Intercultural Communication - Flyer for Professional Speaking Engagement

How To Make A Great First Impression

How long does it take for someone you meet o form an opinion about you?  Only 6 to 12 seconds.  Increasing the probability that it is positive is important because first impressions are lasting impressions that are difficult to change.  Take control by giving people the initial information they need to conclude you are a professional, attractive, intelligent person they would like to know.  The right dress and nonverbal cues will lead them to attribute other positive characteristics to you before a word is ever spoken.

People assume all sorts of information about you based on your appearance...whether or not you are educated, whether or not you are well-informed, whether or not you have ‘personality,’ whether or not you are someone they would like to get to know.  The possibilities are endless, and you don’t want their mental associations and imagination rob you of the opportunity to develop a meaningful relationship.

Start with good grooming and hygiene.  Make sure your hair and nails look good.  If you are a woman, use makeup appropriately.  In a business setting, less is more.  The same goes for fragrance and jewelry.

How do you dress?  Obviously that changes based on where you are and what you are doing.  It’s always a good idea to choose colors that are personally becoming. That being said, there are certain unwritten rules about colors for the workplace about which you need to be aware.

Men:  The business colors of choice are blue and gray. Navy blue projects an image of authority. Dress for success in navy and gray -- especially when attending meetings, interviews and presentations.  Diversify your wardrobe with suits, jackets and pants in khaki, tan, and taupe. You convey a most formal image in a dark suit and long-sleeved white shirt. Accent your wardrobe with pastel, solid-colored shirts. Choose ties that are a reflection of your personality. The width of the base of the tie should mirror the width of the base of the jacket lapel. For a formal image, choose ties with a neutral background. If formal is not the order of the day, you have more leeway.

Women.  Mix and match color-coordinated separates to maximize wardrobe options and stretch your clothing budget.  Choose fashion colors or rely on standards -- navy, black, gray, taupe or burgundy for winter and beige or khaki for summer.  Select a white or cream colored blouse for your ensemble to create a more formal appearance.  Choose styles that are more conservative for business wear with skirt length just above to just below the knee.  Tailored pants can easily be substituted for pants and are often a comfortable alternative.

Keep your shoes in top-notch condition. Shoes are one item of clothing that can be very telling.  Polished shoes suggest attention to personal grooming.  Others will assume you pay attention to detail with all aspects of your life.

When all is said and done, it makes sense to invest in quality, not quantity. Make sure your clothes fit well, are clean and wrinkle-free.

You’ll also want to obliterate any ‘wrinkles’ in your body language.  Body language tells others a lot about your attitudes and self-confidence.  Maintain good eye contact to connect with others and establish trust. Use facial expressions that indicate you are listening and responsive. Smiling is always a plus -- but don’t be phony with it.  Be relaxed, responsive, and reassuring.

Maintain good posture to add an air of authority.  Align your body toward the person with whom you are speaking to let them know they have your undivided attention.  Use open body posture to convey confidence. And avoid crossing your arms. This can suggest defensiveness and lack of receptivity.

Develop a firm handshake that demonstrates confidence in yourself.  Use hand and arm movements to add strength to what you are saying.  And avoid placing your hands around your mouth.  It suggests a lack of confidence in your message. Don’t fidget unless you want others to think you are nervous or insecure.

Six to 12 seconds isn’t much time.  But now that you know how to make a great first impression, you are in a position to make those seconds really count. 

Top Notch Customer Service - Flyer for Professional Speaking Engagement

How to Write Copy Like a Pro

There is more to writing brochures, web sites, sales letters, radio or TV spots, and other promotional pieces than meets the eye. Professional copywriters spend years perfecting their art, looking for great ideas, keeping abreast of the latest news, understanding how to connect with prospects and ultimately driving sales. Promoting sales is what copywriting is all about. It doesn’t have to be beautiful or look pretty.  It needs to sell goods and services.

Sell the Prospect. The copywriters job is to convince customers to buy products or services.  If you write your own copy that is what your job is. You need to develop a strong understanding of your prospects.  What are their wants and needs?  What are their desires and dreams?  What are their headaches and heartbreaks?  Bottom line.  What’s in it for them?

Understand the Prospect.  Successful copywriters know their prospects intimately.  To write copy that works you need to access demographic material and purchasing history as well as any other information you can get your hands on about the people who will read or hear what you write.  Understanding your prospects and what motivates them takes you a long way toward creating copy that will motivate those who are exposed to it. Appeal to wants and needs.  Demonstrate what your prospects have to lose or gain by not acting.

Stress Benefits.  Before you start to write copy, make a list of all selling points/features.  Selling points are attributes of your product. Then translate every selling point into a customer benefit.  A benefit is what the selling point confers on the user. After you have done this, choose your product’s most powerful benefit to its biggest number of potential users. You may want to focus on this in your headline.  Alternatively, you need to unearth a unique selling proposition (USP).  This is a way to meaningfully differentiate your products or services from those of the competition.  How is it different and better? Consider focusing on your USP in the headline.

Follow Writing Rules and Guidelines. Create an outline to organize material before writing.  Use a conversational tone.  Be concise and get to the point.  You can build interest by using active verbs in your copy. It’s OK to use fragment sentences.  You should use language correctly but may occasionally break the rules with bad grammar if it sounds better and is generally accepted in conversation. Meet your prospects at their level with language they will be comfortable with. Avoid jargon whenever possible.  If you must use it, be sure it is the jargon of the industry you are addressing.

Use a Killer Headline. Grab reader attention right away with a headline that confers a benefit or piques curiosity.  Be succinct and give it punch.  Your headline must draw your prospects in immediately or you have lost them forever. They will never have a chance to read or hear your fabulous copy if they leave you after the headline.

Write Copy that Creates Excitement. Make sure your copy logically flows from the headline. Speak directly to your prospects with language that is authentic and relevant. Don’t be too clever.  Avoid humor since it can be misunderstood. Then appeal directly to your audience’s desires. The simpler your copy is, the more effective it will be.  You can do creative and imaginative things so long as it does not take much time to understand what you are doing.

Create Excitement. Start each paragraph with some excitement.  This will keep your prospects from straying. Enlighten and persuade with passion.  Let them know you have something they can’t get along without. Connect on an intellectual and emotional level to score big with your copy.

Substantiate Statements and Make Offers that Can’t Be Refused.  How much time you have will affect how you shape your copy and what you include.  You can use endorsements and testimonials or cite number and statistics for increased credibility.  You might include an “As Seen in” from a well-know publication, which works as an implied endorsement.  And don’t overlook giving away something for free with every sale.  We all know how most people respond to the word ‘Free.’

Drive Action with Illustrations. Make sure illustrations complements your message. A strong illustration along with a great headline and powerful copy makes for an unbeatable ad. Use typography creatively but adhere to upper and lower case lettering because it’s easier to read. Make sure the product or company name is prominent and easy-to-find.

A writer needs to ask the right questions, conduct research, and gather background material. If you are writing your own material, you know what your needs and goals are. If you decide to work with a professional, listen to the advice you are given.  The writer is your partner. The writer works with you and the designer to create outstanding marketing materials that will sell your products and services. 

Communicology: Communication for Healthcare Professionals - Flyer for Professional Speaking Engagement

How to Add Polish to Your Interpersonal Communication

Email, IM, Skype, phone, snail mail --- there are more vehicles for communication than ever before.   But when it comes to truly effective communication, there is nothing as good as face-to-face meetings.  That’s because more than 90 percent of the communication we do is nonverbal.  How can you possibly accomplish your communications objectives if the person you are communicating with receives only 10 percent of your message?

Add Strength to Your Words.  When I was growing up I was repeatedly told, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”  That’s what nonverbal communication speaks to. When you meet with someone, you have the opportunity to send your entire message and they have the ability to truly embrace it.  You can share the tone and volume with your voice and place emphasis on certain words.  Your facial expressions, gestures, and body language convey additional meaning that is totally lost with computer-based communications.  There is little room for misunderstanding.

Power Up Your Nonverbal Communication.  When you get together with someone, they have the chance to experience the real you.  If you want to make a good impression you’ll dress properly, and make sure your hair and nails are clean.  You’ll lead with a firm handshake that demonstrates self-confidence and follow up with good eye contact and a winning smile.

Tune In to feedback. Meeting with someone is more personal than using high tech lines of communication.  It gives you the opportunity to build a bond and establish trust.  When you’re talking, you get immediate feedback from the person you are with.  If the response is not what you expected or hoped for, you are in a position to modify it on the spot.

Ramp Up Your Listening Skills. A face-to-face meeting give you the opportunity to listen.  And listening is the most important communication skill we have.  After all, you don’t learn anything when you are talking.  You already know all about what you have to say.  It is when we listen to others that we have the chance to learn about them and what they are sharing.

Being an effective listener means asking open-ended questions and listening carefully to the answers.  Avoid the tendency to interrupt or advise.  Cultivate the ability to make the person you are listening to feel like they are the center of your world while they are speaking.  Let them see how interested you are in what they have to say -- even if you really aren’t.  Actively listen.  That means listening intently and processing the information so you are in a position to respond in a thoughtful manner.  Be sure to read between the lines.  And be cognizant of their nonverbal behaviors.

Show That You Care.  Face-to-face communication is an opportunity to establish a common bond.  Make an effort to find an interest that you share. Be sincere.  Be interested.  Be giving. Supplementing your newly polished communication skills with the knowledge you care can work miracles with your interpersonal communication.