Impromptu speaking in business settings can be the most important and influential verbal communication you will ever undertake. This applies in face-to-face and virtual discussions; and internally as well as externally. However, I have seen people botch this too often. They either don't prepare sufficiently for the meeting (especially internally), or they may not speak up. It is all-too-easy to fall into the trap of thinking the agenda doesn't involve you directly, but the ...
Read moreMaintaining friendships at work boosts happiness and productivity. Cultivating these close relationships is even more important now as lockdowns and isolation have caused workplace burnout across America and around the world to reach an all-time high. [The World Health Organisation defines burnout as “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed," and which has three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one's job, or negative/cynical feelings related to ...
Read moreGuest post by Haley Lyles [During these uncertain times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have lost their employment through no fault of their own, which comes on top of usual changes in employment. This post by Haley Lyles explains how to best approach the problem of clarifying gap/s in your employment record to a potential employer. Great advice! Kim] It’s important to be strategic when talking about a gap in your resume ...
Read moreEmployers want communications professionals who continue to develop key skills Recruiters are actively seeking to place internal communications professionals who are developing good business judgment and skills. These are among the top 10 most important skills and competencies employers want in their new comms staff, according to feedback in interviews with 10 global leaders in employee communication (The Next Level Global Report, 2018, page 125.) Likewise, most practitioners (81%) interviewed in a major international ...
Read moreMost managers communicate poorly with their employees. Managerial communication is extremely important, but Gallup consultants report that few managers have the talent to achieve excellence: "Gallup's research reveals that about one in 10 people possess the talent to manage." Although many people have some of the necessary traits, few have the unique combination of talent needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company's performance." The firm's research ...
Read moreThese days, isn’t the need for journalistic skills fading fast? Don’t the web and social media mean news writing skills are going the way of traditional news media – dying out in front of our eyes? Actually, it's quite the opposite! Strong headlines and intros/leads (first paragraphs) are even more crucial to good writing on websites, in social media and in mobile technology. Research shows that readers these days scan text most of the ...
Read moreNearly all of us reach our peak performance for different things at a different time of the day. An inner clock in our brain - our circadian pacemaker, or biological clock - keeps time for us. And it makes perfect sense to do our best work when we are in sync with our biological clock. Learning something new Sleep doctor Michael Breus, author of The Power of When, says the best time to learn ...
Read moreReflecting today's more complex issues, today’s search engine results pages can have many possible complex layouts, and users don’t always process search results sequentially. Their attention on a page tends to jump around more across the page than in the past, and has been compared to the pattern in a pinball game. A traditional pinball machine arcade game (left in the image) is a glass-covered cabinet using an angled play field with various bumpers, ...
Read moreAn elevator pitch is the brief summary or pitch relating to your organization, your product or yourself that can be made in about 30 seconds, ie the time it takes to ride in the typical elevator and tell someone your story. Elevator pitches are valuable to senior executives to use in business and sales presentations, speeches and interviews. They are also valuable for interesting someone important to you. For many people, without even realizing ...
Read moreAll bosses are human! They are just as susceptible to self-doubts as anyone else. And they all share with us one of the deepest desires in human nature – the need to feel important, to receive a compliment, to be appreciated. That’s why so many bosses and chief executives like having ‘yes men’ around them! As subordinates, most of us crave appreciation and encouragement from our boss, a ‘parent’ figure in our life. Unfortunately, ...
Read moreBad timing is the single biggest reason journalists reject media pitches. A total of 25% of journalists participating in the
Your organization’s employer brand is a major reason why new employees join rather than going to another employer. Astute employers
Effective teams are the key to the success of every organization. The right teams of professionals give organizations a higher
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