Executive Presence: What Is it?

When you see a stranger coming into your company, at a meeting elsewhere, or even in a nice restaurant, what tells you that he or she is an executive? Is it well tailored and expensive clothes, elegant accessories, posture, diction, a commanding tone of voice, something else, or a combination of these?

Business Speech Improvement is conducting an informal survey of readers. Please answer the question and share your ideas!

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides intensive, customized training in executive communication skills, accent modification, professional diction, sales communication, presentation skills and more! Both group and individual coaching are available.

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.

Following Up: Establishing Trust

As professional persuaders, one of your most important skills is establishing trust with prospects, employees, and internal/external customers. After all, as one wag phrased it, "I don't care how much you know, if I don't know much you care." One way to establish that caring is by following up on your promises to get back to them on time, especially in the beginning. After all, why destroy a promising relationship that has barely begun?

If getting back to people on time is tough, write reminders to yourself on your planner or scheduler. You can also write notes on the back of their business cards about precisely what you promised to do.

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides intensive coaching on sales and executive communication skills. Individual and group classes can be scheduled on request, and can include training for the "organizationally challenged".

Cultural Sensitivity: From the Other Side

It was a rare experience. Yesterday, in my own community, I was in the midst of a large group of people from many countries, and the mono-lingual English speakers were in a minority.
As people from other countries explored our cultural differences with representatives from local agencies and businesses, I heard an American voice saying, "They speak Spanish so fast! If only they would slow down so I could understand them!"

Do you work with people from other countries who have moved here? Do you want to help them feel more comfortable with our customs? "Coming to the USA: American Cultural Differences" is an e-book that may be perfect for your new employees! They can read it before they arrive here and be more prepared for their new communities. Find it at http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?EBooks .

How to Leave Clearer Telephone Messages

Do you worry that your telephone messages are not reflecting your professionalism and may be hard to understand?

Start by saying your name clearly, and spelling it with keywords if you are not known to the listener. For example, say "Smith - S as in Sam, M as in Mary," etc. Many letters can be easily misunderstood on the telephone, so keywords are helpful. Say your telephone number slowly, so the listener can write it down. Give the message clearly, possibly starting with the major benefit or essential point. For example, "Please confirm you can come to the sales meeting at 3:00 today in the conference room so you will know the team's new sales strategy and your role in it." Then end by giving your phone number again.

Individual speech coaching, and group seminars in sales and executive communication are available from Business Speech Improvement, www.http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes .

Business Speech : Persuasion

Whether your job title is manager, CEO, recruiter, therapist, or something else, you may do a lot of persuading in your job. How successful you are depends in part on two skills.

The first is your grasp of what someone terms "radio station WIIFM", or "what's in it for me".
Do you emphasize the benefits that will appeal to the other person first? For example, if you are recruiting someone, do you ask "what are you looking for in a position?" and then mention those benefits first? If you are persuading your boss, do you consider his priorities, whether increased speed or decreased costs?

The second skill is your ability to do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. If you set a deadline of getting back to someone by 4 PM on Wednesday, do you do it, or call the person to explain the problem and set a new deadline? Ignoring your own promises teaches others not to trust your word.

Business Speech Improvement provides Executive Communication Coaching and Sales Communication Training. Both are available for groups and individuals. More information is available at http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes.

Communication secrets for better customer service

Communication is a crucial aspect of customer service. Think about all that can be done to make the service more convenient and effective from the customer's viewpoint.

Here are four techniques to use. First, never ask the customer to call back when someone is available. Always offer to take a message and make sure it gets to the right person. Do not have an outgoing message that promises to return all calls - unless you really mean ALL calls. If you promise to get back to the caller at a specific time or date, actually do so, because the caller may be waiting. Answer the phone in a cheerful tone of voice, and make sure your greeting consistently has clear diction so it can be clearly understood by the other party - even if you answer calls all day long. (After all, each caller usually only calls once on a given day.) How well does your staff do on each of these skills?

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides targeted communication improvement services through group and individual coaching, as well as e-books. Services include training in diction, accent modification, presentation skills, small talk, and more.