Phil Stella

End Strong

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Last month’s piece on presentation intros generated some gratifying positive buzz and requests for more. So, let’s go to the end of the message and ‘tell ‘em what we said.’ Audience-Centric presentations should end, not just stop. And they should End Strong. Your intro is critically important, but so is your summary or conclusion. You can also ‘Get Them at Goodbye!’

While the audience may be influenced most by what they hear first, they usually remember most what they hear last. So, a powerful ending can ‘close the sale’. You can quickly restate your Main Point in terms of audience-centric value, remind them of the Sub-Points you shared to ‘prove’ your Main Point and let them know what’s next. Just as with your Introduction, that’s a lot of important work to do in a very short time, so every word must count here, too. What follows are 10 Best Practices for your Power Ending:

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Get Them at ‘Hello’

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The first few minutes of any presentation are most important minutes. Start strong, powerfully, engaging and immediately so you don’t blow your intro. And never start with a joke unless you were hired as an entertainer and the only goal is to be humorous. Jokes rarely work in typical workplace presentations.

What does work is thorough planning and careful crafting of your opening comments. Introductions should generally be 10 % of the running length – or less – and accomplish a lot of important tasks:

  • Engage the audience immediately with a question, fact, stat, quote, etc. Stories work, but they have to be very short and connect directly to the message … and most aren’t.

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Do Your Emails Suck?

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Your routine workplace emails might suck if you ignore the reality that every note you send a customer, colleague or manager can project your image of professionalism, competency and courtesy — or detract from it. So, if you don’t want your emails to suck, just avoid these worst practices:

  • Not asking if everyone on a large distribution list really needs or wants to see this message. 
  • Retaining long strings of email addresses that precede your actual message.
  • Using an ineffective subject line like ‘Report’ or, even worse, ‘no subject’

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I Hate Networking Slugs … And So Should You

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I hate Networking Slugs … I really do. And so should you. They typically create very negative first impressions at networking events by doing lots of dumb things. They probably didn’t plan to behave like Slugs and what they do is often out of mindless habit or lack of focus. But, the results are just as lame … and just as annoying.

Most Slugs are real amateur networkers, but not all. I’ve encountered some veteran schmoozers who elevate Slug Behavior to an art form. So have you. When you see them coming, you turn and run. Or, at least, start talking to someone else.

To help you make sure no one ever accuses you of Networking Slug Behavior, here are five things they do to earn that designation and Non-Slug Alternatives they – or you – should consider instead.  No need to thank me … it’s my job

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Brand Your Way to Success

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Everything a small business does brands itself. Everything we say or do brands us as worthy resources … or not. But, the marketplace really determines our brand. It’s what they really think of us. It’s why they buy from us rather than the competition. It’s their reaction to what we communicate as our value proposition.

So, to effectively communicate your small business brand, consider:

  • Accurately describe your Value Proposition – what you do through the lens of who benefits from what you do. You don’t ‘fix computers’, you ‘solve technology problems for small businesses.’ You may need help with the specific details from colleagues, or even better, from customers.
  • Be specific. Many small businesses provide lots of different products or services. Identify what you do best, sell the most and produces the most revenue … and profit. This narrowing of scope doesn’t limit your appeal, it makes it much easier for the marketplace to remember what you can do for them.
  • If your company name no longer communicates that value proposition – or never did – time to consider re-branding. What makes more sense – ‘The Andrew Peters Group, Inc.’ or ‘Tech Solutions, Inc.’?

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Network With A Strategic Plan

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Looks like some business organizations are returning to in-person meetings and networking events this year. Be ready for that change by committing to a thorough networking Plan for 2022. Network on purpose and for a purpose every time.

With businesses, failing to plan is planning to fail. It’s the same simple paradigm for networking like a pro instead of an amateur. And it all starts with the reason(s) why you’re networking. Whether you want to learn things to help you do your job better, look for a better job or grow your business, network with a Strategic Plan. Here’s how:

  • Define your specific networking objective(s). As a result of accomplishing them, what outcome(s) will result? A good objective is SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Better to have three different very focused objectives than one all-purpose, vague or generic one.
  • The ‘what’ determines the ‘who’. Who do you need to meet and learn from to achieve each specific outcome? If you don’t know their names, what kinds of people – by function, position or industry – do you need to meet?

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You’re Not Listening!

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(Looks like it’s time for my annual rant about poor listening skills in the workplace.)

As workplace communicators, we obviously spend a lot of time each day communicating verbally. Therefore, we spend a lot of time listening … or should. Problem is, we don’t listen very well. Especially those of us Type A Driver Entrepreneurs. Sound familiar? We regularly fall victim to one or more of these seven Barriers to Listening:

1. Ruling out the speaker – “He is of no interest to me.” She has nothing to say. Why listen?”

2. Reaching a premature conclusion – “I’ve heard enough to know where he’s going with this argument. I’ve heart it before and it’s all wrong.”

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