Phil Stella My recent ‘Communicate Confidently!’ eLetter article on ‘Business Card Finesse’ generated some reader reaction. Here’s a summary of several responses, based on a lot of on-going research and sharing of Best Practices with other networking pros. Contrary to what most people do, I encourage networkers NOT to give their cards to anyone! Wait for someone … Read more
A reader asked what I thought about using the phrase ‘you guys’ when talking to a group of people. While there may be nothing wrong with it and lots of people use it, there’s nothing really right with it, either. And you never know when someone in your audience might take offense at it. So, … Read more
Here are some additional comments from an ongoing dialogue with a reader about memorizing a presentation. Practice doesn’t really make Perfect, it only makes Permanent. Only Perfect Practice makes Perfect.
Last time, I ranted about why presenters shouldn’t try to memorize their presentations. They should learn them through practice and refinement of message content and structure. More thoughts for your consideration:
Whenever two or more business people are in the same space, they typically network. No surprise there. Here are some Networking Best Practices that will differentiate the networking pros from the networking amateurs.
Sounds like some of you have recently read – or listened to – some good books on communications, business or management. Here’s one a reader recommended: ‘Now, Build a Great Business – 7 Ways to Maximize Your Profits in any Market’, Brian Tracy and Mark Thompson, 2011 I tried it, too, and it’s a good … Read more
As part of my Social Media strategy, I belong to a dozen business-related LinkedIn groups and regularly engage in their discussion threads. It’s a great way to learn new things, share ideas and regularly stay connected with your LinkedIn network through the weekly activity updates. Here’s part of one of my recent rants in response … Read more
Some hard-line ‘professional speakers’ I know advocate not saying ‘thank you’ at the end of a presentation. They imply that the audience should be thanking us instead. I don’t like that approach, since I strive to practice ‘uncommon courtesy’ in all my business interactions and especially from the platform. If our last words are ‘thank … Read more
So you’ve decided to attend a professional group event to do some networking. Good for you … but you’ll need to work the room like a pro – with focus, finesse and flexibility. Here are 10 simple Best Practices to increase your skills and confidence … and results.
We all learned about the three parts of a speech in high school: the introduction, body and conclusion. You remember … ‘Tell ‘em what you’re gonna say, say it and tell ‘em what you said.’ Nothing new here.
Of these three components, the intro is critically important to the success of your presentation and accomplishing your intended outcomes. On average, it’s less than 10% of your total presentation time. So, with a 30-minute presentation, your intro is three minutes or less.
Since the audience is influenced most by what they hear first, a powerful intro can quickly build rapport, establish credibility, stress audience-centric value and let them know what’s coming. That’s a lot of important work to do in a very short time, so every word must count. Here’s a summary of Best Practices for your Power Intro so you can Start Strong.
Here’s a simple technique that will differentiate you from most other people when you make a simple phone call. It works very well whether you’re following up on meeting someone at a networking event, returning a call or simply asking a question: After introducing yourself, briefly indicate why you’re calling and then ask if it’s … Read more