Safety Speakers Tip – Communication Skills Training – Who Needs It?

Safety Speakers Understand the Importance of Communication Skills Training

Safety speakers as well as everyone knows how important it is to do everything we can to make the workplace safe. Corporate expenditures are huge to remove hazards, improve procedures, engineering safety into our processes, and on and on. Very few people or organizations invest in the most important part of any safety process – Communication Skills!

Communication, Communication, Communication

I’m sure you have heard the phrase, “What’s the most important three things in real estate? Location, Location, Location!” For safety, I can tell you the most important three elements are, Communication, Communication, Communication. Ironically, the most important element is something virtually no one except professional speakers or trainers have had any training in. In fact many safety speakers while engaging and impressive lack the training which makes them effective.

It’s not your fault. No private or public school, or college or university teaches the communication skills you need to get life-saving information to your employees. Sure you had to give a speech in a class but that isn’t learning communication skills.

It’s Not What You Know or Who You Know – It’s Do You Know How to Communicate!

No matter what your career path is, your ability to communicate your message effectively is perhaps the most important skill you need. We have all seen or heard the brilliant person with profound knowledge or insights who couldn’t effectively convey that knowledge to others. How sad that they are experts and yet are unable to communicate that expertise to others which limits their overall effectiveness. I have had the privilege of training many corporate safety speakers in effective communication skills.

Likewise, you have probably seen or heard someone who was brilliant and was also able to convey concepts  to everyone. I remember standing on the International Space Station mockup in Building 5 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. I listened to a gifted physicist and friend explain how the space station operates and how complex it is. He was explaining orbital mechanics to my 11 year old son and I. Because he was an accomplished communicator we both understood what he was teaching us. So it often turns out it isn’t what you know or who you know, it’s do you know how to communicate effectively.

Safety Performance is Damaged By Poor Communication

Safety insights, truths, procedures, and policies without effective communication helps no one. In fact, poor communications and poor presentations have actually hurt safety performance. How often do you hear people groan when they hear they must attend a safety meeting? They comment it’s boring and they can barely stay awake. It is ineffective untrained safety speakers who have caused this impression.

Safety boring? How could that be? Here we have information which will save lives and for so many years safety people with poor communication skills have made such an exciting topic into boredom. People should be begging us to tell them the secrets to working safely and getting home every day. Instead, they dread having to listen to one more safety talk. How sad.

Safety information saves lives. When people are communicated with effectively they take safe actions. They voluntarily follow safety procedures even when no one is watching. They wear the best personal protective equipment they can get their hands on and they watch out for their fellow workers.

It’s Not Just About Being Fun

My career in safety began because I did a fun and entertaining safety presentation. I was a pioneer in making safety fun. I even wore a tuxedo to my safety presentations dressed as a classic magician. As fun and entertaining as my presentations were, I knew that making safety fun wasn’t enough. I applied the communication skills I had learned in earning my Bachelors Degree in Speech. I added in the skills I learned from some top motivational speakers around the world. This knowledge which I can give to you helped me avoid the communication errors I see so many professional safety speakers make at every conference where I hear them speak. Humor without knowing key communication principles can actually weaken a safety message. With the right principles, it becomes life changing.

Two Categories of Communication Training

To be the best safety communicator possible, you need two types of communication skill training. First, you need to learn the principles and skills of a master communicator. Communication situations are varied and changing. In order to be the most effective, you must understand several key principles. With those as a foundation, you will be able to customize your message to fit the situation perfectly. These principles are based on one to one and group communication situations.

The second type of training needed is presentation skills. Presentation skills allow you to reach an audience of one to one-thousand. These include the best way to use humor. How to tell stories in a way that gets results. How to use tools such as PowerPoint effectively. Understanding how logistics impacts a message.

Of these two trainings, which I do on a regular basis the first, Mastering Safety Communication can be completed in one day. The second, my Dynamic Safety Meetings Institute takes two to three days depending if my client wants to include live video coaching as part of the sessions.

Who Are The Most Effective Safety Team Leaders?

The most effective leaders, whether it’s safety or any other field, are the best communicators. The good news is you can learn great communication skills. Too many people think being a great speaker or communicator is only for those who have certain gifts. The reality is every top speaker I know learned their craft. Sure some of us may have a booming voice but with modern public address systems that isn’t critical.

Sending People To Work Without Training?

No one would ever think of sending a worker to do a job without proper safety training. Every major corporation that holds safety as a value would stop any process if a safety hazard was found. However,that , these same companies send their safety teams out to teach, train, motivate and encourage people to work safely without any communication skills training. Without the proper training their communication is not effective at the very least and can actually convey the wrong message at the worst.

Poor Communication Skills Are a Contributing Factor In Injuries

The safety team thinks they have taught the safest procedures. They think they have communicated about the hazards in the workplace. They think their audience of one or one-hundred has gotten their message and more often than not they are wrong. Safety speakers and trainers who aren’t master communicators risk not getting their vital information to their audience.

An injury occurs and the safety team knows they trained or communicated to the worker the correct process or procedure. They can show in the training records someone passed the class. The person even thinks they were trained because they have a card in their wallet.

It’s Not About Intent

Companies spend thousands or millions of dollars on safety training. It costs them the wages of the safety team members, the wages of the trainees and the logistical costs of any training. Yet, sadly, they spend nothing in communication skills training for their safety leaders, safety speakers and teams.

Ask Yourself These Questions

• How well do you safety team members convey their message?
• Do your safety team members get the results you need?
• How do you get through to the most difficult employees?
• Have you given your people the proper tools to be master safety communicators?

Traits and Skills of a Master Safety Communicator

People who are masters of safety communication gauge their effectiveness by the results they achieve. Conveying knowledge is not enough. We know this because we know many injured employees knew the correct action, they just weren’t taking that action. Communication without action and results is incomplete or failed communication.

The following are traits or skills a properly trained master safety communicator has.

Master safety communicators:

• Know what’s appropriate in today’s workplace and why.
• Take personal responsibility for the results of their communication.
• Make a significant difference in the lives of those around them.
• Are flexible and adapt their communication style to that of the person they are communicating with.
• Helps others succeed in achieving their outcomes, for example, getting home safe every day.
• Know they are effective.
• Measure communication success by results.
• Have fun communicating.
• Enjoy results.
• Believe in themselves and their effectiveness.
• Understand people’s representational systems and how to use them effectively.
• Develop rapport quickly with people they are communicating with.
• Know how to make sure people know they listen to them.
• Have amazing listening skills.
• Know how to develop rapport with an entire room of people.
• Speak with passion.
• Help others to motivate themselves.
• Communicate from the viewpoint of their audience.
• Have high expectations of those they communicate with and see those expectations met.
• Can motivate themselves to be effective even when they don’t “feel” up to it.
• Do whatever it takes to get a positive result.
• Be inspirational.
• Strive for constant improvement.
• Can deliver feedback in a way the recipient appreciates it.
• Multiply their effectiveness by communicating transferable concepts.
• Plan ahead for spontaneity.
• Know how to get people out of a stuck state.
• Understand the importance of the words we use.
• Know spoken words are actions.
• Have learned the skill of creativity.
• Share ideas with others.
• Use transformational vocabulary.
• Know the keys to achievable outcomes.
• Know how to use positive self-talk.
• Know how to communicate to themselves.

Take A Moment to Watch John In Action

What To Do If You Want These Skills For Yourself and Your Team

Set aside one day for your team and have me come to your site to deliver my full-day seminar, “Mastering Safety Communication.” Also, because we are developing new video clips for my website, I will provide this valuable training at a special discount price. Just call Diane Weiss at 209-745-9419 and get the details.

Summertime and early fall are great times to give your team the communication skills they need to reduce injuries even more than your current excellent results. Don’t miss out on this incredible offer, once we get the video clips we need, everything goes back to the regular price.

Make You and Your Team Master Safety Communicators – Call Today For Special Discount Price
Give Diane Weiss a call at 209-745-9419 and bring John to your site to give your people the communication skills they need to reduce injuries. You can email her at diane@drebinger.com
Until next week,
I’ll be, “Watching Out For Everyone’s Safety™”
John
© 2017 John Drebinger Presentations
Permission to use granted when credited and contact information included. www.drebinger.com +1 209.745.9419