People who are extraordinary communicators don’t start out that way. They work at getting better. They take communicating effectively seriously. They practice. They learn the When, Where, How and Why to improving the way they communicate. When: People who are fabulous communicators do what Tiger Woods does – they work at perfecting their core communication […]

Guest Author By Deb Kowalczyk, M.A.— Director Clearspeak  Why Work on My Accent? Whether you speak with a foreign accent or regional dialect, it can impact your job performance and affect the way you are perceived by customers, co-workers, and employers. Although the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin, […]

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 whether they like or need what you have to say so you need to make it relevant right from the start. A good way to open any presentation is to answer the questions people typically have.

The key thing to adding value is know your audience and to show the link between your solution and the needs of the individuals. Listeners don’t like to work at understanding, and they don’t like to feel their issues were unnoticed. The more clearly you show value right from the get-go by reiterating known and unknown issues and by providing examples and stories to prove that your product or service solves these problems, the more likely you are to being successful.