by admin | May 22, 2014 | Communication strategy
Numerous articles and research have shown effective communication to be an important driver of employee engagement, which leads to improved financial performance. Gallup reports that those organizations falling within the top 25% of employee engagement in their client database not only have significantly higher productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction, but also reduced turnover, lower absenteeism and fewer safety incidents than those clients falling in the bottom 25%. These numbers make a strong case for the value and importance of strategic communication. Well-designed communication programs are essential for sharing a company’s strategic plan and providing other important organizational information that informs employees of the organization’s goals and objectives, business priorities, products and services. Read more about the power of strategic communication...
by admin | May 15, 2014 | Communication strategy
Email writing training is one of my favourite topics. I often write about the impact of good (and bad), email writing on our professional success and reputation. The Risk Of Email Most business communication is by email. We try to build and maintain relationships using this one-dimensional, sensory deprived mode of communication that was never designed to do what we are using it for. Email was designed for the United States Defense Department in 1971 by Computer Engineer, Ray Tomlinson as a way to send a simple (note the word ‘simple’), message to another person across a network.email3 Email has gone far beyond sending a simple message. Not only are we using it as a project management and relationship-building business communication tool, in many ways we are using email to replace conversations — displacing many phone and face-to-face conversations. For example, it’s not uncommon for business associates. In another city to never meet or speak with each other, and to only communicate by email. Who sit next to each other to do most of their communication by email. Read more about the 12 tips for writing better emails and communicating through email messages effectively...
by admin | May 15, 2014 | Communication strategy
Of all the skills we teach prospective entrepreneurs, there’s an element missing. Where in our MBA or business preparedness programs do we talk about the skills of negotiation? Um… with the exception of sales training, which is highly focused on negotiation, perhaps the answer is never. My friend Dr. Richard Kaye raised this point to me recently as we discussed our strategies for business at a recent Pro Speaker Biz event in Las Vegas, led by the head of Performance 360 Events andPerformance Magazine, Dr. Jeff Magee. (I’ve interviewed Magee before here.) Dr. Kaye, Magee and I are fellow faculty members of the CEO Space business growth conferences (as a note, these roles are unpaid). In his business life, Kaye is a retired chiropractor who teaches and presents on how to build better rapport, better communication (here’s to that!) and better negotiation skills. Read more about these 7 magic words and 10 negotiation ideas...
by admin | May 9, 2014 | Communication strategy
Do you find yourself steering clear of difficult conversations with your spouse, your children, your co-workers, your boss? We all have defense mechanisms that kick in when we want to avoid the harder choices in our lives. But avoiding everyday communication that we really need to face causes stress and can actually make us physically ill. Dr. Neha Sangwan, Internal Medicine physician, entrepreneur, andHuffington Post contributor, took as her mission empowering people in their own health by teaching them practical communication tools to strengthen their relationships, decrease stress levels, and create the life they deserve. Doctor Neha trained as a medical doctor. For over a decade, she worked 36-hour shifts and saw up to 18 hospitalized patients a day. She found that this punishing schedule quickly took its toll on her health. “Instead of acknowledging my headaches, throat constriction, insomnia and physical exhaustion as warning signals, I powered through shift after shift, fueled by caffeine, sugar and a fear of failure,” she told me. “Eventually the grueling pace, erratic sleep schedule and blatant disregard for my own physical, mental and emotional well-being led to burnout. I was so focused on other people’s health and doing what was expected, I rarely paid attention to what my own body was saying. My official diagnosis: a classic case of people pleasing.” Read more about this inability to communicate here and how it can be fixed...
by admin | May 9, 2014 | Communication strategy
A mother said to her three-year-old daughter, “When you get a chance, can you please clean your room?” The young girl responded, “Mom, no, I not gonna get a chance.” A colleague told me this story about her daughter, and after I stopped laughing, I had to tell her that she hadn’t use a little-recognized, yet powerful communication tool. Since she had hired me to teach assertiveness for her organization, I felt comfortable giving her this feedback. Her stumbling block? My colleague had used a question instead of a direct assertive statement. Using a question (Can you please clean your room?) allows the other person to make the choice, and you may not get what you want. You are being less direct. Read more about these two communication strategies...
by admin | Apr 28, 2014 | Communication strategy
“Colors and color combinations create moods and feelings, consciously and unconsciously,” says Kate Smith, president and chief color expert at Sensational Color, a color consulting firm in Ashburn, Virginia. Check out Smith’s tips for using the psychology of color effectively at events. 1. Clearly name the message or mood you want guests to experience at your event, and use color to support it. “If the message isn’t clear, color can’t make it work,” Smith says. “Color is wonderful, but it’s not a miracle.” Read more about the remaining 7 tips for using color to communicate an event’s message...
