[kathryn@conversationlab.world]

– What are the potential strengths in the relationship? – Both are high on challenge and can draw on sense-making voices in their conversations. Could the Exploring (Simon) and Controlling (Victor) voices be a compelling combination?
– What are potential areas of tension in the relationship? – Diagnose voice could well cause tension between them.
– What are your hypotheses? – Victor wants to get to the point, fast and could get frustrated when Simon slips into over-analyse mode. Does Simon feel the need to ‘prove’ his position and can he come across as unable to budge?
– What lines of enquiry would you follow?

Simon – Explore how he uses the voices in normal conversations vs how he uses them when he is under pressure. What situations cause these shifts for him? Could you tell me what’s the impact on the other person? When has he used these voices successfully/unsuccessfully? What voice could he use when he is under pressure? What voices does Victor resonate with the most? How could your use of voices be impacting the relationship/get buy in?

Victor – Explore how direct and challenge show up in his conversations, impact of these voices on the relationship with others, how these voices help him in leading and managing. What other voices could he draw upon? What happens to his exploring voices when stressed? What are the triggers for this? What does he notice about talk patterns when he is stressed? What voices do other people use that can trigger you? What can we learn from about why they feel they need to use these voices with you? What do you miss in the conversations with you? Where are your team holding back? What voices do you want them to use more/less of with you?

– What development recommendations would you make for Victor and Simon? Think about how their voices could be creating tension in the relationship, when do they work well together, how do they want their conversations to be (normal and stressed).

[kathryn@conversationlab.world]

1. Inquire – Could you tell me more about that?
2. Probe – How did you feel in that moment?
3. Diagnose: could we review the employee exit interview and analyse the trends?
4. Evaluate: When we look at the pro’s and con’s of the situation….
5. Articulate: Let me play back what I’ve heard. Javir said that…. And Jose said that…..
6. Direct: You have failed your objective.
7. Challenge: We are making lots of assumptions here., what does the data say?
8. Advise: Could I suggest an alternative idea?
Advocate: I think that based on the data the best course of action would be….

[kathryn@conversationlab.world]

What do you hypothesise from Yvette’s triangle?- All low scores across 9 voices. Could this be to do with how this exercise was ‘framed’ to her by her Manager? How does she feel about the away day? Is this her in a ‘normal’ context?

What does Yvette’s comparative track tell you about her tendencies under pressure?
– Direct and Probe fall away – what do these voices look like to her?
– High on Advocate – how is this voice experienced by others? What situations mean that she leans into this voice more?
– Diagnose is higher too – is this an internal or external voice? How does this show up?
– Challenge drops away. In what context does this happen? what does a challenge voice look and sound like to her?

What are your hypotheses and lines of enquiry to explore Yvette’s profile?
– How was the context of the away day impacting the way she answered?
– How was she feeling about the away day?
– Does she feel that this profile represented her?
– How ‘safe’ does she feel in the team?
– What are the qualities she brings to the team?
– What shifts in her communication when she is with her peers?
– Is she different with her own direct reports?
– What are the internal voices saying and are they different?

[kathryn@conversationlab.world]

What are your hypotheses?
– Working as a Programme Manager to design, resource and deliver training programmes means that she needs to be clear, motivating, and persuasive, to ensure that the aid workers know how they need to respond in high-stakes/stress situations.
– Could her preferred voices slow down her effectiveness here?

What lines of enquiry would you follow? What questions would you like to ask Becca?
I’d want to explore how she uses these voices, what happens when she uses the lesser accessed voices, which voices are internal and which are expressed externally

I wonder whether Becca could leverage some of the other voices to help her to gain buy-in, build understanding fast…

[kathryn@conversationlab.world]

Q1. What catches your attention about the shape of Jack’s profile? Tends to lean in more to positioning and controlling voices.
Q2. What impressions do you find yourself forming about Jack from his profile? That Jack may well have preconceived ideas on how a conversation how to go and may be quite opinionated.
Q3. Which aspects of the context do you think might be important in this case? Jack could be feeling that his to ‘prove’ his ‘worth’ as a consultant in his conversations. I wonder how he would need to adapt his approach for a South East Asia audience.?
Q4. What issues might you be looking to explore with Jack? How do people experience these different voices? When does he tend to use one more than other? When could he use some of the lesser used voices? What happens to your more used voices when under pressure? Are there other voices that you could use?

[kathryn@conversationlab.world]

Q1. Which negative voice/s particularly annoy you? Attack and Patronise
Q2. How do you tend to react when you feel you are being spoken to in that way? Either go quiet or defend
Q3. Is that reaction deliberate or largely instinctive? Instinctive
Q4. What effect does your reaction have on the interaction? The quality of the relationship deteriorates and I am less likely to want to engage again with that person