The Business of Being Dad with Rob Rohde

#044: Communicate with Impact: Strategies for Single Fathers to Connect Through Conversation

• Rob Rohde • Episode 44

Share episode

In this episode, Rob delves into the importance of effective communication for single fathers. He introduces the Communicate with Impact formula, a practical framework designed to help single fathers build deeper connections with their children and navigate the complexities of co-parenting relationships.

Overview:
Rob Rohde, a single father himself, emphasizes the critical role of communication in single fatherhood. He highlights the unique challenges single fathers face and the significance of clarity, intentionality, and consistency in communication. Through the Communicate with Impact formula, Rob provides practical strategies for single fathers to enhance their communication skills and foster stronger relationships with their children.

Key Highlights:

  1. The Importance of Effective Communication: Rob discusses why effective communication is essential for single fathers, highlighting its impact on relationships and parenting dynamics.
  2. The Communicate with Impact Formula: Rob introduces a three-step guide to effective communication, emphasizing clarity, intentionality, and consistency.
  3. Practical Applications: Rob provides real-world examples of applying the Communicate with Impact formula in everyday interactions with children, illustrating its potential to strengthen connections and foster understanding.

What to Expect:
Listeners can expect to gain valuable insights and practical strategies for improving communication in single fatherhood. Rob's compassionate approach and actionable advice offer guidance for single fathers seeking to navigate challenges, build stronger relationships with their children, and create a supportive family environment grounded in effective communication.

Thank you for tuning in to Episode 44 of The Business of Being Dad. If you found the content valuable or have any questions, Rob Rohde welcomes your feedback and encourages you to share your experiences with implementing the Communicate with Impact formula. Remember, every conversation with your children is an opportunity to make a positive impact. Keep learning, keep growing, and keep thriving as single dads. Take care, men.


Rob Rohde l The Business of Being Dad
Visit Rob Rohde LLC
Connect with Rob on LinkedIn
To learn more about The Thriving Dad, book your FREE CALL with Rob here.

Rob Rohde:

You are listening to The Business of Being Dad. Get ready as we delve into the world of fatherhood, leadership and legacy. I'm Rob Rohde, your humble host and fellow single father, and I'm so excited you're here to join us. This podcast was intentionally designed for you, men who believe they're destined for greatness, those who never settle for excuses but instead take meaningful action, and individuals who reject the notion of being ordinary. We're here for the ones who understand that being a phenomenal leader goes hand in hand with being an exceptional father. Why? Because we believe in you. We believe you hold the power to shape your identity as a man, a father and a leader. We believe you are the architect of your future and you get to determine the impact and legacy you'll leave behind. So get ready to explore the depths of personal growth, strengthen family bonds and create a legacy that resonates through time. Together, we'll rise, inspire and change. Let's get started. Well, hey there, single dads, and welcome to episode 44 of The Business of Being Dad, the podcast that was created for growth-minded, ambitious single fathers like you who have a desire to be exceptional in all aspects of their life, but especially in the realm of fatherhood. I'm your host, Rob Rohde. I am a single father of five daughters myself, and I am here to walk on this journey with you, and today we are going to dive into a conversation really one of the most important topics we could talk about as dads, and that is effective communication. We all know that communication is essential for any successful relationship, and especially for us as single fathers, it tends to play an even more critical role in our lives. Our ability to communicate effectively directly impacts our relationships with our kids, but also our co-parents, as well as everyone else in our life. Well, today I am going to introduce you to the Communicate with Impact formula, which is a practical framework designed to help each of us communicate with impact and build deeper connections with our kids. Are you ready? Let's go.

Rob Rohde:

Before we go any further, let's take a moment to recognize why effective communication is so crucial for us as single fathers. As single dads, we have to navigate a whole unique set of challenges and responsibilities on a daily basis. We're stuck trying to juggle the demands of work and parenting alone, and it's really difficult to maintain healthy co-parent relationships during this process as well, and effective communication can become the cornerstone of our ability to navigate through all of these with clarity and confidence. Okay, so that all sounds good, but really, the real reason why this is important to us is because, as men, we often suck at communication, and that's just true. We have such a hard time taking the ideas that are in our head, the thoughts and intentions that are in our heart, and somehow translating those into words that convey the message we're trying to get across. I mean, how many times have you entered into a conversation with your child or with a significant other only to get a response that was anger or feeling offended or some sort of response that you had no idea that could possibly come from the words that you said? So the truth is, we could use a little bit of work when it comes to communication. I know that I can, and I think you probably can too. So, with that in mind, let's settle into this conversation and see if there's something we can learn from today's episode.

Rob Rohde:

Before we go into the framework that I want to present to you, it's also important to acknowledge the foundational principles that exist for effective communication. I mean, these ideas are pretty well known. There are basic communication rules and best practices that we've all heard before, but just quickly I'm going to review those for you. Number one is active listening, so this involves paying complete attention to the person who's speaking, showing interest, providing feedback and ensuring that you understand what they're saying. Number two is clarity, so making sure that you have thought through what you want to say so that you are clear in your communication and you don't leave the person on the other end feeling confused.

Rob Rohde:

Number three is nonverbal communication, so this involves paying attention to body language, facial expressions, the tone of somebody's voice, because often that means so much more can make a greater impact than the actual words alone. Number four is respect. We all know that it's important to treat others with respect and courtesy during a conversation, and this is regardless of whether we agree with them or regardless of any difference that might exist in culture or opinion or background. Number five is taking an open-minded attitude into the conversation and being willing to consider other people's viewpoints and ideas. Number six is feedback. It's important that we can both provide and accept constructive feedback and that when we're providing that feedback, they're doing it in a respectful manner. Number seven is timing it's important to choose the right time and place to communicate these important ideas. Number eight is adaptability being willing to adjust our style based on the preferences and needs of that specific person that you're talking with. And number nine. And number nine is integrity, which involves being honest and sincere and trustworthy in our communication. So those are nine best practices of communication and I want you to be considering those as we're going through this conversation, because it's important to note that the formula I'm presenting to you today is not meant to replace those ideas or principles, but rather to compliment them.

Rob Rohde:

The Communicate with Impact formula is a three-step guide that is not just theoretical. It is a practical toolkit that I have used personally and many others have used, that is based in real world strategies and it's designed specifically for single fathers like us. Step one of this framework is to get clear on the purpose of your communication. You know, in the busyness and the overwhelm of our daily lives, it is so important for us to take a moment to clarify our communication goals and intentions. Maybe it's about setting boundaries, maybe it's about expressing love and appreciation or discussing some important decisions, but this clarity lays the foundation for our effective communication. So this is how I go about that by asking myself these questions what am I trying to accomplish with this conversation? What is my goal of this conversation and what is the result I'm hoping for?

Rob Rohde:

And it takes some time to really get clear on the purpose of your communication. Here's an example. Let's say that your daughter walks down the stairs and she's wearing a shirt that you don't want her to wear. So you want to approach her and you want to have a conversation, and so the first thought in your head is I don't want her to wear that shirt. But is that really the purpose of the communication? Just to get her to change her clothes? I mean, maybe, but probably not. If you dive a little deeper and you think a little further into that, you start thinking well, the reason why I'm really want to talk with her about this is because I want to protect her, I want to make sure she's not put in an unsafe situation. And to take this one step further would be to think about her response when you bring up this conversation. I know for myself I would want to make sure that she doesn't leave that conversation feeling less than, or belittled or degraded for her choice, or that I don't trust her. And so really taking the time to kind of dive into that and think through that allows us to get really deeper, to the root of our purpose of communication.

Rob Rohde:

Moving on to step two is being intentional with how and when we communicate. So effective communication is so much more than just choosing the right words. It's about being deliberate in our actions and in our interactions. Being intentional means not just considering what we say, but also when we say it and how we say it. It involves really tuning into the nuances of our tone. Are we going to talk softly, slower, or are we going to talk with a level of intensity and quicker? It's really kind of paying attention to that. What kind of body language are we going to portray as men? Often we don't realize the intimidation that can come when we stand upright and we get emotional and, speaking of emotion, we want to pay attention to that as well. But by being intention in our communication efforts, we have the ability to communicate our message with sincerity and empathy, and in this case, when I'm using the word empathy, I'm referring to showing an understanding and consideration of the emotions and perspectives of our child, with the goal of establishing connection and trust.

Rob Rohde:

This step in the communication with impact framework involves communicating our message in a way that emphasizes and supports the goal that we're trying to accomplish so that it aligns with our intended purpose and helps us get the desired result we defined in the previous step. So in step one, we took time to reflect and get clear on the importance behind the conversation, and in step two, we got intentional with when and how to communicate. And now, in step three, it's about turning this practice into a habit. Step three stay consistent, because consistency leads to trust. If you are familiar with my content in any way, then you know how much I preach consistency. I really truly believe that consistency is the secret sauce for almost everything we do, and in this case, consistency is the glue that holds our communication efforts together. By consistently showing up, being present in our kids' lives and communicating with purpose and intention, we will create a sense of security and stability that our kids need, the security and stability that allows our kids to know what's coming and to know what to expect, and this is so crucial to helping them feel confident and safe. And once again, by following this communicate with impact formula on a consistent basis, we are modeling for our children a healthy and effective way to handle difficult situations and to step into difficult conversations with grace, integrity and respect, and in the process, we are also building our family culture and further establishing our legacy as fathers. So now let's take a look at some more practical applications of the communicate with impact formula.

Rob Rohde:

Now let's go back to that scenario I talked about earlier. Your daughter walks down the stairs wearing an outfit that you don't particularly like. Instead of reacting impulsively or criticizing her choice, you take a moment, you take a deep breath, you pause and you apply the communicate with impact formula. You get clear in your goal, which, in this case, is to express your thoughts and your feelings while still respecting your daughter's autonomy and her individuality. You become intentional, choosing your words very carefully and focusing on expressing your concerns in a constructive and supportive manner. You stay consistent in your approach and as you do that, you reinforce the value of open communication and mutual respect with your child. And as your child knows and begins to feel the love and intention behind the communication, they naturally become more open and receptive to some of these more volatile conversations.

Rob Rohde:

Let's talk about one more scenario. So in this case it's a Saturday afternoon. You have a day off, you're spending time with your child at the park and as you're playing together, you notice that your child seems a bit distant kind of quiet. Your first thought is to just maybe kind of brush it off and try to get them to laugh and, you know, play around with them. But instead of brushing it off, this time you choose to apply the communicate with impact formula. You take a moment to get clear in your goal, which is to connect with your child and understand what's on their mind. You become intentional with how you enter the conversation. You speak with a deliberate tone, with open, non-threatening body language, and you ask them how they're feeling and if anything is bothering them. By getting clear and being intentional, you have created this safe space which allows your child to share their thoughts and feelings more easily.

Rob Rohde:

Now I know what you're thinking. This all sounds great. Right, it's a sunny day, the birds are singing and all of these conversations have happy endings. But you've got to be thinking come on, Rob, I'm going to bring this up, and it's still not going to go well, it's still going to result in conflict, and here's the deal. Maybe, but even if there are times when you don't get the response you're hoping for because often we won't the key is for us to remain consistent. Sometimes our toddlers can be little monsters. I mean we've got to face that Sometimes our teens are little demons I mean, mine have been. But that's the thing about using this formula you can feel good about yourself after the conversation is over, even if we don't achieve the result we are looking for. We have still planted seeds, we have still communicated from a place of love, we have still taken time to hear them and give them a voice, and so, ultimately, we have still communicated with impact.

Rob Rohde:

The truth is, every single conversation we have with our kids makes an impact. The question is whether it's positive or negative. We know this to be true, so why not commit to making a positive impact during our conversations with our kids? Over this next week, my challenge to you, and to myself as well, is to look for at least one opportunity to apply the Communicate with Impact formula during our interactions with our kids. I mean, give it a try, let me know how it goes. I'd like you to DM me or shoot me an email, even just leave a comment on Apple Podcasts, because the more we do this, the more comfortable it will become, the more it will start to form into a habit and the greater impact it will have on the lives of our families.

Rob Rohde:

As we wrap up, I want to leave you with this Communication is not just about getting our point across. It is so much more than just words. It is an opportunity to connect, an opportunity to make an impact and an opportunity to model effective communication. So I'd like you to think about that as you go through this week and, until next time, keep learning, keep growing and keep thriving as single dads. Take care, men. Thank you for joining us for the Business of being Dad podcast. If you found value in today's episode, I encourage you to share it with a friend who could benefit from our discussions on fatherhood, leadership and legacy. Together, let's build a community of like-minded men who embrace ownership, commit to growth and make an impact. And now, before we go, remember greatness is within your reach. So stay strong, stay focused and create your legacy. I'm Rob Brody and you've been listening to the Business of being Dad, where fatherhood meets success. See you in the next episode.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Rob Rohde

Host