Chattanooga: The City that Can, with 4700 volunteers

Chattanooga, TN, a city chosen for an "Extreme Makeover" build, has been overwhelmed
with 4700 volunteers wanting to take part. The city, with a population of 170880, is known for its' volunteerism and work ethic, but this was even more than anticipated.

Chattanooga is a growing city, home of old and new industries (Alstom TMG, Volkswagon, and many other companies new to the area). Once one of America's dirtiest cities, it now is regarded as a terrific place to raise a family and to retire.

To follow along on the progress of the build, visit www.timesfreepress.com. To learn more about Chattanooga, visit www.ChooseChattanooga.com

Can Chattanooga build this home for a deserving family in just one week? We're betting it can!

Hate talking to strangers at a meeting or party?

Memorial Day is coming up! Have you been invited to a social event? Or maybe you are going to a professional meeting. In either case, you will get more out of it if you talk to strangers there.

Here are two tips to get you started successfully. Before going to the event, start by deciding what you and any other person there have in common. Then craft 2 sets of statements + follow-up questions relating to that commonality. For example, "This is a wonderful party! How do you know (the people who are giving the party)?" Another option is "I saw you at the X session at the conference. What did you think of the speaker?"

Listen for "free" information and follow it up with questions. If the other person says, "From my perspective as a resident of X neighborhood, this plan doesn't make sense, " ask about how the person likes living in that community.

Many more practical tips to start, continue and gracefully end a conversation can be found in "Small Talk: Connecting with Others" at http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?EBooks.

"CPR Speech"

Clients call Business Speech Improvement with some interestingly-worded requests. A few years ago, a supervisor called to ask if we would teach his employee "CPR Speech". Puzzled, I asked him to give me more information. He said he wanted his employee to learn to speak concisely, precisely and with relevance.

If you or an employee have trouble with this verbal communication skill, Individual Speech Coaching is available on request. The topic will also be covered in the Executive Communication Training open enrollment course offered by Business Speech Improvement. For a list of available courses, visit http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes .

Parent of a high school senior?

Soon the college and scholarship applications will be done, and then comes the thought: does my child know enough about non-academics to do well in college? For example, does he know about time management, money management issues such as credit cards and phishing, finding cheap travel fares, doing laundry and more? While some high school seniors will listen to this advice, most won't.

One way to get around seniors' "I know it all attitude" is to write the information down for them to read when they are ready, and to put it on a computer so it doesn't weigh anything when it's time to go to college. Then, at 3 AM if they need to know something, the information is waiting! But who wants to write a book? Fortunately, it's already done and waiting on the web, at www.portableparent.com. There are even sections where parents with Windows on their computers can add their own tidbits of widom. "Instant information, with a parent's insight, available 24/7!"