Many professions (Doctors, Accountants & Trainers) enjoy talking in TLA's - Three Letter Acronyms - that is; and even some of my friends make use of that at home. FHB = Family Hold Back - is a constant cry when we visit one of our friends for a barbecue or meal.

One of my favourite acronyms helps me remember what to include in the opening of many conversations, training sessions and emails or letters is C.O.K.E. Of course this is an ETLA - Extended Three Letter Acronym...

C = Commitment
O = Openness
K = Knowledge
E = Empathy

• Commitment is to the subject area you specialise in, to the people or individuals in front of you and their objectives.
  
  
• Openness is about being approachable, happy to field questions and clear about the ground rules you operate with.
  
• Knowledge is clarifying your experience and insights into the subject/topic under discussion to establish your credibility.
  
• Empathy is probably the most important of the four parts to this acronym and concerns you getting on the same wavelength as the group or individual in front of you, making connections and building warmth. 

There is a fine line between saying too much and saying too little, between preparing too much in advance and not preparing enough, so I find acronyms. like C.O.K.E, help enormously because I can hold onto that as the skeleton or framework and adapt or build the words around it as I get a feel for my audience. Of course in true communication style, they best way by far to build trust is to ask a meaningful elaborative question in a respectful way and then shut up and listen…

What are some of your favourite acronyms?