Category Archives: Writing A Book

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I Teach…

This week, we are going to discuss something so essential that you can’t do business without it. This essential by-product of a business relationship is trust. A great relationship with a client can be a hard thing to build, but the foundation must be one of mutual trust.  There is no reason to have a poor rapport between yourself and your clients, so we are going to discuss building bridges and making relationships work. Let’s get started!

 

Be Professional—But Approachable

How you present yourself in your initial communications with new and potential clients is crucial to building trust. That doesn’t mean you need to be formal. An effective email is more about being relevant, brief and to the point while remaining friendly. Speak to your client in the same way you would a colleague. Depending on their style, you can keep it casual, but be sure to present yourself as the professional and business owner you are. Take the initiative.

Time Is Money

Both you and your client are busy, so be respectful of everyone’s time. That means keeping calls or meetings to the amount of time scheduled, not canceling or rescheduling last minute, not forgetting to show up or showing up late, etc. Admittedly, the more clients you have, the more difficult it gets, but also try to be flexible to their schedule when planning communications.

Communicate—And Communicate WELL!

Depending on the type of process you and your client have set up, make sure to deliver. This could be weekly check-ins or recaps via Skype, follow-up emails, monthly reports, etc. Be sure you’re communicating what it is you’ve accomplished and how it has impacted your client’s business. Clients love to see how freelancers are spending their time because every hour spent is budget spent. Make sure to keep your client in the loop.

Keep Up To Date!

If for some reason you need to let a client go or realize you’ve taken on too much work, do what you can to transition out smoothly. Finish the project whenever possible. If that’s not possible, try finding a replacement you can recommend. No one likes to be left holding the bag.

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I Speak…

One of the biggest problems we have to deal with as public speakers is clear speech. A performance can be ruined by stuttering—and even people without a history of stuttering can become afflicted with an attack of the stutters. It can be bought on by a number of things—and happens all the time. This blog article is all about preparing and dealing with this issue. If you find yourself repeating your lines, stuttering, making too many pauses—you may want to try these great tips.

Slow Down!

When your mouth spits out the words faster than your brain can process them, you tend to trip over what you want to say. Slow down and let your brain go ahead of your mouth. Think the ideas, then say them. Your audience will understand you better, and you will be much calmer in the process.

Try Reading Aloud

Reading in front of the mirror for half an hour a day is a great idea that can be done easily at home. Another way to use this tip is to simply stand in front of the mirror while you are talking on the phone. Although in this case it might be that your stutter does not disappear, but you can look at your face for particular blocks or problems that you might have when speaking.

Visualize What You Are Saying

Picture what you are going to say even before you say it. If you are speaking slowly, you will find that it will help stamp out your stuttering. Sound out the words in your head before you say them and then say them. Getting a picture of what you might want to say in your head provides you with a lot of different options. Taking your time is a much preferable option when you are trying to form a sentence. Along with this, don’t be afraid to use filler words like ‘hmm’ or ‘ahh.’ The fillers will buy you time.

Breath, Relax and Speak

Did you know that breathing properly can have many benefits? Stand up straight and breathe deeply from your belly. It gives a person a chance to relax. It also enhances overall bodily processes, therefore fostering good health. Proper breathing also enables a person to de-clutter the mind and eliminate emotional impulses. Give it a try!

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I Write…

We’ve talked at length about the importance of creating content that people can easily share and make use of. But what importance do images play when creating good content? Do images really matter? Can they increase the click rate of your article? Of course, they can—check out these great image tips to get the most out of your content!

Make Sure Your Images Are Relevant 

When you’re creating a blog or website, it’s important that the images you use are relevant to the topic. It has been said that content with relevant images get 60% more views than content without relevant images. Be careful, choose wisely and go for it!

Originality… But Not So Original People Can’t Understand

Okay, we all know that picking the right image can be tough. You need to find the right balance between clichéd images that might make your content look dated, and something too unique and obscure that will leave your visitors confused. Start with relevant and move onto interesting. Don’t be led astray by the wild ways of internet image sites.

Try to Use People…

As humans, we respond to faces, so using images of people in your content can be a simple way of boosting engagement. Choose people who are relatable to your audience, think about your content and keep the people relevant to the theme. If you are talking about working in the creative industries, don’t use an image of someone in a corporate office in a suit. Try to lead people to your content with an eye toward being exciting.

Use Images to Keep Interest

Now that we know which kind of images you need, we need to discuss something else. How many images should you include in your content? It depends on how much text you have, but as a general rule, try and insert an image every couple of paragraphs. The more images, the more you will interest the reader.

Use Good Quality Images

Don’t fall into the mistake of using poor quality images. When adding images to your blog, website or campaign, it is important that they are high resolution images that are going to look sharp and not pixelated. Seriously… the better the images, the better you will look.

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I Teach…

This week, we are going to look at a major problem. The issues that arise between businesses and clients that damage business relationships are one of the biggest problems you will face as you build your business. This blog identifies all the major issues—and should help you fix them. There is no reason to have a poor rapport between yourself and your clients! If you do, let’s fix it!

Not Listening

This is one of the most obvious signs of poor communication in every business relationship. Someone who always cuts off their client every time they speak can send a wrong message to that person; for example, that their opinion and their thoughts are insignificant. Try to improve your listening skills and always try to understand what your client is telling you. This is one of the best ways to prevent any misunderstanding.

Being Passive Aggressive

Passive aggressiveness is one of the most dangerous forms of communication. By using it, you can put the other person on the defensive, and in the long term, this type of behavior can affect the stability of your relationship.

Losing Your Temper Very Easily

If you have anger issues, and if you easily lose your temper, then you might have communication problems, too. Anger will not allow you to express yourself rationally, and your behavior may hurt your client’s feelings or cause them to get angry in return. Despite this, everyone is accountable for their actions and for their reactions. If you remain calm during an argument, you can discuss things rationally to sort things out and not risk damaging the relationship.

No Nagging

Yes, nagging is indeed a sign of poor communication in your business relationship.

If you constantly nag, repeating the same demands over and over, you are not communicating efficiently, and the other person will not receive the message you are trying to send. Learn straightforward communication techniques that allow the problem to be addressed productively.

Ignoring That Person

Ignoring your client is not a way to improve the communication in your relationship. Not talking to your client when you are upset over something they did is never a good solution if you want to solve the problem. Ignoring your client will only cause more problems in your relationship, and you will only sabotage yourself and your business.

Shouting, Screaming and Using Poor Language

Even if you’re upset, this doesn’t give you the right to offend or to hurt someone, especially in a professional environment. Don’t use profanities, and be respectful!

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I Speak…

One of the big differences between a great speaker and an average (or poor) speaker is performance, and part of that performance is your ability to work from notes and memorize your speech. If you have trouble remembering lines, you may want to print out this blog article and follow the steps. Knowing your speech will allow you to concentrate on performance. You should be trying to work without your script as much as possible—and if you can do that, you will be ahead of the untold thousands of “public” speakers who are glued to their visual aids. Let’s take a look at memorizing your speech.

Move to Memorize

You will memorize your lines much faster if you move around, gesture, and show emotion as you say them. Don’t just say the words, but mimic the movements you’ll be making when you deliver the words. This will help your whole body understand the lines better. Even if you’re not gesturing, just try pacing back and forth as you recite the lines. This will still be a big help.

Repeat Yourself… I Said, REPEAT YOURSELF!

Once you feel very comfortable with your lines, you should take the opportunity to applaud yourself, but don’t stop practicing. You should still repeat your lines as much as possible until they feel like second nature to you. You should keep repeating your lines until the day you must deliver them, or you may forget them by the time you give your speech.

Just Relax!

This might be the most important point on this list. You should relax while you’re memorizing your lines and before you must deliver the lines. If you don’t relax, then you’ll be more likely to forget your lines in the middle of a rehearsal or even on the big day.

Try Word Tricks

If you’re stuck memorizing your lines, try a variety of words tricks to help you fully absorb the lines. Try to use rhymes to help you remember the right words in a sentence. You can also try visualization—just try to visualize the words you will say and what feeling you will convey. If you can tap into the emotion, the words will come easily.

Just One Piece at a Time

You don’t have to memorize your lines exactly from start to finish if you have a long chunk of lines, or an entire hour’s worth of lines, to memorize. Instead, you should break down your lines into manageable parts that flow from one part to another so that you have a good grasp of all the lines eventually.

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I Teach…

once uponWe’ve been talking about communication here for a little bit, and I would like to spend this week talking about the importance of being a “people” person. Now, that’s going to scare a few people out there. There are those of us who believe we are not “people” people. But everyone can learn to communicate with others, help others, and understand the needs of others. I’d like to look at some of the reasons communication skills are some of the most important skills a person can have.

Builds, Maintains and Creates Relations

Relationships are built and can be maintained by positive encounters with others. Communication will be key to this process – without effective skills, it will be difficult to properly construct and nurture productive relationships.

Want to Make Something AMAZING happen? Learn to Communicate

When people feel comfortable in openly communicating new ideas, cooperation and innovation will be at an all-time high. In addition, if they are unable to convey their ideas due to limited communication skills, it is likely that the idea will not be implemented to its full potential.

Growth Is Based on Communication

A lack of communication can lead to the collapse of any relationship. Let’s face it, without proper communication internally and externally, most relationships, including within groups and organizations, will struggle to survive. Communication can also lead to productivity and helps to avoid unnecessary delays in the implementation of ideas.

Looking After a Team? Communication Is KEY!

If communication within a workplace is encouraged, a more cohesive and effective team will emerge. Good communication within a team also tends to boost employee morale. When employees feel that they are well informed of the company’s direction and vision, they will feel more secure within their role. Regular internal communication can also lead to an improved work ethic if staff are reminded of achievements and feel that they are working towards a common goal.

Bad Management? Is Your Communication at Fault?

When managers are effective communicators, they are more able to inform staff adequately of their responsibilities and what is expected from them. Good communication skills also help managers to provide constructive feedback to their staff, build better relationships, and understand personal goals that staff may wish to work towards. Try it—it works!

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I Speak…

sleepMany studies have suggested that repetition can have a positive effect on someone’s agreement with an argument. It may be important for you to learn the art of repetition—because like any skill it can be done right, but it can also be done wrong. If you are going to repeat yourself to make your point, you have to learn how to pose your repetition to create an impact. Let’s see how you can make it work…

Change the Way You Say It!

Although repetition can be successful as a persuasion strategy, subtlety can be as important as the frequency and intensity of the message. Rather than repeating the same words and phrasing throughout the course of an argument, finding more than one way to make the same argument repeatedly can be a more effective approach. The reader or listener is likely to respond more positively to the same argument stated several ways rather than having the same message shoved down his throat over and over.

How Often Do You Do It?

The use of repetition in a persuasive argument can be effective if the argument is constructed in such a way that the repetition is spread out over a period of time. The use of repetition over the long course of an argument, written or spoken, creates a greater familiarity with the message and leads to gradual agreement if the intensity of repetition is gradual itself. Too much repetition in a short span of time or space can actually defeat the very purpose of gradual acceptance by creating a stronger aversion to the argument. All repetition should be carefully spaced at equal or similar intervals throughout the argument.

How Much Do You Do It?

In speeches or other spoken arguments that are highly emotional in nature, frequent repetition of key emotionally charged phrases can be effective. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” often is cited as one of the primary examples of the success of such repetition. However, it may be effective in messages of this nature only because of the already emotional nature of the issue. Such techniques in sales and marketing may have the opposite effect — turning off the consumer — if not approached carefully.

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I Write…

coachWe’ve discussed content marketing—its failures, its successes—but we haven’t discussed some of the finer points of making your content work. This article is a series of points. Points that, if used properly, will help you fine tune your content marketing. Try these little tips to create a big response…

Create Content That Is Readable, Shareable and Hilarious

Some of the most popular viral campaigns have had the above ingredients. Being funny, making content worth sharing and making your content extremely readable are key steps towards success.

Longer Length Is Better

Yes, it’s hard to write a huge blog article—but try to write something that has some substance to it. Don’t just push out short articles. Write to inform and make sure your longer blog articles are easy to read. Break your content into paragraphs and allow your reader to scan through your content.

Images, Images, Images

If you want to make a success of your content, you should use images. When sharing your content, you want people to be captured as quickly as possible—good images allow this to happen easily. Don’t shy away from funny images, either. People like to laugh.

Appeal to Emotions

This is another point that many content marketers forget. If something makes you happy, sad, or enraged, you are emotionally attached. If your content can cause this kind of reaction with your readers, then they are more likely to take action with your content. Try to cause emotion, and you’ll see response.

Aim to Get Shared by Influential People

If you can get your content shared by at least one social media influencer, you will be on your way to gaining a new audience. The virtue of being shared by an influencer will create a level of trust with their audience. You will become a trusted source of information. Try to attain as much action as you can with influencers—it can only help you.

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I Speak…

coach
We’ve been talking about speeches for some time now. You may have a pretty strong understanding of how to make your speech really work. This week, we are going to look at the delivery of your speech. You’ve written it, you’ve got a great closer… but you are nervous about delivery. How can you really push your point across and make yourself heard?

Keep It Real

If there’s one rule, it’s this one: Try to be as authentic as possible.  It’s well known that people can hear it in your voice when you are “real,” and they will love you for it. If you come across as fake, you will lose them.

Keep Learning

Regardless of how many times you’ve made a speech or spoken in public, there is always room for vast improvement. It’s great that you’ve got public speaking experience, but don’t become over confident and think that you can just turn up and present without doing your homework! You might get away with it a couple of times, but eventually you will be caught out.

Pack THAT power!

Your opening statement needs to be powerful. You need to hook those people.  Don’t be afraid to shock your audience, make your audience laugh or hook them with a story that really gets them ready to hear your point. Don’t just open with banalities… Go on the attack and make yourself heard.

Arrangement Is the KEY

Arrange your presentation and make it easy to digest, but keep in mind that you want to make your point. If you can tie everything back to the points you want to make, you will be doing well!

Slow Down… Don’t Move Too Fast

One of the most common faux pas people make when giving a speech, especially if they are new to public speaking, is they rush through their presentation. You need to slow down so that people can take on board what you are saying. If in doubt, record yourself and play it back. If you are speaking faster than the anchor person on the news, you know it’s too fast. Pace yourself to success.

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I Speak…

coachThey stare at you. You stare at them. The silence is deafening. You fidget. You can hardly breathe. You’ve delivered a speech that has kept your audience interested—yet now you are faced with closing it. How can you end your speech as confidently as you opened it? Is it possible? Of course, it is! Try some of these tips and close your speeches with the power of Kennedy, King or Obama.

Close with the Title

Use the title of your speech as your closing words. Last words linger, crystallizing your thoughts, galvanizing your message and mobilizing your audience. Leave them with a seed, a thought, an idea, and they’ll go forward to do great things.

The Invitation

If you want to motivate your audience to do something—invite them to succeed. Close with something that gives them a goal. This is a good way to bring about rousing applause from your audience.

The Circular Close

Refer back to your opening anecdote or quote and say: “We have arrived now to close where we began.” Reiterate the message you want your audience to remember. Summarize the main points and leave them knowing what you talked about.

The Challenge

If you were concluding a speech on the importance of acting, you could rouse them with the importance of participating. Take spectators and turn them into doers. Make them the center of attention, and give them a reason to go out and change their lives.

End with a Quotation

Find a famous quotation relevant to your message and use it like a lever to lift the close of your speech.

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