are you worth listening to?

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Yadidagh, didagh, dagh…..

How many times have you sat listening to an expert yet….. been bored rigid?  Even been on the brink of nodding off? You know the speaker knows their stuff but boy, you’d wonder if they’ve ever seen themselves on video or played back a recording of their talk.  Yet, we know that Confident Communicators Inspire!  They motivate.  They fire us up and feed our insatiable appetite for learning even more.  The best leave us wanting more… every time!  Wanting more Knowledge.  More of their books.  More of them.  Which makes you realise, in the sales process, people buy because of you.  You are that special ingredient, which is why developing your own conversational style that allows your personality to come through is so important.

PRACTICE MAKES BETTER……..If people give their time, their attention, even their money, then there is a responsibility and respect that needs to be given……WINGING IT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH ! We owe it to ourselves and to anyone who is generous enough to listen, to do the best we can.  The question is do you? 

To become a more effective speaker, consider joining us for a practical workshop
 

 

 

Introverts make great Speakers too

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If you thought only extroverts make great Speakers, think again.  Introverts make great speakers because they master the skill of speaking in public and know how to capture the attention of their audience. Check out Susan Cain on TED Talks and you’ll see what I mean. TED TALKS are a great way to learn how to hone your speaking skills, as well as filling those moments when the person you’re waiting for is running late!

Described as a quiet revolutionary, Susan Cain’s book  ‘The Power of Introverts’  will change your perception of Extraverts/Intraverts.   Well written, well researched.  Well worth buying and taking the time to read. Just listening to her talk, you’ll see how captivating a well structured and prepared a well researched speech can be, especially when the subject is something the writer feels so close to.  Listen to her talk by clicking on the link below.

http://www.ted.com/speakers/susan_cain.html

http://www.ted.com/

janie-saysthink of giving a speech as a conversation……talking is performing and you can do it too…

 

Developing your own Conversational Style

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Going weak at the knees….

Fear dominated my early life. As a child, I was terrified. Terrified of lots of things.  Some silly.  Some not so stupid.  One very real fear was of being asked to say a prayer at a seder supper as I  unlike my cousins, I didn’t speak hebrew. In school, I knew I wasn’t the brightest and avoided any possibility of being picked out for anything at all and so the habit of being fearful continued through most of my adult life of choosing to play second fiddle, never wanting to be in the spotlight.  I felt I wasn’t intelligent enough, certainly not funny enough and I believed that no-one would find what I had to say of interest anyway.  The very notion of  exposing myself to possible ridicule filled me with horror on a regular basis. Fear you’ll have gathered is something I really understand.

If the thought of speaking in public terrifies you and your knees turn jelly, it is in your power to change how you feel. There are some easily learnt techniques that can help you speak in public, with confidence and take the stress out of those business situations where you know you’ve simply got to deliver.  Developing your own style is one of the most important steps to presenting well and to think of your style as a type of conversation can help.  Once you’ve done so, then it’s a case of modifying your CONVERSATIONAL STYLE to suit the situation.  Easier said than done, right?  Take the first step and think of how you talk to different members of your family.  Talking with a brother or sister, for example, will probably be more informal than perhaps talking to an Aunt or Uncle.  In business, it’s much the same.  There will be people with whom you adopt a less familiar or formal tone.  We’re all human and the more you can learn to relax and communicate with ease, the greater, more varied and most important of all, the more personalised your ‘conversational style’ will become. Wobbly knees will be a distant memory and all you’ll feel is the excitement and pleasure of speaking with confidence.

janie-says Confident Communicators have the ability to Inspire and Motivate

‘Darling, nobody knows’

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Put on the Spot !

When I was out the other night, I was asked to comment on a particular situation.  Afterwards, I was complimented on how calm I seemed, especially as this was a topic that I was unfamiliar with and held little interest for me!  My first instinct was not to comment, make an excuse and quickly avoid the issue altogether.  Whenever I find myself in such situations, I remember the words of a very confident friend who helped me greatly in my early years and can still hear her voice today. When I said how nervous I felt if asked my opinion,  that my knees would shake and my mouth would go dry, she replied in her deep, husky voice  ‘but darling, darling, nobody knows.  Nobody but you can ever know how very fearful you are’.  Having a background in opera and drama, she knew only too well how fear can take over and would prime herself every single time she went on stage.  Now I’m not proposing you put on an award winning performance every time you get an attack of nerves.  What I am saying is that PRACTICE MAKES BETTER ! The more you associate speaking well with a good feeling, the better it gets and you can fool your sub-conscious mind into helping you achieve a greater level of satisfaction and success each and every time you speak.  Give the illusion of ‘Nerves of Steel’ and relegate ‘Legs like Jelly’ to history with a few easily learned techniques from a ‘Self Smarter’ workshop.

janie-saysYou need the adrenalin of nerves to keep you on top of your performance.  When feeling anxious,   remember the words of my friend….. ‘Darling, darling, nobody knows. Just take a deep breath and go for it !

 

Men and Women !

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Whilst giving a workshop recently about personality types and how best to communicate with people, I was asked about the fundamental difference between men and women, how we think and consequently act.  With so much written on the subject, who am I to comment, yet put on the spot the best explanation I could give is summed up by Rebecca West, well known novelist who said c. 1947 “Men see the world by moonlight which shows outlines of every object, but not the details”.  In contrast and at the risk of being accused of generalisation, women tend to get stuck in to the detail, the practicality of what needs to be done and in doing so, take on the supporting rather than leading role.  Therein lies a further question to ponder on, is this an automatic response from years of subconscious conditioning or personal choice?  

Comments welcome ……

The Power of Fear

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Fear can paralyse and yet simultaneously  excite us. Just why do we fear so many different things that in the majority of instances NEVER come to pass. Susan Jeffers said “Feel the Fear and do it anyway”, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke said “Follow your Fear”. Still we hesitate and rather than risk failure or the experience of learning  that the opportunity of failure provides, we hold back. Is it fear of having too much and perhaps at some level not feeling worthy of success?

The following was written by MARIANNE WILLIAMSON (though  often attributed to  Nelson Mandela). “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?”. Actually, who are you not to be?”.   Marianne  continues “… playing small does not serve the world.  There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you”.  Then says “.. as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”.

Self doubt and procrastination stop us achieving our potential.  In taking control, we become more powerful and as we do, we can inspire others in using the positive power of fear to its best advantage. To enhance your communication skills, contact by clicking here

 

Salt, Oil & Sea Air

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Reading a recipe the other day reminded me of the skills we use in effective delivery of a speech.  The Salt standing for the bite-sized nuggets of information we want to impart and people to remember. The Oil is the flow of your speech, which relies on good planning and structure. Finally the Sea Air.  Walking by the sea gives me inspiration, clears the head and provides the perfect place for practice.  Practice makes  better.  The more you prepare, the more you practice, the better your speech will be.  Outside of coaching for a specific purpose, an excellent, cost effective way to improve your speaking skills is to join your local Toastmasters Group, where you can improve your communication skills at your own pace in an informal, friendly and supportive environment.

janie-saysMake the most of your day and remember Practice makes  better!

 

 

 

 

 

Is what you write worth reading?

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How you communicate says something about YOU

Write it right. Say it right.   Careless misuse of grammar, spelling mistakes all give out a message about you.  Maybe it implies you cannot spell, maybe it says you were in too much of a hurry to give due care to a written proposal.

Maybe it says you are not the right person to do business with…

Beware. Be Aware. On the web, in the mail. once written and posted it’s out there.  Immediately.  Out there and out of your control.There are techniques to ease stress and help you present better.

Make sure what you write is what you mean to say.  Ensure your message gets through, using language and content that is appropriate to the medium and audience.   What you’re communicating has to be of interest, of value.  Succinct, short and sweet, valid and valuable.  Expectaons are high and to build real customer loyalty, every business, regardless of size, needs to give more than their customers expect, better still when the customer least expects it.

Get to the Point quickly and effectively with our Kickstart Smarter Skills Workshops  to deliver a higher level of customer service and  see performance improve.

Click here to contact me to find out more.

 

A not so simple question…

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If you had no constraints, what is the one thing that if you achieved it would make the most positive impact on your life?

What do you really want

When Steve Jobs addressed students in 2005 at their graduatation ceromony, he said he asked himself every day if he was happy with what he was to be doing that day. If the answer was no for quite a few days, then he knew he had to change things. He told graduates to live every day as if it were to be your last.  Do what makes you happy. 

So now you’ve identified what you really want, list up to 10 things that you need to do to achieve this with put the most important 3 at the top.

Now go for it and do something on that list every day. If you don’t, then you’ll see you’re just interested…. not committed….. to achieving your real goals. 

janie-saysFACT: People with written goals achieve far more.

Research shows that goal setters tend to achieve more than those who do not.   Once we have a clear goal, a purpose, doing something we love,  we achieve far more and are far happier in our lives.

bubble2Make the most of your day!

 

 

 

So you think you don’t Sell?

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Most of us don’t like to see ourselves as sales people, yet we all sell, all of the time, we just don’t realise it.  So here are a few PSST’s (that’s Professional Self Smarter Tips) as a quck reminder of what’s important for us all to remember….. and not just the person responsible for closing that sale….

Attitude Matters EVERYONE  is an ambassador for their company. For business leaders, creating the right environment for people to work in is only part of the brief, creating the right ‘culture’ and embodiment of this through the attitude conveyed is what keeps a company top of the list and one that people are proud to be part of. 

Professional Self Smarter Tip

Professional Self Smarter Tip

 

How We Make People Feel Matters… 

remember People tend to do business with people they like.  The most important reason someone does business with you, is because of YOU.  Then you have to give them a good reason, what’s in it for THEM.  The sales process is NOT about YOU. So check it out. Have you got what they WANT, if you have then the rest is down to you.  Why choose YOU?  Think about it, what sets you apart, what can you do that makes their buying and post sales experience better than anyone else can provide.  Build that loyalty, over-deliver and you’ll deserve their business.  Fall short and someone else will fill that gap…. Fast.

 

FACT:  You are only as good as the service you give your customers.Delivering a good service is only part of the unspoken Rule of Engagement. Ask yourself each time, whatever your role, how can I do this even better. Master the art of improvement and take control over the outcome.

FACT:  You Need to Reflect after your Sales Pitch .If you’ve done your pitch and they’re not willing to commit, there’s every likelihood, you’ve not convinced them you’re the right choice. Perhaps there is some fear or risk attached to your customer making that commitment. Some people don’t like to say no or perhaps, the person you’ve just presented to is NOT the decision maker.

Price, lack of trust or confidence, unsuitability of what you’re offering are all possible reasons for not buying from you.  All possible reasons that you could, if you had been listening or asking the right questions, have known before the end of your presentation. The real questions after an unsuccessful pitch are…….. Did I establish any level of rapport? Did I know what this customer is expecting out of my pitch? Did I ask enough to establish what their motive for buying and degree of urgency to buy before pitching? Did I make a real value proposal in light of this knowledge? If someone wants to think about your proposition, it’s usually because they want a better price, are not the decision maker, or think they can get a better deal elsewhere. IF you find yourself in this position and they want more time to ‘think about it’, ask how long do they think they need and agree a date to revisit. Ask too, what else can you do to help them decide. Assuming your product is what they want, remember, You need to be liked and trusted to secure the sale.

FACT:  The sale is only the beginning of the Relationship

Make the most of your day,  Janie