What is your communication style?

Toastmaster project - Presentation Mastery Level 2 Project 1 - Understanding Your Communication Style

For this project I wrote a full length speech of 7 minutes and asked ChatGPT to polish it by adding a tinge of humour. Below is the speech I presented to complete my project and this marked my first "wow" encounter with ChatGPT's ability to comprehend the ask and act on it.

Whats my style ?

Picture it: On a sunny day in 2022, I was casually scrolling through my Facebook feed, when suddenly, like a digital wizard of Oz, Swarna Kalyan's posts about Toastmasters appeared on my wall. For those of you who do not know her, she is our District Director. Intrigued, I decided to give her a virtual shout-out, because why not? Little did I know, this cyber encounter would kickstart a journey. You see, I was a Toastmaster way back when dinosaurs roamed the corporate world, and my journey was cut short when my employer decided to play real-life chess with countries. It ended quicker than a smartphone battery at 1%. But like a phoenix (with an impressive vocabulary) rising from the ashes, I was back!

Enter the Civil Service Inspirations Toastmasters Club, where I strutted in on March 1, 2022, and in what felt like a snap of Thanos's fingers, I'm VPE – Vice President of Education, the maestro of meeting planning, the grand guru of growth opportunities! Fast and furious, you say? Well, they didn't call it "CSI" for nothing.

Good evening, Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow Toastmasters, and those of you who are still recovering from the cruise trip or National Day participation, welcome to the communication style extravaganza!

As a VPE, I used various styles of communication for meeting planning.

First up, I used, Initiating Communication style. It's like the energy drink of talking – it injects enthusiasm, innovation, and a dose of "let's conquer the world" into the conversation. I had this genius plan, you know, to get mentors and mentees together for a year-long learning journey. Sounds fancy, right? I had in mind that the data points from this planning would also help us to plan the Distinguished Club Programme points to be achieved at the end of the term. It started off well, very well. Some mentors like Linda planned the pathway progression with their mentee and uploaded it into google docs. Until the plan met reality, and the results were about as accurate as predicting the weather with a crystal ball.

All the last-minute withdrawals had legitimate excuses, but being a programme manager by profession, I was trying to implement what I thought would help a seamless delivery.

Then I tried Supportive Communication, where I messaged more people than an overenthusiastic WhatsApp group admin. Good morning, John! Wanna do a speech, evaluation, or play "Guess the Role" in our next meeting? I WhatsApped all active members individually. Responses rolled in like a slow-motion avalanche. But let's call a spade a spade, seeking out those replies felt as elusive as trying to hug a shadow.

Finally, I unleashed the Direct Communication style, my "get-to-the-point" superhero alter ego. I was like the DJ of information, spinning requests for roles like they were hot new tracks. "Speech: 1, 2, 3; Evaluations: 1, 2, 3; Timer, TMD, Table topics master – let's do this!" And lo and behold, success! It was like finding the perfect GIF for every situation – pure digital euphoria.

Now, let's talk Toastmaster framework – because yes, there's a framework for that too! I have covered 3. Now let’s look at all styles.

We've got the Direct style, which is the espresso shot of communication – no frothy milk, no fancy sprinkles, just that straight-to-the-point caffeine punch.. Then there's the Initiating style, which is like a smooth-talking persuader, ready to charm the words right out of your mouth. Supportive? Well, that's the patient saint of communication, waiting for you to finish your sentence even when you're lost in the labyrinth of your own thoughts. And last but not least, the Analytical style, which is like the Sherlock Holmes of words, dissecting every phrase with surgical precision.

But here's the punchline, folks – there's no one-size-fits-all style. It's like trying to pick the perfect ice cream flavour for a group of friends with wildly different tastes – you can't please everyone, so you might as well throw in some sprinkles and hope for the best.

Then as part of completing this project, there was this quiz to be completed. Think of it as the Hogwarts Sorting Hat for your conversational mojo. I scored high on Direct and Initiating, Those who know me personally might acknowledge that this is more or less accurate.

Having a higher score in one communication style indicates that you are comfortable using that style in many situations but is not necessarily what you choose in all communication.

So, my friends, as you journey through the realms of communication, remember that we're all a bit like culinary artists, sprinkling just the right amount of humour, charm, and emoji flair into our conversations. And as Peter Drucker once said, "The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said." So, let's be the detectives of unspoken words, the maestros of meaningful dialogue, and the unsung heroes of understanding. Thank you!