Tips for social and professional networking in the workplace

 One of the keys to success in the business world is the knowledge of how to conduct yourself professionally in all situations.  This site gives you the foundation to do so. 

https://www.roberthalf.com/search/business-etiquette

 

  

Free online tool for creating how-to guides.

 This is about a free online tool – Scribe – that can export to PDF.

You can created elegant how-to guides in 1/10 the time it would otherwise take.

How to Create Step-by-Step Guides Users will LOVE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEdxze71nTU – 9 min.

Scribe – create and share processes fast
https://get.scribehow.com/lp-1/ about
https://scribehow.com/signup sign-up

Note: It wants to read and record everything you do while using it, which makes sense. But you wouldn’t want to use this for online banking instructions nor include confidential information.

Take care,

Recommended books for writing

Here are some  English text books someone recommended to me that may prove useful in writing your resume and portfolio.    The  proper use of punctuation and grammar go a long way in impressing people.  They are oldies, but goodies... 

 

McGraw-Hill Handbook of English-- Canadian Edition:
Mind the Stop: a Brief Guide to Punctuation

More tips for making positive impressions in meetings and introductions

1-     From a personal perspective, I now these make the  following recommendations :

a.      Clothing-wear the high -end clothing from your wardrobe. Prior to the important introduction, try the outfit on first and wear it front of a full-length mirror… Practice sitting down and shaking hands as well in front of this mirror to see how your clothing presents itself.   Also, men and women, bring a stain away pen for emergencies to remove stains and spills on your clothing, just in case something happens before you meet this person(s).

b.     Smile, but not excessively during your introduction.  Before the introduction,  please check a pocket mirror or car mirror to see that nothing is between your teeth , and  that there are not any pen marks, dust particles, etc.. are on your face, either.

c.      Eye contact- Try to not to stare intensely( eyeball- to- eyeball—maintain very direct eye contact long enough to note their eye colour), but focus on the space between the eye brows. Shift your gaze  to  the person’s eyebrows  after a few seconds  so they know they have your interest. But do not lose their attention by having your eyes wonder during the introduction.

d.     Body scents-  Both men and women  should not  wear  any scented deodorant,  cologne or perfume as a lot of people have allergies/ chemical intolerance these days.

e.      Breath-  Always carry and use breath mints or breath spray.  Don’t use gum to freshen your breath as you may forget you have it in your mouth.

f.      Tone of voice- watch that your voice is even toned- not harsh or anxious Try to avoid having any dairy products before such an introduction as they tend to create more mucus and congestion, and you may end up coughing, or sounding raspy or harsh.  If you are thirsty, drink water for hydration. .

g.     Posture- don’t hunch over or slouch.  Your posture gives away your attitude and confidence level.. Remember that your stance portrays how you feel about yourself.

h.     Content of introduction- try to be articulate and not ramble on.  Say what you have to in a concise manner. 

i.       Listening.- shut off your own  noisy thoughts in your mind and focus on their words - not yours. 

Key tips for introductions and meetings-- part1

Attending a seminar several years ago re: persuasive communication skills for business Owners" with Suzanne Sherkin, CPO Highborn Communications on ”The Power of Presence” has given me some lasting thoughts on this subject. Introductions are one of the best opportunities to make that lasting impression, because quick judgments are made in the first few minutes of the encounter. 1- Practice and hone your personal technique for making that professional first impression. 2- People will remember how you make them feel- not what you say…Treat them like they are the most special person in the world- like they are the CEO of the company. Try to honor and respect them in a genuine and caring way. 3- Timing is critical in the introduction - it starts/ begins with (and your chance can be lost right there by their first impression of you), simply by failing to ignite a spark of dynamic interactivity between you and the person. 4- Pay attention to what takes place in the dialogue following the introduction. I recommend you get to know their agenda- do your research about them before introductions happen re: their interests. Google them first to research their involvement in the business sector/ industry, community involvements, achievements, publications written, etc… and familiarize yourself with them so you can bring these topics up in the discussion at the appropriate time. 5- According to Sherkin, the most critical factors we must keep in mind during the first few critical minutes of an introduction are: • Messages are sent out consciously and unconsciously. • “Communication Key Tells” are always the major non -communicative events. They are the interpersonal signs that you give out more often than you ever thought possible.

A recommended website for communication issues in the workplace

One of the most important skills to succeed in any career is communication skills. This website communicationbriefings.com is one site that will help you in achieving this goal. It is an excellent go to site for a number of issues and concerns that you will encounter in the workplace.

'Social Media now drives recruitment strategies for companies

More and more companies are using social media to win the war for recruiting the best talent.


The big four are: LinkedIn, Facebook ( career page), Twitter, and YouTube.

Google + though will eventually eclipse LinkedIn for finding the best talent.

Remember when you post anything on these sites that it can be viewed by current and future employers so always practice due diligence.

Business and Customer Trends Research

Here are two sites you might like to check out:



1. To do some serious customer trendwatching-- you can go to www.trendwatching.com & click on briefing


2.www.trendhunter.com is also a great site to some research as well.

Good luck..

What is the colour of your grass

As we begin 2011, a lot of us make resolutions for change in our lives and yes, change is good, yet at the same time- to play the devil s advocate here- we have to reflect on what things we really genuinely should change in our lives.

To elaborate here,do you seriously believe that all the grass in your life is yellow. Something we sometimes simply have to come to terms with is that there is no perfect life, job, spouse, relationship, child or parent.

In other words, there is always going to be yellow and brown spots in our grass. This is something that we must take into account when making a major decision in our lives.

Yes, we all have heard of people who have made a drastic change in their lives—thinking that the grass is green over there only to find out that the grass was just as yellow over there. We often have used filters that coloured our experiences making the grass brown or yellow and so much more delectable on the other side... these filters often make us colour blind to the fact that our current grass is actually quite green exactly where we are. The filters have distorted the true picture for us thereby making us sometimes foolishly ponder a drastic and unwarranted change in our lives.

An epiphany is experienced when you realize that the grass is greener where you water it—in other words-- that only you and you alone are responsible for your life satisfaction and happiness. So sometimes you have to take out that hypothetical watering hose (vessel) and pour more efforts into your life to make that part of it green again.

We can look to others for inspiration and motivation in our watering efforts and how our water vessel is created. We also can journal to explore some of the issues that may be responsible for our yellow and brown spots. Depending on the situation, we can have conversations with loved ones, colleagues, coworkers, our life and work managers to get a deeper perspective on some of these issues.

With a more mature, seasoned perspective with the help of mentors, or life and career coaches, we can now look at our grass with as few of these filters as realistically possible.

Along with these efforts , we can with a little more initiative and patience ,slowly and purposefully, turn the grass green under our feet once again.

If we go through this contemplative and reflective process, better career and life decisions can made if we embrace and accept the reality that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Holistic Employee Engagment

As you work on your communication and career goals, you might like to reflect on nurturing and creating holistic employee engagement.

Holistic employee engagement is really about creating a positive influence on people s behaviour.

This goal can be achieved through many of the following means:

1. Support them emotionally, within the context of workplace communications
2. Provide guidance and positive feedback for performance enhancement
3. Recognize good work publicly and openly
4. Demonstrate a commitment to honouring their views and opinions—ask for their perspectives and act on their workplace needs and wishes- what is needed to do their job
5. Work one- on -one in positive collaboration with employees on their work
6. Avoid too little or too much guidance
7. Avoid detailing to extreme measures about their respective projects
8. Avoid unconstructive feedback by addressing only the issue at hand—not all their past transgressions at once or vague comments that do not address specific work behaviours and performance..
9. Do not hold grudges—move forward each day in your attempt to engage them holistically

Emotional Intelligence and leadership role

The key to success is good leadership . Good leadership from many perspectives is the ability to handle your emotions and the emotions of others.

This ability encompasses being able to process other people's emotions-- to perceive, use and understand and regulate emotions.

Perceiving emotions is considered to be a critical attribute for leadership in the 21st century.

In a management/ leadership role, there has to be a strong emphasis on communication and emotion is a form of communication.

Therefore, a person's emotional intelligence is strongly connected to a person's leadership strength.

As the author: " A Year in Serendipity: A Journalling
Workbook"http://tinyurl.com/serendipityjournal , I recommend this journal as part of this journey to developing your emotional intelligence for your leadership role.

Radio Canada on the Internet-- a great research resource

Radio Canada is a leader in Internet TV --Tou.TV--get full programming, catchup viewing and simultaneously webcasting.

Use this resource to keep up with the news for your career research and planning.

The importance of body language in an interview

Here below is a great article on the significance of body language in an interview. Baseline magazine has a wonderful career management section on it site.. You can sign up for its articles offered through Baseline Briefing.

http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Business-Intelligence/Body-Language-Influences-Hiring-Decisions-277906/?kc=BLBLBEMNL08202010STR5

Do not forget the importance of the personal touch in our Digital Age

In the 21st century, we have a growing concern among communication specialists that the power of the human touch is being lost in our Digital Age in sharing an experience and story telling.



While facts and figures often will put listeners to sleep, a story/ an illustration from real life can motivate them to action.



Author Annette Simmons says, The missing ingredient in most communication is humanity.



Remember these words: In the high tech era, the human-personal touch is even more important in making the connection that makes a difference in the workplace and in the world.

More directives for your personal brand development

Here below are a few significant directives re: the crafting of your personal brand.

• Your personal brand provides the opportunity to explain attributes and benefits that aren’t readily apparent.


• Stand out. What makes your product or service different? In a crowded marketplace, you have got to dare to be different. Don’t come across as boring or indifferent in your word usage.


• The beginning words of your personal brand statement must be very well thought out. Remember that and choose these words very carefully.

• Know your targeted employer. Who are 'they'? What are the demographics of the population they serve. Step in their shoes( employers’ ) and get inside their minds, and speak directly to them. Find out who specifically they are( their work culture, social corporate responsibility directives, corporate directive/mission statement) before aligning your brand with them.

• Try to write the statements for your personal brand as if you're speaking to one person.

• In the accomplishments aspect of your personal brand ,be as much specific as you can. Use "26.74%" instead of "25%". Use "double your sales" instead of "increase a lot".

You also may be interested in this article: “ There Are Important Online Reputation Management Tips That You Should be Aware Of”—see this site for details. http://is.gd/aTA5q .

Remember too that your online reputation is a reflection and personification of your personal brand.

Listening in Relationship Building

There is an expression that says: “ Our creator gave us one mouth and two ears for a reason” This adage illustrates the significance of listening in human relationships, and particularly for career success.

Dale Carnegie from his book “ The Leader in You: How to Win Friends, Influence People and Succeed in a Changing World” provides these pearls of wisdom based on the power of listening in human relationship building. ( p. 92-93)

1- Listening is still the best way to learn.
2- People respond to those who listen to them
3- Listen patiently with an open mind.
4- Be sincere about it
5- Encourage people when you are listening to express their ideas fully.

And never forget this one he wrote”“ Nobody is more persuasive than a good listener.” Dale Carnegie…