Tag Archives: Personal Development

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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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fear11We’ve talked at length about the importance of creating content that people can easily share and make use of. But what does that entail? What makes content worthwhile? Well… the secret is to know how to spread your content and make it noticeable. For example, a great title makes content useful. So do the right images and the trust level you have with readers. Have you wasted their time too often? Where are you sharing your content initially? Wait… why don’t we run through the list together?

Titles Matter More Than You Think!

Your title needs to be both engaging and relevant. Maybe that means making it something that hooks people from the start. But do keep in mind that there’s nothing more disappointing than being hooked by a title, only to be let down by the rest of an article. Don’t lie… but do grab.

The Right Time, The Right Place… The Right Look

There’s a science to including effective, attention-grabbing images in your blog posts to get more engagement. Did you know that if you mix text into the graphic, people are more likely to look at your image? This explains why infographics are so popular and bring such great rewards.

It’s Not You… It’s Me… I Don’t Trust Your Content

As a content sharing company, you have a hard life to lead. Did you know that you need to come off as credible and trustworthy source of information to your audience? Your readers will engage with content that seems genuine, speaks to them, and reflects your brand. You can do that by citing trustworthy sources, helping readers feel like you understand them well, or even by challenging industry norms with more enlightening ideas. Remember the old sales mantra: To sell is to help. The more you help, the more successful you will be!

Don’t Let Me Down

There’s nothing better than being able to share content with others—but finding that content is getting harder and harder. I hate to share things with my followers that are dull, misleading or boring. This should factor into the design of your content. Try to avoid putting anything together that will bore, mislead or make people regret sharing your content. You have to make sure you are not letting your audience down.

Sharing Is Loving

My advice would be to do a little research. Your goal is to find out which social channels can give you access to your designated audience. If you know that your audience hangs out on Reddit, you should most definitely share it there. Don’t be shy. Start sharing where your audience is caring.

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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 Teach…

fear11As a follow up article to last week’s discussion about the importance of communication, I’d like mention a few more thoughts. These are proven techniques to increase your communication skills. If you are having trouble connecting with your coaching clients, or having trouble making them understand what you are saying, you may want to give these tips a chance. As a great communicator, it’s important for you to be able to listen and show your client how much you value what they are telling you. It’s important to maintain eye contact. It’s also important for them to feel comfortable with you. Let’s work through the list.

Share, Express and Love

Instead of jumping right in to your meeting, why don’t you try to express your thanks for the other individual’s time? Time is an extremely precious resource, and it important to be respectful and considerate of that. Also, complement or recognize any positive contribution they are making. Appreciation and praise can go a long way towards building good rapport.

Connect and Appeal

Connect on a personal level if possible. Look for places where interests overlap. Even in a professional situation, there may be some personal interests in common: hobbies, sports, children, music, career choices. Take care to avoid controversial topics like politics or religious beliefs. A real sense of connection makes a difference in the tone and outcome of the current conversation and most likely future communications, as well.

Be Exuberant… Be Positive

Maintaining a positive attitude is crucial to productive communications. Be constructive rather than negative or complaining. People shut down, effectively ending any real communication when they feel attacked or criticized. Be encouraging and kind, even when expressing concerns or displeasure.

Just Focus

It’s important to figure out what result you are after before you start any kind of dialogue. Knowing your objective helps you to direct the conversation and to remain on point. What are you hoping to accomplish? Are you trying to give help, resolve a conflict, or collaborate on a project or issue? Are you seeking advice or trying to influence behavior? Your desired outcome helps to determine the flow of communication.

Don’t Talk All the Time… Listen All the Time

Eye contact is crucial when you are meeting someone face-to-face. Try to be polite and, whatever you do, don’t interrupt. No one likes being interrupted, and though it’s natural to want to rush in to make your point, it’s very disrespectful of the other person’s thoughts. Try to understand the other person’s perspective. Maintain an open mind.

Do They Understand?

Try to confirm that you have a mutual understanding of what’s being communicated. We often think that we’ve reached a resolution and come to an understanding, only to find out that we have completely misunderstood the other person’s thoughts. Ask for input and feedback. This not only confirms that you have successfully communicated, it also makes the other person feel that they have been heard and understood.

Always try to end your communication in a friendly manner. Remember to reiterate your thanks and try to leave the other individual feeling understood and valued. Productive communication involves respect, consideration, awareness, and clarity. It is possible to be both direct and kind and still get the results you want.

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I Teach…

sleepAs a coach, you have to be able to communicate with people. It’s crucial to keep the conversation rolling and to understand how people communicate. This blog article is all about communication. If you want to be able to really help people, you have to think like the people you are trying to help. Why don’t you try these new tips to try and get the best out of your coaching sessions?

What Subject?

It’s important for you to try and get a feeling for what the other person wants to talk about. Different people like talking about different things. Finding what the other person enjoys talking about could mean the difference between a humming conversation and a faltering one.

Be a Good Listener, Be a Good Friend

A conversation is a free flow of ideas. Those ideas, however, should be interconnected. If you listen closely to what the other person is saying, you’ll be able to store away nuggets of information that will keep the conversation going.

Be Aware of the World

When you run out of things to talk about in a conversation, it can be helpful to talk about other things that are going on in the world. Try and keep ahead of the news so you can find common points of interest with your coaching client. It’s good to be on the same page.

Body Language Says It All

People listen to your words and your body language when you’re talking to them. It is said that our body language accounts for 55% of whether we are liked. Nod every so often and lean forward, face the other person and don’t fidget. These are two important tips to know about your body language.

Project the Confidence Your Client Wants

It’s no secret that other people are naturally attracted to individuals who have confidence. It may seem unfair, but it’s a fact of life—people will judge you based on your own internal confidence. If your confidence level is high and you’re fun to be around, people will cut you breaks when conversation slacks, or make up for lulls in the conversation by trying harder themselves.

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I Write…

once uponWriting content is a little bit like being a sales person. You must think strategically. What does your target audience want? Why are they surfing the internet? What are they searching for? Do you have the right product and/or idea for these people? What is the decision breaker? Who is the decision maker? There’s a lot of thinking that goes into putting together the right content, for the right audience, for the right company. Let’s take a look at some of the initial steps.

Relax…

The brainstorming process is not the time to be in a hurry. Grab a journal and a pen and go on a walk. Watch the wind. Give yourself permission to be a little lazy. Creativity requires relaxation. When you relax, your mind can wander, to jump around to lots of different ideas, to make strange, serendipitous connections. Take the pressure off yourself to come up with the perfect idea.

Come Up with a Lot of Ideas

Choosing the next project is a negotiation between your skills, your ambition, your audience, and your soul.

What can you write?

What content would help me if I were my customer?

What does my audience want to read?

What do I need to achieve from this content??

Surprise yourself. Don’t censor your ideas! Write your ideas on a piece of paper.

Kill the Wrong Ideas, But Do Not Say They Are Bad!

This is the most important step. Kill the ideas that aren’t as relevant as others to your main theme and continue to think up new ones as you go.

Ask Your Audience

It’s easier to finish your content writing project if you believe a greater awareness wants you to write it. As I consider my list of ideas, I always go to my audience and ask them questions. “Should I write about this?” If my audience says, “No,” I don’t write about it. Sooner or later, I stumble on an idea my audience says “yes” to. This sounds strange, but asking others is the key to success. Learn!

Second Guess Yourself

If you’ve gone through all the steps above, it’s okay to get started now. Do a little research. Start writing an article. But while still in the initial stages, before you fully commit to an idea, second guess yourself. Is this really the content I should be working on? Is there a better idea lurking within this one? If I’m going to abandon my project, I’d rather do it at the beginning, before I’ve invested a lot of time.

And Once You’ve Chosen…

Before you can say “yes” to one idea, you have to say “no” to a lot of ideas. Most of this process is about saying “no” to ideas. However, once you’ve chosen, you have to commit. There will be times when finishing your blog seems stupid, painful, and not worth your time. This whole process is about developing the faith in your idea that you will need to get through the doubt that will come in the middle.

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I Write…

writingMaking the most of your content is important. Each article you write, or have written, should be promoted as a separate product. Promoting your content is almost as important as having content. This article will be about ways to make your great content even greater. We will look at how to maximize what you have.

Make Navigation Easier

Content that is difficult to find, read and enjoy – is a problem. Content that is difficult to navigate will often cause a potential client to leave your website. But using tags and categories is SO easy! Make it easier to find your content, make it easy to move onto more content, and make it easy for customers to get in touch with you. More than three clicks? Forget it. Try to keep it to just a couple of clicks.

Promote Your Content Inside Content

It’s great to have your ideal clients find and read your posts, but take it one step further … always include a next step, like reading a similar article or signing up for more information. Keep in mind you want them to stay on your site – reading your content – as long as humanly possible. Don’t make the mistake of thinking great content alone will make your customer stick around.

Keywords, SEO, Keywords, SEO

Your SEO and keywords make a big impact on potential clients finding your content – or not. Search engines help people find relative content. Their goal is to enhance user experience by helping them find what they’re looking for. When you use your keywords in an organic way, Google rewards you by increasing your search engine rank. Play the system, and the system will help you.

Share MY Content…

The most effective content is ’shareable‘ content. But what makes content shareable? It all comes down to social currency. In other words: What will the reader gain from sharing your content? Think about the types of comments, posts, and articles that you share online. What do they actually do? They often back up your position on a topic, feature something you care about, or make you look smarter or more important. Don’t dismiss shareable content.

Go Ahead and Share My Content…

The main point of creating content is to get your message in front of the right readers. When you have the right reader, consider that they probably have a lot of friends who fit the same profile. Encouraging them to share through social media gets your content in front of even more potential customers. Help yourself by helping your audience to learn from you. That’s all it is. You are helping others learn, and those people are helping you spread your word.

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