Hurricane Sandy and your personal financial records

You've got your 3 days' supplies of food and water. You have clothes, blankets, prescriptions, a weather radio, flashlights and extra batteries as well as a cell phone charger. Do you also have copies of your personal financial records - in at least 2 formats? Financial records are crucial at this time. If they were to get wet and/or lost, it would take a lot of work and time to get them again. Gather together copies of birth and marriage certificates, drivers' and professional licenses/certificates, diplomas and transcripts, and green cards. You also need insurance papers, such as car and home-owners or renters insurance. If you are lucky enough to have flood insurance, get that as well. Get your medical, dental, disability and long-term care or other insurance cards and policies as well as bank records. Also collect information about retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and investments. Write down the names of your utilities, contact information and account numbers. If you need to cancel your accounts, you will be able to do this more easily. Take photos (maybe using your cell phone) of your property. Take close-ups of valuable things, such as jewelry, furniture and your car. Write down any details listed on the jewelry or furniture if you have time. The power may fail, so bring some cash for emergencies in the event you cannot use your credit cards. Speaking of credit cards, photo-copy the front and back of them. The back has the telephone number to call if your card is lost. Of course, if your card is lost, you won't have this number - and will be liable for the cost of goods charged to it. (Nice racket, isn't it?) If you have a business, get your liability and other business insurance policies, as well as business licenses, too. Get names and contact information for all your employees. That may mean cell phone and e-mail addresses. Get a list of all your creditors and those who owe you funds. If you are an employee, write down the contact information for co-workers and your boss, if possible. Make a list of your relatives' and close friends' contact information, so you can contact them later if needed. Designate one person outside of the anticipated disaster zone to be the contact person for the family - and send him or her a copy of the list of the relatives. As each person arrives in a shelter or other location, that person calls your contact person if possible to say she or he is safe. If you have time, also make a list of this information above. For example, write the name of your bank, its' address, phone number and URL, as well as your bank account numbers. Write your credit/debit card numbers here, as well as the number to call if they are lost or stolen. Do the same for all your insurance policies, with the name of the company, contact information, your agent's name if you have one, the policy number and the number to contact if you have a claim. Be sure to list when the information was last updated. Then scan the actual documents or the list above and put a copy onto a password-protected flash-drive you take with you. Make a copy of the documents and/or the list and put it into a sealed plastic bag that goes with you, as well. (This is especially helpful if there is no power and you need the information on the list.) If you are not in the path of this hurricane, prepare this information anyway. It not only will help with a disaster, but will also make it so much easier when you need to make changes to your financial information and need account numbers and contact information. It will also be invaluable to your heirs or other executors of your estate. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills. Check out our coaching and e-books! The information above is provided as a public service.

How to persuade, with one simple word

I recently received a long set of instructions to submit an item to a company. The instructions did not make much sense to me, as a consumer. Researchers know that one way to persuade people is to tell them a reason for taking a specific action. "You need to do this because _____" has been shown to increase people's willingness to take action. The reason chosen must be important to the specific listener. The next time you need to persuade someone, give a reason that will be meaningful to that person. For example, a young mother might welcome increased convenience, a teen might prefer decreased parental supervision, and a boss might be delighted by lower costs and higher output. "Because" is such a simple word, but it can have a powerful impact! Try using it...because it makes a real difference. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive coaching and concise e-books on many aspects of verbal communication.

Relationship-building and trust

Building a business or a personal relationship takes consistency and trust. Consider these situations: A recruiter promises a sought-after candidate that people at fast-growing Company X have frequent opportunities for advancement Before signing anything, the candidate finds a current employee online and discovers that few insiders get considered for these new openings. The candidate no longer trusts anything else the recruiter tells him. A new customer of a car dealership buys a vehicle with an extended warranty. The dealership makes an error in servicing the vehicle, and the vehicle now needs expensive repairs. The dealership does it for free, as promised, and works hard to regain the customer's trust. Someone on a dating site misrepresents himself in his personal description, and a potential date discovers this. She now distrusts him, and refuses further communication with him. Consistency builds trust, and in the beginning of a business or personal relationship, trust is crucial. If trust is broken, the relationship is very hard to repair. Sometimes the person who erred can apologize and explain the situation, but often it takes considerable work over an extended period of time. In a new relationship, it often is not worth the effort by at least one of the parties. Promise only what you are sure you can deliver. Consistency is a key to trust. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills, including communication skills for leadership development.

Tips on understanding different dialects over the telephone

Here's a common scenario: someone calls you on the telephone and has a strong regional or foreign accent. You want to have a conversation, but his or her speech is hard to understand. Here are some ways to improve the communication. First, speak slightly slower yourself. This will subconsciously cue the other person to slow down, which gives you time to figure out what he or she said. Second, tell the other person if there is a specific word that you did not understand. For example, "What was the word you said after ___?" If you still do not understand, ask him to use another word for the confusing word. Another option is to ask for the word to be spelled, with key words, such as "b as in boy". If you get many calls that are hard to understand, on your outgoing message you can speak slowly yourself and give out your e-mail address. Some callers may be very relieved to get it! If nothing else works, ask for the message to be texted or e-mailed! Business Speech Improvement provides intensive coaching in verbal skills. Specialties include American English Pronunciation for Non-native Professionals, helping people learn ways to reduce their rate of speech, communication coaching for leadership development, and more.

Silent letters in American English pronunciation Many readers of this blog come from other countries. If you are one of them, or know someone who is trying to speak English more clearly, this blog post is for you! American English, first of all, is pronounced differently than British English. Many of the vowel sounds are made slightly differently, and have a different intonation pattern as well, which is what gives it a British or an American sound. This blog is about American English. We have a lot of silent letters. In some cases, the letters are silent only in specific words. For example, "th" is written but not spoken in 5 words. One of these words is "asthma". When "l" comes after an "a", as in calm, walk, talk, and psalms, the "l" is not spoken either. A third example is when there is a "sch", as in school or schedule. In these cases, Americans pronounce this as a "sk" sound. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. Training is offered through open enrollment seminars, individual coaching, e-books and an mp3-file.

Tips on how to stop interrupting others In the Presidential Debate last night, both candidates were interrupting others. While they probably did it out of frustration and to get their whole message before viewers in prime time, it created a negative backlash. Viewers found the interruptions to be disrespectful of each other. One viewer wondered if the debaters would also interrupt officials from other countries, for example. People with hearing loss often have trouble understanding two conversations occurring at once. Even those with normal hearing struggled at these times. In normal conversations, without the glare of television cameras and the lure of a huge audience, interrupting is still impolite. If you interrupt because you are worried you will forget what you are going to say, write down a few words about it. If you have no smart phone app for this, or pen and paper, use your finger to write the word on your thigh. This tactile feedback may help you remember what you wanted to say. Second, focus on what the other person is saying, not on your message. Wait 3 seconds after he stops speaking before you respond. This is especially helpful when on the telephone, where there is no visual image that could cue you the other person is about to speak again. Consider responding in writing, with an e-mail, text or letter, instead of in person. This gives you time to think about your message carefully. It may also allow the other person to feel like you really heard what he said. If you do interrupt by accident, apologize. Over time, you should make this error less and less. Business Speech Improvement provides communication skills coaching and e-books. Check out the options today!

A secret of extemporaneous speaking

According to one survey, more Americans fear public speaking than dying. Probably a major aspect of this fear is extemporaneous speaking, when one is asked to "just say a few words" without preparation. Accomplished speakers know many techniques to help them. One such method is to develop a framework for what could be said in many such situation. For example, use a chronological framework. What happened first, second, etc until today? What do you envision happening next, and the impact this will have? Let's assume you are asked to speak about the opening of a building or program. In just a few sentences, explain the origin of the project, some highlights (maybe dramatic ones) of the intervening time, and describe briefly where you are today. Talk about your vision of the future of this project or event, and end by enthusiastically thanking the many contributors (by name, if possible). Again, remember to be concise. As an unknown sage phrased it, "Be brief, be brilliant - and be seated!" More such techniques are in a short e-book, Public Speaking: You Can Do It!

When a friend at work has bad news Recently someone asked me when he should do upon hearing a friend from work had some bad personal news. He and his friend were both in the USA. (Customs may be different in other cultures.) His dilemma was that he didn't want to disturb his friend, but did want his friend to know he was thinking of him and was available to help if needed. His friend had taken some time off to deal with the situation. I suggested he text, e-mail or call him friend and let him know he was concerned. He should ask what he could do to be of help, such as doing some driving for the friend, bringing over some food, running some errands or whatever else was needed. When the friend returns to work, he could take him out to lunch or just bring him up to date on events at work. What is usually done in this situation where you work? What is appropriate in other countries, too? Share your ideas!

A vital question

When doing employment interviewing (on either side of the table), a vital question often goes unasked. The question is "Is there anything else I should know?" The corollary to this from the interviewer to the candidate is "Is there anything else you want to ask?" Many times, the interviewer(s)have prepared a set of thoughtful questions - but there may be other issues on the candidate's mind. The candidate may be hesitant to ask them because he assumes the interview is over. If the interview is an exit interview, a question to be asked might be, "Is there anything else the company should know about the reasons you are leaving?" Candidates who are resigning may have other issues on their minds that could prevent others from leaving as well. Sales meetings should also ask this question. The purchaser may have had poor experiences with a competitor, but be hesitant to say something. Perhaps there was poor service, problems with billing, a product that did not meet the company's needs, or some other issue. Taking a moment to get the issue expressed can lead to additional discussion that can benefit both sides. A coaching or delegating situation can also benefit from this question. Asking it makes the other party aware that there may be additional factors to be considered. So, your question of the day is "Is there anything else I should know?" Digging a little deeper can yield better results! What are your favorite questions asked by leaders and others to make people think a little deeper? Business Speech Improvement provides training in executive presence and communication skills for leadership development! Individual coaching and small group seminars are offered in this and other topics!

Diction tips for reporters

Are you a reporter who wants to improve your pronunciation? Better speech can help your career growth, whether you are thinking of moving out of smaller markets into larger ones, or want to work on an especially important project in your current position. Your listeners today can be in some very noisy settings, whether in cars with their windows down, in shopping malls, sporting events, or noisy offices. Some may have hearing losses, too. Clear speech is critical for them to have the best chance of understanding you. Listen to yourself reporting on a taped story. What errors do you notice? Are the ends of sentences easy to understand, or are they mumbled? Are the ends of words, such as "ing", "s" and "ed" pronounced consistently? Set a goal of one change you want to make in your speech. When you practice reading your story, highlight the indicated words. This will remind you to say that sound extra clearly. You should also evaluate your rate of speech and your pauses. Are they appropriate for your story and your audience? Remember, speaking too quickly can mean people in noisy settings may miss words here and there. Sweeps Week is coming up! Business Speech Improvement offers small group coaching on an intensive basis for reporters who want to work on their speech skills! E-books and audio files are available on many other aspects of verbal communication. Check us out!