Ethan F. Becker - Mastering Communication at Work

Copyright 2021 by Ethan F. Becker and Jon Wortmann. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-26-047413-8
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For our moms, dads, and Kelly, Gracie,
Colby, and Abigail, and Jen

We are grateful to five decades of coaches and staff at the Speech Improvement Company, Inc., and their hundreds of thousands of clients who through their experiences helped to derive the best practices in communication. To Dr. Dennis Becker and Dr. Paula Borkum Becker for the research and development, and for teaching Ethan plosives at the age of 4. To Kelly, Monica, Greg, and Stefan for their presence and teaching.

To Joe Palmer, Joe Mercedante, Brian Zanghi, Debbie Depp, Carol Long, Jay Therrien, Tim Clark, and James Ebert for your support and insight. To Dr. Robert Wortmann for being the first editor of both editions.

Were grateful to our agent, Giles Anderson, and to our editing and production team: Amy Li, Daina Penikas, Steve Straus, and Alison Shurtz.

Its been 10 years since the first edition of this book. Its become an international bestseller, including number one in 13 categories on Amazon. It is read in university classes and sits on the shelves of CEOs of global companies. Leaders and managers use it every day to refresh and to prepare for important conversations and presentations. So what is different in the world that demands a second edition?

Since the first version, information has become a problem. The amount of new data created and shared each day grows so quickly that any stat we could reference is already outdated. The world lives closer together, virtually and economically. While we do not always act as a unified global community, we can communicate instantly, anywhere. Our financial systems, supply chains, corporations, and governments are deeply interdependent. Our methods of communication have changed too. Messaging, virtual collaboration, and live video are ubiquitous. The virtual world is as busy as the real world on a normal day. But is there new wisdom for how we master our communication at work?

In terms of technique, no. Most of what we know about effective communication comes from thousands of years ago when people paid more attention to interpersonal interaction and public presentation. They didnt have media. They didnt have the internet. Aristotle had rhetoric and his voice. His messages still reverberate today.

In terms of people, no. We continue to coach thousands of leaders and managers every year. We all still struggle with the same communication challenges that have plagued organizations and societies of every generation. The formats we taught a decade ago still apply to the same people challenges. Evolution does not move that fast.

In application, however, there are new realities. In this new version, we updated each chapter for the leader who wants to rise in the real and virtual world. We reordered the chapters in the second section. We updated some of the facts and the positional history of our case studies. Unlike some business books, where famous companies that used to demonstrate best practice later failed, the people and organizations we reference continue to thrive.

We also added a new chapter on mastering communication while working from home. We started this chapter on virtual communication long before COVID-19 caused most of the world to work away from the office. The goal of virtual communication is the same as in-person interaction: be clear and be valuable. The way we use language, tone, and timing, however, demands extra care. Words and messages live forever in the digital world. Master communicators love this challenge.

Communication is still the most important skill too many of us take for granted. You are a great communicator most of the time. You have risen, you are rising, because of your natural speaking and listening skills. Do you know how to get better? Do you know the traps that interrupt strong relationships and the measurements that prove you are a leader people trust? We want you to be confident and ready for your people and with your teams all of the time.

Are you a leader? Are you prepared to manage? What truly distinguishes leaders from managers is their roles. Leaders have vision, inspire, and provoke others to think creatively. In contrast, managers get things done through others by delegating, measuring results, and holding people accountable.