I don’t usually watch cooking shows, however when I do, I watch MasterChef. Besides being in awe at those who can cook, I found the communication lessons that could be taken away from the show very enlightening.

Many of the challenges involve communication, team work and that very important public speaking and communication skill of listening. It’s surprising how often the participants don’t listen and the consequences often have a great impact and in some cases have led to them failing the challenges and being eliminated. The other skill that has helped many a participant has been being aware of body language and the nonverbal indications that they are or are not on the right track with their cooking.

Communication Lessons

 

So what are the lessons we can take away:

“Communication is paramount. Without communication you are doomed.” Celebrity Chef Marco Pierre White

1. Know your goal – know what you want your communication to achieve – take time to think about what you want to say and how to say it. In MasterChef the winning teams took time to think about what they were doing and knew exactly what they wanted to achieve.

2. Be clear and keep your communication simple. Once you know what you want to achieve in your communication you need to ensure that you keep your communication simple and that it conveys your message and goal. Use appropriate words and language.

3. If you have a specific time frame to convey your message you need to be concise, clear and think. Watch how you structure your message – don’t waffle. This is what we are doing, this is how we are doing it, this is the outcome we want to achieve.

4. Listen! Listen carefully to what is being said – if you are not sure ask questions.

5. Watch the body language and the non-verbals. If you are aware of the nuances of body language you can often pick up indications if things are going well or if there are areas that your staff, clients, suppliers, team members do not understand.

6. Follow instructions – if you are being given clear instructions to achieve a goal –follow the instructions. This is where teamwork comes in – trust in your team members. There is a time to question and add input in a team and a time when you need to follow instructions and trust that your team leader has a goal in mind and that you are on the way to achieve that goal.

A last comment on Teamwork – know your team – know the members in your team, their skills and what they can contribute to the team. If you know your members then you can better identify goals and outcomes that your members can achieve. In the challenges the teams that win pick dishes that every member in their team could easily identify with and cook, knew the skills and talents of each member and had concise clear communication.

The teams that lost – lost to poor preparation, not taking time to think, poor communication and lack of teamwork.

These communication lessons are lessons you should keep in mind in all your communication – in MasterChef it is getting a good dish cooked and winning. In your business your communication and public skills will impact on your productivity, your bottom line, your credibility, your time and your success.

Read more on how public speaking can be the key to success in your business http://bit.ly/Blogpublicspeakingkeytosuccess.

Oh, I am still in awe of the cooking. Public speaking and communication I can handle – cooking mm not quite there.