Heartfelt and Memorable Holiday Toasts
There is no better time than this year’s office party to let your colleagues know how much you appreciate their hard work and great attitudes. Ellen Dunnigan, public speaking coach at Accent On Business, offers our annual tips on providing memorable toasts at the holiday office parties.
Give Thanks
Thank individuals for their contribution to the company. If your group is small, mention each person individually. In larger firms, thank teams or departments who succeeded in special initiatives or projects. Thank your partners and alliances, especially if they are sponsoring your company celebration. Be as specific as possible in your “thank you”, for example, “Thank you, Susan, for keeping us organized and managing our project calendars”. (We call this the “Power Thank You”.)
Share Successes
Share specific kudos about your team members with their spouses. You know, it doesn’t get much better than hearing that all […]
Last week I attended the Women’s Business Conference held by the National Association of Women Business Owners. There is tremendous sponsorship by very large corporations for this conference, and the speakers they sponsored were visionary leaders and “doers” at the highest levels. At this stage in my career, I respect better-than-average business leaders, yet I’m not readily impressed with the better-than-average business leader. What impresses me are the remarkable leaders, the highly intentional visionaries, the humble and resolute leaders. I was delighted to meet and listen to several such leaders. While I heard plenty of facts and figures, statistics and lessons, I would have to consult my notes for all of those interesting and important details.

