Keep it short: the 10 second rule.

When solving problems, making decisions, managing risks, working on new opportunities, we often get into noisy discussions full of ideas, information, assumptions, knowledge and it’s easy to get lost in all the different inputs we hear and see. Practice two things:

1.      Give information in short bursts. You can clearly communicate suggestions or data within 10 seconds:

“The spikes in response time happened at 11:14, 12:14 and 13:14. Nothing earlier today or yesterday”

“Siting the new switches on floor B would make cabling easier and cheaper”

“The upgrade seems low risk, but even so, we need a more detailed rollback plan”

The more different things you try to communicate at the same time, the more confused your meetings will become. One at a time; 10 seconds.

2.      Seek pinpointed contributions. Make your written or spoken question short, and focus on ONE piece of information at a time.

If you want to know about an incident’s timing, make clear what you want. If it’s the FIRST instance, ask: “At what time, on what date did event monitoring pick up the spike?”

If it’s the recurrence: “After the first spike, at what times were the subsequent occurrences?”

You wouldn’t expect to create a SQL query like “Please supply the necessary information” and expect to get very far. You shouldn’t expect those around you to guess what you need, so be precise in stating or asking for what you need. Try to keep your answers and questions to 10 seconds (and let others speak!)

Now 10 seconds isn’t going to be enough for detailed technical explanations, but for:

·      Gathering data about an incident or problem

·      Inviting ideas for a solution (not the justification for the idea, just the idea itself)

·      Listing risks

….10 seconds per contribution or question should be enough.

Sometimes we're so anxious to impart some vital piece of information that we interrupt others. Practice holding off for at least 10 seconds; make a note of what you want to say, then listen..

For more information about different types of problem try this short webinar:

https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/15581/403618?utm_source=Kepner-Tregoe&utm_medium=brighttalk&utm_campaign=403618