Say What!? Communicate with Tact and Impact

What to say to get results at any point in an audit

Ann M. Butera

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000430530
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Auditing
• Index: Business

This book addresses the important role of communication within the context of performing an audit, project, or review (i.e., planning, detailed testing, and reporting).

Intended for audit, information security, enterprise, and operational risk professionals at all levels, including those just starting out, Say What!? Communicate with Tact and Impact: What to Say to Get Results at Any Point in an Audit contains an array of practical and time-tested approaches that foster efficient and effective communication at any point during an engagement.

The practical and memorable techniques are culled from author Ann M. Butera's CRP experience as a trusted advisor who has taught thousands of professionals how to develop and hone their interpersonal, communication, and empathic skills. Those familiar with the Five Tier Competency Model TM she developed will recognize these techniques as a deep dive on the competencies comprising Tier 3: Project Management and Tier 5: Managing Constituent Relations.

The author discusses the following behaviors in one's dealings with executives, process owners, control performers, and colleagues:

• Demonstrating executive presence

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• Becoming the trusted advisor

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• Influencing others

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• Communicating with tact, confidence, and impact

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• Facilitating productive meetings and discussions

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• Overcoming resistance and objections

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• Managing and resolving conflict

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• Knowing when to let a topic go and move on

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This book is a guide for professionals who want to interact proactively and persuasively with those they work with, audit, or review. It describes techniques that can be used during virtual, in-person, telephone, or video conferences (as opposed to emails, workpapers, and reports). It provides everyone (newer associates in particular) with the interpersonal skills needed to (1) develop and build relationships with their internal constituents and clients, (2) facilitate conversations and discussions before and during meetings, and (3) handle impromptu questions with confidence and executive presence and make positive first impressions.

The topics and techniques discussed are accompanied by case studies, examples, and exercises to give the readers the opportunity to develop plans to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The readers can use the book as a reliable resource when subject matter experts or training guides are not readily available.

1 Purpose

DOI: 10.1201/9781003093978-1

Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.

Washington Irving
American short story writer

1.1 Why a Book on Communication?

We learned to talk and communicate as children, so it’s not an unfamiliar behavior. And, as adults we all have had to communicate, providing status reports, sharing ideas, persuading, delivering bad news about topics that are generally strategic, technical, or business related. While communicating may be a commonplace occurrence, how many times do we consciously focus on the quality and effectiveness of the communication?

I have been fascinated by relationships and communication for as long as I can remember. Why we like some people and don’t like others. Why we find it easy and fun to work with some people and others not so much.

This book has been on my to-do list for a while. Initially, I started it in 1995. It was the first and only time I cancelled a project because I was overwhelmed by the scope and depth of the topic. More importantly, I realize now with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight that I didn’t have the answers. Now, 25 years later, thousands of contracts, training sessions, and conversations later, I have many ideas and time-tested approaches to share.

The purpose of Say What!? Communicate with Tact and Impact: What to Say to Get Results at Any Point in an Audit is to provide you with the models and tactics needed to (1) develop and build relationships with your constituents and clients, (2) facilitate productive conversations and discussions before and during meetings, (3) handle impromptu questions with confidence and executive presence, and (4) make positive first impressions. This book contains tips for getting the results you want in your business relationships. That said, you could also use many of these techniques in your personal life.

“Ann, how would you handle this situation” is probably the most frequently asked question during my training sessions because technical expertise isn’t enough. Facts aren’t enough. Being right isn’t enough. Knowing what to say and how to say matters. Being able to find the right word to express what you want to say matters. And, finding the right word is definitely challenging if one works in a multicultural environment. During my undergraduate days, I was a French major with a business minor, so I know how hard it is to develop a comprehensive vocabulary in one language, let alone in two or more!

While each person’s situation is different, there are some general dos and don’ts for interacting and communicating with others. And, if you are in a technical role and need to collaborate with people who are not technical – or at least not technical in the same way you are – communicating can be tricky. Add country-cultural, generational, and gender differences to the mix and it’s amazing that both parties in a conversation understand each other.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much time you spend communicating either in person, by phone, or virtually? It’s the primary way we obtain information and exchange ideas. During the course of a day, we deliver thousands of messages – verbally and nonverbally – to our bosses, our clients, our colleagues – not to mention our friends and family. All of our messages shape perceptions of and reactions to us and they shape our outcomes.

The more we interact with the same people, the more these people’s perceptions and reactions to us become solidified…and the next thing we know, we have developed a reputation – which may or may not be the one we want or feel we should have.

If people’s perceptions and reactions to us are favorable, then our reputation is favorable as well. And, as this positive reputation spreads as a result of networking and time, people will want to work with us. Or, at least, when they find out that they are being audited or reviewed they won’t dread it as much. Conversely, if we have developed a less-than-stellar reputation for being a clear communicator, interacting with colleagues and constituents can become more complicated. People may try to postpone the audit or project, or limit its scope as a way to avoid working with us. Constituents may come up with excuses for delayed responses to our requests and questions.

As auditors, risk managers, and assurance professionals, what we say and how we say is critical to the success of our projects. We rely on our communication skills from the moment we begin to plan our engagement and collect the information we need to set the work’s scope and objectives. How we phrase our emails and interview questions sets the stage for our relationship with those we audit and work with. Our ability to create rapport with others, make them feel comfortable and at ease, and communicate with impact and tact sets the tone for the audit and forms the foundation of our business relationships.

And, depending on the outcome of your project, you may have to deliver bad news without engendering bad feelings and while creating the greatest amount of buy-in to a corrective action plan and series of next steps. Once again, the ability to communicate with empathy and accuracy is integral to our ability to achieve useful results and create value.

This book is for you if you are in a technical field and you need to communicate and persuade people who are not technical and who may have educations, backgrounds, and experiences that are very different than yours. Say What!? Communicate with Tact and Impact focuses on the following core competencies:

• Presenting to the Board, senior management, process owners, control owners, and colleagues.
• Facilitating opening or kick off meetings, planning sessions, status meetings, and closing (or exit) conferences.
• Influencing business managers to agree to address control gaps, design flaws, and execution errors.
• Positioning messages for positive impact.
• Anticipating and addressing audience needs.
• Preventing and handling difficult situations.
• Delivering bad news.
• Responding to pushback and objections.
• Managing disagreements to prevent conflict.

It covers ways to establish your executive presence and increase your ability to be the trusted advisor. And, it covers when you need to stop – when you’ve tried enough and it’s time to move on.

Now that you know what the book is about, let me tell you what it’s not. It’s not a script. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to interacting with people in the organization. Given the diversity of personalities and range of motivations, it is impossible to prescribe exact wording. This book is a source of strategies and tactics. It provides practical, time-tested approaches, models, and guidance that you can adapt to suit the situation, the other person’s style, and your goals.

If you are new to the profession, view this book as primer, providing communication guidance and tactics for the typical situations you would encounter during planning, testing, and reporting. Focus on the techniques for instilling trust, projecting executive presence, and running effective meetings.

If you are an experienced auditor, risk management, information security, or assurance professional, focus on the techniques for overcoming objections and handling audit negotiations, which are more specialized than the typical scenarios one would encounter when buying a car or selling a house.

Whether you are new or experienced in auditing, risk management, information security, or general assurance work, the advice and techniques in this book are intended to make you a better communicator during in-person, telephone, and video conferences at every stage of your audit, project, or review. Culled from over 30 years’ experience working with thousands of professionals in an array of industries, these approaches are time-tested and will enable you to deliver the right message to get results at any point in your audit or project.

I send special thanks to those who agreed to review my ideas and share their reactions and thoughts – all of which have made my message clearer and this book better:

• Dan Swanson
• Mariel Cruz
• Audley Bell
• Martha Jane Gagnon
• Trent Russell
• Lori Klebous
• Rocio Arvizo-Huerta
• Felix Vargas
• Christine Carney
• Mary A. Lochner
• Matt Cesaro
• Dan Samson
• Michelle Piranio
• Marion Manchester

I look forward to hearing your comments and questions as you put the practical techniques into action and communicate with tact and impact.

2 How to Get the Most from This Book

DOI: 10.1201/9781003093978-2

Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.

Charles Duhigg
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

I started this chapter by quoting Charles Duhigg because acquiring the skills discussed in this book are really a matter of developing the right habits.

I never realized the importance of habits until I started playing tennis. Although I took tennis lessons as a teenager, I didn’t play in earnest until I was an adult. By that time, I had to apply myself to be able to compete with people who had played high school and college tennis. The tennis lessons I had as an adult enabled me to realize the benefit of having a plan, consistent performance, and productive habits.

I remember one of my tennis instructors asking me if I believed that practice makes one perfect. “Of course,” was my reply, because this was a value that had been drummed into me as a little kid. “Well, it’s not true,” he said. “Practice doesn’t make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect.” Wow! Until then, I hadn’t really thought about it, but he was right. If I spent time using the wrong techniques or choosing the wrong shot or targeting the wrong direction, I was simply reinforcing these bad behaviors and committing them to muscle memory. Not a good use of time or energy.

My preoccupation with practicing the right behaviors and developing productive habits has continued and moved from the tennis court to my work as a trainer and an organizational development (OD) consultant. I know that what matters is what you do (i.e., your behavior and actions), not just what you know.

As OD specialists, my team and I work with managers to define what good performance looks like. That is, what are the observable, measurable attributes that are present when work performance is effective and people are meeting their goals. We then study the under-performers to understand and identify their actions. Essentially, we’re looking for observable, measurable behavioral patterns. We analyze these patterns and deconstruct them into their component parts and competencies so we can use this information to define what good looks like for a particular organization or situation. Then, we use this information to develop recruitment strategies so that our clients can hire effective performers. We document the approaches that the good performers use to define sound, consistent, repeatable workflows and processes. And, we develop training programs to teach others the skills, approaches, competencies, and habitual behaviors they need to produce effective and consistent results.

As you read and plan how you will use the strategies and techniques I describe, keep one thing in mind: your preferred interpersonal and communication style affects how you perceive and interact with others and how they perceive and interact with you. Your behavioral style affects how you communicate and whether you use short, simple, direct sentences or whether you express your messages in highly descriptive terms. Your style affects the degree to which you are goal-oriented or people-oriented. Your style acts like a filter to all of your communication – whether you are speaking or writing.

To identify and understand different communication styles, I have used a simple assessment that enables individuals to categorize their own behavioral preferences. During my career, I have assessed and profiled thousands of audit, risk, ERM, and compliance professionals ranging from stall auditors to chief audit executives and chief risk officers. My conclusions concerning each of the behavioral styles are summarized below. If you are not sure of your preferred communication style or someone else’s, consider which of the following best describes you and the individuals with whom you work.

Style	Behavioral Profile	Typical % of Responses
Analytical	Is systematic and well-organized, and craves data. Sets very high standards (i.e., perfectionism) and is willing to do the time-consuming work needed to meet these standards and is very hard on self and others. Wants things to be right. Therefore, can agonize over decisions. When facing risks, is prudent and approaches situations logically. Is sparing with compliments and expressions of appreciation and shows little emotion. Uses low-key body language. Like to be alone or with just a few people. Under stress, experiences analysis paralysis.	40%
Vocalizer	Is very talkative and can use talking to think through ideas. Is able to convey complex concepts in simple...