Category: Time
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Five easy ways to save time (do you do them all?)
Short of time? I guess so. We all are. So, here are five simple ways to free-up time. You’ll know them all. But do you do them all? Focus on the DO first. Most communications are too long. Because they aren’t clear on the desired outcome. Which means too much waffling and irrelevance. So, when…
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How to be super-attractive (communicators)
When we communicate, we want to attract attention as quickly as possible. But different people find different things attractive. So how can we quickly find what will attract the person we are speaking to? One simple way is to think TIRES – these initials spell five things that most people want some/all of: Time –…
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Find the people with LOVE and POWER
I’m constantly amazed by how stupid I was a week ago. And this Tip… well, I wish I had known this when I started in business. It would have saved me years of effort. Here it is… We all know lots of people. Including people who’d love to help us succeed. And the most useful…
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B.O. = the secret to getting a ‘YES’
B.O. – usually a bad thing. But it can help you influence people. Or, at least, it can where B.O. stands for: B = Benefits – explain why your idea will benefit the other person (better than them not knowing how they benefit); and O = Options – give them 2-3 options for how they…
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A Meeting’s ONLY Requirement
A meeting’s ONLY requirement is that it causes action. But most don’t. They are just boring Talking Shops. So here’s how to ensure your meetings always cause action. #1 before the meeting, create an Actions Table Before the meeting, create a three column Actions Table The column headings are WHO/WHAT/WHEN So, WHO will do WHAT…
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Use the 4Ws to get INSTANT engagement
When we communicate, we want the other person to engage immediately That will help us get their attention, buy-in and agreement This Tip will help you achieve this Here’s how… Imagine you work in Marketing, and want to share your new strategy with your Sales Manager. Which introduction would the Sales Manager prefer? “Here’s our…
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Shorter meetings – yay!
Two simple ways to make your meetings shorter and better: Change the title to ‘Meeting to agree (insert outcome)’ Reduce the duration by a third For example, if you have a one-hour meeting called ‘Project 12 update’: Change the title to ‘Meeting to agree next month’s priorities for Project 12’ Reduce the duration by a…
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Not too hot. Not too cold.
The best temperature for porridge is – as Goldilocks will confirm – not too hot, and not too cold. And the best number of times to communicate a message – as Goldilocks will also confirm – is not too often – or it becomes boring and loses impact, but also … not too little –…
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‘Any questions?’ or ‘Thank you!’ ??
A presentation’s final slide usually says one of: “Any questions?” “Thank you” “Summary” Contact details Legal disclaimer And you can see the benefits in each: You might get questions – interactivity, engagement etc They feel thanked – a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling You’ve reminded them of your main points They can contact you if they…
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Destroy half your communications
Most communications are too long: 60-minute meetings that could have taken 30 20-slide presentations that could have been 10 (or none!) War and Peace emails that could have been… well anything would have been better And since most comms are too long – this means your comms might well be too long. So, shorten them.…