Category: Work

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Work

Make People Remember You

It is important to make a good impression. But what is more important is how to make it last.

A lasting impression is something that is useful in the business world. Making a good impression help people remember you. But it would take more work to make it last.

Meeting with business clients, making people remember is something that can be practiced and perfected.

Here are some tips that may be able to help you make people remember you in an important face to face meetings.

Authenticity

Be yourself and authentic. Be someone who isn’t trying to be anything other than what they are. Being authentic means that not only do you not present a false image to others, but you are comfortable and happy with yourself as you are.

That Art of Distinction

In business meetings, you can try wearing a nice colored shirt or stylish bright dress or a nice necklace like Kendra Scott brand.

Just try to find some way to be unique in the way you dress and yet be able to blend in easily with the crowd.

Be There

Make sure you are there, physically, but also mentally.

Be fully aware of the people that you are trying to interact with. When someone speaks or addressing you, make sure that you listen intently.

Maintain eye contact and respond promptly to questions. This will help make you stand out and be remembered by those present.

Participate

In order for people to remember you at meetings, you can try and participate during the discussions. But don’t try to force it in the sense that you try saying something just for attention.

Participate in a way that would provide something to think about.

Being able to contribute to an idea that would add value to the discussion would be a great way of making people remember you.

Ask better questions

Ask better questions. “‘How’ and ‘why’ questions get people to talk longer and you should get a deeper conversation, Keep the conversation going by listening well and responding thoughtfully.

Share

Get personal. Share an obstacle you’ve overcome. Share a highlight from your weekend or a funny story. This is a great opportunity to share something about yourself that makes you unique and gives the other person something to think about.

Make yourself remembered by people may not be easy but it is something you can work on. There are many other ways that can be done in order to make that lasting impression.

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Personal Work

Coaching In The Workplace

Coaching is the principle by which people learn what makes their organizations tick, what it stands for, and how they can contribute to it over time. Remember behavioral strengths and motivational forces vary from employee to employee. You have to become a leader.

As a leader, you are a coach who is willing to empower and coach employees and promote accountability. It is top management’s responsibility to be a coaching role model for the other leaders to follow.

Coaching involves asking questions. The intention is to help them learn a problem-solving process.

Leadership is one of the most important qualities of a successful coach.

Effective coaches ask open-ended questions such as:

  • What are the biggest challenges you currently face?
  • What alternative solutions have you identified?
  • What are your goals? Specific action plans for working toward each one?
  • What went well this week?

Start with active listening: when your employee brings a problem, reflect back on what they’re staying (“What I hear you saying is… “).   Sometimes, simply hearing a problem helps the person to find the answer.

Discuss potential solutions to the problem. Ask the employee for ideas on how to solve the problem, or prevent it from happening again.

The characteristics of a good coach are:

  • confident in the abilities of individuals
  • enthusiastic
  • supportive
  • goal-oriented
  • knowledgeable
  • good communicator
  • patient
  • responsive
  • excellent listener

Coaching employees emphasizes individual and team achievement to a common organizational goal. Leading and coaching employees facilitates effective communication from all levels and provides better feedback and dialogue.

Employees can learn in a positive way how they can make efforts to support the organization.

The coach has to:

  • set clear expectations
  • set performance standards
  • measure performance
  • correct deviations from performance standards
  • make it clear that you are on the same side as the employee
  • provide guidance while preserving the employee’s self-esteem

Remember, effective coaching can have a positive impact on everyone in your organization. Engage employees for the long haul by coaching them into leaders, not followers.

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Personal Work

Persuasion: The Art of Selling

Becoming a master of persuasion is a skill that can be very valuable in every aspect of daily life. It can most effectively be used at work where it can help you get things done faster and do things that you want done.

Most successful managers usually enjoy success by developing their persuasive skill. First, it is important  to understand the element of persuasion and how it works.

Knowing and understanding the art of persuasion can help you in being able to get what you want. Knowing how to persuade others is a skill that can be learned in time.

Persuasion after all is a process of guiding people towards the adoption of a certain idea, action or attitude through rational or symbolic means. It is one strategy used to solve problems where appeal is being used rather than force.

With persuasion, there are always two choices being considered;

  • A person can choose to persuade others to achieve something
  • or, that person can be persuaded by others.

Almost every situation in life involves the process of persuasion in one way or another. To master the art of persuasion, you should know if you are the one doing the persuasion in these situations of the one being persuaded.

The key to mastering the art of persuasion involves the right motivation. Every action that a person does is being motivated by something. In order to persuade people effectively, it is important to know what motivates people and then work on that motivation to persuade them.

In general, there are two kinds of major motivations that most people look into:

  • There is the desire for gain
  • There is the fear of loss

The desire for gain motivates people to have more of what they value in life. People may desire to gain money, health, success, respect, love, happiness etc. Knowing what a person’s desire, help you to motivate them.

People are also motivated by the fear of loss. This can sometimes even be stronger than the desire for gain. People may fear the loss of health, financial loss  or loss of achievement. This is the reason why most people fear change. People can feel threatened by fear of potential loss.

The art of persuasion is about bringing a change in behavior and moving people to action. By communicating actions clearly, you will help reduce their fear.

 

Categories
Personal Work

Balancing Work and Family

Work and family are the two most important things in our daily lives. However, the pull of these two often tears us in different directions. Finding a balance between the two is important for all parents.

Managing the professional and personal side is a source of stress for most of us.

In balancing work and family we often run into conflicting responsibilities. We juggle the roles of both parent and professional.

When the demands of the job come into direct conflict with our family life, or when the conditions of work affect us in other areas then both our work and family life suffer.

Finding the right way to balance work and family.

Balance is not constant, and you have to constantly strive for it. If you find a balance you’ll see that life flows more smoothly. Even if one part of your life breaks down you’ll have the resources to cope with it. You’ll find that you have enough time for work and family.

There isn’t only one way to find balance in your life.

Clarify your values

A value is defined as a principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desired. Knowing what is important to you is one key to keeping afloat in the myriad responsibilities of work and family.

People don’t think about their values until they come into new roles.

Some of our values may be in conflict with others. You may value spending quality time with your children but also find it important to keep a strict work schedule.

When your children take your attention away from your work this can lead to a very stressful situation. If you can see the values you prioritize the most then you can ease some of that stress. Live your core values.

Set your goals

If you had planned to be the CEO by the time you are thirty then it might be time to set your goals differently. To ease the strain between your roles you might want to let go of some of your goals.

Manage your time wisely

Proper time management is the key to being sane if you have a career and a family. Even if you manage to get a few hours of free time, do you spend them worrying about the things you need to do? If you use time efficiently then you can do the things you want to do. This means you have to move towards your goals.

Let go

Being in control of your life doesn’t mean that you have to do everything yourself. Think about delegating work or giving chores to each family member.  If you understand your emotional ties to some jobs then you can effectively delegate some tasks.

Be creative

There are ways of making it work. Be open to any possibility. Use your best creative thinking to solve your tasks.

Make a move

If you are still finding it hard to find a balance between work and home it might be time for you to consider other career options. You will need to communicate clearly with your boss about the need for time off. You can cut down on your hours or ask to work from home.

Obviously balancing work and family life is different for everyone.

The important thing is knowing your own breaking point. How much are you willing to sacrifice in order to reach the top of the corporate ladder?

In many ways, you are alone on top of the high wire with your family on one side and your career on the other, you can only hope not to fall off.

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Personal Work

Why The Way You Dress Is Important at Work

What we wear to tell others who we are, and how we want to be perceived and treated. Our appearance has a huge role to play in the impressions we leave on people and the way we are perceived in life professionally and personally.

Regardless of what we think about dressing well, first impressions are everything, and we only get one chance to make a positive one. Generally, people form a negative impression about you when you do not pay attention to your appearance.

How long do you have to make a good impression? You just have a few seconds to make a good first impression based on non-verbal communication. Within a few seconds of meeting you, people will assume to know everything about you.  So, the things that help people make a good first impression are appearance, posture, and facial expression.

A nice suit with a nice hairstyle and clean shoes makes immediately people think “responsible, confident, the trusty’.  Dressing well is more than just nice clothes. How we dress has an effect on how we see ourselves. When you look confident and approachable, you become more confident and approachable.

What you wear will change the way other people see you. It will indicate if they listen or ignore you. Clothes, accessories, and footwear a person chooses to wear at work help to reinforce or diminish their qualities in the eyes of their employer, coworkers, and customers. When we look polished and professional, people are more likely to listen and trust us.

Remember, to make a good first impression it’s all about the image that you would like to create, which involves the way you dress, your body language, having good manners, and much more.

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Personal Work

Saying No at Work!

How can we say NO at work?  So when your boss or colleague asks for your help with a new project, or stay later to accomplish unrealistic deadline take your time and think of all the consequences.

Think about the stress that saying yes might cause you. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just say no in the first place? People who always say yes are those that seek acceptance from others. When you say yes to something new, you’re not thinking about the consequences it will have on your existing work. You might sacrifice the quality of your work or overschedule yourself.

No one wants to be known as the person who always says no. But, if you say “yes” all the time: Your work starts to get over-committed. Even if you put in the extra hours, you’re not going to be doing your best work.

Saying no at work is a difficult thing to do, but it’s important to keep yourself healthy, happy, and productive. Saying “no” is a part of being professional. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Saying no is vital to your success and the success of your organization.

Nobody needs an answer straight away. But, before saying no, ask a few questions. Could this wait? It is urgent? Also, think about what’s is your workload, do you have time? Are you the best person for the job? Can your priorities be changed, or whether a colleague could step in to help you. Don’t say no until you’re sure you need to.

There are several ways to say no positively;

  • Be firm and direct. For example: “Thanks for the opportunity but I’m afraid it’s not convenient right now” or “I’m sorry but I can’t help this weekend I have something plan.”
  • Stop justify yourself when you are saying no. Instead of doing that, make the reason for saying no. Think of the reasons that justify your action and speak them clearly. If you can, offer an alternative. Maybe some of your colleagues are free to help.
  • Talk about another commitment you made. For example: “I wish I could, but I’m already working on this project”.
  • Set boundaries and rules for yourself to avoid becoming overworked. For example: clearly say to your team that weekends you’re not available.

Don’t be afraid to say no.  The more you will exercise your right, the more comfortable it will feel. So, just say no.

Categories
Personal Work

Body Language is Important to Make a Positive Impact

We have only a few seconds to create a good first impression. Body language plays an important role to make a positive impact. It helps you assess the message you are sending to people.

Being more aware of how you come across using your gestures, voice, facial expressions, and eyes can help you in your social interactions and create a positive impression. Proper body language can help you develop positive relationships and increase your influence with others.

These tips can help you to adjust your body language so that you make a good impression.

  • Smile. Smiling is important when making connections with others. A fake smile can be detected easily so practice a natural smile.
  • Have a good posture. Sit or stand upright and place your hands by your sides. Hands placed on your hips can be a sign of aggressiveness. Crossed arms can indicate defense or closed-off.
  • Use a firm handshake. But don’t get carried away! You don’t want it to be to much pressure for the other person.
  • Maintain good eye contact. Use frequent but direct eye contact with the person to show that you’re engaged. Staring at the floor makes you appear insecure with a lack of confidence.
  • Lower you’re vocal. In the workplace, the quality of your voice can be a deciding factor in how you are perceived. People that speak loudly are judged to be less empathic, less powerful, and more nervous than speakers with lower voices.
  • Avoid nervous gestures. When we rub our hands together, touching our face, play with our jewelry, twirl our hair or fidget we can lose credibility.

Finally, make a good habit to adopt a strong body language and soon you will be doing naturally.