Articles

Challenge Your Networking Habits

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Many readers recognize the power of effective networking as a key business strategy, especially those directly involved in growing the business. But, if you fall into the trap of networking out of habit, driven by some outdated mindsets, you might be networking like an ineffective amateur. And, ‘if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got’.

Here are some simple reminders to help you challenge your networking habits … and consider changing some of them that may not work any more.

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Become a ‘Platinum Rule’ Workplace Communicator

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Many business professionals diligently attempt to practice at work the ‘Golden Rule’ we all learned as youngsters. A workplace communication version of that philosophy would be  ‘Communicate with other people the way you want them to communicate with you.’  While a nice warm and fuzzy concept, a quick reality check indicates two serious flaws in the logic: the ‘Golden Rule’ assumes everyone is alike and It also assumes everyone is just like you.

While the ‘Golden Rule’ doesn’t work at a certain level of specific application, the ‘Platinum Rule’ does. First defined by Dr. Tony Alessandra in the 90s, it is 10 times harder to do well, but 100 times better than the ‘Golden Rule’. So, you do the math and see if you find value it.

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Winning Sales Pitches

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How many of you would love to have more winning sales pitches that win more business? How many experience some pain when you pitch business face-to-face, over the phone, in writing or in presentations? Do you ever cause some pain for your prospects or customers as a result of those pitches? Looks like lots of hands going up for all three questions … great!  So, read on for 10 Best Practices for winning more business and reducing the pain you feel … and cause … when you pitch business. They’re all simple – just not easy – and they all do work.

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Painless Presentations

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Do you ever experience pain in creating and delivering important workplace presentations? Do your audiences experience pain listening to those presentations? If you answered ‘yes’, read on for a brief overview of Presentation Best Practices. They can help you present with more confidence … and less pain for you and for them.

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Networking With A Focused Script

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The goal of your first brief networking interaction with a stranger is to begin to answer the question “Is this person someone I want to get to know better; someone who can help me … or who I can help?” To do that, you need information.

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Make Meetings Work

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Ask any group of business professionals what they think about meetings at work. You’ll probably hear comments like “ … too long … unorganized … #$%&*(@# waste of time … always start late … no action … I hate meetings.”

Poorly planed meetings translate into inefficient and ineffective results and missed opportunities. Too many business people still haven’t learned how to plan, manage or follow up on meetings; they simply “have” meetings … or, even worse, they “do” a meeting.

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Your words matter

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Let’s continue our WordPower Adventure with two more contemporary workplace writing Best Practices that might challenge some of your word use habits. Specific Beats Vague One habit you should challenge … and change … is our preference for vagueness. Whether the choice is conscious or not, ‘precise’ beats ‘vague’ every time. Precise words are clearer, … Read more

Make Your Slides Work

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Your PowerPoint Tool Kit should be getting full by now, but let’s add 10 more tips about what to do and say when you’re using these Best-in-Class slides you’ve just created. How you use them may have more impact on your audience and presentation results than what is on them.

  1. Make sure the room lighting works for both your slides and the audience. A dimly lit room will help them fall asleep faster than your content or delivery. If possible, only turn off the lights closest to the screen that would wash out the image. If the room isn’t wired that way, try removing the bulbs from those fixtures closest to the screen. Knowing the room logistics up front should give you enough time to minimize this problem.
  2. Consider not having a title slide on at the beginning of the presentation. The visual impact of a blank screen focuses attention on you during your all-important introduction. As you transition into your first Sub-Point, then bring on the slides. Plus, no title slide can minimize the audience expectation that this will be another dose of Death by PowerPoint from the time they walk in the room.

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Harness Phone Power

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We all spend a lot of time on the phone, talking with customers, colleagues and managers. Can you imagine doing your job without your cell phone? I can’t.

Our employers and organizations spend a lot of money providing us with the latest phone technology … or we spend our own money doing it. Yet, making the most of this mission-critical resource has little to do with the technology of the tool. It has everything to do with the simple communication strategies blended with uncommon sense and uncommon courtesy of the user.

Before discussing some simple strategies to help you increase your Phone Power, consider two over-arching concepts relating to putting yourself where your callers are. Listen to your voice mail greeting from two perspectives.

1. How do you sound? Is your tone of voice professional, courteous and enthusiastic? Do you sound like someone you’d like to do business with today? If not, re-record your greeting until you’re happy with how you sound. Your tone of voice has a lot of influence over the professional image you project. Make sure it’s the best possible image you can create.

2. What do you say? Does every word have value for your callers? Do you waste their time with such trite phrases as “I’m away from my desk or on the other line …” or “But your call is very important to me …”? Do you insult your callers’ intelligence by telling them to wait for the beep and leave your name and phone number? If you’re not happy with the message the message in your greeting delivers, do something about it. You may need to get approval at work, so make sure you have logical, caller-friendly reasons for any changes.

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One picture is worth a thousand bullets

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Several recent articles have discussed some PowerPoint Best Practices to help you avoid inflicting ‘Death by PowerPoint’ on your audiences. You may have even added a few new or different tools to your Presenter Tool Kit as a result. Here’s another one.

Yes … a picture is worth a thousand words – or, in the case of PowerPoint – a thousand bullet points. And a great picture is worth even more. We humans are visual learners. Much of what is stored in our long-term memory got in there through visual stimulus. Of the three levels of communication – words, tone of voice and visual – the most effective and memorable is the visual – your slides, if you use them properly. Ironically, the least effective slides have only words, yet most presentations include slide after slide of bullet points. Pictures and charts are more effective, but used much less. Go figure.

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