant ideas," said Breil, of The Professional Edge Inc.
The three midstate executives shared their views on effective communication during the Professional Women's Forum held at the Eden Resort Inn and Suites in Manheim. Township. The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry organized the event, which attracted more than 200 businesswomen. Breil, Hess and Hill agreed that using the right communication tools is essential for women who want to become effective leaders in the workplace.
Breil, whose York County company focuses on etiquette and communications in business, discussed nonverbal communication. A woman's gestures, appearance and posture can strengthen or weaken her message, she said. A slumped posture indicates low spirits, while leaning forward indicates a willingness of listen (see "Speaking with out words," this page).
There are many ways women can influence co-workers more through nonverbal communication, Breit said. Women who sit at a conference table with their hands above the table instead of at their sides communicate they're engaged and involved. Excessive touching of one's face or hair indicates fidgeting.
"You don't want anyone to overpower your words," Breit said.
Showing too much raw emotion in the workplace also can overpower a woman's ideas, said Hess, manager of organizational strategies at Cargas Systems Inc., a Lancaster County business-software and consulting firm. Raging in anger or bursting into tears in the workplace can make colleagues focus on a woman's emotions rather than her ideas.
"Recognize the risk of displaying your emotions," Hess said. "You have to recognize that how you display your emotions is going to cause people to assign certain stuff to you."
Women should not hide all their feelings, but they should be aware of how displays of emotion will be received in their organizations. Properly understanding and managing emotions can help women use them to positively affect their businesses, Hess said.
"You can be the sunshine or be Eeyore, with a cloud over your head all of the time," she said, referring to the down-in-thedumps donkey from the "Winnie The Pooh" stories.
Good communication skills also are essential for women who want to successfully negotiate in business, said Hill, an executive with Bank of Lancaster County. People often associate negotiations with salary increases, but they also can be used in other situations, such as when a businesswoman wants her supervisor to assign her to work on a particular project or give her a more flexible work schedule.
"No matter your position, you have opportunities to negotiate," Hill said.
To negotiate successfully, women should combine niceness and assertiveness, Hill said. Women must be warm and engaging, while making sure their job performance and willingness to learn make them good candidates for whatever they're seeking.
Women also must be ready for their initial negotiation attempt to fail. Hill advised the women to look at initial failure not as a rejection, but an opportunity for further discussion.
"Rid yourself of thinking its black or white, all or nothing," she said.
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