Conversation CRAFT

The five common elements that apply across any successful conversation are:  

C - CONNECT on a human and professional level. In a professional conversation, it can be difficult to connect if you do not relate to one of your conversational partner’s top three priorities. All conversations will have points of connection and disconnection. Reliably having more of the former leads to better outcomes. 

We call this NetKonnector^TM.

• Points of connection during conversation can be observed through curiosity (asking good, relevant questions), active listening, and mirroring language and behaviours.
•  Points of disconnection are observed through missing opportunities for empathy, talking too much about yourself, and using complex or judgmental language.

Our data shows that missed opportunities for empathy are the single biggest cause of disconnection in conversations.  Tip: If you truly listen to what the other person is telling you and are open – you’ll spot these will be able to respond with compassion. This drives deep connection.

R - REALITY - understanding the reality of the other party’s situation; uncovering their needs, challenges and priorities early on will help shape the conversation.  It will also help you understand their beliefs. Sustainable behaviour change is difficult to achieve without addressing beliefs. Belief systems are based on thoughts, feelings, validations and behaviours.  

• If done well, probing questions that seek to understand the customer's needs and pain points will be asked and any objections will be turned into opportunities. You may experience good conversation balance with an equal ratio of open and closed questions, and mirroring.

• In conversations where this has not been done well, you may observe question stacking, tentative language, negative sentiments and poor engagement.  It will not lead to any behaviour change because the underlying belief system has not been addressed. 

Our data shows that with question stacking, engagement drops by 50% if you ask more than two questions at once. 

Tip: Good preparation includes thinking about the best questions to ask, which will uncover needs. Asking a single confident open question and waiting for the answer will give you the information you need to progress the conversation purposefully.

These models need to start with understanding the other party's reality.

A- ACTIVATE interest from your communication partner. Bring your proposition to life with metaphors, human stories, and engaging visuals that can all evoke positive emotions and help make your conversation more memorable.

•  To do this well, ask challenging (big, open) questions at the beginning, tell stories, “chunk up” your value proposition to show the bigger picture, and use appropriate language.
•  Without this, conversations can lead to information overload, one party can dominate the conversation by talking for long periods, leading to low energy and engagement.

Our data shows that engagement declines by 30% if you talk for more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds.   

F - FOCUS All conversations have an optimal shape - sometimes known as a sales or conversation model (e.g. GROW for coaching, SPIN for selling, MEF for medical). We call this a KonversationDNATM. Ensure the shape and balance of the conversation is right, discussing the right topics in the right order so you maximize your chance of success. This requires preparation. Using what we already know to personalise the conversation and responding to their personality needs (persona) using the right language. 

• If done well, the shape and balance of the conversations will be right with topics being discussed in the correct order to get the desired outcomes from the call.
•  Conversations that are suboptimal will be missing or under-indexed Time on KonversationDNA elements, have an imbalance in the talk-listen ratio and poor outcomes.

Our data shows that 45% of conversations fail to follow all steps of a sales or conversation model (whether sales, medical or coaching).And those that do can create 30% more joy.

Tip: 

Distilling and giving your teams clear guidance on the balance and sequence of conversation elements (be it a sales model, medical engagement framework, GROW coaching framework, for example) helps participants see their differences and change their approach.

T - TRUST built through the conversation leaves the customer/coachee/patient with positive feelings and clear next steps. Actively seek out objections and deal with them empathetically. Your competence and confident delivery will enhance it. Better conversations finish where they start - on a human level rather than a business one.

• If done well, conversations will show a confident delivery of messages and objections, clear actions and next steps jointly created, with joy and high energy at the end of the conversation.
•  If not done, conversations will exhibit tentative delivery, negative sentiment and emotion of other parties, and no/low commitment to next steps.

 Our data shows if you set a shared agenda at the beginning of the conversation, you increase the odds of getting the desired outcome by 40%.

Tip: Understanding what the other person wants to get out of the conversation shows you care about getting to a win:win and this helps to build trust from the outset. 

Remember "Communication CRAFT" to ensure delivery of successful conversation outcomes with your customers, patients and team. 

Are you interested in knowing how good you/your team’s Conversation CRAFT is? 

Leading Life Sciences organizations use KAI to baseline performance and show precisely how and where your teams can improve. Bespoke models are tailored for sales teams and Medical teams with Healthcare professionals, managers coaching, and clinicians with patients. KAI can be further tuned to the treatment area and specific key messages and insights of your brand.