Category: Advertising & PR

In reviewing the previous post, it is noted that even though we came up with more drawbacks for the employee as a remote communicator, the benefits still outweighed the drawbacks in the long run, due to a better quality of life. But now, let’s talk about the benefits and drawbacks for an organization when working with employees who are telecommunicating remotely.

Benefits for the organization

• Decreasing real estate costs as the writer takes up less work space within the organization.
• Decreasing productivity costs as the employee is paid only when services are needed and completed.
• Having access to the employee 24/7 for immediate and urgent discussions.
• Having skilled, experienced, and trusted professional work accomplished any time anywhere.
• Pressing changes can be immediately communicated to the remote employee.
• Transmitting documents between the remote employee and the organization can be immediately achieved without losing any down time.
• Working and communicating with more remote workers with different skill sets, talents, and concepts can bring more innovations to the organization.

Drawbacks for the organization

• Lacking or loss of good communication.
• Conveying what the organization requires from the remote communicator is challenging.
• Coordinating last-minute meetings can be difficult and stressful.
• Missing team dynamics due to absent members can lead to a decrease in good relationships.
• Losing confidentiality of work required can be detrimental to the organization.
• Increasing costs due to longer conversations resulting from not being able to have one-on-one quick conversations. This can increase costs exponentially especially when there are immediate simple changes that must be made, but the explanation for the change takes more time to explain than to execute.
• Failing to get immediate questions answered. This can cause delays especially if the remote worker is in a different time zone and the result leads to missed deliverables.
• Misunderstanding the environment, goals, and mindset of the organization can occur, especially if the organization deals with global practices.
• Receiving unexpected poor quality or inferior work from the remote writer.
• Losing control over time and expenses relating to the project.
• Losing control of immediate availability of service hence resulting in poor work quality.
• Decreasing in the quality of work received if the writer is based in another country which uses different terms or spellings.

From reviewing both posts, it seems like there are more disadvantages than benefits for good communication between the remote worker and the organization, but companies and individuals still hire flexible writers, organizers, developers, or workers in any field where flexibility is an option. Hence, even though a number of drawbacks seem to exist, having remote workers can be beneficial for both entities as long as good communication is maintained. This is also assuming that the organizations would not hire the remote communicator or writer if they did not trust the employee nor feel that they could not produce consistent quality work.

What have your experiences been for working with telecommunicating workers? What were your positives and negatives?

Joanne was one part excited and one part nervous. She had been asked to speak on a panel discussion, and jumped at the chance. Afterward she realized that she wasn’t sure exactly how to ace this special presentation.

Together we came up with the following checklist to help her on her way to success.

Before the panel discussion:

Œ Know the subject matter really well. If the subject matter is something that you are not thoroughly versed in, it might be better to pass. If you really know the content well, then go ahead and accept. It’s great exposure for your ideas and for yourself and your organization. Be sure to have the newest facts and figures; even if you are an expert bone up on current events in your field.

ΠGet the facts. Be sure to find out the purpose of the panel discussion and what questions will be asked. Also see if you can determine the likely tone of this event; is it a collegial discussion or likely to be a heated debate? Will the audience likely be friendly or hostile and quick to challenge speakers? How have previous discussions gone?

ΠPrepare and rehearse as you would for a keynote. Even though time is shorter on a panel discussion, every minute counts. You may have to deliver your message in several chunks as you have the floor, so be well rehearsed, and remain flexible.

Œ Write your own introduction and provide it to the moderator. Don’t leave this to chance or hope it will end up well. If they get your intro wrong you can easily start out of the wrong foot. Be sure the moderator knows how to say your name. Bring an extra copy of your intro in case the moderator needs it.

ΠPrepare and rehearse your opening and closing remarks. Pretend like these are the only things you will have to say. Make sure they stand alone, and make sense to your audience. Edit and wordsmith until you can hit the time requirements. Record yourself and listen back. Is it clear? Interesting? Make you want to hear more? If not, keep polishing.

Œ Check out the other panelists. If you don’t already know the other panelists, you can use social media to find out about their expertise and opinions. You can read articles or blogs they have written, and possibly see them in action on You Tube. This way you will come into the debate or discussion with the knowledge of what opinions they are likely to put forth and how forcefully they are likely to defend their positions.

During the panel discussion:

Œ Speak to the audience, not the moderator. Unless you are told otherwise, assume you should be speaking to the audience most of the time. You can address comments or questions to the other panelists, which can keep the discussion lively, but don’t forget who the audience really is.

Œ Never forget you are “on stage.” Don’t look bored, or annoyed by another speaker’s opinions. Assume that you are being observed at every moment, and maintain a neutral, interested face and body language.

ΠStick to high level language. Your time will be short, and you might get cut off at any time, so deliver broad comments first, hitting the most important points quickly. Then add illustrations, stories, anecdotes or details if time permits.

Œ Add interesting facts, stories and anecdotes. Prepare several interesting highlights that the audience is likely to enjoy, and that help make your point memorable. You probably won’t get to all of them, but if you are well prepared you can use them if the discussion warrants.

Œ Be respectful. You don’t have to agree with everyone else, in fact that would be pretty boring, but disagree in a cordial, respectful way. Don’t show undue emotion, and don’t take anything personally. Be so cordial and so professional that you could go out for lunch with the panelists after the discussion and not feel uncomfortable.

Joanne took these ideas to heart and prepared well for her upcoming panel discussion. It went so well she is looking forward to another opportunity like this.

For more information on speaking on a panel discussion:

How to Kick Butt on a Panel by Guy Kawasaki

How to Prepare For and Stand Out During a Panel Discussion

Ten Tips for Speaking on a Panel by Ian Griffin

Many individuals enjoy working and communicating remotely but is it feasible and worthwhile for the individual or the organization? The value of company personnel working remotely still does not appeal to a lot of companies nor some employees. Let’s discuss the value of it for an employee and the company and its drawbacks.

In Part 1 of this post, let’s first focus on the employee. Part 2 will focus on the organization.

Benefits for the employee

• Less commuting time leading to a happier life style.
• Flexibility in getting the job done. Work can be done at your own pace at any time and anywhere. As long as the job gets completed on time and on schedule, then the organization/client will be satisfied.
• Less pressure due to no one looking over your shoulder and therefore being able to produce what is required more easily without stress. But at the same time you must be extremely organized to get the work completed.
• Less or no interruptions and hence allowing you to remain focused and be able to produce quality work.
• Easy to stay connected and maintain communication and relationships via on-line chats, phone conversations, Skype, email, etc.
• Easy to download or upload communicated documents as they are required.
• Being able to manage your own hours and not having to dress for the office allows you to have a more enjoyable life style.

Drawbacks for the employee

• If there is a power outage, what do you do?
• Lack of good communication
• Not having the same software as the organization or client, will yield more purchasing costs for necessary equipment and software.
• Increase in intercommunicating and phone costs.
• Not having face-to-face communication might make you feel like you are not part of a team. But you can work around that by using face time or Skype to be part of and engage in meetings.
• Having to keep track of and showing work and time requires good discipline and organization.
• Not fully understanding the product and its functionality can cause errors in writing and communicating instructions.
• Difficulty in working in different time zones can cause missed communications.
• Difficulty in understanding an organizations work culture and philosophy, can lead to miscommunication, especially if it’s in another country
• No ‘water-cooler’ or ‘coffee-break’ chats to engage in friendly conversations to enjoy a breather from work.
• What must happen if there is material that cannot be taken off site?
• What processes have to take place if you do not have access to communicated documents?
• Having to adjust your schedule to communicate and meet the needs of a client can be wearisome.

Even though I have listed more drawbacks for the employee than benefits, the major benefit in the long run will outweigh the drawbacks if it means an easier lifestyle for the remote communicator. Today’s technology benefits the remote communicator and allows for faster and more precise productivity, quicker responses, and more ease of communication.

What have your experiences been for telecommunicating? What positives and negatives have you seen or experienced?

Now that you have prepared your content well and have worked on being calm and focused, you are well on the way to feeling confident, focused, and ready for your important presentation.

Here is the rest of the story; what to do in the hours and moments before the big event.

1. Walk to calm down or gear up. There is something about movement; it helps you to loosen up if you are feeling tense, and helps you to calm down by dissipating excess energy. Before your presentation, walk up and down the halls, swinging your arms, loosening your neck and shoulders, and just feeling strong and loose. You might find it helpful to walk outdoors if you can, taking in fresh air and clearing your mind.

2. Take deep calming breaths. Whenever you feel anxiety beginning to build up, take a moment to breathe slowly and deeply. As you focus on your breathing, other thoughts can drift away. Remind yourself that you are prepared, you are ready, and now you are oxygenating your body and brain, giving it fresh fuel.

3. Relax your shoulders. If you feel physically tense and tight, be sure to release the tension out of your shoulders. Before you enter the presentation room, bring your shoulders up toward your ears in a tight scrunch, then release the tension out of them completely. As you drop your shoulders, notice the tension leaves your arms and hands as well. You look and feel more confident and relaxed.

4. Smile and face the audience. They are with you, and they want you to succeed. These are your colleagues, your customers, your leaders, and you have an important message to share with them. Take a moment to connect and feel them before you begin. Make eye contact. Smile in a greeting. You are really ready to begin.

People often struggle to prepare themselves for a major presentation. They spend hours reworking their slides, and rehearsing lines in their heads. Yet, they often end up feeling frazzled and unfocused. How can you prepare yourself so that you are ready and able to present your ideas successfully? Read on:

Have a clear goal for what you want to accomplish. What is the purpose of this presentation? What do you want the audience to do, think, or feel at the end of your presentation? By focusing on your goal for the presentation, you can drive home a message instead of just providing data. Consider as well the underlying goals of the presentation, which might include relationship-building, responding to questions, or just connecting with the team.

Plan out your opening and close. Research tells us listeners tend to remember what they hear first and last. If your opening and closings are weak, that may be all the audience remembers. So plan this part of your presentation carefully. Make sure your opening leads directly to the content within one to two minutes, and make it simple and easy to follow (and for you to remember.) Try opening with 2 or 3 questions, or stating a major concern the audience has that your presentation can address. Keep it brief and to the point. Same with the ending, if you wind down and end with “well, that’s about all I have…” you will have missed the opportunity to close with impact. Instead, prepare and rehearse a one or two sentence ending that drives home your message.

Practice out loud. Practicing in your head or by reviewing your slides on screen each have their merits, but nothing can take the place of a rehearsal in front of a live audience. You need to say the words out loud to really feel them, even if you do so in front of even one person. If you think you may have a critical or hostile audience, be sure to practice Q&A out loud as well, so you are prepared to answer most any questions that come up.

Use positive self talk. At some point in the preparation process, you are going to have a few doubts; did I prepare enough? Can I respond to all the questions? Will I look nervous? Will I stumble? When doubt hits, be prepared with a positive comeback. Repeat to yourself: “I am fully prepared, I know my material, and I will be fine.”

Get into the room. Walk around the room, sit in the chairs, and stand at the front. Rehearse in the room if you can. Look for the remote, try out the equipment; make sure you have everything you need. One of my clients has a conference room that is large and intimidating to present to customers. I encourage them to spend as much time as they can in that room, observing other presentations and just becoming more comfortable there.

Stay focused. Train your thoughts so that they do not wander. All that matters is your audience and your message to them. Don’t worry about the words; they will come as you focus on getting your message across. Your preparation has paid off; you are ready, focused, and powerful as you share your ideas.

Preparing your content well and getting your head in the right place should help you show up feeling focused, ready and confident.

Jack* is a natural born people person. And that makes him a natural born communicator. When you first meet him you’ll notice his calm, steady eye contact and his friendly smile. But as you begin a conversation with him, something special begins to happen. He asks a few questions until he finds something you have in common, listening with interest and respect. After listening fully to what you say, he adds pertinent comments or opinions, or tells a funny story that compliments what you said. As your conversation progresses, you move effortlessly from topic to topic, and his interest never flags. By the end of the conversation, you feel just a little smarter, a little cooler, than you did before the conversation. You feel….appreciated. And Jack does this with everyone he meets, from the smallest child to a powerful business associate, making everyone he meets feel valued.

What is Jack’s secret? Could it technique? Attitude? Charisma? All of the above? I think it’s not so much that Jack is fascinating; it’s that he makes you feel like you are fascinating. And I think we could all learn a thing or two from Jack that would help us engage in interesting and meaningful conversations.

Consider the following:

What is your intention? Are you trying to impress others, make a sale, or overwhelm them with your expertise? Try Jack’s approach; approach each conversation without an agenda, or else with an agenda of making a connection.

Are you curious? Jack is somewhat of a “renaissance man;” that is, he knows about a wide range of topics and can speak credibly on many of them. But more importantly, he is curious to learn from, and about everyone he meets. He isn’t acting interested; he really is.

Where is your attention? Are you thinking about yourself and the impression you are making? Are you looking at your watch, or looking over your listener’s shoulder to see who you could be talking to? Jack does none of these and that is why he never seems disengaged. He is into the conversation you are having, and his attention is on you.

Do you feel a sense of appreciation? Or do you find yourself judging the person you are talking to, just a little? Sometimes we fail to find the connection and feel the person we are talking to is “boring” or not going to be of interest to us. Maybe we haven’t approached them with a sense of appreciation. That person you are talking with might be fascinating, once you find out what makes them tick. Look for the good in people, and you make them feel valued.

Whether you are in sales, accounting, customer service, marketing, engineering, teaching, training or leading others, a good part of your day is spent communicating with others. Conversations with customers, team members, bosses, colleagues, friends and family– each presents an opportunity for friction or friendliness. Follow Jake’s lead and you too might become a natural born people person, and a natural born communicator.

*not his real name

___________________________________________________

Author Gail Zack Anderson, founder of Applause, Inc. is a Twin Cities-based consultant who provides coaching and workshops for effective presentations, facilitation skills for trainers and subject matter experts, and positive communication skills for everyone. She can be reached at gza@applauseinc.net.

Web site: www.applauseinc.net

Blog: www.managementhelp.org/blogs

twitter: @ApplauseInc

 

You go into an organization where there are no standard forms of documentation for communicating. How do you go about creating a standard when there is none? First and foremost, use your excellent communication skills to understand your stakeholders, use your interpersonal skills to collaborate with colleagues to gather information, and use your technical and analytical skills to understand complex technical information and organize it into logical sections.

Should you have a meeting first? Or do you develop a standardization on your own? There are many ways to approach this. Regarding best documentation practices,

• Meet first and find out what exists already.
• Then see how you can organize all of it on your own.
• When that heavy task is completed, create a Style Guide for each piece of material.
• Plan out what has to be done.

Below are some suggestions and questions to ask.

Whether there are existing or just a few brief documents, find out:

• What is the organizations’ environment, e.g., global, marketing, technical?
• Where all the documents located.
• Who is your target audience? Who were the existing documents created for previously, e.g., testers, users, developers, engineers, financial or pharmaceutical personnel, managers? Try to narrow down the stakeholders.
• Do compliances have to be met, e.g., within a pharmaceutical or manufacturing company.
• Are there any security issues?

If there are existing documents:

• Ask and ensure that the existing documents are accurate.
• Next, perform a general examination of all the documents.
• Think about how you would rearrange the material.to make it more appealing.
• Did you find any consistencies within the documents, i.e., style of writing, formatting? If so, note it down, as this information might become part of a style guide for certain types of documents.
• Also note down any formatting differences to see if there is a preference
• Organize the documents into categories, e.g., user guides, standard operating procedures, technical, sales, customer service documents, etc.
• Create an outline or draw a map of the categories to help maintain order.
• Ensure that the content fits into the category.
• When ready, work on each piece of document one at a time.
• Ensure that the purpose of each document is successful and does what it is supposed to do, i.e., guide, develop, help, quantify, educate, or demonstrate.

Questions to ask about the documents:

• Are there certain styles or types of documents that they do not want? Maybe they only want user or training material and not technical nor procedural documents.
• Are there particular formats they do not want, i.e., within outlines (wanting alphabetical as opposed to numerical)?
• Does length matter/? Maybe they only want short concise documents and not lengthy ones where you have to look at a table of contents.

As a final note:

• The document you standardize should fit the philosophy of the organization; global or national.
• Plan out your documents and create guidelines for approval, and determine ahead of time how to manage changes.
• Be flexible, especially when working in a global organization. One culture may like explicit detailed longer explanations, whereas another may not and prefer illustrations instead of words, or both, or videos instead.

What are your experiences in working with non-standardized documents?

John was reluctant to present monthly results to his leaders. His heavily chart-laden slides either resulted in sleepy audiences, or in lots of questions, most of them off-topic. What to do?

If your presentations are number-heavy, or if you are presenting financial data, you might want to try some of these tips to bring them to life, to clarify and streamline your main points, and to make them more engaging and more memorable.

1. Use a strong headline to tell the story. Once we read the headline, we know what to look for when we glance at the numbers. For some audience members, the headline may be all they care to know.
2. Round numbers for impact and recall. Sometimes exact numbers are necessary. Other times a round number does the job just fine. Which is easier to remember, 4,827,292 or 5 million?
3. Show numbers visually when possible. Some speakers make their bar charts represented by an object (bushels of corn, number of rail cars, etc.) Others use graphical elements or infographics when showing statistics. I encourage you to learn more about these vibrant ways to visually express content.
4. Use color to guide the eye and for emphasis. Since our brains notice what is different, one item in a different color will stand out. Or one column shaded will draw our eye to that column. But don’t go color-crazy; too many colors can just confuse.
5. Avoid using 3D on charts and graphs. 2D objects are easier to understand, 3D adds complexity and can be confusing.
6. Get rid of clutter, legends, and background grids unless they add distinct value. The more items on a chart, the more distracting. Keep it simple so the attention goes right where you want it.
7. Make sure your slide is readable from the back of the room. Seriously. Walk to the back of the room and see for yourself. If it is an eye chart, do something different with that slide.
8. Make sure trend lines are bold enough to clearly see. Sometimes graphs have a number of trend lines that all look alike, especially when projected on a slide. Take out what you don’t need, and bold the rest.
9. Each chart should illustrate only one or two points. If you are trying to tell a story with numbers, show the audience one slide for one or two points. Then add to it with a build, or use more slides for more points.
10. Use simple charts in place of spreadsheets. Spreadsheets have their place, but it is not on a slide. Blow up one part of the spreadsheet, or create a new chart to illustrate those points you wish to make. Leave the spreadsheets as a handout or a take-away if needed.

If you were John, which of these would you try? And which ones could you try next time you have a number-heavy presentation? Best wishes.

_________________________________________________

Author Gail Zack Anderson, founder of Applause, Inc. is a Twin Cities-based consultant who provides coaching and workshops for effective presentations, facilitation skills for trainers and subject matter experts, and positive communication skills for everyone. She can be reached at gza@applauseinc.net.

Web site: www.applauseinc.net

Blog: www.managementhelp.org/blogs

twitter: @ApplauseInc

The Technical Writer is forever growing in status and popularity. They have now emerged as Content Writers, Managers, Web Content Writers, and Web Managers. But the basic ideals and requirements are still the same. They are knowledgeable in their fields (manufacturing, pharmacy, education, development, business, etc.) and they know how to write – clearly and concisely.

As always, communication is the key in this industry; in writing and in speaking. Flexible technical writers will be part of many projects, take ownership of many projects, and will work in an ever changing industry. But within each one, the writer will have to be able to know how to communicate to their audience, whether it’s on the web, through text, or any other media and be able to create and/or follow company guidelines.

How they generate the information is not easy. Depending on their position, they will either have to write as speakers, sellers, instructors, commentators, or even researchers.

• Writing as a speaker means providing information in a more entertaining way instead of text.
• Writing as a seller means providing attributes of a commodity either through marketing, white papers, blogging, etc.
• Writing as a commentator means providing information adjacent video, images, presentations, etc.
• Writing as a researcher means providing specific data information – being able to organize it properly by tags, references, reports, data structures, etc.

No matter which role is taken, the writer has to have a key understanding of what the audience needs and to tailor it to them. They have to be able to be a good listener, focused, and be able to adjust their writing accordingly. They have to be able to manage their time, their team, and be able to continuously concentrate on the outcome and at the same time be able to work collaboratively across all functions.

The above is a general guideline of the new content writer or manager. They still however possess the same basic skills of a technical writer. The most important key is the enjoyment of writing and learning. Without these two attributes, how can you gain the knowledge you need to succeed?

• Enjoying writing means – being able to translate complex or simple material into an easy to understand language.
• Enjoying leaning means – being able to gain knowledge and to understand client needs, architectural data requirements, business processes, the market, data analysis, etc.

But at the end of this is also the satisfaction of being able to share the information.

What do you think of the new Content/Technical writer? They still function the same, and they both still need to have interpersonal skills in order to relate, work, and understand others within an organization. But most importantly, they still have to produce quality documents within a set time schedule.

Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Small Budgets

At a recent fundraising dinner, I found myself sitting next to the CEO of a credit union. Since I am a marketing and social media consultant, we hit it off and launched into a conversation in earnest.

He admitted that he was particularly challenged by the new opportunities in the social media arena. I assured him that most small business owners feel the same way. His marketing is regulated, and so he needs to stay in compliance and didn’t know how to go about it. After a bit of research, I was able to help him out with a few tips from “Marketing Tips, Techniques and Tools for Credit Unions with Limited Resources” by the National Credit Union Administration Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives.

Each Credit Union is Unique

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to market your products and services. Credit union officials must first consider their membership base, member demographics, the local environment, and other characteristics that make up the uniqueness of their credit union when creating an effective individualized marketing strategy and plan.

“Know your member” is the first rule of credit union marketing. Knowing your member includes understanding the demographics of your membership such as age, income and education level (your data processor may have the capability to compile and report on member demographics), then using that information when marketing your products and services.

Effectively reaching the typical member of one generation may involve a hard copy of a brochure –a marketing message that may not appeal to the typical member of a younger generation who may respond more favorably to messages delivered electronically.

Loan Growth for Credit Unions

First and foremost make sure you have the loan products at rates and terms your members desire and that are profitable to your credit union. When introducing new loan products begin by taking small steps, consider costs and confirm adequate staffing levels. Make getting a loan an easy process for your member.

Marketing to Encourage Member and Share Growth

Marketing to encourage member and share growth depends in large part on your field of membership. Simply making your products and services more convenient and available can increase your credit union’s membership penetration. If your membership base is widespread, consider taking the credit union to the members through satellite and branch offices, or even a mobile branch.

Internet Marketing and Social Media

The advent of the Internet changed the rules of engagement. Today, monitoring and managing your online presence is crucial to maintaining a competitive advantage. The ability to deliver marketing messages, interact with members, and facilitate information sharing about your credit union 24–7 at the member’s convenience is invaluable and coming increasingly the standard.

Social media marketing is more than having a Facebook page. For credit unions, it is a critical component to an overall communication and marketing strategy. It is important that this strategy be committed to writing with clear goals and measurements for success. To begin, credit unions must define, through analysis, trends with their target audience.

The most important thing for credit unions to do before charting out a social media marketing strategy is to consider its business goals and where social media can have the most significant impact. Concentrate on three key objectives:

1. Member Acquisition
2. Community Engagement
3. Member Service

More Information

For an impressive roundup of details, tips, tricks and techniques, review the National Credit Union Administration’s excellent guide. NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives would like to thank Economic Development Specialist Manager Victor Costa and Economic Development Specialists Ronald Jones and Malia Peel for developing the guide.

Do you have tips that have worked for your Credit Union?

For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman

Ms. Chapman’s book, The WebPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide is available at:

• Amazon.com: http://bit.ly/AmazonTheWebPoweredEntrepreneur
• Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/BNTheWebPoweredEntrepreneur

Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com