In this episode, Paul is joined by Len Foster, construction professional turned communication coach and founder of The Referral Edge, to explore one of the most important — yet rarely taught — skills in commercial management: how to communicate effectively and read the room.
Len started his career on the tools as an apprentice joiner before progressing through site management, contracts management and planning, including senior roles with major contractors such as John Sisk. Today, he specialises in communication, speaking and helping professionals better understand the people sitting opposite them.
The conversation explores:
- why communication isn't a soft skill for QSs — it's a commercial and financial skill;
- how to establish someone's baseline behaviour before a negotiation starts;
- what changes in body language, tone and behaviour can tell you during a difficult commercial meeting;
- why you should never interpret a single gesture — such as folded arms — in isolation;
- how to use curiosity and questions to understand what is really happening on the other side of the table;
- why "Are we comfortable with that?" can be more effective than immediately asking "Are we agreed?";
- how silence can become one of your most powerful tools in a negotiation;
- why great listeners hear not only what somebody is saying, but what they actually mean; and
- what to do when somebody raises their voice, checks their phone or suddenly goes quiet during a negotiation.
Len introduces a simple principle that commercial professionals can immediately take into their next meeting:
ABC — Always Be Curious.
Rather than trying to decode every gesture or assume you know what someone is thinking, use the signals you notice as an opportunity to discover more.
Because whether you're negotiating a variation, agreeing a final account, managing a client or sitting across the table from a subcontractor, your technical knowledge only gets you so far.
The best commercial professionals also know how to read the person sitting opposite them.
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This episode is sponsored by:
- clearnorth — The QS People: https://www.clearnorth.co.uk/
- CLIC — The Commercial Leadership Collective: https://www.the-clic.co.uk/
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📥 Plus: Grab Paul’s eBooks Mastering Construction Procurement — link below:
Mastering Construction Procurement Strategies for Supply Chain Integration, Tendering, and Commercial Success
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