Communicating in the Age of the Pandemic
The year 2020 is like no other. Borders have closed, cities are on lockdown and stocks have plummeted to record lows. People are worried and the level of stress is not expected to lessen anytime soon. For those of you who are managers, communication with your teams is...
Some Resolutions Executives Wish You Would Make
It’s the New Year. A lot of us make resolutions. “Go to the gym.” “Eliminate sweets.” Have a real lunch, instead of a latte.” Most resolutions that I hear are about people’s waistline — rarely any about one’s professional life. This prompted me to ask executives I...
How to Create Customer Evangelists
The goal of most salespeople is to call on senior-level executives. However, rarely is the sales person’s first point of contact in a large organization with the CEO, CFO or CIO. Usually, salespeople call at a much lower level initially. To short cut the amount of...
Tips for Technical Presentations
Many people find it difficult to sit through a technical presentation. One colleague said she would rather have a root canal. How then can technical speakers make people feel they got the point and that their time was well spent? Here are some suggestions for those of...
Think Before You Speak
The uncomfortable truth is that everyone is biased. Stereotypes about groups of people are ubiquitous. Some of these preconceived ideas or feelings operate at a level below consciousness, and these are called implicit or unconscious biases. They are not limited to...
Are You Inadvertently Killing Your Career?
Everyone wants to succeed, to move up the ladder. To ensure success, we strive to attain advanced degrees and multiple certifications. What we don’t think about is how little missteps can sabotage a promising career and ruin one’s reputation to boot. While these...
Five Ways to Turbo Charge Your Career
Have you reached a point where you have felt your career is stagnating? There are some ways to move the needle, but they may involve moving you away from your comfort zone. Here are five solid suggestions. Speak Up A lot of people, depending on their position on the...
Handling the Boss from Hell
Bosses are all different. Some are very even-tempered. Nothing seems to throw them. Others lash out, are demeaning and downright hard to bear. If you are one of those people searching for ways to work with a boss from hell, here are some suggestions. First, examine if...
Tips from the Experts on How to Open
The hardest part of any presentation is the opening. Obviously, gaining people’s attention is critical. If you don’t captivate them as you begin, it’s not likely you will get them to listen as you move forward. Plus, seeing people looking at their phones, instead of...
Are You Prepared?
The number one reason that presentations fail is a lack of preparation. Whether you are giving an update, making a proposal, suggesting a solution or speaking at a conference, it is critical that you do your homework and understand your listeners and what you want to...
When Problems Arise with Virtual Teams
With companies spread around the world, virtual teams are now the norm. Obviously, everyone would like these teams to run smoothly and utilize the strengths of their diversity. However, often a group in one location is used to doing things in a particular way, while a...
Trust Isn’t a Given So How Do You Get It
Trust is vital in any lasting business relationship. In fact, the level of trust you establish determines how successful you will be in selling a product or proposing a solution. If the level of trust is strong, managers will feel you are the right person for the...
Making Updates Award Winning
Have you ever rolled your eyes at the thought of making another quarterly business review? They take a lot of time to adequately prepare, time you may not have due to other pressing deadlines. Although annoying, these business reviews are essential to providing...
How to Be Unique and Irreplaceable in the Buyer’s Eyes?
“If you want to stand out, don’t be different; be outstanding” —Meredith West, designer Imagine that a potential buyer needs a particular solution, maybe in healthcare or one in Security. However, when the customer does his research, he finds that all the solutions...
Is Unconscious Bias Affecting Your Communication?
Bias — the uncomfortable truth is that everyone biased. Stereotypes about groups of people are ubiquitous. Some of these preconceived ideas or feelings operate at a level below consciousness, and these are called implicit or unconscious biases. They are not limited to...
Has Your Credibility Banana Turned Brown?
“To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible, to be credible, we must be truthful.” Edward R Murrow, journalist and news anchor Credibility is everything in the influence game. As a salesperson or someone who supports sales,...
Influence Shouldn’t Be a Crapshoot!
As a child, many of us crossed our fingers in the hopes that we could persuade our mothers to allow us to do something, maybe go to a movie, stay up late or come in after curfew. As business people, we can’t afford to go into that all-important meeting “hoping” our...
Reasons Why Top Corporations Benefit from Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the latest trend in the corporate world these days. As businesses become conscious of quality and costs, more companies are turning to hiring remote workers from global destinations to outsource their process. In fact, 35% of U.S. employees work as...
For Women to Swim with the Sharks
It shouldn’t be this way, but in many organizations, women are not seen as key players. Study after study shows that women with the same credentials do not get promoted as quickly, nor are they remunerated in the same manner. So the question is what can women do to...
Five Mistakes Sales People Routinely Make
It’s the end of the year. If you’re a salesperson, it’s a good time to reflect on how well you did in 2017. Did you make your quota? Could you have done better? While you can’t win them all, perhaps, it’s important to consider whether you made any missteps that cost...
How to Keep the Multitasking Listener Attentive
Business people have short attention spans. They are used to multi-tasking and they are often preoccupied with things in their personal and business lives. Some researchers believe that the average attention span of an adult, versus a preschooler is seven seconds. In...
There Ought to Be a Law: Communication Competencies
For years, scholars have written about communication skills being the key to your business success. Almost every job lists strong communication skills as a requirement, but exactly what does that mean in the whole scheme of things. Companies need to develop...
What Do You Do If You Speak Too Fast
Do you speak too fast? Does everyone tell you to slow down? Do you also have a lot of “filler” or “crutch” words? Inevitably, if you speak quickly, there will be lots of “ums, ahs and you knows.” If this is you, don’t ignore this issue. It is not okay to speak...
Managing the Jitters
Presenting your ideas to the boss is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to show the boss you know your stuff and you are someone with real potential. On the other hand, if you don’t do a good job or your boss is disappointed with your message,...
How to Standout on the Job
Standing out on the job can seem daunting. Obviously, the message you want to send to your boss is: I’m a leader. I am someone to watch. I am likable. I am trustworthy. I deserve a promotion. I belong on your team. Ensuring that you are conveying these things to your...
What the Boss Wants You to Know about Asking for That Raise
Wouldn’t it be nice if your boss called you into his/her office and offered you a lovely raise? If only, right! In today’s unsettled business environment, the reality is raises aren’t automatic. So what should you do? What are your options? You can keep your fingers...
Don’t Get Stuck on the Opening
Where most people get hung up is the opening. However, that’s actually the most important part of a conversation. If those first few minutes aren’t rock solid, it is unlikely the audience will listen all the way to the end. People make instantaneous decisions about...
Rarely Make Presentations? It’s No Excuse!
Don’t think because you rarely make formal presentations, your boss or your peers will forgive you for doing a poor or mediocre job. They won’t! Their expectation is that if you asked them to listen, you will make it worthwhile. Their time is too valuable to be bored...
Do You Care Enough
“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” — Oprah Winfrey “I was busy” is an excuse many of us use when we don’t do our best. When you carelessly prepare or deliver ideas, your listeners may end up confused, and consequently,...
Tips for Creating Powerful Messages
Regardless of our job, most of us have updates or presentations to give. This can take a big chunk out of our work week. Obviously, we want these presentations to “knock the socks” off our listeners. While that’s the goal, most business professionals spend 22 hours a...
Deconstructing What Charismatic Speakers Do
A lot of speakers wish they could be seen as charismatic. Martin Luther King, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Steve Jobs come to mind as people who were magnetic speakers. When they spoke, people listened and remembered. Obviously, no one is born charismatic, but how...
What’s the End Game?
Every major corporation with a global presence relies on virtual teams to launch products quickly and gain a competitive edge. For anyone launch, many teams are often involved. For example, a typical launch team may include marketing, sales, engineering, packaging,...
How to Make It Stick
We speak to be understood, yet as Robert Greenleaf once said, “Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much.” When asked about information overload in the House of Congress, Representative John Brockmann responded: “Most houseplants in the U.S. are...
Making Collaboration between Virtual Teams Succeed
“If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together” — African saying Cory Booker’s DNC speech, July, 2016 Most mid-size and large corporations not only have a global presence, but now rely on virtual teams to help them accomplish mission...
Speaking to Direct Reports Requires Forethought
So often when leaders speak downwardly to their direct reports, they don’t think about it. They just do it without much thought. To the person on the other side of the table or on the other side of the globe, the meeting may mean a lot. Speaking to one’s direct...
Who Needs Executive Presence? You Do!
Your boss tells you that you need to work on Executive Presence. However, you are swamped, doing the job of three people and attending one meeting after another. In theory, you agree that it would be great to develop Executive Presence, but yet, you don’t really know...
What Executives Wish You Would Do When Using PowerPoint
Executives tolerate slide shows. No Executive goes into a meeting hoping that you will open your laptop and begin showing slides. They prefer to have a conversation about an issue and utilize slides only when it is necessary to aid comprehension. In querying Decisions...
Key Lessons for Success with a Remote Workforce
Thirty to fifty percent of our labor force works remotely today. That’s an increase of about 300 percent in the past twenty years. With a remote workforce, companies feel they can attract smarter people, increase productivity and reduce their carbon footprint. What we...
See Yourself as Tour Guide of Your Ideas
I just returned from a month-long tour of the Asian Pacific rim, visiting Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In each country, I had a different tour guide. What struck me as impressive were their extraordinary communication skills. It occurs to me that we need to...
Why Your Career May Stagnate
Don’t think because you have an MBA or Advanced Certifications that you will automatically rise in an organization. We all know people who move up quickly without the credentials you have. When someone fails to move up, we notice the following problems. Small...
How to Win People’s Cooperation: The Art of Influencing Others
The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority — Ken Blanchard Regardless of your role in an organization, you need to persuade others to your point of view. Being able to win people’s cooperation is a critical skill for any business professional. In...
What’s Your Intention?
Communication ranges from building a relationship or gaining consensus to controlling an outcome. According to Susan Campbell, author of Saying What’s Real, almost 90% of all communication comes from the intent to control. She cautions that the more we aim to control,...
The Big 5: Why Executives Table an Issue
Most people get what they deserve! If they do a good job of presenting their idea, they get what they deserve. If they do a poor job, they also get what they deserve. This is what one COO I coached said at a recent lunch. My question to you is did you get what you...
Check Your Brand
I always buy the same toothpaste, yogurt, and mayonnaise because I like the brand. Maybe you also have favorite brands. My friend is on her third Honda. My husband only drinks Miller Lite. People are loyal to particular brands because of things like their...
Is Anybody Really Listening Out There?
How many times have you wondered if anybody was really listening or cared about what you were saying when giving a presentation? Obviously, the goal is to be heard by your listeners, yet, are there ways you can be sure? Yes and here is how and what the experts do!...
How to Get C Level Executives Interested
When making a proposal to C level Executives, those CEO’s, CIO’s, CTO’s or CFO’s, it is necessary to remember their focus is on solving problems and making the company successful. They are not interested in how an issue was resolved, but that it is no longer a...
The Grave Digger’s Shift — What to Consider When Presenting Later in the Day
Is your presentation scheduled for 3 p.m or even later? If so, you’re in the Grave Digger’s Shift. In fact, any time you speak in the afternoon, you run the risk of digging your own grave unless you are interesting and engaging. People are tired and typically have a...
What Influential Speakers Routinely Do
Everyone wants to be influential when in front of a client, a boss or even peers. For many of us, being persuasive is a crap shoot, where sometimes things go great, but, at other times, we wish for a “do-over.” Those who are known as powerful, motivating...
Captivate, Motivate, Educate
Creating a “knock your socks off” business presentation can seem overwhelming. Regardless of whether you’re making a formal presentation at a conference or sitting across the table with a client or your boss, there are three key things to remember. Captivate Motivate...
Why Your Ideas Don’t Get Accepted
There are three reasons ideas don’t get accepted according to Rick Maurer, author of Why Don’t You Want What I Want? Reason #1: “I don’t get it.” Reason #2: “I don’t like it.” Reason #3: “I don’t like you.” Reason #1 “I don’t get it.” If customers don’t understand...
Achieving Expert Status as a Communicator
Malcom Gladwell in his book, Outliers, says it takes 10,000 hours to join the ranks of “Expert.” His theory is that people who become experts at anything first want to excel, and then they put in the effort. They work hard to perfect their skill by doing it over and...
Be Heard — a Non-Fail Recipe
We all know that a speaker needs to be heard, whether it is in giving an update on a project, advising a client on an investment opportunity or explaining the functionality of a new product. Yet so often, business professionals are not heard. They do not connect with...
How to Wow in One-on-Ones
One-on-one meetings can often be intense. Obviously, it is important to showcase your best self – a person who is confident and committed to his or her ideas. Your body language says it all. To deliver your message and wow, consider the following suggestions. Lean in....
The Art of Persuasion: Two Musts!
From the time we are babies, we try to persuade others. Babies want more milk, elementary school kids want to stay up late and teens want the car. Given the fact that we have been practicing persuasion for so many years, you would think that as adults we would be...
Applause Winning One On One Meetings
If your approach to being successful in a one on one meeting is to keep your fingers crossed and “hope” it turns out well, you risk disappointment. Applause winning meetings take thoughtful preparation and flawless execution. The following tips may turn the tide for...
Eliminating Verbal Static: Tips for Curing Filler Words
Filler words, such as “um,” “ah,” “like” and “ok,” represent verbal static or noise that your listeners have to filter out. The more fillers you have, the more difficult it is for your listeners to hear your message. Minimizing these annoying irritants will boost your...
“I’m Just Not That Funny!”
Most people enjoy humor. They love to laugh. However, when it comes to the workplace, opinions vary. Some people feel it’s a good thing, others do not. Even in the camp that says humor is a good thing, a lot of folks would say they are just not funny! Humor, if done...
What People Often Forget When Making a Presentation!
Savvy presenters know you have to get two things right, your opening and your close. If you do those well, you will be a success because people remember the first words out of your mouth and the last. However, while presenters know the importance of a strong opening...
Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect
We’ve all heard the old adage, “Practice makes perfect.” Practice doesn’t make perfect; it makes permanent! It can reinforce bad or wrong habits. Getting to the next level in your communication skills depends on knowing what you are doing well and what you doing that...
Things We Forget That Affect Our Impact
Little things matter when it comes to influencing others. Overlooking these may be costly since they cause confusion and delay a decision. The wise communicator avoids the Big Seven Sins or missteps like the following: Leaving research and preparation to the last...
How to Connect with Your Listeners
Most people feel they are unique. Before they can be receptive to your ideas or recommendations, they need to know you “get them.” As you speak to any individual or group, apply or link your points to the things they care about- and do it often! Do it at the...
Corralling Your Nerves
Speaking publicly to a group can be traumatizing. In fact, Jerry Seinfeld, comedian extraordinaire, joked about preferring to be in the coffin than to be the person giving the eulogy. If you are one of those people that find themselves anxious, here are some tried and...
How You Sabotage Your Success as a Presenter
Have you ever left a meeting wishing you had a chance for a “do over?” The bad impression you left is often indelible, and it may leave senior leaders questioning your capabilities. When we queried managers, directors and VP’s from an assortment of industries as to...
Getting Serious about Trust? Some Tips on What Not to Do
Being a Trusted Advisor, in the eyes of many experts, is the Holy Grail. It’s what you should strive to become if you are selling a product or a service. It takes time and perseverance to develop such a relationship, but the rewards for both parties are enormous....
Shore Up Your Relationships – They’ll Keep You in Business
High performing companies know the value of building relationships with their customers and vendors. Relationships drive growth and revenue. They carry you through the tough times and may even give you an edge if there are shared intimacies. However, while we know...
The Grave Digger’s Shift – What to Consider When Presenting Later in the Day!
Is your presentation scheduled for 3 p.m or even later? If so, you’re in the Grave Digger’s Shift. In fact, any time you speak in the afternoon, you run the risk of digging your own grave unless you are interesting and engaging. People are tired and typically have a...
Three Quick Tips for the Meeting Facilitator
Facilitating a meeting can be frustrating. Often, nothing gets accomplished. People start talking among themselves, or they start texting on their phone. No one seems to know where the meeting is going. To get results, you need to understand some key principles. Have...
What’s Your Objective?
Just as competitive athletes visualize the outcome of their performance before the game begins, it makes a lot of sense for you to do the same thing. Never go into a meeting with only a vague idea of what you want to accomplish. Know ahead what you want people to...
How Strong is Your Core?
Every athlete knows that if you want to perform well, you have to have a strong core. They also know that the time to strengthen their core is not while running a marathon or playing 18 holes of golf. It needs to happen long before and gradually over time. The same is...
5 Content Tips That Drive Action
Convincing people to act on your ideas is an art. If you are one of the people who approach preparing content by opening PowerPoint, this newsletter is for you. What follows are five content tips that will help you to create high impact presentations. On the surface,...
Tell a Story and You’ll Connect
Most managers or executives begrudging attend meetings with vendors or salespeople. They look upon them as an interruption. The last thing they want when they are busy is more information about a product or service thrown at them. When they actually do meet with you,...
What Marv White Says about Making an Executive Level Presentation
An executive’s time is valuable. These individuals go from meeting to meeting. It is not unusual for them to have as many as 10–15 meetings a day. For Marv White, Chief Technologist for Innovation at ESPN, an entertainment sports programming network and formerly CTO...
Connection Matters
How you relate to others matters when making a face-to-face presentation. What creates a connection with any executive, manager or peer, first and foremost, is strong eye contact. Sustained eye contact should begin the minute you walk in the door. With solid eye...
Guidelines for Great Large Group Presentations
What is the difference between your audience and an elephant? An elephant never forgets; an audience occasionally remembers. You go to a lot of trouble to prepare for a large group presentation. You want it to be a success and people to feel their time was well spent....
Being as Good as the Big Guys
We have all heard speakers who are exceptional – their message is clear and it is delivered in a compelling manner. People like Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers, Steve Ballmer CEO of Microsoft and John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems fall into this category. However,...
Promise Never to Commit these Presentation Crimes
They say there are three presentations we give: The one we planned to give, the one we actually gave, and the one we wished we would have given. A lot of us leave a presentation wishing for a “do-over.” What can destroy a good outcome are the following “Presentation...
Why I Simply Can’t Trust You
The aim of any presenter is to be trusted. Yet, time after time, listeners aren’t sold. Many even comment, “You know, there is something about that guy that I just can’t trust.” What you say and how you say it is critical to establishing trust. Albert Mehrabian,...
The Storyteller’s Checklist
People are moved by their heads and their hearts. Data alone won’t convince people. Knowing this, many companies have adopted a storytelling approach with their customers. An engaging story helps to deepen the human connection and increase the likelihood of ideas...
Presentations Are Out: Sharing Your Story Is In!
Customers are not crazy about formal presentations. They complain that presentations often seem prescriptive and downright boring. When surveyed, one of our clients said, “The last thing I need in my day is one more salesperson doing a dog and pony show. What happened...
Giving an Update? Tell Me What’s New and What’s to Do
Are you one of those people that has to give periodic updates? If so, you had better make it worth your listeners’ time because nobody relishes a meeting that’s “just an update.” In fact, in many people’s eyes, an “update” meeting is the one to miss when your schedule...Establish Credibility by Being a Trusted Advisor
What business person wouldn’t covet being thought of as a trusted advisor! Obviously, customers would act on your recommendations and refer you to other business acquaintances. They would turn to you first to improve the quality of their business and sign contract...You Can’t Leave Your Communication Skills behind Just Because You Are at Lunch
Many professionals conduct business outside of the office over lunch. The atmosphere is often more relaxing and conducive to discussing important matters privately. However, the business lunch can erode the impression of you as a consummate professional if you leave...What Tony Hayward Should Learn about Handling Tough Questions
Tony Hayward, CEO of BP Oil, has become a punching bag for Gulf Coast residents, as well as newscasters. His penchant for making insensitive and misleading statements may have done irreparable damage to his reputation and the reputation of BP Oil Corporation. Some of...Connection is Everything
How you relate to the audience affects the outcome of the meeting. People more readily accept information and close business with those they like and trust. So how do you build a relationship and still get your points across? What creates a connection, first and...2010 The Year of Relationship
The economic situation has impacted all of us, regardless of our job or industry. Many of us have seen dramatic layoffs, leaving some of us doing several jobs at one time. The pressure to succeed and exceed expectations is unbelievable. In these down times,...When You Can Only Influence
Robert Cialdini, the author of Weapons of Influence and The Psychology of Persuasion, is a leading expert in the area of influence and influencing. In his books, he identifies critical principles that generate desirable change. We have grouped his key points under...My Face—Your Face. Is Face to Face Communication Necessary Today?
Social media, e-mail and other advancements in technology seem to suggest that face-to-face communication in the business world is “old school,” that people do not miss or desire in person communiqués. One businessman, I called recently had this recorded message on...Cardinal Rule #1—End on Time
Repeat after me, it is not okay to end meetings late. When moderators say, “I am sorry we ended 15 minutes over time, but I hope you found it valuable,” it is not really all right. People have commitments. Sometimes, they are rushing to airports or to pick up children...What It Takes to Make Your Points Stand Out
Winston Churchill once said, “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time– a tremendous whack!” Most speakers want their points to come...Delivering Bad News Messages
The economic downturn has affected all businesses. Consequently, many of us are now in the position of delivering bad news messages. It is not easy, but the way that message is communicated is critical. It leaves a lasting impression of you and the company. People who...Out of Work? Changing Jobs? Better Do Some PR!
Are you out of work or thinking of changing jobs? Before you do anything, perform some PR on yourself. Assess what the Perception of you as a communicator, versus the Reality. We can see ourselves as a highly polished, competent business professional, but if the...- What’s Your Intention?
Communication ranges from building a relationship or gaining consensus to controlling an outcome. According to Susan Campbell, author of Saying What’s Real, almost 90% of all communication comes from the intent to control. She cautions that the more we aim to control, the more out of control we feel. When we feel unsure or fearful of the outcome, the need to control gets magnified. As a leader, it is important to recognize that we get things done faster when others feel respected and their opinions valued. As you think about your next meeting or critical conversation, consider your intent. If it is to protect the relationship, pay attention to any telltale signs that you are moving in the wrong direction.
- Do You Ask a Variety of Questions or the Same Old Ones?
As inside sales representatives, the way we close business is by asking questions. Often, we ask the same questions of each customer. Sometimes, these questions move people to make decisions, but at other times, they don’t, leading us to wonder “what happened?” Selling over the phone should not be a crapshoot. By asking the right […]
- Make Your Difficult Callers Relax with the AAH Technique
Does this sound familiar? You pick up a call in the cue in your normal professional manner and the caller on the other end of the line explodes. The person has been in cue for ten minutes, and when he does get a live person—you, he starts ranting and raving about his delivery problem, the […]
- Virtual Meetings, the New Normal
In the old days, managers saw their direct reports daily. They may even have eaten lunch with them or been on the same company bowling team. However, today, managers often oversee people around the globe, in places as far away as India, Kuwait or Korea. The days of interacting face-to-face with one’s direct reports are […]
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