TAG: communication styles

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The Art of Collaboration: Top 10 Skills for Creative Success

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This semester, I am teaching a new course at the Yale School of Music using the collaborative project as the vehicle through which to teach arts entrepreneurship and innovation. Arts entrepreneurship involves coming up with innovative ideas that create value to society and actualizing those ideas. Collaboration is more than teamwork, where there is a leader to set the agenda and …

Networking for Music Entrepreneurs: Using Emotional Intelligence to Connect and Build Your Network

I enjoy teaching networking because it involves complex relationship building skills and requires a high degree of emotional intelligence. Rather than thinking of networking as trying to “get” something from others, it is, instead, a powerful way to make new business friends and expand your circle so that you can create a mutually-supportive community. At the heart of networking is …

Dynamic Communication for Arts Leaders: How to Use Communication Styles for Influence and Buy-In

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A major aspect of emotional intelligence is the ability to build and manage your relationship and dynamic communication is an important component of relationship management. I recently had the opportunity to teach these skills to the members of the 2014 Opera America Leadership Intensive group. One of their favorite communication tools was learning how to spot and use the 4 …

Emotional Intelligence for Musicians and Arts Leaders Part IV: 3 Communication Skills to Help Build Quality Relationships

In the course of your work as a musician or arts leader, you inevitably encounter conflict, challenges and other “slippery” situations.  How do you handle yourself and your relationships with all of the people with whom you deal?  Here is where the fourth emotional intelligence skill comes into play:  relationship management. Relationship management is the ability to create successful bonds …

Managing Challenge for Arts Leaders: How to Empower Your Leadership by Changing The Situation

This week, I had the honor to work with the 14 participants in Opera America’s Leadership Intensive, a program dedicated to identifying and forming the future leaders of opera by providing them with the skills and contacts that can help them advance in their careers. My role was to teach the “soft” skills of leadership:  how to empower yourself to lead …

Finding Passion in Your Life’s Work: Do What You Love

One of the reasons that I love working with musicians is that they chose to do what they do because of a deep sense of commitment and passion to the field.  Otherwise, why would they spend some much time practicing and honing their craft in a competitive and challenging field?

It is one thing to be in love with your art.  Yet many musicians have trouble taking the next step to figuring out how to  translate that passion into a  successful and sustainable career.

Where do you start?

Power Up Your Communication: How to Leverage the 4 Communication Styles

Think about the last time you were at a party and had the opportunity to observe a lot of people in action:

  • Who dominated the conversation and put a premium on being right and convincing others to go along with his solutions?
  • How about the serious person who rather cautiously talked in precise detail?
  • And how about the person who was bursting with enthusiasm and could not wait to tell you her great idea?
  • Who walked into the room and began by introducing herself to others, spending time with each person to establish a connection?

These are examples of 4 different communication styles:

  • Driver:  the person who takes charge and wants solutions;
  • Analytical: the person who values accuracy and details;
  • Expressive: the idea person; and
  • Amiable: the person who prioritizes relationships.

Communication 101 for Music Entrepreneurs: Know Your Communication Style

In my recent post about what it takes to be a successful musician in the 21st Century, one of the skills that I mentioned was Communication Skills.  What do I mean?

Musicians need powerful communication skills in many different settings:

  • In ensembles to make sure that the group is on the same page musically, listening carefully to each other so that the music flows;
  • In collaborations with other artists to maximize the synergies and create a powerful experience for the collaborators and their audiences;
  • Engaging their audiences so that the audience members will appreciate the music and have a deeper and richer understanding of the performance;
  • Teaching so that their students understand how they can improve and grow and learn;
  • Creating something new, be it a festival, a non-profit organization or an ensemble, and getting people on board to support the new venture
  • Networking so that they can meet and connect with other people.

Effective communication is a powerful leadership skill.  It starts with knowing who you are as a communicator and what are your strengths.  One way to do this is to know your communication style.

How to Spot the 4 Communication Styles: An Essential Leadership Skill

I used to get offended when I received short emails from my friends.  In response to my suggestion of “Let’s meet for lunch tomorrow,” I would get “Can’t” or “Sure” or “Where?”.  This used to drive me crazy because I am someone who likes to provide context for my emails, as well as find out what is going on with …