The Art Of Communication: Ask! Don't Tell!

I once heard from a coach I worked with that, "the answers are in the questions."  At first I didn't know what this meant! She said, most managers spend too much time "telling" their employees where they need to improve or what they need to do, opposed to taking a minute to get them involved.

This wisdom has stuck with me over the years and I will tell you this, I can do a pretty good job of putting the cart before the horse or putting my big foot in my mouth for sure! However, by practicing this I have grown immeasurable and been able to help lots of salon and spa owners over the years grow as well.

It is really simple, when you want to make a point, coach someone on your team, or get people involved in a project - Instead of telling them what to do, think of questions you could ask them to find out what they know or don't know, what their point of view is, how they see it, and are they excited, etc.

In our industry, we are so used to doing things all day long! DO!DO!DO!DO!  We are so in the doing we forget to BE with our team! Practice this technique, come up with at least three questions you can ask them the next time you need to share something or coach them. They will feel respected and valued and you will save a ton of time by starting with what they know first ,so you know how to steer the conversation forward!

Try this and you will reap amazing benefits!