Blog Post 2
"The fallacy about networking is that it's not who you know that matters. It's who knows YOU."
- Dr. John Daly, Professor of Communication
Have you ever had difficulties being understood or just getting a point across? Would you like to
enhance your inter-personal communication skills on the job and boost your own professional
effectiveness? Luckily, here on the Forty Acres, we have one of the world’s experts on this topic, Dr.
John Daly, Professor in the School of Communication.
Dr. Daly addressed a meeting of UT staffers on this topic recently, and, if you missed his presentation,
below we have just a few of the main points that he touched upon.
What distinguishes highly successful people?





First, never negotiate with yourself. That is to say, don’t limit your goals by the fear of asking for
what you want. If you don’t ask for something – be it a raise, a promotion, training, or even a
new desk – you can be 100% sure that you won’t get it. If you ask, you could be very surprised
at how much you receive. Using negative feedback to prevent success will certainly do just that.
Develop multiple competencies. Really successful people have a multiplicity of skills that can
surprise you. We don’t all have to be like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company who made a
perfect score on the SAT and GMAT, speaks five languages fluently, and earned an Olympic
Medal in competitive rowing. If you are a staffer at UT, this would more than likely translate
into outstanding Excel spreadsheet knowledge, strong writing ability, in-depth knowledge of UTrelated policies, and polished financial skills. Combine this with a professional and engaging
demeanor and you will have success.
Do sweat the small stuff. Mastering small social skills, such as how to greet people, how to steer
a conversation in a professional setting to avoid a faux pas, and how to advocate your position
in an effective way in a conference or meeting – all of these varied and seemingly insignificant
matters became much more than the sum of their parts over the long term. All this adds up to
“The Politics of Likeability.”
Learn to tell a good story. Every great leader is a great story teller. Family, culture, even an
office environment is really a collection of stories. Learn to understand that the stories in an
organization are the most persuasive means of communication. Small factoids and large master
narratives are the essence of any organization and the best way to start and promote
communication.
Be credible and trustworthy. People like honest people. Of course, this must be used with
discretion – you can’t say hurtful things just because they are true. But, if you make a mistake in
the workplace, be honest about it. It’s never the crime, but the cover-up that will get you in
trouble. And be reliable. This will augment the trust your coworkers have in you. Gain a
reputation for finishing what you start.




Learn to master your very small commitments. Again, this may sound trivial, but everyone who
has any success keeps their big commitments. It’s the ability to remember the little things, the
details and nuances that will distinguish you in the workplace. This builds trust.
Confidence is a key aspect of success in the workplace. This applies not only in your day-to-day
interactions with people, but also when you need to present or advocate for something. Data
has shown that people who make presentations in a confident manner are perceived to be
competent.
Be interpersonally savvy. Try to understand that, even if you disagree with something a
colleague says, they have a very good reason, in their mind, for saying it. Smart people are able
to figure out why other people think that they are right. In a meeting, for example, every
question is actually a statement. Everyone has good reasons for what they do and say. If you
are successful with people you will learn to figure out their “good” reasons. This boils down to
Interests vs. Positions. Interests are the “What” people want and Positions are the “Why”
people want it. If you can square the “What” with the “Why” you are closer to determining a
course of action.
Be optimistic. Every great leader is optimistic. Reframe the problem. A roller coaster can be
terrifying and even kill people, but no one worries about that during the ride. If you can reframe
the problem with optimism, the outcome can be very different. If you can relabel things in a
positive fashion, the entire problem can diminish enormously.