by admin | Jul 7, 2014 | Communication development/evaluation
Many of us in HR and Leadership circles – I am among them – bemoan the negativity that springs up during the process of recruiting employees, affecting positivecandidate experience and your employer brand. One would think companies would have a stake in ensuring candidates, whether they are hired or not, have a positive experience with the hiring company and your recruiting process. Others might point out that not getting the job is in itself enough to sour the candidate on the company if he or she is passed over. Yet studies have shown even unsuccessful applicants retain a positive experience of the company, if a too-often-overlooked link is maintained: clear, unambiguous communication. Read more about it...
by admin | Jul 2, 2014 | Communication development/evaluation
When it comes to cyber security, most CEOs don’t get it. That was the conclusion of a recent survey of IT security professionals on the state of their companies’ defenses against data leaks or malicious attacks. The survey, sponsored by Websense and conducted by the Ponemon Institute, exposes the lack of communication between IT and upper management about the importance of cyber security and the damage a data breach can do to a company’s public image and bottom line. More than half of security professionals believe that their organizations’ security controls don’t provide adequate protection against advanced cyber attacks, according to more than 5,000 IT professionals from 15 countries including the U.S. The same portion of IT professionals said that executives fail to appreciate the value of putting effective security controls in place, and do not equate a data breach with financial loss. This echoes a similar study conducted last year, also by the Ponemon Institute, which concluded that a majority of IT professionals fail to communicate security risks effectively to upper management. Read more about it...
by admin | Jun 9, 2014 | Communication development/evaluation
We live in a society where perception is reality and an opinion is formed in three seconds. We never get a second chance to make a first impression. The most effective way we have to control how we are known by others is through how we communicate. Practice the following tips to be more deliberate and intentional in your communication with others: 1. Craft your persona statement. We have a choice in how we want to be known. Identify and write down strategic elements that reflect your positive character traits and best attributes. Begin by completing the following sentence: I want to be known as … Read more about becoming a master communicator...
by admin | Jun 2, 2014 | Communication development/evaluation
Think of all the contacts your business has right now.They probably aren’t all sales ready leads. Most businesses have various different types of contacts that they reach out to for various reasons at various times. Who Are These Contacts Subscriber– Someone who has opted in for something like your blog or newsletter Lead– Someone with more interest than a subscriber who downloaded a piece of content from you and has given more information than just their email Marketing Qualified Lead- More interested and active than just a lead, they have probably downloaded 2 or more pieces of content, opened and clicked through a few emails, etc. Sales Qualified Lead– Someone who is educated and ready enough to talk to your sales team Opportunity– Someone your sales team has spoken to and identified as ready to buy Customer– Someone who pays for your services or products Evangelist– Someone who is a partner or promoter of your business Learn more about these contacts and how to develop a successful life cycle communication plan...
by admin | Apr 23, 2014 | Communication development/evaluation
You’ve scrutinized what you plan to say. You’ve mentally calculated every word that will comes out of your mouth in that big meeting, pitch, or presentation. That’s good – that’s the ante to play. But you’re only going to be 7% effective in your communication. Not to be blunt, but 7% isn’t going to get you that prized customer, deep-pocketed investor or key buyer – in fact, 7% won’t get you anything since we live in a world where results are often binary. So where does the other 93% come from? The author of Silent Messages, Dr. Albert Mehrabian, determined that 38% of your communicative effectiveness is deemed by certain vocal elements aside from words, while 55% comes from nonverbal elements entirely. Even if the math isn’t exactly accurate, the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of your communication style is not related to what you’re actually saying. Let’s look at each sub-section to read between the lines. Find out more about how to improve your communication by up to 93%...
by admin | Apr 22, 2014 | Communication development/evaluation
Which is more important: to communicate in a second language or to test well? Often in language education, skirmishes break out among parents, teachers — and even the students themselves — over this thorny question. Of course, being able to do both is the ideal, but how can we as learners and teachers ensure we keep a healthy balance between social and academic language acquisition? Linguist Jim Cummins believes that these two types of learning and the skills they involve are separable: On one side of the fence are social language skills, which are needed to communicate within society; on the other are academic language skills — those needed to succeed in a classroom or on an exam. Social language skills do not require any specialized vocabulary, Cummins argues, and often comprehension is aided by the context of the social situation. For example, a child in a playground or a university exchange student at a party would rely on various nonverbal social clues when seeking to understand and respond appropriately to a specific situation. Read more about teaching and testing for communication...
