Make your meetings more effective!

When you lead a meeting, there are several ways to judge its value. Are new ideas generated and discussed? Is important information shared with everyone in attendance? Are people networking?

However, does everyone who attends need to be present? (Are there "chair-warmers" there, whose bodies are in the chair but whose minds are on vacation?)  Could the meeting information  be shared in some other format that might be less costly? The cost includes the other work that is not being done so attendees can be at the meeting. It also can be calculated by multiplying the average hourly pay times the number of attendees times the length of the meeting. There are indeed apps for iPhone (http://rockapproll.com/app/Meeting-Cost-Clock)  and for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id...meetingcostcalculator...) that can calculate this for you. Of course, transportation, catering and meeting room costs are also additional expenses to holding a meeting. You may be shocked when you find out how expensive meetings are!

To make a meeting more effective, beyond having an agenda and minutes, figure out strategies to reduce multi-tasking by attendees who are using their tablets and other devices to work on other assignments. They may be paying minimal attention to the speaker or meeting leader. Instead, ask that only attendees come who can give full attention to the matter being discussed; there should be a mechanism for those who are meeting immediate deadlines to miss a certain number of sessions per year, with a requirement that they read the minutes of what transpired.

It helps to state the length of time the meeting will last, and to start and stop on time. This builds trust in the leader or facilitator.

Get people up and moving, or discussing ideas, every 20 - 30 minutes. If there will be a change in procedures or a merger, have people come up with implications for all parties involved or develop a time-line so they can accept change more easily. Offer refreshments on a table to the side of the room, so people have to walk at least a little bit.

One technique for getting people more involved in a meeting is to give each person some index cards. Present a topic for discussion, such as a proposed merger or new category of customer. Each person writes one implication, question or related idea per index card, and shares them with a coworker sitting next to him. That person attempts to answer the questions or comment on the ideas. The two then discuss both peoples' cards. This can take 10 minutes and is an efficient way to get people involved. Later, any new ideas can be shared with the entire group, or with the leader if more appropriate.

Get more ideas on meetings and 17 other crucial communication skills for leaders in Executive Communication Techniques (http://www.businessspeechimprovement.com/exec-techniques) an e-book that you'll wish your supervisor had read! Individual coaching is also available by Business Speech Improvement.

Holiday Events and Hearing Loss: 3 Tips for Coping

Do you dread going to noisy holiday parties because you are having trouble hearing people? Here are some tips to help.

First, if you have a hearing aid, wear it! It has been programmed to your specific hearing pattern, so use it! If you don't use it much, read the manual or online instructions and try it out in a noisy place ahead of time.

At the party, you will hear better with less competing noise. Talk to people in a side room or hall if that's quieter.

If you are really interested in talking to someone, self-advocate! Tell the person you have a hearing loss, and ask if they can repeat a specific word or sentence. If they try to talk louder, ask if they can talk a little slower instead, but not exaggerate their words.

If you are at a Thanksgiving dinner or other event, try to face the person whom you are interested in talking to. This will help with lip-reading as well as watching body language.

The e-book What Did You Say? Coping with Hearing Loss in the Workplace, has practical strategies and is a quick-read concise source of help. Get it before your next event!

Delegating: Tips to Do It Right

A mother was shopping in a supermarket with her two young children. She told her little boy to "behave". The child said earnestly, "I be good, Mommy!"

Then he went back to chasing his sister, and the mother scolded him. He apparently did not know what exact behaviors she expected.

In a corporate setting, when a manager warns his new employee to do a "excellent" job on a task, does she know what his idea of "excellent" is?

For example, does it mean proof-reading a document twice (and having someone else do it once), using certain photos, including the details on the new project, or some other expectations?

As a leader, it is your job to make your expectations very clear. Your employees cannot mind-read. If you make your requests clear, you have a greater chance of having them be achieved.

Delegation is part of many leaders' jobs. Clear delegation includes not only the details to be accomplished, but also the time-frame. The leader needs to understand how often he must check with each person on his team to answer questions and make sure the work is being done correctly.

If the task is important enough to be done, it should be done right. A good leader delegates the right task to the right person, with a clear explanation and time-frame.

Business Speech Improvement offers an e-book on Executive Communication Strategies, with techniques on 18 vital areas of communication. It's the book you'll wish your boss had read! Learn more about this powerful e-book now!

Determination of customer/patient/employee needs before they enter your office

Many professionals today, especially doctors, lawyers, accountants, managers and consultants, need to keep careful track  of their time for billing purposes.  If a client, employee or patient has his concerns  organized in writing before walking into your office, the visit is likely to be much shorter.

One smart doctor developed a form, listing the basic categories for which people came into his office. In his case, it listed symptoms, follow-up issues, prescription refills and tests. Everyone entering his waiting room was handed a clip-board to which a pen was attached, and asked to complete this form.

They handed it to him when they entered his exam room. It saved him and his staff a lot of time, and kept his office remarkably on schedule!

What are the main reasons people come into your office? Would a form like that, or simply giving a space to list problems, solutions already tried  and suggested solutions be helpful to you?

Business Speech Improvement provides communication coaching. Our helpful e-book, Executive Communication Strategies, offers valuable tips in 18 areas of communication for leadership. Learn more about it here!

                                 

Supervising international employees? Assumptions and your bottom line

Your employees' cultural assumptions may affect your bottom line - if you forget to discuss some of them. In an seminar on American English Pronunciation for Non-native Professionals, an attendee walked in one day shaking his head. "I know the answer to the problem my boss is struggling with - but of course I can't tell him," the new employee said. The entire class chorused, "Why not?" The employee replied, "I'll get fired for insubordination." Thankfully, the group included a manager of another department in the same organization, who assured the man that in this American company, he wouldn't get fired for saving his company a lot of time and money solving the problem. In another case, a new employee had an extraordinary background in her field, but was the newest hired in her department. When a supervisory position opened up, she told the group she wished she could apply. When asked why she wasn't doing so, she said, "I'm the last hired. It must go to the person there the longest," which was the case in her native country. Convinced to apply, she was quickly promoted. Here are three steps to take, with all your employees, to overcome such cultural assumptions. Remember that an employee can be American-born but be bi-cultural. 1. Let all employees know, verbally and in writing, how promotions are determined. If experience, education, motivation, certifications or other factors are involved, make that clear. Factors may be different in other countries. 2. Have supervisors explain repeatedly to new employees that questions are welcomed about procedures. This is not true everywhere. 3. If a person is exhibiting a communication behavior that is unusual to you, such as hesitating before shaking hands or being reluctant to show emotions or use the telephone, ask sincerely if things are done differently in his or her culture. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills, including American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. It offers e-books such as Coming to the USA:American Cultural Differences as well as others on diction, and more!

A secret of employee retention - at no cost

A well-educated manager and single mother stopped before the displays of roses and other flowers right before Valentine's Day. She admired them and said sadly, "I wish someone would appreciate me!"

This woman works hard to make sure her employees and children feel appreciated. When was the last time her manager did the same for her?

Although Valentine's Day is about romance, everyone needs to be appreciated. Take time today or tomorrow to tell each employee (and colleague, if appropriate) one specific thing you appreciate about him or her. Maybe it's the fact that the employee reliably comes in early and makes coffee, or took time on her lunch hour to run an errand for the department. Maybe he corrected an overlooked error in your report, or did a rush job on that assignment. Whatever it is, make your praise specific, and frequent. Appreciated employees stay longer, and that's money in your bottom line. After all, wouldn't you like to feel appreciated by YOUR boss?

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides intensive, targeted training in executive communication skills and other verbal communication skills. Check out the upcoming open enrollment seminars, individual coaching and e-books!

Hearing Loss and Your Employees

"Isolated", "frustrated", and "worried" were three words used recently by a group of corporate employees to describe their feelings about their hearing loss. Hearing loss affects 10% of the population, including 33% of those age 65. Now a worrisome 20% of late teens report some of the signs of hearing loss, for the first time in history. Yet few corporations offer training in techniques to cope with hearing loss.

Employees report that they may hesitate to speak during department meetings, because they are not certain of what has already been said or, sometimes, even the topic under discussion. When a group has a meeting in a noisy room, such as a restaurant, that makes the communication worse.

"What Did You Say? Strategies for Helping a Person with a Hearing Loss", is an e-book for helping supervisors, colleagues, friends and spouses learn better ways to communicate with people with hearing loss. It provides information on simple techniques that can
be easily implemented.

Managers: How clear are your directions?

I recently witnessed a scene where a person was trying to give directions to a supervisee. The supervisor was vague, and each time the supervisee tried to follow the instructions carefully. After the fourth revision, with increasing details, of the instructions, the supervisee became obviously frustrated.

How are your instructions to others? Do you include the who, what, when, where, why and how, as well as other relevant details (brands, sizes, times, etc)? Do you plan for a "check in time", to follow up on progress made?

Reduce employee frustration - get all the details right the first time!

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides intensive, customized training in executive communication skills, accent modification, listening skills and much more! E-books for "help in a hurry"© are also available onsite.

What Does A Speech Coach Do and What Should I Look For In One?

Can you identify with any of these? All names and some details have been changed.

1. Li (not her real name) is a professional chemist with valued professional skills. However, despite speaking English, she has a lot of trouble being understood by her colleagues here. Her company hires a speech coach to teach her American English pronunciation.

2. Sue has a strong regional American accent. When she speaks to clients in another part of the country by telephone or in video-conferences, they focus on trying to understand her pronunciation and miss her message. Sue's boss calls for help for her.

3. Sara needs to improve her presentation skills to be able to keep her job. Her company course on presentation skills was very poor, and Sara wants one on one coaching.

4. Pablo is a leader, and he wants training in how to get more ideas from his team. He
also wants to be a more effective communicator with them. He wants executive communication coaching.

If one or more of those situations describes you, you want a speech coach who is a great communicator herself, who is experienced and is professionally trained. One example of such training is a master's in speech pathology with experience in the sub-specialty of corporate speech pathology. Such a coach has scientific background in anatomy and physiology of how we talk, as well as experience in applying this to the corporate environment. Ideally the person will have the initials CCC-SLP after his or her name.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive, targeted coaching in verbal communication skills. Visit www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com for more details!

How to ask the right types of questions when coaching

Coaching employees in your workforce is a way to improve their growth and development. Coaches who ask the right kinds of questions can improve critical thinking skills in their employees, and help them to consider more aspects of their work.

There are three types of questions to ask, closed-ended, open-ended and behavioral questions.
Closed-ended questions have two possible answers, such as "Do you have all the materials you need?" They are best for the beginning of the interview, to relax a nervous employee, and for when you need to take control of the situation (with an employee who rambles, for example).

Open-ended questions allow for many possible answers, and may start with when, how, in what ways, under what conditions, and many other terms. Examples might be "What do you suggest comes next?" and "How would you analyze this situation's strengths and weaknesses?"

Behavioral questions ask how a person handled a situation in the past, the outcome and what he would change if it occurred again (or what he learned).

When asking open and behavioral questions, it is very helpful if the coach waits a few seconds after the person has finished answering, to allow time for additional responses.

Business Speech Improvement provides training in Executive Communication Skills, on both an individual and small group basis. For more imformation, visit http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes .

"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 .

Procrastination - Ways to Overcome It

How do people overcome procrastination on issues they feel really are important, but they just don't seem to get to? This topic often comes up in the Executive Communication Skills coaching offered by Business Speech Improvement to managers, supervisors, executives and other leaders.

Some ways are to 1) prioritize the most important items and put a list of them "top and center" on the person's desk or chair 2) have a "sticky" (paper or cyber) on the person's computer about dealing with the items or 3) think about the consequences of not dealing with the item, such as decreased grades, lost opportunities or increased financial penalties.

What's your favorite way of overcoming procrastination?

Listeners' Body Language Can Affect Speakers

How do you as an executive, manager or supervisor rate your body language when you listen? Your enthusiasm (or boredom) can affect those who are speaking with you. When you as a listener appear bored, frustrated or angry, most speakers react in some way. On the other hand, when you seem eager to listen, that also affects speakers. Other listener behaviors such as drumming fingers softly on the desktop, texting under cover, or staring into space may be misinterpreted due to cultural or other reasons.

The first step in changing is to be aware of what you are doing, as if a mirror were located across the room from you. Then think about the reasons you act this way. If you are required to be in this meeting or listening to this speaker, challenge yourself to learn at least four things from the speaker so your valuable time is not wasted.

New Year, New Opportunities!

It's New Year's Day; do you know where your goals are?? Many people choose to write goals, often one per topic relevant to their lives. These may include establishing relationships, health, career, hobbies, family, finances, and more.

The value of having clear, written goals was demonstrated in a Harvard study done in 1979. Read about the incredible impact of having these goals at http://www.lifemastering.com/en/harvard_school.html.

But my question is, "Where do you put your written goals so you see them and get the most impact from having written them?" Hidden goals may be out of sight, out of mind.

Share with me your most effective places to post those goals!