17 May When English is not your first language, use P.A.R. to make sure you are understood and are speaking clearly. 

Around the world, at this very minute, tens of millions of people are taking classes at language schools; some are using YouTube to learn to speak and listen, and of course, many are learning in their grade schools, high schools, and universities. Many of these people will be required in their careers to use English, so they are often very serious in their approach to learning.  (more…)

4 May Rampant Redundancies 

The excesses of communication in our time are reflected in our language. When verbal overkill is in, eloquence is out. And when was the last time you heard an eloquent speech? So we plod along carrying a sack full of unnecessary words.

Here are some common examples of ripe redundancies ready for burial. (more…)

27 Apr Strengthening Relationships with Appreciation 

Everyone wants to be appreciated. People want to feel and know they matter. Unfortunately, our culture in the business world leans more towards critique than appreciation and competition more than support. Knowing how to share authentic appreciation is an invaluable skill for strengthening relationships.

Here are four tips that help: 

Be Prompt - It’s best to share appreciation immediately, if possible. If you wait too long, you are likely to overanalyze, script yourself, and lose authenticity. The more delay, the less authenticity. Another risk with delay is the person you are appreciating may not remember the action/event details, and therefore, your appreciation won’t have its intended impact.  (more…)

21 Apr Three Ways to Keep Yourself From Rambling 

If you find yourself “getting into the weeds” by using long sentences when sharing information or opinions….You might be a rambler!

If your friends and colleagues dread hearing you speak…. You might be a rambler!

If your clients, customers, or direct reports seem uncomfortable when you talk.…You might be a rambler!

If you find your neighbors or even family members keep avoiding your talks…. You might be a rambler!

Many of our clients are brilliant and interesting people. Even if you are all these things…You might be a rambler! (more…)

7 Apr Three Approaches to Better Presentations

Whether it’s a team effort or a one-person responsibility, a presentation can make or break a contract or client relationship. This brief article gives you three critical elements required for preparing a successful presentation.

If you provide a product or a service, there is truth in the old adage that “products don’t sell, people do.” Certainly, there are isolated exceptions, but person-to-person contact is invaluable for most businesses. In this framework, the business presentation holds a unique and critical place. It is an essential part of the public relations, marketing, and sales for any company, large or small.

(more…)

3 Apr The Structure of the Mind

24 Mar Zoom, the Pope, and a Lesson Learned

I read an interesting article in The Atlantic based on a recent speech by the Pope. He reflected on the importance of face-to-face communication in a world that has gone online.  He said: 

“Text mediums deprive us of cues like facial expressions, posture, and vocal inflections. As a result, they are especially ill-suited to figuring out what people who aren’t adept at writing believe or intend to express….To interact with people in person is to see how complicated most of us are.” 

While the article’s author analyzes this through the lens of what makes a good journalist, the lesson is important for all of us who are on Zoom a lot. 

Read the article here. 

3 Mar Getting your Message Across: Strategies for Conveying Technical and Complex Information 

Communication excellence, speaking clearly and conveying ideas with impact, is highly associated with career and organizational success.

Yet, healthcare and technology leaders face a major challenge: simplifying complex and technical information so that others “get it,” buy-in, and take action for best results.

Here are some truths about transmitting knowledge  and influencing others outside your field:

• Knowing your topic does not equal speaking clearly about your topic.
• Your listeners likely don’t care about your topic as much as you do-sorry!
• Anytime you speak, whether one on one or to a crowd,  in person or virtual, in a formal or informal setting, you are a “presenter.”
• Preparation, not Desperation: Strategize and plan, no matter how knowledgeable you are. 

(more…)

23 Feb Vocal Variety and Its Role in Virtual Presenting  

Now that virtual presenting is here is stay, keep in mind that your oral delivery is more important than ever. Our colleagues, clients, and anyone else who is listening at home or in their office are most likely multitasking. Some of us have two monitors that allow us to be watching/listening and doing multiple tasks simultaneously. Since a few of your listeners may not be directly looking at the screen, your voice is what captures their attention. Therefore, I am coaching clients to incorporate “vocal variety.” Vocal variety is when you choose a specific word or phrase to add vocal emphasis to convey a meaning. A very easy way to add vocal variety is to increase your volume. (more…)

10 Feb Answering Off the Cuff

#1 Thinking on your feet 

When I meet potential clients, their needs span many areas, but I want to talk about one I find almost everywhere I go.  “How can I be better at speaking off the cuff?”  Easy!  Well, honestly, it is easy, but to explain how it’s easy, let’s talk about what you are asking for.

Speaking off the cuff, thinking on your feet, or any other way you describe it, comes from the idea of speaking with limited notes in a time crunch.  You don’t get to take a lot of time to fully plan a response. You must deliver at that moment!  So, the way you can be ready for anything is to prepare ahead of time. 

Now, I know most of you are busy, so no, this doesn’t take a ton of time. But, maybe 5 minutes before you go into a meeting, have a conversation, or walk the floor at a conference (hopefully, at some point in the future), you need to prepare! 

How? Recognize that any time you are asked a business question or offer an opinion, you are relying on the business knowledge you already have.  So, answering the question isn’t difficult.  The difficult part comes in knowing what to answer and then preparing the context.  So, let’s look at that. 

#2 Answering the right question 

You may be asked general questions, hyper-specific questions, or just strange questions. In those situations, use one of these answering techniques: 

A question of clarification: Ask them a question in which you offer them two options for your response 

“So when you are talking about (the topic), are you asking me about (A) or (B)?” 

Paraphrase: Ask them if you are hearing them correctly  by paraphrasing the question they are asking in a way that makes more sense to you.

“If I understand the question, you are essentially asking me about (your paraphrased understanding)?” 

Admit and redirect: Sometimes, you don’t know the answer or it’s not topical, or requires a long answer. So admit that, and then redirect your response to something that might be pertinent to everyone. 

“You know, I don’t know (or that’s a great question I would like to talk to you about after, etc.), but what I do know is….” 

In each of these situations, you are using a simple technique to make sure your answer is spot on and valuable. In addition, using these techniques will give you more time to think and organize your response. 

#3 Including the context

As you give someone the answer to their question or offer an opinion, you want to include some context for the answer, or the listener is likely to interpret it however they want. 

You want to control the context!  I recommend starting an example notebook or a notebook with thoughts about context or setting in which questions may be asked. Then, think of concrete examples that show how your response works in context. This gives your listeners a clear understanding of what you mean and how it applies to the topic or question. 

The reason to prepare ahead of time is that you are re-orienting your knowledge into something more useful. It takes 5 minutes, and in that time, you are now more prepared for many of the questions you might be asked. 

So, today I shared with you a little about how to prepare for the “unpreparable.” You can do it! Please take five minutes, think about the questions or opinions you might have to respond to, how do you clarify what they want, and how do you make sure they understand it the way you mean it? If you do that, you will be in a great place.