It has been a while, but here's a bonus

Yes, after a hiatus of more than two months since my last post, but what a hectic time it has been.

Developing new training courses, both customised based on clients' needs and for public delivery, forging new links in the education sector and attending to my own continued personal development training. During the break, I was wrote several e-zine articles and ensured the double issue of the Winning by Speaking enewsletter was mailed to clients in housing and architects.

Now, here's your bumper gift! As a bonus for your patience, here are the links to four articles on confidence building and interview skills:


10 Tips for Building a Bridge to Confidence and Success in Life


Better Public Speaking Skills Gets You Heard


Making the Leap - From Nursery to Workplace


Be Confident and Succeed at Interviews - For Job Seeking Moms


After you've read the articles, feel free to send Se your feedback on this blog.

Veronica

Great writers are seldom great speakers….. What do you think?

Having spent last Saturday in Bristol attending the AGM of the English Speaking Board (ESB)**, an accreditation body for a range of courses with emphasis on English as a spoken language, I dedicated the return journey to reading previous issues of the ESB newsletter -a semiannual publication.

And, it was there that I stumbled on the statement that formed the title of today’s blog. In reporting about a previous ESB conference, there it was “..writers are seldom great speakers”. Well I was gob smack. I had not thought about this previously. Then, I began thinking about writers I know who are entrepreneurs also. Two immediately came to mind, both very experienced and skilled in their craft. But then I realised that the statement was applicable to them, skilled writers they were but skilled in public speaking they were not, as I recalled their rambling speeches and ones in which the introduction was lengthy and the conclusion not readily evident.

to received feedback from introductions predid not called also that the quote was writers, but

They were unable to organise their speeches and other presentations and to engage with their audiences during delivery. One had in fact related an earlier negative experience of speaking in front of her primary school class having this debilitating effect whenever required to speak. The other although use to and comfortable speaking before various audiences had not made the mental adjustment required to move from the written form to having a conversation with the audience, condensing the content so as to gain the attention and maintain the interest of the audience.

However, even as I recalled those two, I then thought of a third writer who took time out to develop her speaking skills and had sought membership of an organisation devoted to public speaking and effective communication and who had the benefit of evaluations of her presentations and it showed in the quality of her presentations.

So, even as two of the writers I know sought peer and professional help to improve the quality of presentations and another choose ‘to wing it’ as the need for training in speech craft remains unacknowledged.

Although my ‘straw poll reflection’ suggest there is merit in the statement “… writers are seldom great speakers”, my years as a researcher did not allow me to arrive at that conclusion as a three-person sample did not form the basis of a scientific study.

Yes, I hear you say, “one or two swans don’t make a summer”. However, anecdotally, it seem there is merit in the writer’s assertion that “….great writers seldom make great speakers”. What do you think?

Best,

Veronica

** Executive Solutions (Training) Ltd is a member of the English Speaking Board, an accreditation body recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), now replaced by the new regulator Ofqual.

Communication BLUNDERS could cost millions£££££

Today's comment is based on listing to presentations recently that were littered with Ahms, Ahms and other inappropriate revelations.

Situation 1
A few weeks ago, I was part of an audience where one of the main Speakers used the first minute of his presentation to comment on the time limitation he faced, so he did not begin to deliver his message until after a minute of excuses.

TIP: Remember, when you have the floor, always give your audience the reason for your presentation and share the content, NOT the excuses for why you’ll be unable to ‘tell it all’.

Situation 2
Listening to a speaker who delivers a laboured speech, made up of rambling sentences, littered with Ahms and spoken in a rather quiet voice. Are these signs of nervousness or poor planning and preparation?

TIP: Be upbeat and energised in your delivery not laboured. If at a loss for words, use the pause to take a deep breath and give your audience time to catch up with you. Try to do this at the end of the sentence, rather than having a series of incomplete sentences.

Situation 3
Another Speaker I saw used power point slides that had up to 17 lines of text on slides. This was in addition to two graphic images and the header and footer. Very cluttered!

TIP: Power point slides should not be used to share your notes with your audience. They should be used to add emphasis, provide clarity and support your spoken message.

Can you recall similar communication blunders? Then share these and your suggestions for improvement.

Best,
Veronica

www.executive-solutions.co.uk

How much does poor customer service cost your business?

Late last year, Thames Water faced a fine of £12.5 million for poor customer service and misleading the regulator Ofwat. This news item was reported in September (2007) last. An article in Times online revealed that the company was fined £11.1 million for “inadequate” reporting and customer service and £1.4 million for failing to pay compensation to customers. I was reminded of this incident recently on learning about yet another display of scant regard for customers by a business. I concluded that if fines are imposed for poor customer service, many businesses would soon be forced to file for bankruptcy.

Displays of poor communication in delivering customer service can be costly. Not only are reputations damaged and profits reduced, but shareholders receive lower or no income as dividends and employees see their salaries freeze or kept just in line with inflation.

Here are a few of suggestions for improving customer service:

· Identify customer needs and expectations -respond to them.

· Handle difficult situations swiftly, thoughtfully and firmly –avoid escalation.

· Be quick to admit when wrong –customers prefer honesty when mistakes are made.

· Be prepared for and respond to changing needs of customers.

· Demonstrate CARE (Courteous Action Required Everytime).


What are your top strategies for providing excellence to your customers?

Veronica

Is it the time for new year resolutions or making good on old year ones?

It has been said that if you continue doing what you have been doing, you will get the same results you've always had. So, even as many take time off to enjoy the festivities and religious aspects of Christmas 2007, many are also taking time to think about what will be their resolutions for the new year.

However, if the resolutions of the outgoing year were never kept, it’s futile to list another set of resolutions that are unlikely to be kept -unless there's a change in attitude to keeping and/or revising resolutions. Some use end-of-the year as a time for review and reflection. They seek to understand why they achieve the level of success they had and try to apply lessons learnt from areas of no or low progress BEFORE deciding on key resolutions for 2008.

For some employees, recent annual appraisals serve as a useful starting point as they highlighted the skills required to improve their success in meeting Key Performance Indicators for their team or company. The usefulness of this exercise was highlighted in recent discussions with a few managers who indicted that 2008 promises to be a year when their profile is raised not only in their own organisations but in their respective sectors. Therefore, they needed to invest in their communication skills, especially for speaking before large audiences.

You are unlikely to be surprised by my view that effective communication skills are integral to improving performance -whether it's to strengthen team relationships, develop stronger interpersonal skills, increase client retention, win larger contracts, expand your contacts/network, improve service to internal and external clients or improve your skills in making business presentations. Communication begins with the thought –unless you can create the idea you will be unable to plan and/or implement the action.

You’ll do well, therefore, to assess the past year, identify your successes and weaknesses and the factors which helped you in achieving –or not –your level of success. Unless, this is understood, it’s futile to make another set of resolutions that you are unlikely to keep because you are neither motivated nor supported to take action.

It seems timely, therefore, to ask yourself the following questions:

• What resolutions did I keep or goals I achieved over the past year?

• What factors contributed to my success? Was it a result of circumstances, influence of others, team support and/or my own personal commitment?

• Which areas could I have had greater success or impact?

• Who have I asked about assessing my level of performance? Have I asked my manager, team/colleagues, friends or family?

• What can I do better this year that I did not achieve in the last one?

• What areas of my communication skills do I need to improve in the new year? Is it for client relationships, customer service, business pitching, team building and bonding or public speaking?

Best wishes for a new year that is enjoyable - personally and professionally! May you create a stimulating and success working environment and be supported by meaningful and supportive teams and clients.


Veronica

PS. Keep abreast of the evolving training calendar at Executive Solutions (Training) Ltd.

www.executive-solutions.co.uk

Manage your time wisely -it yields dividends!

Many think of time management as necessary for overworked executives and overstretched executives. Fewer, however, consider the importance of time management when making a presentation. How often do you think about the time allocated as soon as you have identified the key messages you want to share in your presentation?

I was reminded of this recently when I witnessed a five-minute presentation evolve into a 15-minute one. What made this quite overrun of time even more apparent was that while the presenter allocated the least time on the programme took the most. The other speakers managed their time wisely and in one case finished ahead of the time allocated.

Some suggestions for managing time wisely:

1. Develop your presentation and subdivide it into time blocks.

2. Be clear about how much time should be taken to present each section.

3. Decide which are the ‘must share points’, i.e., supportive of your key messages. Ensure you make those.

4. Be alert to realising when you are behind your planned time-frame for presenting, adjust the number and/or length of the examples you give or stories you tell during your presentation.

5. Be realistic in your use of visual aids. For example, if using Powerpoint slides, do not include more than one slide every minute unless the graphics are essential in explaining specific points. The slides may then be best viewed as a slide show.

6. Respect the Chair. Wrap up your presentation in the time allocated at best or at least soon after.

7. If sharing a platform, be respectful of other presenters. Do not force others to shorten their contribution because you are inconsiderate and speak long after the time allocated.

8. Ensure you give your close/conclusion. Do this even when you are forced to exclude one or more points from the main part of your presentation.

9. Reduce distractions towards the end of the meeting as people leave the gathering because of another engagement, as your presentation took much longer than scheduled.

10. Err on the side of caution and finish ahead of allocated time –if you must. You may then take questions (if the event allows) or give the Chair an opportunity to make relevant remarks.

Best,

Veronica

If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four sharpening the axe. Lao Tzu

Another question about cost...

How much money does poor customer service cost your organisation?

A couple of weeks ago, I visited the branch of a High Street bank in the UK to do some business for my company. Not unusual you may say. I agree. But the experience highlighted for me how much companies -even established brands- loose when their frontline staff, the first point of contact with customers, do not have the best skills set to make the customer experience enjoyable.

The employee, seemingly new to the role, had only been provided with rather limited information. Ask the customer to complete the form, leave it with you and someone will call. He could not answer how long it will take for his colleague to follow-up, how long the process with take or even when next his colleague will be at the branch. Although I have had a long association with this organisation, the experience left me NOT IMPRESSED. Then I leave to attend a Canary Wharf networking event and our conversation highlighted the poor customer service and limited communication skills of many employees in public facing roles. One Manager even shared that she called one of her offices and was greeted only by 'Hello'. She then had to go on to enquire which organisation she had reached. She was rather surprised to find out that frontline staff in her organisation was delivering the quality of service she considered consistent with her organisation's values. Back to the drawing board she went to review the training provided to new staff.

Getting back to my experience with the High Street institution. Outcome, I did not do business with them, but had a discussion with a competitor who responded readily to my query, was experience and had been well-trained to treat all queries with respect. By demonstrating Courteous Attention Required Everytime (CARE), the employee was able to win a new client for her organisation.

So, think about your organisation today. How much have you lost and continue to lose from frontline staff who are not well trained? Do share your estimate.

Veronica

Executive Solutions (Training) Ltd
Small enough to be flexible, experienced enough to deliver.