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Recently, a good friend of mine admitted that he was gay. Well he didn’t actually admit it outright, although he did clearly hint at it openly and jokingly. It was rather refreshing to see him breaking down some social barriers that surround us at varying heights throughout our lives. What’s amazing is I recall thinking, and have always felt, “whatever”! I love the guy and hope that he is a part of my life until the end. That message was crystal clear, unbiased, coming directly from my soul…
So it started me thinking about the whole concept of Read More...
Do you find yourself writing a lot but getting little results?
To write effective business communication, there are 2 things that should be an overriding theme: 1) grab the reader’s attention and 2) layout your document, so visually, your reader wants to continue reading.
Grabbing the Reader’s Attention
To connect with the reader, do not open with something that is stuffy, formal or includes, “Please find the blah, blah, blah.” Talk to the reader. Write to them the way that you would talk.
Ask a question. Open with a quote or a joke or a reminder of a recent time together – something that connects you to them. What you are aiming for is the reader Read More...
Here is a short story from a veterinarian on the purpose of a dog’s life he learned from a six-year-old. After the story, there are 16 life lessons that will lead to a fulfilling life – enjoy!
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Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, we are all very much attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe Read More...
Whenever you write a document, it is always good to let sit for a little while before you push the send or print button.
For a rule of thumb is, the longer you can wait between finishing writing and the editing, the better. It gives your mind time to digest and rest so when you come back to edit, you are looking at the document with fresh eyes.
Here are five easy to follow steps to help you in the editing process:
- Read the document through from top to bottom and just get an overall big picture. If it is fairly clear what the message you are trying to convey is? Does this concept pop out? A good check is to take another person read the document and as them to tell you in Read More...
Mind Mapping it is a great exercise for starting the writing process or getting past writer’s block. Mind mapping is also known as Clustering or Chunking information.
The reason this method works so well is that it ties into the way your memory works most effectively, by grouping information.
By following these steps, you will make the writing process more manageable and you will become more efficient.
How Mind Mapping Works
1. Take a blank piece of paper, and in the middle, write down a word that describes the general subject you planned to write about.
2. For 30-60 seconds max, write down everything that comes to mind or is connected to your keyword. Write it as Read More...
I would like to explore how your results can be improved by correctly using positive and negative words in your written communication.
People tend to remember the first and last words you say. Therefore, the two most impactful sentences of your writing should have positive connotations, and those sentences are the ones you use to open and close.
This may be harder than you think if you are not conscious of what you are writing. ABC News recently reported that negative words dominate our language. In fact, “Half of all the words that people produce from their working vocabulary to express emotion are negative. And 30 percent are positive and 20 percent are neutral.”
When someone Read More...
When it comes to communication, the most powerful word is “you.” It doesn’t matter what language, the power of the word “you” is universal. When this word is used, you put the focus on the other person, not on yourself, and the results can be magical.
This is such a powerful concept that it can literally change your business for the better. In communicating your message most effectively, whether in advertising, in person or business writing, it is really about the other person or their needs, their interest, their desires. When people read or listen to a message and it has their name or “you” or “yours” in it, it automatically becomes about them and the benefits Read More...
Until recently, I’ve spent much of my life occupying my time with small projects and a list of things to do that has kept me constantly busy. This process has become second nature and I’m quite good at playing the game of being organized and on top of things. Having this list provides a regular sense of accomplishment – crossing off items makes me feel I am making progress.
At the same time, this list also keeps a certain level of stress revving in the background; never quite accomplishing everything because I have so much to do and am so busy. I’m working from sun up to sun down. It can’t be helped. The real problem is these activities are just a big facade – a mask of busyness, Read More...
A few months ago, I was catching some waves in the wave pool at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas when I met an interesting guy who was doing the same. We were kicking back, catching some waves, and learning the best way to catch the waves so you could ride them all the way into the beach.
As we talked, we realize that we were both from the Midwest and have many things in common. In particular our laid back attitude and approach to life was similar and, In short, a friendship was born. This friendship has gone on to become an awesome business relationship as well.
Why is it that so many of the best business deals are forged on the golf course or at the ball game? It is because it is Read More...
The one thing that is fairly consistent in our memories is the feelings and emotions that surround the events in our life. When you think about memories that have withstood the test of time, you usually forget the exact specifics or the facts and figures and what people did. But we tend to remember whether we liked someone and how they made us feel. Your clients will forget exactly what you said or what you did but people rarely forget how you made them feel. I think that this is known as the Great Buying Effect.
Life is a series of moments. Think about it, our day, week, month, quarter, a year, etc is nothing more than a bunch of individual moments all strung together.
Take a moment to Read More...
