Attributes of a Great Leader
There have been many great leaders across the ages. This begs the question, what did they have in common? What about them made them such a good leader? Here is our answer:
Email Communications: 10 Tips on making a memorable first impression
Practice these tips and I promise you’ll feel that your message was better received and understood. Not only that, increase your efficiency on making it through your inbox. Be Heard. Get Results.
Hit the Floor and Give Me 20! – Is Business Coaching Right For You?
Coaching's three most common uses include leadership development, remedial performance improvement, and optimizing strong contributors. Most coaches meet with executives in person or by phone, either every other week or once a month for about a year, though they increasingly are available for emergency consults.
5 Things You Can Do Right Now To Improve Your Next Presentation
There have been many articles written over the last decade especially take a peak inside this magician’s tophat. I came up with five Jobsian tricks you can adapt to make your next presentation a little better without spending hours and hours in front of a mirror.
MultiTasking is a Myth! Now What?
A slew of cognitive studies over the last five years have shown that what we think is multitasking is in reality over-active and distracted brain activity. The brain can only focus on one process at a time, so we’ve actually become expert “start-and-stoppers.” What’s worse, our attempts at multitasking slow us down, as errors increase and fatigue quickly clouds any accomplishments we think we make.
Swing and a Miss
Today’s guest blog post is written by Matthew Williams, Communications Intern at Accent on Business.
For a long time, networking evoked a negative albeit vivid image in my mind. A large group of middle-aged strangers getting together in a large conference room drinking, laughing at unfunny jokes, and passing around business cards all the while trying to sell insurance or burial plots. I’m not entirely sure where this image came from but I was certain it was not the game I wanted to play.
From the time I entered college until the time I left, I would constantly hear professors espouse the virtues of networking:
“It’s not just what you know,” they would say. “It’s about who you know. If you don’t learn to network the odds of finding a good job are slim.”
I’d like to say that hearing this message repeatedly over time softened […]
Intonation Speaks Volume!
Intonation is the melody of speech. Speech scientists tell us that the intonation of a sentence provides us with 70% of its meaning. Consonants and vowels might be mispronounced, but if the intonation is correct, we are likely to understand the message. Say the following sentences on the left, and then match them up with their meanings on the right. (Hint: Stress the italicized words.)
1. I didn’t say Bill was fired. a. I wrote it!
2. I didn’t say Bill was fired. b. He was hired!
3. I didn’t say Bill was fired. c. Mary did.
4. I didn’t say Bill was fired. d. Phil was.
5. I didn’t say Bill was fired. e. I swear!
We cannot communicate effectively in a monotone, or by stressing the wrong words. The correct intonation pattern, both within words and across entire messages, is critical to clear and efficient communication.
Voice improvement can teach you the rules to intonation. […]
What separates a good speech from a great speech?
A good speech has a clear, relevant message supported by facts. A great speech has a clear, relevant message supported by stories that make the topic being discussed more interesting and more memorable.
The goal of every speech is to be memorable and informative. People are inundated with messages and speeches in some shape or form on a daily basis. How can you help make your message stick? One of the simplest ways to make a speech memorable is to tell a story that serves as a real-life example of your message. A relevant, well-told anecdote engages audience members in a way that PowerPoint presentations or statistical data can’t. When an audience is engaged, they are more likely to retain the information being presented. If the story is interesting enough they may even relay it to someone else, spreading your message even further. People […]
The Music of Your Speech
Musicians and dancers talk about “musicality” in their respective arts. They say it’s something you feel in your bones and your muscles when you are performing. It’s interpreting the music, or the dance, through how it is performed. Speakers, too, can display charisma in this manner.
The charisma we’re talking about here comes from your gestures, the expressions on your face while you are speaking in public, smiling with your whole body, not just your lips; it’s the emotion you are conveying through your words and your visage. Your audience can truly sense your intention, passion, and meaning if you know how to communicate with charisma. If you are speaking to persuade, such as in politics or sales – all the better because you need your audience to feel the musicality in your voice and see it in your movements.
Especially during the summer because […]
Creating Powerful Impressions Everyday
As a business professional, your day is filled with interactions ranging from short telephone calls to important conversations with colleagues, sales presentations, and the occasional formal speech.
Each interaction, even the simplest conversation, presents an opportunity to make an impression and have an impact on others. What type of impression are you leaving? How effective are your communication skills? As you either thumb through your daily planner or scan through your palm pilot, review your recent interactions. Did any of the following issues arise?
- You were asked to speak up or repeat yourself
- Your message was misunderstood
- You couldn’t get the full attention of your audience
- You didn’t get the results or reactions you had anticipated
- You didn’t make the sale or close the transaction
These phenomena are quite common in the course of the typical business day. What causes these missed opportunities? Usually the […]