Tag Archives: Your Inner You

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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 Write…

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 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 Teach…

fear11Last week, we discussed ways to communicate. This week, I’d like to look at the reasons why people fail to communicate correctly. Sometimes, even with all the will in the world, we cannot make ourselves connect with others. It may be our problem—or their problem—but it is a problem. This blog article is about discovery. Discovering why people fail to communicate is crucial to becoming a great communicator. Let’s look failure straight in the face and learn from it.

Compromise Is KEY

If one party is unwilling to budge on an issue, no progress can be made; when the other party senses this stubbornness, they’ll immediately stop trying to make their case. Compromise isn’t an admission of defeat — it’s a way of trying to maximize the payoffs between two parties, and if you ignore that, you’ll have only yourself to blame when the conversation stops.

Ultimately, successful conversations are dependent on two people willing to reach a mutually satisfying conclusion.

Didn’t Anyone Listen?

Too many people focus on the speaking part of a conversation; after all, that’s the part you can control. But it’s far more important to be a good listener. Being a good listener first demonstrates that you’re invested in the conversation and makes the other person feel welcome to share his or her thoughts.

Listening prevents interruption and other habits that can interfere with the natural pattern of conversation and provides a stable ground for mutual communication. Finally, and most importantly, listening allows you to hear and understand what the other party needs, giving you context and direction for your response. Without that initial effort, the conversation will never go anywhere.

Where’s the Respect?

When we don’t get respect from people around us, we may feel unsatisfied and withdraw from the situation. Showing respect in conversation is a prerequisite to having a healthy exchange, and even modest or subtle signs of disrespect can throw off that pattern.

Obvious signs of disrespect include insulting or mocking the other party or belittling what they have to say. Subtler signs of disrespect include interruption or changing the subject before it resolves. Aim to show more respect throughout your conversation, even if you aren’t doing anything intentionally disrespectful.

Failure to Communicate in Conversation

Sometimes, the simplest explanation for a failure in conversation is the most accurate. If one party fails to express things in clear and understandable terms, it stands to reason that the other party won’t have any idea what’s going on.

Honesty

Communication can also fail when one party refuses to express what they’re feeling or thinking honestly. It can be hard to be honest when you’re under pressure, or if you have a shy personality type. For example, when you’re trying to make a good impression at work, you may second guess the value of your thoughts. However, honest expression is vital if you want the conversation to progress.

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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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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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once uponYou’ve gained clients and you have a full meeting book, but you find that your clients are too on edge to be comfortable and allow themselves to develop. This blog post is all about building a relationship with your client and getting them to open to you. If you can’t connect with your client, you won’t be able to do your job. So when you meet a client and start a meeting, why don’t you try some of these top tips…

Gentle Sounds

Music can help your clients feel relaxed. Try slow, relaxing, gentle music and allow the mood to do its job. If your client is relaxed, you will have them talking about the real issues in no time at all. The right music puts people into a great mood—and that’s your first goal.

Be the Host with the Most

Offer your client a coffee or a soft beverage. Nothing alcoholic. You’ll find that the client will feel more important and will start to work with you. Be a good host to get the most from your clientele!

Be Modern, Be Comfortable

A fan may help relax a client and help to keep them cool and calm.  Make sure the room is warm first.  The most important thing you can do is keep your client comfortable. If they are too hot, their mind won’t be on the task at hand; same if they’re cold.

Keep the Conversation Going 

Chat about your client – the upcoming wedding, the kids, the job. People tend to ease up when the conversation is about them. Make everything about your client.

Reassure

You will do well to reassure your clients that they are doing a great job during the entire coaching session. You want to make sure you are reassuring them as much as possible towards the start when they will be the most nervous.

Fake It ’Til You Make It

If you’re fairly new at coaching and you’re scared of appearing unprofessional—just fake it. The more comfortable you are, the more at ease your clients will be. Never give the impression that you don’t know what you are doing.

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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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I Teach…

once uponFor those of us who are new to coaching, this blog article is all about connecting with your customer. Sometimes it’s easy to build a relationship, sometimes it’s hard— but it is a crucial part of your work. You must be able to connect with the people who hire you. Let’s look at some steps that will help you build up your clients. It’s not as hard as you may think.

Warn Them, Inform Them… Let Them Know What to Expect

When you meet with a client for the first time, it would be advisable to explain to them what they’re expected to be able to do. Give them some notice. You can turn an advance warning into a relationship-building opportunity. Ask them about things they’ve wanted to do, what they’ve been trying to achieve, and actually show interest in your clients.

Take Responsibility

You’ve made an error? Turned up late to a meeting? Accepting full responsibility, while recognizing the consequences of the error, shows that you’re prepared to take it like a grown-up. People respect that.

Tone Down Your Voice When Giving Bad News

Literally. Lower the tone of your voice and your rate of speaking. Generally, when people get excited or emotional about ideas they tend to raise their voice pitch and pace. When you’re giving bad news or feedback that could be construed negatively or critically, you want to give the impression that you are thinking clearly, logically and reasonably – not emotionally – and certainly not irrationally.

ALWAYS Begin with the Good News

When you have both good news and bad, start with the good. When people hear bad news, they have an internal stress reaction that causes them to tune-out other information. Try to ensure that the client fully comprehends and appreciates the entire message by making sure you give the good news first. Always give them something to feel good about.

Express Those Negatives as Positives

Rather than saying, “We can’t meet until Tuesday,” instead try, “We can meet up as soon as Tuesday.” It’s the same information, but wording it positively enhances your message. It makes the client feel important.

Try to Remind Them of the Bigger Picture

Sometimes clients don’t realize that the ‘bad news’ is in their own best interest. Try to always frame things inside the bigger picture. Yes, this is negative today—but how does it change the plan positively? Don’t let them go away feeling as though they failed.

Follow-up! Always Follow-up!

With some clients, a well-timed phone call after bad news goes a long way in proving to the client that you’ve gone the extra mile. “I just wanted to check with you to see how things are going with that discussion we had…” That raises the perceived value of your service without spending more money. Try it. People like to feel important.

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