by Alan | Sep 23, 2007 | Communication skills, Content, Efficiency, Sales, Toastmasters
It’s often amazing to me how much is said and how little is communicated. Many people seem intent on making sure they are heard — not that their message is heard.It’s Toastmasters contest season again, and due to another obligation I was unable to...
by Alan | Jan 26, 2007 | Communication skills, Delivery, Sales
Was in on two teleconferences today, and in both cases the phone connected groups of people. It’s always a weird dynamic when some people are live and some are remote. But the principles of communication don’t change.In both cases today, I watched people...
by Alan | Aug 31, 2006 | Communication skills, Customer Service, Delivery, Don't!, Leadership, Sales
Read today that Radio Shack laid off103 400 workers. Big deal. People get the pink slip every day. Well, if it’s you that got the pink slip, it’s a very big deal. And Radio Shack, in the interest of delivering the news “quicker” and in a...
by Alan | Aug 7, 2006 | Communication skills, Content, Delivery, Sales
Frequently in life the things that are not said carry meaning that goes well beyond words. But when action is expected from words, clear honesty is the best practice. I had a chance to spend some time with a world-reknown speaker over the weekend, and he said that...
by Alan | Jul 10, 2006 | Communication skills, Parenting, Sales, Toastmasters
How do you grade? Jeff Bailey blogs about Toastmaster evaluations and the slippery slope they create. Since one of Toastmasters major missions is to get folks who are not comfortable speaking in public to cross the divide into the world of perhaps even enjoying it,...
by Alan | Jul 9, 2006 | Communication skills, Parenting, Sales
As adults, we have a way of clouding what we ask for. Comments, implications, hints, and inuendo (of all types) seems to make us feel better than asking outright. Take a lesson from my kids — they ask, and ask, and ask. There is no doubt about what they...
