This post was written by Jay Prewitt, Director of Coaching and Facilitation at The Latimer Group.
I’m a big Stanley Kubrick fan, which may sound exceptional, or exceptionally trite, to you depending on your experience with art and movies. The 1964 satirical film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb has been on my mind lately. I won’t bore you with a full recap, but, essentially, it’s about a fumble of the nuclear bomb at the dawn of the nuclear age. And this blog is about artificial intelligence (AI). Hopefully, you’ll see the connection.
There are all sorts of doomsday predictions in the ether about the long-term effects of the proliferation of AI as it hits the scene. Some predict that AI will wipe out whole industries and vocations, blur the line between reality and fantasy, and create intelligence that moves quickly from human control to sentient life and defy humanity. I am not here to say that these predictions are all alarmist diatribes. But, since it is already upon us, let’s embrace the potentiality of AI and not be afraid of “the bomb” in the near future. World history proves time and again that ignoring new technology is never a good idea.
At The Latimer Group, we have decided to stop worrying and rather take a closer look at this potential nuclear disrupter, considering how AI can help us become more persuasive communicators. And we have found things to love about AI-powered applications. We have also found that the human touch has yet to be replaced, at least for right now. If you give ChatGPT a request, such as writing a letter or an email, the product is rarely ready for primetime right out of the gate. You, the human attempting to be persuasive, will need to review the work and confirm that it says what you want it to say. You still need to know who you are, your voice, what you want, what your audience needs to hear, and what it takes to get them to your desired destination. The AI generated output gives a reasonable starting point, and does so quickly. But you still need to add the things that make the communication yours.
Remember that you, not AI, will walk into a room for an interview, lead a huddle, or host a virtual meeting or conference. No matter how gorgeous an AI-generated resume may look or how well-written a cover letter is, the spotlight is on you, the human, to demonstrate who you are and what you can do. Learning to communicate effectively on multiple levels is a skill that the machine has yet to be able to replicate and will never destroy. If anything, the elevated documents created by AI could raise expectations. The bar could be higher than usual in the future. The time to invest in development for yourself, your employees, or your organization is still right now. That investment combined with the intelligent human execution of AI can help you to stop worrying about the (potential) AI bomb and use the new tools to accelerate your success.
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Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?
Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?
Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?
We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication. Explore training, coaching, and consulting services from The Latimer Group.
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