tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84987144292325224842024-03-14T03:29:15.513-07:00Getting to grips with communicationA social butterfly is someone who flits around a number of social gatherings. I am a communications butterfly; someone who enjoys thinking and writing about a number of different communication ideas.Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-48132003440849573042014-02-01T01:58:00.000-08:002014-02-01T01:58:20.689-08:00The importance of basic coding for all!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There has been a niggling need within the industry for the
last few years for marketing folk to get involved with more of the technical
side of digital, rather than sitting back and letting the real techies whizz
off Javascript, CSS and HTML5 without us! There are so many tools that allow
even the most computer-illiterate of marketeers to get away without any
technical experience but I do feel that the emphasis is changing and that coding
is now seen as an essential skill for every Tom, Dick and Harry.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2012.brightondigitalfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Coding-DoJo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2012.brightondigitalfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Coding-DoJo.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When <a href="http://decoded.co/uk/">Decoded</a>, a
technology school that teaches coding, was founded in 2011 there was a little
trepidation around who in the marketing sphere should be upskilling. The
business has grown considerably and now has offices across the globe and claims
to have transformed over 5000 people’s understanding of coding in its one day
courses (£500 for a day course if you are paying direct, £900 if your company
is paying).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Increasingly I have become aware of the request for at least
basic coding knowledge in any digital marketing roles and a few things have
happened in the last year that convinced me to start learning myself.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">A friend of mine in marketing recently told me
that if she could return to our school careers day the one thing she would
share with the girls would be “learn how to code”. She had embarked on a short
coding course that certainly didn’t come cheaply but she came away knowing the
basics in multiple languages and felt that it was hugely beneficial!<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">My mother also recently found herself teaching primary
school children how to use a Raspberry Pi. (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">The<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Raspberry Pi</b><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"> is a credit-card-sized<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">single-board computer<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>developed in
the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">UK</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">by the</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Raspberry
Pi Foundation</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">with the intention of promoting the teaching of basic</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">computer science</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">in schools). I would never have referred to mum as
technologically savvy (sorry mum!), actually perhaps even the opposite until
recently. However, now she is making leaps and bounds with this mini-computer
and helping the children to learn too.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">My friend’s 3 year old son directed me how to
use an iPad and then proceeded to swap my phone language into Japanese... and it wasn't by accident<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">The realisation that there will be an even
greater gap between people of my generation and current primary school kids than
there ever was between my generation and our parents! When I see people
struggle to use mobile phones or touch type, I really thank my parents for realising
that a good understanding of technology for us would be invaluable in later
life. However, technology moves so fast that we have to act if we don’t want to
be left behind!</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These 4 events/realisations have led me to one conclusion –I
need to learn to code .... well I need to learn the basics at least! So I have
signed up to <a href="http://www.codecademy.com/">CodeAcademy,</a> a free “online
learning experience of the future”. Users can access thousands of free coding
tasks, from the very basic to more complicated, receiving points for completing
courses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So far it is going well and it is exciting to be learning a
new skill and hopefully one that I will be able to embed into my everyday
activities at work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wrote this blog as documentation of the beginning of my
journey and also to see what everyone else out there thinks about this? Can you
code? Do you feel you need to be able to? Or perhaps you think it is something
that is better left to the professionals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">NB: For any primary state school teachers out there, Decoded
is offering 2 free places per school for teachers to come and learn how to bring
code alive in the classroom - <a href="http://decoded.co/uk/codeED-in-a-day/">http://decoded.co/uk/codeED-in-a-day/</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-62921321479378407692013-09-11T11:19:00.000-07:002013-09-11T11:19:57.176-07:00The death knell of the traditional job description is coming ...<div class="MsoNormal" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hear a death knell in the distance, it isn’t fully audible
but I know it is coming nonetheless. The traditional job description is gasping
its last imperfect breaths, slipping down into obscurity with “ineffective”
stamped clearly on the headstone ... well, in my mind anyway!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have always hated job descriptions. This is perhaps partly
because I had to re-write each and every one multiple times at a previous job.
Having said that the fact that we actually dug them out of the filing cabinet was
a miracle in itself. </span></div>
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<a href="http://michellefischer.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/jobdescription3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://michellefischer.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/jobdescription3.jpg" width="319" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How many times have
you changed roles or been somewhere for a while and realised that you either
don’t have a job description or it doesn’t even remotely resemble what you do? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can’t remember a time when the daily tasks of my role have
fitted the description I was given when applying for a job ... and this isn’t necessarily
a bad thing. In fact, I am convinced that it is often the things that you do in
work that aren’t listed out on a piece of paper that are the most interesting,
engaging and enthralling. But that isn’t the issue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The problem with job descriptions is that they set a rigid
list of tasks for something that is undoubtedly going to be fluid. Jobs are
multi-dimensional and setting someone in a box either leads to your brightest
and most talented employees becoming bored and deserting you or it leads to the
job description becoming obsolete and meaningless. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Job descriptions tend to be written with potential
applicants in mind. The classic look of horror on an HR personnel’s face when
they realise that they are due to advertise a new job opening but the job
description is out of date or non-existent. No matter how urgent the job
search, nothing will move forward until the job description has been produced
and signed off (probably by someone important)! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Writing with a job applicant in mind leads to pages and
pages of gumpf that is meant to make the job appear more attractive by
including absolutely every task someone might possibly do in a role ...
obviously aiming to cast the nets wide in the hope of a good catch rather than
being more targeted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of my job descriptions, as I came to find after I had
started the job, had actually listed the tasks and skills that you would need
if you were going to work in every position in the department. I almost didn’t
apply because I was nervous that I didn’t have enough experience to work in the
role effectively. As it was I was absolutely fine but I ended up doing a number
of things that weren’t even on the list anyway (and not doing many of the tasks
that were!) ... but it just goes to show that job descriptions can often become
deterrents to potential new blood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">OK, so job descriptions are outdated and inflexible. Let’s
get rid of them! Ah, but there appears to be a few issues with casting them out
forever:</span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">How would we let potential applicants know what
a role entails?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Where would we anchor performance metrics to?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">How would we iron out the uncertainty of who
does what?</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are but a few of the issues with cutting off the age
old job description forever. So perhaps rather than axing it all together we
need to think of ways that we can be more flexible and move the dusty and
rusting job description forward with the times. Making changes to job
descriptions always throws up questions around compliance with employment law but
in my mind out of date or obsolete descriptions do the same thing so we shouldn’t
hold back!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have listed below a few potential changes that have sprung
to mind but I definitely want to re-visit this topic later on down the line
(after hearing your ideas too!).</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Have a core description for a role but leave
room for specialisms, specific and developmental projects – everyone will be
doing something slightly different</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Rather than talking about tasks, talk about
skill sets – this way the job description will be more adaptable and won’t
scare off potential employees</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Tie performance management expectations with the
job description but make sure it is up-to-date and current</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Don’t just rely on HR to do it all – take ownership,
after all it is you that knows what the job entails</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Don’t be afraid to make changes!</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The reality is that organisations need to be flexible and
have room to manoeuvre. This is going to be virtually impossible if jobs are inadaptable.
If they are flexible and easy to change to suit business needs you are one step
in the right direction but this doesn’t mean that companies can sit back whilst
job descriptions languish or remain stretches away from the reality. Keeping
job descriptions fresh and alive is not just a role for our HR departments but
the responsibility of the organisation AND its employees. We must find a way of
being more flexible and adaptable whilst having a clear idea of our
responsibilities and how, as an employee, we will be measured.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To me, the traditional job description is defunct. I know
that something more flexible and interactive is needed but I am not 100% sure
what that is yet – <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">what do you think?</span></b></span></div>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-70781100282701746762013-06-16T10:15:00.000-07:002013-06-16T10:20:39.929-07:00The Call Centre - "Some will, some won't, so what, next!"<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have to hold my hands up and admit to the fact that I am absolutely loving the new tv series - The Call Centre - a documentary centred around Nev, an extroverted Welsh call centre boss who has let BBC3 come into his workplace to see how he runs his business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8647997.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/grace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8647997.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/grace.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">His methods are certainly different to what you would imagine. In fact, every time I watch this programme I can't help feeling incredibly sorry for Nev's HR team .... if he actually even has one. His exploits include parading recently dumped employees through the office to "find them a man cos they are desperate", and although said in jest, it can only make me imagine a tonne of lawsuits that must pass his office door on a weekly basis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Having said that, Nev has taken his business from 7 people renting a room in a building that the company has just bought to house his 100+ staff. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nev must be doing something right!</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In an atmosphere that has been often described as "hell on earth", call centres must be one of the hardest places to retain employees and to keep morale high. These employees have to deal with daily rejection and little sign of any autonomy or variety in their work .... I know, I worked in one during my university years!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the lack of many of the hygiene factors required to even begin to motivate and engage people, Nev has taken quite a unique and strong stance in engaging with his staff.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He seems to overstep boundaries every 5 minutes, has been known to throw objects at people that yawn in his training and he is happy to humiliate workers at every turn. Yet his staff seem to be enthused by his presence, there is a lower turnover than your average call centre and there is definitely a sense of camaraderie. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One recent employee, George, who has not been on a date for 6 years was set up with two colleagues by Nev, both of whom got cold feet and knocked the poor guy back. I couldn't help feeling this wasn't really the place of an MD to be setting up his employees but it is all to do with Nev's mantra that "happy people sell" and recently George commented<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24.375px;"> “Nev’s really supportive of everyone, he’s a great boss.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>It has really got me wondering about whether in certain environments many of the "rules" that we imagine are generic across all workplaces just don't apply.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am going to continue to watch the Call Centre with abject interest to try and work out what exactly is the "Nev Factor" holding this business together so well?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Next episode: Tuesday 9pm, BBC</b></span>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-67140434055083029272013-05-13T09:37:00.000-07:002013-06-16T09:37:59.172-07:00Why meta descriptions are a largely undervalued facet of search engine marketing<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have recently been working with our digital marketing team on our content marketing. I have had a fantastic opportunity to work on a variety of projects, both big and small. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the team came to ask me if I could do them a big favour and help to write over 400 meta descriptions for our website and blog pages, the strained looks on their faces indicated that they knew that this was hardly a glamourous job. Meta descriptions are simply the short descriptions that appear in search results, they don't actually appear on your website.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Meta description tags can be shown in response to searchers' queries, as pictured." src="http://www.wordstream.com/images/screenshots/meta-description.gif" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meta descriptions don't help with your search engine ranking and therefore are often overlooked. However, if your meta description and title compel people to click on your link you will improve your click through rate (CTR) which will in turn improve your search engine rankings.<br /><br />Despite this, many people don't bother to write custom meta descriptions as they see it as a waste of time. I must admit, it wasn't the most thrilling of jobs and with other 400 to do it did get a little monotonous at times but I can see huge value in having customised meta descriptions rather than letting the search engine pluck its own from your content. <br /><br /><b>Here's why I think they are important:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- Good descriptions will improve your click through rate which will subsequently improve your search engine ranking</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- Having a good description will mean less people go on to your website and leave straight away when they realise it isn't what they were looking for - again improving your ranking</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- It is another opportunity to provide a short sales pitch to your potential customers - don't miss the opportunity</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How can you make your meta descriptions better?</span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Use targeted key words - but don't stuff them in there for the hell of it!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Communicate the benefits</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Give viewers a reason to click on your link</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don't duplicate descriptions, it will improve user experience (you can find out how many duplicates you have in your webmaster tools)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you have 1000s of pages then at least make sure your home page and most popular pages have unique descriptions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is no character limit but only about 150 to 170 characters will appear in the summary - so keep it short!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stick to plain text - avoid hyphens, plus signs and quotation marks</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meta descriptions may not be the most exciting topic in the world but they are certainly important and I will now be spending the next few weeks ensuring that this blog has customised meta descriptions for each post.</span></div>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-84330018961505298032013-04-13T02:49:00.001-07:002013-04-13T03:23:50.550-07:00Why buying a house would be so much easier with direct communication!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdDlfLTnAaXGHKS7ijeQ4G9wMhZS73cuFrVYpuzi4KmapOuiYpllBsHxSh0AJKy0DhabjSD_HbMKN1sgA3NjU1-QuajLV-ydOSq9HD-g0TvMzdtDzMYFE2Rvoc6G1MKCU8NnRtoshqUk/s1600/house.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdDlfLTnAaXGHKS7ijeQ4G9wMhZS73cuFrVYpuzi4KmapOuiYpllBsHxSh0AJKy0DhabjSD_HbMKN1sgA3NjU1-QuajLV-ydOSq9HD-g0TvMzdtDzMYFE2Rvoc6G1MKCU8NnRtoshqUk/s200/house.bmp" width="183" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am currently in the process of buying my first flat in
London with my boyfriend. I have come to realise that this process is
absolutely terrifying! Forget about the questions of "am I ready to make such
a big financial and relationship commitment", "can we afford to buy our
own place?", "am I going to bankrupt my parents when I ask for the
largest loan known to man?" - those are the easiest to deal with. The
worst bit of buying a property is the lack of direct communication with the
seller.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the past in this blog I have spoken about the importance
of body language and communicating with others. It is these things that give us
feedback in situations that allows us to make judgements as to how we should
proceed. These things are taken away in a process where there are a number of
intermediaries between you and the seller. Don't get me wrong, so far our
solicitor and mortgage broker have been good but the fact that I don't know
what the seller is thinking or feeling means that I can't adjust my approach to
ensure that they are onboard and we aren't going to get "gazumped"
before completion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am used to adopting feedback techniques in my everyday
life, both professionally and at home. These allow me to adjust my behaviour,
tone or message angle when communicating. I think this is something that many
people do without realising but having moved into the world of marketing and
communications, it has become more obvious to me now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The three things you should be 'reading' are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>1) Body language</b>
(up to 55% of what we communicate)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The below examples will give you something to look out for
but be careful that you don't judge someone's body language too crudely. The
key is context. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Positive body language</span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">:</span></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Moving or leaning closer to you</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Relaxed, uncrossed limbs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Long periods of eye contact</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Looking down and away out of
shyness</span></li>
<li><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Genuine smiles</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Negative body language</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">:</span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Moving or leaning away from you</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Crossed arms or legs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Looking away to the side</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Feet pointed away from you, or
towards and exit</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14.95pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Rubbing/scratching their nose,
eyes, or the back of their neck</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>2) Tone of voice</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have you ever heard the saying "it's not what you say
but how you say it that counts"? Just think about training a puppy. They
can't actually understand the words we are using but they can comprehend the
tone and sound coming from us. Often when we require an animal to follow an
instruction we use strong staccato phrases, such as 'sit', 'stay' and 'fetch'
coupled with body language.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a face-to-face conversation with another person the tone
of voice can really change the meaning of a conversation in its entirety. Read
the following paragraph. Imagine this is a friendly colleague at work trying to
help you out in your first week. She has a calm and sincere tone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>"I would suggest that you look at the other information
available so that you can make an accurate estimate. A piece of advice, don't
enter any information into the database until you are sure it is correct" </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now read this paragraph again and imagine that this is a
patronising Manager who seems to be insinuating you don't pay enough attention.
The tone of voice is harsh, patronising and sharp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Can you see what a difference tone of voice can make? Why
not try an experiment by changing your tone of voice to see what sort of a
reaction you get.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>3)</b> <b>Facial expression</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Most people won't give you an obvious signal, such as
frowning (although I do know someone who does!), but they may furrow their
eyebrows slightly if they don't understand or disagree. Don't be fazed by
someone's facial expressions, just use them as a cue to ask more questions,
clarify your point or take a step back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don't forget that your own facial expression can sometimes
give you away too!!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am hoping that we will be able to complete our flat
purchase shortly but in the mean time I guess I will just have to do without
the normal communication signals that I have come to rely upon in negotiations.</span></div>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-91354238058529411632013-03-09T07:51:00.001-08:002013-04-13T02:56:19.750-07:00The importance of grammar and punctuation<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last week I met someone from The Queen's English Society, a group of people brought together by their real desire to ensure that the proper use of the English language is upheld. I appreciated their cause but not because I believe that everyone should know their prepositions from their dangling participles, but because we all make basic grammar and punctuation mistakes on a daily basis that actually change the meaning of what we are reading, writing or saying.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In this blog post I just wanted to share with you some of my favourite images that show these atrocities in action! (all just a little bit of fun!)</span><br />
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<br />Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-64829724565971025822013-02-05T11:36:00.000-08:002013-02-05T11:36:45.158-08:0020:60:20 - The engagement rule<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last year I had the pleasure of
working with a pair of engagement consultants who gave me and the rest of the
senior management team some great advice and tips on how to engage our
employees effectively.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The concept of the 20:60:20 rule
was one that I had seen prior to this meeting but they approached it very
differently to how I had seen it used before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Explanation
of the traditional 20:60:20 <o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Top
20% comprised of strong performers <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
Middle 60% comprised of average performers <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
Bottom 20% comprised of weak performers <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Simply
you leave the top 20% to their own devices, giving them opportunity for
autonomy, the middle 60% you concentrate most of your time on, developing the
potential and the bottom 20% you need to manage most vigorously. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Explanation
of the engagement 20:60:20 <o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -14.7pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Top 20% comprised of strongly engaged employees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -14.7pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Middle 60% comprised of averagely engaged employees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -14.7pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Bottom 20% comprised of disengaged employees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://blog.birchworldwide.com/Portals/169430/images/20-60-20%20rule%20for%20channel%20management.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://blog.birchworldwide.com/Portals/169430/images/20-60-20%20rule%20for%20channel%20management.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
I first saw this model I was convinced that you should spend trying to increase
engagement, specifically in the bottom 20% as I have always believed that
disengaged employees may often have a reason for this caused by the company
(eg. been passed over for promotion, doesn’t feel they are trusted, is never
offered more autonomy etc) but I was told that this was the wrong way to look
at it. Over the past year or so I have come to agree with the engagement model
and I wanted to share their advice with you.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please
note: The top 20% are not necessarily the “best” at their jobs, but they are
the people that most demonstrate your company values. This is important because
skills can be learnt, whereas high performers with attitude problems are hard
to change and can cause friction across the business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
top 20% should be given the most opportunities and attention. These people will
act in the best interests of the company, so give them the autonomy to get the
job done. Challenge them and grow them. This group should be offered
development opportunities first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
middle 60% should be given training opportunities to develop the basics but
development opportunities will always be offered to the top 20% first. This
group should be encouraged but main focus should always remain on the top 20%.
This 60% will see the benefit of showing themselves as more engaged with the
business (eg. loyalty, extra effort, company-wide thinking) and will often
mimic the behaviour of the top 20%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
bottom 20% should basically be ignored. Obviously from a functional capacity
they will receive job training but they do not get access to the extra
development offered to those in the top 20%. This group will make one of two
choices, decide that they want the opportunities and therefore change their
behaviour or they will leave the company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As
this process continues to work, your bottom 20% will move up to the level of
the bottom of your 60%. You will always recruit people who are the same or
better than your top 20%, this means that you will constantly be moving
employees up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
am not suggesting that you have a list of which employees lie in which group,
this would be pointless because it can change frequently. It is more a litmus
test that says that we pay most attention to those who most demonstrate the
company’s culture and reward them for their behaviour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
one thing that they said that really stuck with me was:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“If
you focus all of your attention on the bottom 20%, the whiners and moaners, everyone
else in the company will see which way you are looking (backwards) and start to
follow, if you are always looking forwards that’s where they will all aim”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyone
who has worked with horses will know, you can lead a horse without a head
collar or rope, if you walk with your eyes forward they will come. The moment
you turn round and try to coax him, the horse will be confused because you are
facing backwards and trying to control. This works the same way with people –
face forward, take them with you and they will follow.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-18517318625316927792013-01-02T12:08:00.000-08:002013-01-02T12:08:01.926-08:00How to get your boss to agree to a Christmas Party next year!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the Christmas decorations
hanging lopsided and mince pie foil cases well and truly emptied, I wanted to
examine the benefits, or perhaps just perceived benefits, of the “Work
Christmas Party”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This annual event used to be
something of a “given” in most companies, prior to the 2008 economic slump. In
fact it was seen as a great way of showing gratitude, albeit in a very
expensive way, to employees at the end of the year. Since the economy became
more turbulent, companies have been reassessing these ‘luxuries’ and many have
chosen to cut back, with some deciding that it is inappropriate to have a
Christmas party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Money/Pix/pictures/2008/12/12/office-party460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Money/Pix/pictures/2008/12/12/office-party460.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXfagi2RHgWfE39EPy2wkkaEiAPCVTiow5i-H_az2V9YLEQ4BpTV2DqmxYqO5Zd1tT-YpYCVyW4TvL_ZbXBCvGWU6RSQPW9EDxz-eaKIqOqtHhw9Pz3N6Mk8oeUCi14iuYSHfEdzuq4M/s1600/OfficeXmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXfagi2RHgWfE39EPy2wkkaEiAPCVTiow5i-H_az2V9YLEQ4BpTV2DqmxYqO5Zd1tT-YpYCVyW4TvL_ZbXBCvGWU6RSQPW9EDxz-eaKIqOqtHhw9Pz3N6Mk8oeUCi14iuYSHfEdzuq4M/s200/OfficeXmas.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But what positive or negative
impact can a work Christmas party have? Is it worth the money or just another
way of ending up with inter-team trysts, blushing cheeks for the month of
January and a sore company bank balance?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think I may be slightly biased.
For the last two years I have been involved with the running and execution of
the Christmas ‘do’ at the companies I have worked for and each time I have had
a blast, as have my colleagues. However, the real question is, does the company
get enough bang for their buck?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The answer is obviously variable.
To get a return the event must be planned to specifically aid the team in some
way. For example, rather than just having food and drinks in a stuffy
restaurant where someone is definitely going to end up cornered on a table with
the bore from legal, why not involve an element of team building and relationship
building. If possible, try to avoid sit down meals; people are far more likely
to mix if they are standing rather than static at a table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Treasure hunts or team
competitions can be organised cheaply with a little DIY and are great at
creating a competitive spirit that helps to bond teams. Charity events can also
give the team a good feeling of festive spirit, perhaps the team could help to
box gifts for the less fortunate or visit a local hospital as a team to give
presents to the sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Most importantly, make sure you
mix people up; don’t let everyone stay in their cliques. Creating stronger
relationships between colleagues and across the business is paramount to a <b>more effective working environment</b>
which in turn can increase productivity and therefore the bottom line. A great
Christmas Party will keep an excitement alive for the coming months but it shouldn't be a one-off. Continue to get the team involved in the team-building
events throughout the year (although perhaps with a little less alcohol
involved!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One important point to remember is
that not all Christmas events need to be expensive. This year we had a budget
of £25 per head for a team of 40 and with this we managed to spend a successful
day in teams on a treasure hunt in St. Pauls (bought from the internet for
£29.99) followed by food and drinks in a wonderful bar in Clapham Junction (The
Plough – if anyone is interested). You can also find things to do for free or
even ask your colleagues to chip in a small amount of money towards part of the
evening. As a prize for the winning team, I bought flashing Christmas hats,
presented them with a certificate and managed to convince the bar to give us a
bottle of prosecco on the house. The prize may sound small but the winning team
proudly showed off their hats and certificate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quite simply…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As long as the event is engaging,
builds relationships and allows people to let off a little steam – most will be
happy, engaged and it will have a positive impact. I say most because it is
inevitable that you will have at least one person that thinks they could have
done better or does not want to be involved. My opinion on this matter is – who
cares?? I always follow the 20:60:20 rule. Concentrate on the top 20. The
middle 60 will follow because they want to get the same attention as those at
the top. The bottom 20 will either eventually see that everyone in the top 80
is having such a great time that they want to be involved or they will leave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don’t waste your time on the moaners!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think that Christmas events are
a fantastic way to creatively engage your people, whilst recognising them for
their hard work. Many companies have decided that a Christmas Party is just too
expensive at the moment when cuts are being made, but they don’t have to be
expensive. Employees know that gone are the days of the big, expensive,
all-company parties in a posh hotel. Why not get their input on how you can DIY
the Christmas Party – I bet they would have some great ideas!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><b>What did you do for your
Christmas Party this year? Was it any good, how would you have made it better?</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-2624586358241205012012-12-04T13:14:00.001-08:002012-12-04T13:14:15.994-08:00The art of blogging<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, I certainly outdid myself this time ... I have not written a blog post in over 2 months! One of the first rules of the blogging world is to make sure you communicate regularly and consistently with your audience. This way you keep them engaged with new content and they know when to expect your next post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think we can all agree that I haven’t done this very well.<br /></span><br />
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<a href="http://creativeboom.co.uk/uploads/articles/4a/4a0cf21e003a4d471f2f2328d790db7b_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://creativeboom.co.uk/uploads/articles/4a/4a0cf21e003a4d471f2f2328d790db7b_350.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could sprout the million and one reasons that I have been
feeding to myself about why I am not writing regular posts but it still doesn’t give
us the solution that a blog is successful. So
in this post I thought I would write 10 key tips for maintaining a blog and the
things that I wish I had been told before I set mine up! This is very much a
case of “do what I say, not what I do”, so please do bear with me.</span></div>
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<a href="http://web.appstorm.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/3/files/2010/10/Blogging-Platforms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://web.appstorm.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/3/files/2010/10/Blogging-Platforms.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Choosing the platform – </b>There are lots of blogging platforms out
there (eg. <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wordpress,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Tumblr,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>TypePad<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and Blogger<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">) and choosing which one to
use can be confusing. Unless you have very specific ideas about functionality,
most blogging platforms will do what you need. You can find a number of helpful video
tutorials online<br /></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Find your niche – </b>As mentioned above, when you start a blog you
need to provide regular content. Make sure you find a theme/area of real
interest where you are going to be able to share your opinion passionately. Try to think of
an angle that makes your blog different to everyone else's<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Get ahead of the game</b> - Before you even launch your blog, make sure
you have already written 4-6 posts or so that you can release them at regular intervals in the first few weeks.
This will give you time to plan your next posts and also make sure that you start
yourself on a path of regular and consistent contact from the very beginning<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Plan your content </b>– Dream big and don’t leave your content to
chance. Good ideas will not generally come to you on the spot, so make sure you note down any
ideas that cross your mind. Spend a few minutes every day thinking about
potential topics and content<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Choose your objectives</b> – Some people write blogs just for
themselves (and maybe friends) but if you want your blog to gain a good level
of readership traffic you will need to think about how you market yourself and your page.
Start chatting with other bloggers and leaving useful comments on other blogs (with some link to your blog's theme) and show yourself as a thought leader - this will help to draw traffic to your blog. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
is always really helpful and you can find many self-learning resources online<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Encourage interaction </b>– Sometimes blogging can feel like a one-way
conversation ... but it shouldn’t be. Encourage feedback and opinions to be
shared, whether through the comments box or by having guest bloggers. NB: Blogger annoyingly
only allows users with a gmail account to post a comment!<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Track your stats</b> – Keep an eye on your analytics, it will help you
to understand what your readers are interested in and allow you to provide them
with more of what they are interested in<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Be personal</b> – Humans are a nosey bunch and we love to find out
personal things about people. It may be nerve-wracking but the more personal
and human elements you add to your posts the more likely people are to come
back to read more<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Get social</b> – Don’t neglect your other social media accounts. Use
twitter, facebook and LinkedIn (to name but a few) to direct people to your
blog and also to start conversations around the topics you are discussing on your blog<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Keep it professional –</b> No matter how informal your blog is, make
sure you grammar and spell check before posting. Remember that your blog will
become like an online reference for you to future
employers. Silly things like bad grammar and an obvious lack of attention to
detail will cost you dearly!</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I said before, do what I say and not what I do. Following
the above tips will not automatically give you a high traffic blog but it will
certainly help your chances! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So ....... anyone want to add their opinion and comment on
this blog? :P Any extra tips or suggestions for improvement would be greatly
appreciated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<br />
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-64041291804669894642012-09-25T14:04:00.004-07:002012-09-25T14:06:28.196-07:00Why do we have such a problem with presenting well?<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today I attended a large employee benefits conference in
London. Unfortunately the organisers had made a few errors, such as an
inefficient queuing system that made the sessions start late, conference rooms that
were badly soundproofed and a lack of microphones to capture the questions from
the audience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite this, I was excited to listen to the presentations
and hopefully maximise my day out. Overall it was an interesting day but I
couldn’t help muttering inside my head about some of the poor presentation
slides and skills that some of the speakers graced us with (however I do want
to say that there were some very good speakers too!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the presenters showed us their company’s history as a
timeline. However, on this one slide there was at least 200wds of text!
Although they had tried to break the text up with images and coloured text
boxes it was still completely incomprehensible and ultimately just detracted
from the message they were trying to get across to the audience. Most people
know not to read off the screen but that doesn’t mean you can just write
everything that you don’t say!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The second issue was more to do with the actual speakers. Now
I don’t want to be precious but having been a member of toastmasters, I am used
to counting “ums”, “ahs” and other crutch words ... and I had a field day
today. I understand that many of the presenters were chosen more for their
knowledge of employee benefits rather than their presentation skills but I was
still disappointed. The problem is that these crutch words interrupt the flow
of speech and are often very distracting (particularly for someone who is
trained to pick them out!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today has prompted me to write a quick blog post about the
things we should think about when presenting. I am not going to talk too much
about how we speak when presenting as I covered this in a previous post.
However, here are a few pointers when putting together presentation slides
(whether using powerpoint, prezi, HTML5 etc).</span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Your slides should not be the main focus</b> – you are!
Use it to add (not detract) to what you are saying and don't hide behind your presentation!<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Use images!</b> People find it difficult to read
something on a screen whilst listening to what someone is saying – we are not
very good at processing two bits of information at the same time<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Key points only</b> – when you use words on a slide
it should be to illustrate key points or facts and it should be short and
snappy<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Keep your words to a minimum</b>. You should really
have no more than 33 words on a slide (and it will be better with less!)<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Make two versions</b>. When talking to people about
presentations they often tell me that the reason they put so much information
on them is so that people can refer back to them at a later date and fully
understand what was being said. If this is the case, do two versions; one for
the actual presentation and one as a reminder of what was said<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>You don’t have to use powerpoint</b>. Visual aids
are used to add to a speech and sometimes powerpoint can be very restrictive.
When we present we want to have a conversation with an audience and human
conversation is not structured as rigidly as the traditional format of a
powerpoint </span></li>
</ol>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithUrRGjggc7M2tAZSm6NtoUSd112Sroe6braTqnNoJFdlw55RP8igib85CgiDNWxyxiC4TgdAgy-b4FIB8ca_axzQRogGBJChH4jRv_3SNW5gdSoI3Ws-n9Rb-nTnkIQ-RcttR6cam8I/s1600/ppt1+bad+example.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithUrRGjggc7M2tAZSm6NtoUSd112Sroe6braTqnNoJFdlw55RP8igib85CgiDNWxyxiC4TgdAgy-b4FIB8ca_axzQRogGBJChH4jRv_3SNW5gdSoI3Ws-n9Rb-nTnkIQ-RcttR6cam8I/s400/ppt1+bad+example.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of a bad slide</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-74614596889898367022012-09-16T11:19:00.003-07:002012-09-16T13:05:34.947-07:00The role of social media in customer communications<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the last couple of weeks I have become rather obsessed
with my twitter account and not because I want to tell people what I have just
consumed for breakfast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last week on the way to work I realised that I had forgotten
my annual season ticket (a piece of paper worth over £2000!!) and had to buy a
return ticket. I didn’t mind doing this as I knew that I had read on the train
provider’s website that they would refund in full the first ticket bought in
the case of forgetting my annual season ticket.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To be honest I forgot about the ticket for a few days and
then turned up at Clapham Junction station at the customer service to request a refund.
The abrupt lady at the desk told me that I couldn’t get a refund from here and
I must go back to the place where I purchased the ticket and discuss it with
them there. I was a little annoyed but it made sense as I presumed they had to
keep track of it somewhere. The following morning in Dorking I repeated my
story to the customer service desk. I was unhelpfully told that I would
need to produce my actual ticket as well as my receipt in order to receive a
refund. I have to admit that I sarcastically asked whether he meant the ticket
that had been “swallowed” by the ticket barriers in order to allow me to exit the station. He told me that I should not have used the tickets at the barrier! (Still trying to understand the idiocy of this comment!)</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a frustrating 5 minute conversation about how I would
not be receiving the refund I was entitled to, I left feeling let down and quite frankly, annoyed. It was at this point I turned to my twitter account
to tweet my annoyance at the situation directly to Southern trains head office.
I have used this tactic a few times and tend to get a fairly swift response and
so I wasn’t surprised when I got a public message within 3 minutes asking me
for further details.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t know whether it is the fact that social media
customer service teams are often a dedicated resource or whether it is because companies
are more aware of the impact public negative feedback can have but I always
seem to solve issues with companies quicker if I do it online in a public forum.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Within 5 minutes of tweeting I had been sent a PO BOX
address in Bristol that I could send my receipt to and expect to receive a
full refund ... something that one of the face-to-face customer service team
should have been able to tell me. It would have saved a lot of huffing, puffing
and frustration.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the other hand I recently read a story about someone who
received instructions from a company’s social media team that referred them to
another part of the business ... that then did not deliver and the person felt
even more let down and frustrated then before. There is also the worry that twitter's ability to give instantaneous responses could potentially be harmful if those using it are not properly briefed or trained.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am interested to hear what your opinion is on the place of
social media within customer service communications? Is it revolutionising our
customer solution strategies or is it just making it more complicated with the
potential to easily damage their organisation’s reputation?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would be interested to know your thoughts. </span></div>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-56144321904813997472012-08-31T11:01:00.002-07:002012-08-31T11:01:27.571-07:00Taking engagement to a higher level<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Apologies for being so slow in putting up my
latest blog post! I have had a crazy 4 weeks getting really stuck in to my new
job, finding a new kickboxing club and meeting up with friends. However, I
promise to face my blog with renewed vigour now!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a number of posts about communication failures, I
thought I would make the tone more positive in a post-celebration of the
fantastic London 2012 Olympic Games (and hopefully Paralympics too)!<br />
<br />
We talk about employee engagement as the ultimate goal for organisations
wishing to raise productivity and consequently the bottom line. Often though we
are not actually sure what engagement looks like or what we have to do to
achieve it. To me, engagement is epitomised by the connection that people have
with an organisation and the extent to which their own personal goals are
aligned with that of the wider “vision” or goal.<br />
<br />
During the Olympics I believe that I saw true engagement in action and I was
thrilled to be in London whilst it took place. The dedication and passion of
the 70,000 Olympic volunteers (aka Game Makers) has absolutely astounded me. I
was lucky enough to attend two Olympic events and as cheesy as it sounds, it
was the volunteers (including the armed services and police) that made the day
for me. Smiles all round, well timed jokes and helpful directions were the norm
and everyone, from the coveted positions of athletic guides to the volunteer
cleaners, was welcoming and certainly shared their excitement at being part of
this momentous event.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So how exactly is it that LOCOG, the organisers of the London
Olympics, managed to have such an engaged workforce? Now I know some of the
cynical of you will be thinking that it can’t have been that hard considering
that these people chose to give up their time and work at the games for free.
However, you forget that these people were often travelling long journeys to
arrive at the venues and had long hours to work, something that would test
anyone. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZtf8RLf22U2_4imhNk1mKWhr6syISNaHHDpZdiTiFMq1IC1ziPymzVrhf7SIfaYSpXlDtSpOHT1JN0E_zR7VaDn2D6oUheYABC-7536XQ7s1P-6IxGPh1ipJt9vw7S5j-lh9XnZjG08/s1600/Games+Makers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZtf8RLf22U2_4imhNk1mKWhr6syISNaHHDpZdiTiFMq1IC1ziPymzVrhf7SIfaYSpXlDtSpOHT1JN0E_zR7VaDn2D6oUheYABC-7536XQ7s1P-6IxGPh1ipJt9vw7S5j-lh9XnZjG08/s320/Games+Makers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I believe that the reason that the Games Makers were so engaged
was that they were able to align their own personal goals with that of the
wider vision, “<span style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">to set new standards, creating positive, lasting change for
the environment and communities” and </span>“to inspire a generation”. LOCOG
demonstrated to volunteers the impact that each and every one of them would
have on achieving the overall goal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Turning this back to the corporate world, I think it is safe
to say that companies that manage to show employees how their day-to-day work
counts towards the bigger picture can often be the most successful. It is not
just the “Innocent” and “Save the Children” brands of this world that can
inspire their employees. Every single company has the opportunity of including
their staff in the future of their business and they also have the moral
responsibility to inspire them too. It may be harder to convince critics that
you can ‘inspire’ those in the less ‘glamorous’ roles within a company ... and
I would agree. However, it is definitely not impossible. Autonomy is the key.
Allowing employees to take responsibility, be accountable and share their
knowledge and opinions is an important part of engagement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is the story of Kennedy visiting NASA in 1962 to take
a tour and meet the people. Whilst walking through the building he stopped to
talk to a janitor and asked him what he did at NASA. The janitor proudly told
Kennedy, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon, Mr. President” - A wonderful
sentiment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We can all work to achieve this level of engagement amongst employees
– it is possible but be aware that once you begin on this journey you can’t
leave it by the wayside. In fact, it is better not to start at all (raising the
hopes of your workforce) then to do it in half measures. This is not to say
that you shouldn’t try, but you need to be committed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To business owners I say, invest in your people. Inspire
them, nurture them and invite them to ‘buy-in’ in your business, just as you
have. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To those who have not quite made the top yet, demonstrate
your interest in the bigger picture, encourage your business leaders to listen
and as you move up the ranks, help to inspire those following you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Companies that engage their staff not only end up having the
best pick of future talent, but they also open access to innovation, continuous
improvement and importantly, increased productivity! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If that isn’t worth your time and effort – what is??</span></div>
Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-10130260213911581382012-07-31T12:50:00.003-07:002012-07-31T12:50:40.239-07:00Another one bites the dust - Bloc Weekend 2012<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since my last post, I have been told about another total
communications disaster ... but this time it wasn’t anything to do with G4S. In
fact it was the electronic festival “Bloc Weekend” (July 2012) who had to close
their festival down during the event amid fears of overcrowding. The event
organisers brought in the police to aid them to ‘eject’ thousands of festival
goers and faced a vicious backlash across all social media sites. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, whilst the company was frantically trying to deal
with the chaos unfolding they forgot to communicate with their customers.
Specifically, when they took the decision to eject people from the venue, they
forgot that they had authorised a number of “pre-set” automatic tweets to be
sent from their twitter account, @BLOCWKND. Whilst festival goers were slamming
the festival’s ineptitude and complaining profusely about the manner in which
they had been thrown out of the festival, @BLOCWKND was telling them that the
next artist was coming up and posting “here’s one I took earlier” photos.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the use of programmes that send out pre-set
automatic updates is used all too frequently by companies and their self-titled
“social media experts”. Now, I don’t
think there is anything inherently wrong with using automatic update programmes,
such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or Tweetadder, but ... and this is a massive BUT,
you have to understand that social media networks are all about being socially
interactive and reactive. An automated system will never be able to do this for
you; it all requires a human element. By making the mistake of not managing
this process, @BLOCWKND found themselves further angering their customers as
they continued to tweet inaccurately. What is more, when they did realise what
had happened they went silent for some time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally they sent out a status saying<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“By now everyone
will have heard that Bloc 2012 was closed due to crowd safety concerns. We are
all absolutely devastated that this happened, but the safety of everyone on
site was paramount. Given the situation on the ground, we feel that it was the
right decision to end the show early. Bloc will not open on Saturday 7th July
so please don’t come to the site. Stand by for full information on refunds.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now I may be being silly but for the life of me I cannot
find an apology in that status. I can’t even find the classic “we are sorry for
any inconvenience caused”. Interestingly, Base Logic Promotions Ltd (the
company name behind Bloc Weekend) quickly went into voluntary administration
following the fiasco meaning that attendees of the festival will struggle to
retrieve any refunds. I am not implying in any way that a better communication
strategy would have saved the company from administration or from their
overcrowding issues, however, I think they owed it to their disappointed customers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My real point in this blog is that we have to be careful
with our social media tools. It is all very well finding tools that help us, as
companies or even individuals, to make the most out of social networking.
However, we must not forget that these processes have to be managed properly if
we choose to use them. Our customers, friends, circles and followers demand
that we interact with them freely, openly and honestly, this was an unfortunate
example of the exact opposite.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwDhmtSM4DD-k8TChgL_kX5rgQ-Z9mMZgOlEkciV1WBIS13pJF8mLsxLwaZV_Vzg8Ry6SAvTYlVOrMRB27AExmaMlszMjvkeFeMqizsZdkESTj3MYWHPBjv0zPVbVsDcJ_-dNqtzZT2w/s1600/Site-bloc2012-CSM-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwDhmtSM4DD-k8TChgL_kX5rgQ-Z9mMZgOlEkciV1WBIS13pJF8mLsxLwaZV_Vzg8Ry6SAvTYlVOrMRB27AExmaMlszMjvkeFeMqizsZdkESTj3MYWHPBjv0zPVbVsDcJ_-dNqtzZT2w/s400/Site-bloc2012-CSM-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This says it all ...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-70731222009488652982012-07-17T14:33:00.000-07:002012-07-17T14:33:13.877-07:00Honesty really is the best policy!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What is it exactly about bad communication that makes a
situation/issue/challenge ten times worse? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We have all sat on a train station platform or airport when
the LCD screens flash to tell you that your train/plane is delayed by 20
minutes. Doesn’t seem too bad, right? But following this, every 5 minutes, the
delay seems to increase and before you know it you have been waiting for 90
minutes with only a mechanical voice “apologising for the inconvenience”. I don’t
know about you but this reoccurring situation infuriates me. I can’t understand
why people aren’t more upfront and honest about issues. I would much rather be
given the most correct and up-to-date information at the time to be able to
make my own decision as to how I will proceed. There is nothing worse than
sitting on a train station platform and realising that you could have gone out
to the pub for 40 minutes whilst you were waiting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">An interesting situation to assess right now is that of G4S,
Olympic security provider, who have been plagued with problem after problem in
recent days relating to the under-staffing of security posts for the impending
Olympics. Currently there is a lot of scaremongering in the press about the lack
of trained security personnel that were meant to be provided as part of the
10,000 person contract and 3,500 Army personnel, due to go on leave, have been
brought in at the last minute. Anyone following this story will see that the obvious
mistakes made plus the media furore and high profile “dress downs” have turned G4S
and the security aspect of the Olympics into an absolute shambles. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuq2_PVxFvXL0c0LhdKoFH9bsTGGfKisny45pkSPGL_okicWnBL6Ey7ZUEX8sElYz5VA5NsHH14qCzdZfkrUSSPcVjbB7RWgfLL6B8wkoLy_XmXTh95EM9rao7HxBITlvoWhadDcXS2s/s1600/Army+olympics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuq2_PVxFvXL0c0LhdKoFH9bsTGGfKisny45pkSPGL_okicWnBL6Ey7ZUEX8sElYz5VA5NsHH14qCzdZfkrUSSPcVjbB7RWgfLL6B8wkoLy_XmXTh95EM9rao7HxBITlvoWhadDcXS2s/s200/Army+olympics.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3,500 soldiers are drafted in to plug the <br />
security personnel gap at the Olympics. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At this point in time, we can only allege as to where the
communication break downs have happened. Boris Johnson seems to think that
Government were aware of the staffing issues a few months ago, whereas Theresa
May insists she only found out 9 days ago. It is interesting to note that many
reporters have failed to alert readers to the fact that the initial G4S contract
was based on the employment of only 2000 security personnel, not the 10,000
that it increased to in January of this year. So where exactly does the blame
lie for this complete and utter breakdown in communication? <br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
Over the coming weeks, as more information surfaces about the mistakes that
have been made and the real situation behind the hype starts to appear, I would like to have a
look at ways in which the situation could have been handled more effectively by G4S and Government.
Please do feel free to add your own comments and thoughts.</span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-91124423470603130442012-07-10T14:17:00.000-07:002012-07-10T14:20:16.291-07:00Times are changing ...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Firstly I want to apologise for not writing a blog post for
four weeks! It has been a month of highs, lows and significant change. I made a
decision to follow Paul to London, leaving my Cheltenham life, job and friends
behind, and have consequently been submerged in the chaos of moving, going to
Hideout festival in Croatia (yes, I can feel your sympathy flowing!) and
starting a new job.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Over the last few weeks I have experienced immense turmoil
at the thought of leaving friends, even though it has been sprinkled with elation
at the prospect of reacquainting myself with old friends and making new ones.
However, the thing that has become most clear to me is the importance of the
relationships you form with people throughout your lifetime and the potential
impact that these interactions can have. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhaIqstnCj3U07SbcTFlLLo6THSlcCZxxOEtmAkYVNzoUE7_I1BtwLHRvo4Q-DPcSkPTfWtkfK35Eq1A356UST7vtMEdjNMGhDOUpne05qscJ6nHSWssYZriUgfH_s9duFAvM8HeI988/s1600/influence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhaIqstnCj3U07SbcTFlLLo6THSlcCZxxOEtmAkYVNzoUE7_I1BtwLHRvo4Q-DPcSkPTfWtkfK35Eq1A356UST7vtMEdjNMGhDOUpne05qscJ6nHSWssYZriUgfH_s9duFAvM8HeI988/s200/influence.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If I mentioned <span style="background-color: white;">Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin
Luther King and Marie Curie, what would you say that had in common? Well, apart
from being famous enough that you know who they are, these people have had a
significant impact on the lives of others. Some of them used the power of
rhetoric to inspire and others used their actions to have a profound impact.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However,
these are people that we may not feel have <i>directly</i>
impacted on our own lives. Often it is the unsung heroes; parents, teachers,
friends, partners and groups of like-minded individuals that leave the most
lasting impressions. These people may never have their name in shining lights,
or remain imprinted in the minds of millions across the world but nonetheless they
often deeply influence our lives, the experiences we have and the people that
we become.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In
Cheltenham, I encountered a number of individuals who have really managed to
touch upon my life and I hope that in my last few weeks I was able to
articulate to them the impact that they have had. This blog post was really
about reiterating my thanks to all of you who have been part of my Cheltenham
life and all of you that have made me who I am today (you can all share in the
blame :P). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes
it is important to think about the positive impact that you can have on those
around you. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jackie
Robinson once said: “A life is not important, except in the impact it has on
others”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don’t think you need to be famous or well-known to have an
impact, we just need to be aware of the experience, advice and
support we can give to others. If life is measured by the impact we have on
others, I would say that I must be surrounded by many people whose lives are
pretty darn important!</span><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-58950531778477645112012-06-06T13:11:00.001-07:002012-06-06T13:11:59.956-07:00Presentations – How to keep your audience awake!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We have all been there, sat waiting for an inevitably dull
Power Point presentation delivered by an equally as dull presenter with zero
charisma that seems to last for hours. Occasionally you get the odd surprise but
they tend to be the minority. So what exactly makes a presentation engaging and
actually worth watching?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I could go on about how to develop your content, how to
structure your presentation or which programmes to use but I won’t have the
space to fit it in! Instead I have put together my top tips for actually giving
presentations and making sure that your audience stays awake and engaged in
what you have to say.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Inspire confidence</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Your knees are knocking and the
room feels like you are in the Caribbean, but you must try and show confidence
in your body language and the way in which you speak. Make sure that you know
your topic well, as this will help you to relax and also take a deep breath
before you start.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Maintain eye contact</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As mentioned in my previous post,
eye contact is an important way of engaging with people. You don’t need to try
and look at everyone at all times, you’ll end up looking like you are watching
a Wimbledon final, but you should ensure that you include the whole audience
throughout your speech.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Make yourself heard</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Speak clearly and project your
voice so that every member of the audience can hear you, even the best
presentation will fall by the wayside if your audience can’t hear what you are
saying. Try and imagine someone who is hard of hearing sat at the back, you
need to make sure that they can hear every word of your speech.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Don’t rush!</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Make sure you vary your pace and
tone in order to keep the audience interested but be careful not to rush,
otherwise your audience may lose track of what you are trying to say.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Pauses are your friend</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We all have crutch words, such as
‘um’, ‘ah’, ‘basically’, ‘and’, and many others but pauses can be used for
impact and to give you time to think about what you are about to say. This can
really help to eliminate your crutch words, so try to practice it in everyday
life, not just in your presentations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Vary your vocab</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is no need to introduce
jargon or long words for the sake of it but rhetorical devices can add colour
and animation to your speeches. Some examples of which can be found below:</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />Alliteration</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;">repeats the same
sound at the beginning of nearby words –<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>What my Wife Wanted</em></span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Assonance</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;">– repeats the same
vowel sound in nearby words –<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>How Now Brown Cow</em></span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Metaphor</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;">is when two
unconnected things are compared –<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Life is a Highway</em></span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Similes</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 14.25pt; text-indent: -18pt;">are the same as
metaphor but using the words like or as Forrest Gump said<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Life is like
a box of chocolates</em></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
(Examples taken from <a href="http://charuzu.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/how-to-be-the-grammarian-in-toastmasters/">http://charuzu.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/how-to-be-the-grammarian-in-toastmasters/</a>)</span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Enjoy yourself</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although presenting or making
speeches may not be your most treasured past time, try to enjoy it!
Presentations and speeches are a great way to connect with others and to share
your knowledge. At the end of your presentation, make sure you await your rapturous
round of applause!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With my tips, I hope that you will find your audience awake and engaged! </span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-5250225330862626442012-05-22T14:18:00.003-07:002012-05-22T14:18:45.135-07:00Style relates to more than just fashion!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgnyjB0si_5kRGM-wPUVWja_8fWVq506MXMON1Uu3kDRLjEeBCiHY0wBh4Ta2Mdb0zrsQZ-VzdUpPPmCV9VpUPMp-0AyCxg7XqBZoSdceX4vLsQdj3XT_YtL_8_NSdGPR-WbKUJAKVIw/s1600/writing+style.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgnyjB0si_5kRGM-wPUVWja_8fWVq506MXMON1Uu3kDRLjEeBCiHY0wBh4Ta2Mdb0zrsQZ-VzdUpPPmCV9VpUPMp-0AyCxg7XqBZoSdceX4vLsQdj3XT_YtL_8_NSdGPR-WbKUJAKVIw/s1600/writing+style.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Standard">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Why
does my writing style matter? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Using
words, whether written or spoken, is our way of communicating with others. When
communicating, it is important to understand the impact that your
communication can have. The words that you choose, and the way that you use
them, can be the key to successfully or unsuccessfully delivering your message.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Getting
the message across in business could be making the sale, responding clearly to </span>enquiries<span lang="EN-US">, explaining your
business, responding to complaints or explaining something to a colleague; each
one of these are different situations in which the way you communicate is
incredibly important. Getting our message across in personal situations is
about developing relationships and presenting ourselves in the best possible
light, and is equally important. We must aim to always use accurate, clear and high-quality information
at all times.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remember:
No-one writes perfectly, which is why it is always vital to check your written work
multiple times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">How
do I write effectively?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">–<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b><span lang="EN-US">Know
your audience<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When
you are writing you need to think about who will be receiving your message.
Before you start writing you should ask yourself:<br />
<br />
<i>Who is the audience? (roles, genders, ages, profession)<br />
What do they know about your topic?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What
do they need to know?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Standard">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What
questions would they have?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Standard">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How
will your message impact them?<br />
Would they prefer quick facts and “executive summaries” or lots of detail?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
You should use the responses to help you decide how you will write the content.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">–<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b><span lang="EN-US">Know
what you are trying to achieve<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What
are you trying to achieve through this content? What you want to
achieve affects the way in which you write your content. You should ask
yourself:<br />
<br />
<i>What is your objective?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What
do you want people to know? (do they really need to know all that?)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Standard">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What
do you want people to feel? (to feel excited, like they belong?)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Standard">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What
do you want people to do? (change the way they work, take action, send
feedback?) <br /><br />
</span></i></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you do not want people to do anything with the communication, you should ask
yourself whether there really is a need to communicate.<br />
<br />
<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">–<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b><span lang="EN-US">Choose
the correct 'tone'<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When
we communicate face-to-face we are able to use a number of things to help us
convey the meaning, such as our body language, tone of voice and facial
expressions. When we are writing we only have our words. This means that we
have to be incredibly careful in the way that we express ourselves through our
writing. <br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There
are a number of techniques you can use to get the right tone:<br />
<i>(Examples by Ellen Hake (2010) “Language and tone”)</i></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<div class="Standard" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">●<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Us</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">e
engaging language <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 2.25pt; width: 435px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Controlling
language<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Engaging
language<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
are required to<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
need to<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If
you have a valid excuse<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Can
you explain what happened<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
misunderstood<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I
didn't explain that clearly<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">●<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Talk
about a positive result<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 2.25pt; width: 435px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Negative
result<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Positive
result<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To
avoid delivering it late<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So
that we can deliver it on time<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
haven't given us enough information<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We
need you to give us more information<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The
project doesn't have enough money<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The
project needs more money<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">●<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Talk
to one person<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 2.25pt; width: 435px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To
the group<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To
one person<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As
most people know<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
may know that<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To
our clients<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dear
client<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Which
of you has been<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Have
you been<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">●<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Use
stories and examples<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 2.25pt; width: 435px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fact<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stories
and examples<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">20,000
homeless<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Gillian
who lost her job, then her flat when she got sick.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Experience
counts<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Last
year, George was faced with a crisis, but with 20 years in the field he
knew...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Businesses
benefit hugely from advertising to students<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Company
X was trying to generate further revenue. They approached BAM to help them
target the student market. X, Y and Z were the positive results that they
achieved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">●<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Adapt
your tone to the situation<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 2.25pt; width: 435px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Situation<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tone<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tell<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Please
send the form by 16<sup>th</sup> July<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remind<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
need to send the form by 16<sup>th</sup> July<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Warn<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Send
the form by 16<sup>th</sup> July to avoid penalties<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Enforce<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
owe £100 because you did not respond by 16<sup>th</sup> July<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 156.45pt;" valign="top" width="209">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Engage<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .25pt; padding: 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt 2.75pt; width: 6.0cm;" valign="top" width="227">
<div class="TableContents">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let's
talk about what you need to do to make the booking<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
</span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9pt;">–<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b><span lang="EN-US">Keep
it simple<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Despite
what you may naturally think, plain language is often better received than using
complex sentence structure and fancy words. Cut out unnecessary words and break
down long sentences into shorter ones. Where you can use active verbs instead
of passive to make it sound more personal:</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
Passive: It was decided/ The decision was taken<br />
Active: We decided<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hope that you have enjoyed this week's blog and I also hope that some of these pointers will help everyone to be clearer and more engaging in their written communication. As always, do feel free to comment or send me any of your own ideas on this topic!</span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-70414032765104490752012-05-14T12:34:00.003-07:002012-05-14T12:34:53.675-07:00The importance of eye contact when communicating<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I recently received an email from one of my blog readers, Helen Hastings-Spital, regarding my last article about communicating effectively. Helen is a UKCP registered psychotherapist based in Cirencester and has sent me some really interesting information about eye contact in communication, which she has kindly allowed me to share with you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9BMvyhSURLTAS6vAhM5ztNH-XRq-PuCWA0G_cH6FOTlJ1N3F5gLS9IPkO90q5vszlTxXqrG3JrLEN8p5NJj_Meqg44yM3h-lw_dQQ4u56HJ2W1eWBqrUoqMTUR8F7A0IseOspRdL-Ho/s1600/eye-contact.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9BMvyhSURLTAS6vAhM5ztNH-XRq-PuCWA0G_cH6FOTlJ1N3F5gLS9IPkO90q5vszlTxXqrG3JrLEN8p5NJj_Meqg44yM3h-lw_dQQ4u56HJ2W1eWBqrUoqMTUR8F7A0IseOspRdL-Ho/s200/eye-contact.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Eye contact is an important aspect of good communication
as it can help to get our point across to our audience in a powerful way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Maintaining eye contact suggests you’re
interested in what the other is saying while little eye contact or avoiding eye
contact can suggest you/the other are disinterested, anxious, shy or even
dishonest. Most people can’t look you in the eye while telling a fib or an
outright lie!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Staring intensely at someone can make him
or her feel acutely uncomfortable – they can feel ‘pinned down’ or trapped by
your gaze. An intense gaze can imply
deep interest but can also be interpreted as confrontational, intimidating or a
challenge to the authority of the speaker (e.g. being ‘stared down’.)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>So what’s the ‘right’ amount of eye contact
to make?</b> In natural conversation, listener and speaker maintain an unconscious rhythm
in their eye contact. The speaker will maintain eye contact with the listener
for between 5-7 seconds before looking away. When eye contact is re-established with the listener immediately, this
unconsciously indicates the wish of the speaker to continue talking. If there is a longer pause before re-establishing
eye contact this is an implicit invitation by the speaker for the listener to
respond and begin talking. This
non-verbal guide to ‘turn-taking’ in conversation is learned from a very early
age through what are called ‘proto-conversations’. In this process the m/other and
baby engage in eye contact and sounds/gurgles that establish the art of turn-taking in a pre-verbal form of communication. Later this learning is transferred to guide effective turn-taking in conversation.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Interestingly, changing the length and
frequency of eye contact can change the pace (speed) of a conversation. Lengthening the time of eye contact made with
a speaker can increase the pace and intensity of the conversation. As a listener, looking away more frequently may slow the
talker down, allowing more space for thought and reflection. Why don’t you experiment next time you’re
trying to communicate something!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>But beware – know your audience! </b>Some cultures consider direct eye contact as
rude and aggressive. In Middle Eastern
cultures eye contact between members of the opposite sex is seen as potentially
provocative, so is avoided, while in Asia/China avoiding eye contact with a
superior is seen as a sign of respect. In most of Europe and the USA,
maintaining eye contact is a necessary part of good, honest, powerful
communication.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally, psychology research has shown that
when words (content of speech) and non-verbal behaviours (eye contact, body
posture, facial features) are mismatched (e.g. the speaker says they are happy
to see you but doesn’t make eye contact) the listener will place more trust in the
non-verbal cues to rate the truth of a statement rather than believing the spoken
words!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So there you have it, eye contact is an incredibly important part of communicating effectively. Thank you very much to Helen for her guest post on my blog, I am certainly going to try varying my eye contact with people to see what effect it may have.<br /><br />If you think you have an interesting article to share with my blog readers, please do send me an email at jennyhazan88@gmail.com.</span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-43736476297000019512012-05-08T13:48:00.000-07:002012-05-09T00:39:04.977-07:00Communicating Effectively - Up close and personal<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Communication is vital to our everyday life. It is how we
express ourselves, understand others and interact as human beings. Many people
have heard the old adage that only 7% of effective communication is verbal (i.e
what you actually say), the other 93% is non-verbal (i.e your body language,
tone, vocal variety etc).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Over the next couple of weeks I will be writing a few short
blog posts on ‘communicating effectively’. Today’s post will focus in on
face-to-face communication and I will provide my five top tips that I hope will
help you to avoid the common mistakes that people make time and time again. You
may be talking to your boss at work, giving a presentation, going for a job
interview or perhaps just meeting people for the first time, but every time you
communicate you are giving off an impression (and sometimes it is not always the
one that you were hoping for!)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Top Five Tips<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>Take your
time.</b> You know that awkward moment when someone asks you a question you
weren’t expecting and words leap out of your mouth before you have actually
thought of a proper response? Don’t let yourself do it. There is nothing wrong
with a considered pause, in fact it often helps you to formulate a sensible and
intelligent response to the question and you will look far more confident
taking your time than just letting your words fall out of your mouth.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>Make
yourself understood.</b> Now that you have given yourself a pause to think
about what you want to say, don’t ruin your point by slurring your words or
speaking at 100mph! Enunciate your words clearly and be careful not to mumble.
You may have an intelligent and important thing to say, but if you are not
clear you will lose your audience quickly.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>Vary your
tone and pace.</b> No-one likes the person with the dull and monotone voice; it
makes whatever you are talking about sound boring. Make sure you change the
pitch of your voice to enhance the meaning of what you are saying and slow down
when you are trying to emphasise the point you are making. Be careful not to
overuse this technique though, a chaotic use of tone and pace with constant
variation will only make you sound insincere and will be difficult to
understand. Try reading this blog out loud and vary your pitch and tone to see
how changing your voice can change the emphasis of the words you are saying.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>Maintain
eye contact.</b> It can be nerve wracking to look someone in the eye whilst
having a conversation, particularly if it is at a job interview or in a
pressured situation. However, acting as if the person you are talking to is a basilisk,
that will cause you immediate death if you look them in the eye, is not helpful
either. Shifty eye contact can be perceived as untrustworthy and can arouse a
subconscious feeling of mistrust and suspicion within the person you are
speaking to. Similarly, staring at someone directly in the eyes for a sustained
period of time would make anyone feel uncomfortable. If you are feeling nervous,
try looking just above someone’s eyes when you are speaking. This will appear
to them as if you are giving good eye contact without you feeling as if you are
staring directly into their eyes.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>It’s not
all about you! Less speaking, more listening.</b> This is a key point that
people often forget. A conversation is a two-way or multi-way interaction
between two or more people (except when you are muttering to yourself angrily
when you have forgotten your umbrella in the rain). This means that it is
vitally important for you to listen to what others have to say. Even more
importantly you should be understanding, interpreting and evaluating what you
have heard. Being a good active listener is often an uncommon skill. Think
about the number of times when someone has been speaking to you and you have
already begun formulating what you are going to say in response before they
finish rather than actually taking the time to understand their point – go on,
admit it, we have all done it! Try to get a better grasp of someone’s opinion or
point by asking questions and repeating the main points of what they have said
to ensure clarification.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hope these tips have given you some ideas about how you
could communicate more effectively in your day-to-day life. Over the next few
weeks I will be writing about the following topics:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Presentations – How to keep your audience awake</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Why style is just as important in your writing as
it is in fashion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>The written word – Making yourself understood</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Please do comment if you would like me to cover any other
topics specifically.</span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-90066920864882238292012-05-01T15:57:00.001-07:002012-05-08T14:02:00.296-07:00The Chaos of Change (part 2)<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about change. I was specifically referring to one of the most recent changes in my life, my boyfriend Paul was moving to London and I was going to have to move house. I promised to keep my blog readers up-to-date with my progress along the change curve and this gave me an idea for a speech at my local Toastmasters Speaking Club, where I am a member.
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Tonight I spoke to my club about the "chaos of change" and was rewarded with "Best Speaker" of the evening, which I am incredibly pleased with. I decided that perhaps it would be good to share my speech on this blog, so here it is!</span><br />
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Mr. Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters, most welcome guests. Good evening.
</span></span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.24683971027843654"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
“Who, in this room, is going through some sort of change in their lives at the moment?” Anyone? [I witnessed a number of hands zoom up]. It could be something big, maybe you’ve started a new job, moved house, got married or perhaps it is something smaller like joining a new club, getting a haircut or going on a diet.</span></span></b><br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.24683971027843654"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life is full of constant change</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, from the very big to the very small and we all choose to react to it in varying ways. However, academics have produced countless numbers of “change curves”, like the one you below, these diagrams are designed to help us understand the impact change has on our emotions. We can move through these emotional curves in a matter of minutes or sometimes it can take years. We also tend to be going through multiple change curves at the same time.</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In business, the objective of many of those who work in ‘change management’ is twofold</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, to minimise the impact change has on our emotions and shorten the amount of time in which we move through the curve. The aim is also to reduce resistance to change and smooth the process. I have been lucky enough to come into contact with the subject in my job and have found it absolutely fascinating, I hope I will be able to share my fascination with you this evening. I am naturally starting to apply my change management knowledge to my personal life and I wanted to walk you through a change curve using one of my own personal experiences.
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Recently, my boyfriend Paul was offered a job in London. This triggered quite a big change in both of our lives. Although I knew he had been applying to jobs outside of Cheltenham, when he told me about the offer, it was still an unexpected shock.</span><br />
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<b>Stage 1</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anxiety/Shock </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">– Did he really want to move to London? What was I going to do? I would have to find somewhere new to live and leave our apartment. </span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This was a scary thought but quite quickly my emotion changed to:</i></span><br />
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</i><b>Stage 2</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happiness</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> – Paul had found himself a great opportunity and I was happy for him. I was also going to have the chance to make some new friends in Cheltenham, with my newly found free time. I was also going to finally be able to make my bedroom really girly (something Paul had never let me get away with) and most importantly I could make sure that the loo seat would stay down!</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>A few weeks later I moved into:
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</i><b>Stage 3</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Denial </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">– This is an optional stage that goes off the change curve at a tangent.With 6 days to go till I needed to move, I had left my stuff unpacked and I hadn’t found anywhere to live. I just assumed that if I didn’t do anything, nothing would change. (Note to self – this is not true and by waiting, I have now ended up living with 3 boys and that damn loo seat is back up again!)
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<b>Stage 4 and 5, Fear and Anger</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> – These two emotions came at the same time for me but thankfully they were fairly short lived. After Paul had packed his things and moved to London, I felt very much alone. I had taken for granted someone to walk home with who would actually be interested to hear about my day (or at least pretend to be!). I returned to my empty house to do the last-minute packing, cancel bills, arrange for cleaners and do all the things that you have to do, whilst Paul was enjoying the delights of the capital city. I have to admit I was pretty angry to have been left with all the responsibility. </span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This stage was followed by:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 6 and 7, Guilt and Depression </span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- These are not nice stages, you are at the bottom of the curve. I felt guilt for not being more happy for Paul and I felt depressed at what had been lost and a realisation of what would never be again.
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<i>Having worked with the change curve before, I knew that I had to pull myself up and reach:</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 8, Gradual Acceptance</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - I’m naturally quite a positive person, so I tried to think about the many new doors that could be opened by this change. The first positive that I came up with was that I would now have a good excuse to go to London shopping, regularly. A few years ago, I moved to Mexico for a year, leaving Paul 7000 miles behind and whilst I was drinking tequila and making new friends, he was experiencing a similar change curve ... So I think that I have to accept that 2hrs15 on the train to Paddington is not quite as bad as the 18hr flight he made 4 times!
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resisting change wears down our bodies, taxes our minds, and deflates our spirits. It is important to try and move on and find something positive from within the change as quickly as possible. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change </span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is </span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">inevitable </span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and whilst it can be </span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">scary </span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unsettling</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, it can bring many unknown opportunities and possibilities. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope that you take away from my speech the courage to face change head on. Remember courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage in the face of change is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.</span>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-37238087073652036362012-04-22T09:55:00.000-07:002012-04-22T09:55:19.909-07:00Together Everyone Achieves More<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe me, this will be stuck in <br />your head for quite some time!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cheesy, right? However, despite wincing at the all-American
cheerleading images that frolic into your head when you read this, you know
that it makes sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On a recent overnight “away day” with our Management team I
was confronted by this clever little acronym and immediately decided that it
was worth passing on to others. Now I am probably not the best for making an authoritative
decision as to the value of these sorts of things because I can often be a bit
of a cheerleader myself. I love to be inspired and forced to think ... and
often the cheesier it is, the better. This time though, I was sure that this
simple acronym was an important one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am sure there are a number of people reading this blog
(well maybe there aren’t actually but I will continue nonetheless) who come
from the school of “if you want to get a job done, do it yourself” and I can’t
blame them. There are many times when I am sat re-doing things that I have
asked someone else to help me to do because I do not believe they have successfully
reached my required standards of completing the task. The most prominent example
of which is house cleaning; my partner Paul is absolutely useless at cleaning
the house. He does a great job at the superficial cleaning, where he ensures
that there is nothing left on the sides and the carpet has been hovered but he
ignores the dust on the skirting boards and certainly forgets the tiles around
the bath (Wow, I just realised that I have turned into my mother!). Despite my frustrations at his lack of
attention to the finer details of cleaning, I know deep down that it would be
so much easier and a quicker task if I allowed him to help me rather than
flapping about it and re-doing it all by myself. Really, it is all about us understanding
what we are trying to achieve, using each of our strengths to our advantage and
working out the best way that we can get the job done together. Mind you, that
didn’t work with the building of the furniture when we moved in to our house, so
perhaps we are going to have to work extra hard at this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A
book that I am reading at the moment “The Five Dsyfunctions of a Team” by
Patrick Lencioni tells a story in the opening pages where an incredibly
successful business founder expresses the power of teamwork. He says “If you
could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you
could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any
time”.</span> This is pretty powerful stuff and I am 100% convinced that
he is right but the question remains, how do you achieve that? I think that
perhaps this will always be an elusive goal due to the number of determining
factors involved but there are many things that we can do, within our personal
and professional lives, to ensure greater teamwork. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the most important elements of teamwork is clear
communication. Everyone in the team needs to understand where they are going,
what their particular role in getting there is and what the end result will
look like. Teamwork will always seem clunky at the beginning, especially if
these 3 questions are not answered and sometimes it will seem easier to just
get on with things by yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">An acquaintance of mine recently attended a leadership course,
upon which he was asked to complete a team exercise with other attendees. They
were encouraged to work together, with a few curveballs thrown in (e.g the
leader acting in a passive and indecisive way) and managed to complete the set task
in no more than 10 minutes. When the participants were asked about what they
thought about the task and how they could improve, many of them believed they
could have done it by themselves in a much quicker time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They were probably right. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, they were then told that the quickest a team had
ever completed the challenge was in less than a minute, an impossibility for
one man/woman alone. This achievement required teamwork, with every member on
the team pointing in the same direction with an understanding of how their
jigsaw puzzle piece fit into the wider puzzle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Quite simply:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>T</b>ogether <b>E</b>veryone <b>A</b>chieves <b>M</b>ore</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRn4aBwrypxzvpxm3go8sSyUTUzzzBlvC-JYtTJtMvEq9o3mI-JSTfROVn45Trdw_3iFyHyN_nPvVEEBBB5frbnXbgEqUkZ5SVWgZJ3PPSpvos_EImINRBdl3OvjSg0F6m57k5ZWVYydM/s1600/ed-fitness-teamwork-puzzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRn4aBwrypxzvpxm3go8sSyUTUzzzBlvC-JYtTJtMvEq9o3mI-JSTfROVn45Trdw_3iFyHyN_nPvVEEBBB5frbnXbgEqUkZ5SVWgZJ3PPSpvos_EImINRBdl3OvjSg0F6m57k5ZWVYydM/s320/ed-fitness-teamwork-puzzle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b><br /></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-36209506889702933132012-04-09T11:14:00.000-07:002012-04-09T11:14:40.927-07:00Using social media to drive traffic back to your website<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyPB5N54ZBXDRa6-IGJa2x57fs6H0CAOZsDze0QJf8Z-DeCfOjUH9qzlfurhjjyUtiLFNA7JL6wpVn35tMQQnCB60z-_cMrhTI0BRGiHrHXsuEi_gyeHZwbbaFnVF3pYyWy9TscWyAdw/s1600/socializeicons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyPB5N54ZBXDRa6-IGJa2x57fs6H0CAOZsDze0QJf8Z-DeCfOjUH9qzlfurhjjyUtiLFNA7JL6wpVn35tMQQnCB60z-_cMrhTI0BRGiHrHXsuEi_gyeHZwbbaFnVF3pYyWy9TscWyAdw/s320/socializeicons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;">If
you are using social media for business you need to be clear about what you are
trying to achieve and just like any other communication channel, you should
have a strategy. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Often we spend vast amounts of time adding 'like' buttons and twitter icons to
our website in a bid to increase the number of users and 'friends' on our
social media sites. Although this is certainly a valid way to spend some
of your time, it should not be the focus.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #494949;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Social
media exists to allow you to engage and start a dialogue with your key
audiences, however, it is also enables you to guide further traffic to your
website. You should be looking at ways to drive traffic back to your website,
where potential clients will be able to further their knowledge about your
organisation and the services or products that your business has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;">This
is often easier said than done, so here are a few tips on driving traffic back
to your website from your social media hubs;</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;"><b>1)</b>
Embed your YouTube videos on your website; using YouTube will generate more
views. Don't forget to place your website address in the content section as
well!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;"><b>2)</b>When
posting about competitions or exciting information on your twitter or facebook
page, do not give away all of the information in the post. Make 'viewers' go to
your website! For example, “Want to be in with a chance of winning 2 free event
tickets? Enter our competition here (link to competition details on your
website)”. Give people a reason to go to your website!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;"><b>3)</b>
Do you have a blog? If you do then it is certainly worth embedding your blog
within your website and then linking to articles on your blog through other
social media platforms. If you do not have a blog then it may be worth
evaluating whether you need one. Blogs can allow a great opportunity to show
expertise and gain the status as a credible source for information</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;"><b>4)</b>
If you are willing to put some finance into this venture then Facebook ads can
allow you to target related social media users towards your website</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;"><b>5)</b>
Use social bookmarking websites (such as Digg, Pinterest or Delicious) to
bookmark articles from your website or even interesting articles from elsewhere
as your profile will show a link to your website. The increased number of links
you have across the internet to your website the better SEO (Search Engine
Optimisation) you will have</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;"><b>6)
</b>Comment on interesting articles and blogs that you believe your target audience
will be reading. Leaving a comment will allow you to leave a link to your
website. </span><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">REMEMBER</span></b><span style="color: #494949;">, your comment must be relevant to
the article/post and must add something of interest....otherwise readers will
just ignore you!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494949;">These
are a few ideas for using social media to drive traffic to your website; it is
unfortunately not an exhaustive list!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #494949; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Next week I will be posting about using social
media within the workplace and the potential pitfalls surrounding the
implementation of internal social technologies, otherwise known as Enterprise
2.0.</span></span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-49182973847846135532012-04-02T10:39:00.000-07:002012-04-02T10:39:13.087-07:00The chaos of change<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have spent the majority of my working life looking at
change models and developing initiatives and strategies to ease the change
process. The subject fascinates me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I first learnt of a “change process” when sat in a lecture theatre
eagerly awaiting a speech on “making the most of your year abroad”. I was
expecting an upbeat promotion of the wonderful experience that we were all
about to embark upon delivered by students who had done it, been there and had “fo<span id="goog_555058416"></span><span id="goog_555058417"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>und
themselves”. Unfortunately, I was faced by a university lecturer who solemnly
pulled up a slide on the projector to explain how we were probably going to
experience “anxiety”, “fear” and “depression” at some point during our trip ...
certainly not what I wanted to hear!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, I do digress. I am just about to move house,
something I hate at the best of times and this time it is not helped by the
fact that my partner of 5 years is moving to London whilst I stay in
Cheltenham. I feel like I have been on a placid playground ride that has just
turned into Nemesis at Alton Towers. Suddenly I have had to find somewhere new
to live, start to pack up my things, leave behind the silly items that were
bought specifically for the large regency-style apartment we were living in, downsize
significantly and divide our other things between our two new houses (obviously
I have earmarked all of our nicest belongings).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although I am used to considering the change curve and
process on a work-level, I had not really stopped to think about how it affects
us on a personal level and how unsettling yet exciting change can be in
everyday life. I think I am currently stuck somewhere around the denial stage,
having left all my belongings unpacked and still avoiding planning the logistics
of the move, but I am keen to follow my own progress through the many stages of
change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Paul moves out for good on Sunday and I will be making the
transition to my new place in two weeks, so I’ll keep you updated!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To understand a little more about the change process, check out this <a href="http://www.businessballs.com/processofchange.pdf" target="_blank">diagram</a> by John Fisher.</span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498714429232522484.post-76843386435997593772012-04-01T10:06:00.000-07:002012-04-01T10:06:02.888-07:00Pursuing excellence<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At the beginning of the year, as most of us do, I decided to
sign myself up to the gym (again), give my house a serious clean and to think
about ways for personal improvement. Yes I know, grab your sick buckets, next I’ll
start talking about the latest self-improvement book on my bedside table.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have actually joined a club called Toastmasters,
specifically the Cheltenham Speakers club. The idea behind Toastmasters, which
is a now a worldwide membership programme, is based around helping people of all
abilities to improve their off-the-cuff and prepared communication skills. What I
love about the concept of Toastmasters is that it about positive learning
experiences and that over time you do get to see people’s communication skills
improve tremendously.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I joined, many of my colleagues were intrigued as to
why someone, that they thought was a total chatterbox and certainly didn’t have
any issues with speaking, would be joining a club to improve their
communication skills. Well, my reason for joining was based on the concept that
you can always improve and also that you can always learn from other people.
Interestingly, Barry one of the members in my club said that his friends had
said a similar thing when he joined. He told me that he had always been told to “focus
most on the things that you are good at, so that you can become great at them. After
all, what do you think Serena Williams will be doing tomorrow morning?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have to admit, I was quite taken aback by Barry’s comment
but actually he made a good point. As long as you don’t avoid trying to improve the
things that you are not so naturally gifted in, it is important to make sure
that you pursue excellence. After hearing what Barry had to say I knew that I
was in the right place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At the tender age of 13, I received my annual school report
with the traditional one sentence wonder from my headmaster at the end, except
this time it read “Jenny is a good all-rounder, no areas specifically
exceptional but good in all areas”. Well, read that how you will but it has
stuck with me since and spurred me on to make sure that I always make an
impact. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don’t want to be an average Joe, and I certainly don’t
intend to be.</span></div>Jenny Hazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02455933451215656001noreply@blogger.com0