199. Speak like a Spy
What can the spy world teach us about communication?
In this episode my partner Patrick Hampton takes us through three lessons with funny real-life examples -
1. LESS IS MORE
2. ACCURACY OF LANGUAGE MATTERS
3. UTILISE JARGON
Transcript
That's right. I am bringing a bit of espionage to That Voice Podcast for Episode 199. It's my absolute pleasure to welcome back my beautiful partner, Patrick Hampton, to the podcast. Our episode about our relationship meetings is a crowd favorite. It's Episode 181. If you wanna go back and take a listen. So Patrick has a pretty interesting past and I'm not talking about ex lovers or anything. Yours truly hit the poor man like a hurricane. I'm talking about his work history. I'll let Patrick share more in the episode, but read what you will from the title of this episode. Speak like a Spy. We are going to take you through three communication tips straight from the spy world. And if you have a team, you've gotta book them in for a Spy Time workshop. Spy Time is Patrick's new business. It's a team building experience like nothing you've ever seen. www.spytime.com au, check it out.
Sally:
Patrick. Welcome back to that voice podcast. We are not talking about relationship meetings today.
Patrick:
Oh, I enjoyed doing that.
Sally:
New topic. Welcome back to the show. You've launched a new business. Tell us all about it.
Patrick:
Well, first of all, Sally, thank you very much. Longtime listener, second time guest, and it's great to be talking again. Yes. I have launched new business. It is called spytime.com.au.
Sally:
I love the name! What is it all about?
Patrick:
Well, spytime.com au. It is a half day and full day workshop using spying as a unique vehicle to leverage off the diversity of your team, develop their teamwork, and build their communication skills. And hey, the most important part of it is it is supposed to be fun.
Sally:
Yeah, because a lot of corporate team building exercises aren't so much. So who is this for? Can anybody sign up for it?
Patrick:
Well, it's really de designed for any groups that work in teams. The fundamental building block of anyone's successes, having teams that work and collaborate well together. And this is designed to help them using spying as a unique vehicle to really think outside the box, leverage for everyone else's experiences and work closely together.
Sally:
And how's it been going so far?
Patrick:
Well, it's great. We've been going for about six months. We've had a lot of teams come through already and the feedback's been excellent. And just getting the word out there that were available and ready to work with your team.
Sally:
So of course I know the story of how you came to start this business. What can we share on the podcast about your background?
Patrick:
Well, I had a successful career in the Army for 15 years. And after that I was looking for something different. And I managed to get involved in a spying role, I guess what you would traditionally call surveillance or an undercover role. And I was doing that for 15 years before I met you, Sally. And then my life went in a new direction, which is great. During that 15-year period doing surveillance and so on, I would often come home and think, Oh my God, I cannot believe that they pay me to do this. And at the same time, there was the altercation when I came home and said, they do not pay me enough to do this. But on the whole, it was an amazing experience. And I thought, I wonder if there's a way that I can package up what I've been going through for 15 years and give everyone out there a bit of a taste.
Sally:
The full day immersive experience, this is pretty cool, is actually people out and about, following a target.
Patrick:
That's spot on, Sally. So the half day workshop will come to your workplace, wherever that is, and we, we can run it. We really run it for about 10 to 12 people above that, the dynamics start to get a bit hard to control. So we do the half day workshop in your office. We do a whole lot of little challenges and science stuff that you have never been exposed to, some planning activities, a lot of crazy stuff. And for the full day workshop, we get out, we kick you up with all the spy gear, we get you out and about. We get you following Mr. Big. And we come back and we do a debrief and start pulling out all the little lessons that would've occurred during that time out in the ground.
Sally:
And it involves actors. So, you know, I'll be putting my hand up for that if I'm free on that on that day. So one of the big things that comes out of this team building workshop is around communication. You know, great communication makes and breaks teams.
Patrick:
That's spot on. It's one of the fundamental building blocks of the workshop that we run is building new communication skills. Not only the way that you talk, but the way that you listen. 'cause Let's be honest, most of the better communicators are spending more time listening than talking.
Sally:
Is that why I'm always talking? And you're always listening.
Patrick:
No.
Sally:
Yes. So of course for That Voice Podcast, this is where I thought what a great collaboration. It's not. Just so I can chat to Patrick again and plug the new business, which is pretty cool. I would even argue potentially cooler than public speaking workshops, however, you know.
Patrick:
Oh, I don't say that.
Sally:
And some of the things that you've taught me about have been so interesting in terms of the communication techniques that you've learned from that spying world. So today I'd love to go through how you speak like a spy.
Patrick:
Speak like a spy. Yes. Get a set of dark sunglasses out. This could get a bit crazy.
Sally:
Well, we need them at the moment because we are sitting at home with my full on studio lights glaring down at us. So we're gonna go through the three main communication lessons we can pull out. What's the first one?
Patrick:
Right? Well, the first one is less is more. There is not always the time nor the capacity for people to talk a lot. You have to get that message out. You have to get it across quickly. A classic example for us is when you're describing something happening, we had a, a new member in our team came in very excited, a lot of adrenaline running. And when they, they described someone walking out towards their car. We got the war and peace version, what they're wearing, what their gait was like, what their shoes were on, what nicks were on the car, what the car looked like, where a small dent was. I mean, it went on and on and on it was great, but you just can't absorb all that information. Now when you listen, sometimes if you ever tune onto YouTube or something and have a look at professional surveillance teams talking, what you'll see is they talk in short, sharp messages: hours out towards car into vehicle, vehicle is away. So they're talking in short messages, keeping it absorbable and allowing everyone to actually listen and acknowledge what's being heard.
Sally:
And Leanne Hughes and I ran our get to the point workshop, which is going to be after the recording of this, however, before it comes out because there is so much value in being brief. So applying that to teams, do you think that sometimes messages get lost between people because too many words are used?
Patrick:
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I think the title of the workshop that you're doing, Get to the point is such a great name. And often when you're working in teams, you'll always find that's the same thing once you just want them to cut through the chaff and just get to the point. So yeah. So that's what we focus on. Less is more. Every word has meaning and make sure that those meanings strike home.
Sally:
Yeah, there's a really great exercise in the workshop on that. Okay. Less is more. Number one. What's number two?
Patrick:
So the second one is accuracy. So not only is it less words, more meaning, but making those words accurate. I'll give you another example. We were once doing a job where the person jumped in a vehicle and was driving away and the vehicle was described as teal in color. Well, that was great for everyone but me 'cause I had no idea what teal was. In fact, I have tested people afterwards showing them five different variations of green and they've all picked different ones as teal. So the point is, if you're gonna choose a term to describe something, make it something maybe that everyone knows. Now, I know that probably out there 50% of the people are all going teal. I know what that is, but I'm telling you, I was sitting at the end of the street waiting for a teal car and I had no idea what I was waiting for.
Sally:
The person may have thought being teal was being more accurate than just saying green.
Patrick:
That's right.
Sally:
So it's word choice, isn't It?
Patrick:
It is. And we had a bit of fun with it. I mean, from that we started just working off your basic color groups. But for a while there, I'm telling you, there were cars subscribed as ocean gray and midnight blue. So the boys were having a bit of fun.
Sally:
Sunset orange.
Patrick:
Oh yes, there were a few sunset orange cars, that's for sure.
Sally:
Yeah. And I think that's such a great lesson that you can bring across into our regular communication because you know, we might think that what we mean the other person understands that. Mm. But they might have no idea what that word is.
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This is a great spot to remind you. It doesn't matter what you say or to who you say it to, if you are not connected to your voice, people can feel it. This is why you need the Magnetic Voice Formula. If you're a Soul Speaker, it's in the portal. If not, link is in the show notes.
—
Sally:
Less words, more meaning less is more. Being accurate and making sure that both parties understand the words. And what's the third way we can speak like a spy?
Patrick:
Well, this is an unusual one, but it's jargon. Every workplace has its jargon and that's perfectly reasonable. Application, that jargon of course, you have to be careful with it because what makes perfect sense to you in the workplace may not make sense to people outside. But having jargon that allows you to use less words, be accurate and have everyone understand what you're talking about, is a great tool and you should utilize it. For example, Sally, if I said to you that I was watching a car and it flipped and stacked, what would that mean to you?
Sally:
I thought it meant like crashed. Like,
Patrick:
Like it tipped upside down.
Sally:
Yeah. Like rolled.
Patrick:
And had a stack, which is an Australian term for having a crash. Well, in fact,
Sally:
Yes well on my bike and my roller blades growing up, I stacked it constantly.
Patrick:
Well, in our team, flipped and stacked meant flipped meant you did a U-turn and stacked meant they took a quick park. So jargon, perfect. Two words flipped and stacked. Everyone knew that had done a quick U-turn had parked and had stopped.
Sally:
And with jargon you can sometimes use it to make sure other people don't understand. So, you know, if we're going out for dinner or something and like, I don't know the name of the person.
Patrick:
Well, you're absolutely right, Sally. I mean, in the space where we were working for the last 15 years, being conscious of people overhearing us wasn't an issue. So we were trying to use jargon that to the average person meant nothing, but to us meant a lot. So that's why developing the jargon in our space was particularly powerful. And do you know what? In every workspace, in every team, you're always gonna find jargon. And some people will say it's no good. But I'm telling you that in the spy world, in the surveillance world, having jargon allows you to get the meaning across really quickly and have everyone understand exactly what's going on.
Sally:
And our code, if we don't know a name, you'll say, this is my beautiful girlfriend Sally.
Patrick:
And I'll listening closely to them. Say hello Sally, my name's Fred. And they'll go, oh, Fred, Fred! Say their names at least three times. So that I remember.
Sally:
Yeah. Oh, we have some other code words, but I suppose they're not too safe for the podcast. Amazing. Okay, so to wrap it up, so speaking like a spy: less words, more meaning being accurate and having clarity of the word choice and being conscious of jargon.
Patrick:
That's it. That's it. That's just three of the communication skills that we'll be working on in spytime.com au. There's a whole lot of other things that go on that is just one of the pillars that we build to make you have a really successful team building day. There's a whole lot of other activities that we, we go through and planning activities, stuff that most people would never even have thought of. And that's just a half day workshop. Imagine actually getting out in the ground, putting on your earpiece and your communication device and following Mr. Big. it really gets quite exciting out there. And it's dynamic, it's fun. And one thing for sure, it is totally unique. There is no one else out there doing that. That's why I thought, Hey, I had an amazing time actually doing this in real life. Wanna give everyone else a bit of a taste of what it's like as well? So there you are.
Sally:
Oh, see what I mean? See, you know, it's an easier sell than come to a public speaking workshop.
Patrick:
When you are presenting Sally, it's always fun.
Sally:
That is true. That is true. Always surprising and delighting. Amazing. So if someone's listening to this and they're thinking amazing, perfect. I want my team to experience Spy Time. How can they get in touch with you?
Patrick:
Brilliant. Well we have the website, spytime.com.au. Jump on, just send us an inquiry and we'll get back to you straightaway. And of course, on LinkedIn Spy Time is on LinkedIn, team building and leadership development workshop. There's plenty of information there. We'll respond to everyone's messages. It's been a lot of fun so far and we're just looking forward to working with more teams. And who knows, we might unveil the next James Bond.
Patrick:
They're recruiting at the moment.
Sally:
And of course, you know, you can reach out to me as well because I know someone who knows someone who can pass a message on. And I may or may not be on my phone a lot more than Patrick. Patrick, it was so great to have you back on That Voice Podcast. And by the way, this was something that we planned in one of our relationship meetings to happen.
Patrick:
It was, too, and we've actually achieved it. So this month we can actually tick that one off. We can clink our glasses together, our zero alcohol beer glasses, not champagne. But yeah, we'll check our classes and celebrate the achievement of another task. But Sally, it's been an absolute pleasure to be on That Voice Podcast. I love it. As always. You're a great host.
Sally:
Oh, Thank you so much. We'll see you next week!