The art of good communications

Good communications with your clients is one of the most fundamental skills every hairdresser must learn. John Huscroft, a master practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), which examines patterns of language and behaviour, explains how you can make the most of your communication skills.

The Importance of Good Communication

I remember training in a salon with 25 stylists of varying skills levels and wondering why the busiest stylist in there was not the one who everyone considered to be the best technical hairdresser. It was the person with immaculate communication skills. The one who could find the right words to say to each client, no matter who they were or what they demanded. It was the one who listened, projected the right image and could produce what the client really wanted. I soon learned that being good at styling hair alone would not be enough.

Learning the Lessons

Communication is a skill that can be learned, just like learning how to cut hair. The trouble comes from the fact that we have learned only ‘our way’. We have learned to filter our world in various ways to make sense of our experiences. We absorb information in three ways – what we see, what we hear and what we feel about a situation. From these three main filters, we have one that we use more than the others. If we only communicate in our preferred way, we will only connect completely with people with the same filter as ourselves, which leads to a loss of opportunity.We must learn the differences between the filters, the language of each preference and then the versatility to switch from our own preference to meet the needs of others.The importance of effective communication impacts on us every moment of our lives. Are you missing chances to communicate more clearly and secure a better outcome and a better life for yourself?

Communication Filters

Visual People

• Store memories in pictures
• Are able to recall vivid images in colour and detail
• Can quickly recall past events
• Often talk more quickly to comment on the movies in their minds
• Make value judgements based on how things look e.g. 'How could she come out in that?'
• Use language of a visual nature e.g. 'Look at this', 'I see what you mean'.
Kinaesthetic People
• Store their memories by sensations
• Are slower to recall the feeling of a situation
• Can often recall memories in great detail
• Make judgements base on a vibe or atmosphere
• Use language that relates to feelings e.g. 'I got the vibe', 'a prickly character'.
Audio People
• Store conversations conversations on ‘tapes’ in their head
• Have to find tapes and replay them in order to recall memories
• Are slow to recall memories because they have to process the information
• Place importance on the tone of words and way things are said
• Use language of an audio nature e.g. 'that rings a bell', 'that sounds good to me'.
The techniques detailed above and with a multitude of others including motivation, personality traits, outcome planning and improving your life, are covered in the Business Education courses that John runs for Wella Professionals.