Category: Sales & Marketing

When we struggle with performance of any kind, we often hear negative thoughts. I can’t do this…I am not good at this…I don’t like this…When we change our thoughts from NO to YES, we often experience profound shifts in thinking, feeling and performing. This is true of golf, fitness performance, and no doubt many other endeavors. Let’s take a look at how YES might relate to building presentation and communication strengths.

First and foremost, change your negative self talk to positive self talk. I experienced firsthand the power of yes while running sprints on a treadmill with my fitness coach and team mates. I am not much of a runner, so this was a huge challenge. Just as I started thinking NO WAY and I CAN’T our coach suggested saying YES and YES I CAN DO THIS. When I tried it I felt stronger and could keep running longer. It didn’t even matter if I said it in my head or out loud. I felt stronger. It was still hard, but not nearly as hard as it had been. If you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts about your presentation or your own speaking skills, try saying YES. Instead of I don’t like this, or I don’t feel prepared, think, I CAN DO THIS. I AM GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME.

Instead of yes, but…say yes, and… Maybe you just heard an idea or suggestion. Did you automatically say, yes, but…? You just negated the idea. Instead of saying yes, but… try saying yes and…then adding your suggestions to what the other person said. Example: We could hold the next staff meeting offsite. Response: yes, but that would cost too much. Positive response: yes, and if we can work it into our budget we should look into that. This is not easy to do. And when you do it, you will see how it keeps exchanges more positive. Try it if you are a trainer responding to comments from learners, or if you are a presenter who gets challenging questions.

Say what you WILL not what you WON’T. Often we hear people say, I am not going to take too much of your time, I am not going to take any questions today, or I am not going to go into the reasons behind this decision. Any time you hear what the speaker is not going to do, you begin to focus squarely on the negative or missing information. Instead, try saying what you are going to do. Today I WILL keep this brief, I WILL provide only a statement, or I WILL be focusing on our action plan. See what happens when you change the focus to the positive instead of the negative.

Say YES to a thank you. What do you say after someone thanks you? Many of us say “no problem.” I hear this everywhere I go, and each time I hear it I think, really? Are you sure it wasn’t a problem? Because it sounds like maybe it was a problem. Instead, try a sincere “you’re welcome.” Or go one better. My son Shawn has a beautiful response. He says, “My pleasure.” And he says it sincerely every time. It is another way of saying YES instead of NO.

My challenge to you is to begin looking for more ways to turn negative communication to positive, moving you from no to yes.

The power of YOU

When we focus on presentation skills, we often focus on what is wrong. We speak too fast, we say UM too much, we aren’t articulate enough. Maybe you have thought along those same lines, focusing on where your deficiencies lie. Guess what? Focusing on weaknesses doesn’t make you stronger. It just makes you more uncomfortable and self-conscious. A vicious cycle.

When you gave your very first presentation, your boss probably said, “go out there and just be yourself and you will do fine.” It didn’t seem like it at the time, but he or she was exactly right. We just didn’t know at the time how to be ourselves under the spotlight. Yes, we need to build skills and get better. We need to understand our strengths as well as we know our weaknesses. But you have it all within you to create and deliver fabulous presentations and deliver them as only you can. Only you can be you, with your knowledge, your skills and your strengths. I urge you to keep reminding yourself of this truth. You are most likely much better already than you realize. You are just right the way you are.

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 or 651-340-3008.

How do you manage your documents to provide consistent and accurate communication? Depending on your organization, how do you control documents in your Technical Communications or Technical Writing Department if some groups or branches have different procedures for writing, gathering data, maintaining, verifying, or even for getting feedback? This can occur in an organization that is involved with a lot of different products. Think of a manufacturer which sells various electronics or other goods all over the world. Each division has to have their own set of priorities, procedures, guidelines, manuals, etc. What do you have to take into consideration in order to handle all the documentation that has to occur for each area?

Here are some things to think about and questions to ask before deciding on how to manage documents, from choosing a CMS (Content Management Tool) to developing your own methodology:

• Will it be able to manage master documents that will be reused in other documents?
• Will it be able to manage reviews, approvals, automatic notifications, version control, sharing, project plans (for meeting timelines), various image-type files, and meeting compliance?
• Will it be able to help you organize documents and provide easy accessibility to all documents (old and new)?
• Can updates to a segment of a document be carried through to other associated documents?
• Can alerts be set up to aid in communicating security issues, tracking updates, releases, or even new documents?
• If your organization is global, will all the documentation be done in the US or will some be written overseas? Is translation software available or will the local team manage their own documents? And if so, how are change or update notifications handled?
• Do you want to create an internal or web-based (an intranet) directory for each organization or product division and have it broken down into sub directories?
• Do you need a database-type tool or repository where files are indexed for faster retrieval?
• Do you need to set up a hierarchy or a content structure where the main product is on top and similar products below it with a documentation breakdown for each segment of the products? Each segment being anything from requirements, specifications, training, processes, procedures, marketing, etc.
• Do you need to work with mappings of documents or where documents link to associated documents?
• Finally, how much can you afford and what do you expect on your return on investment?

Set up a plan as to what you want the CMS tool to do for you and decide if it is the right fit for the organization. Also, is the tool you need user friendly enough, helpful, and will you be able to train others on it? No matter which tool you eventually decide on (either purchased, developed, or open source), make sure you have at least a uniform style guide for each division to use for consistency and clarity in writing, formatting and styling. This is especially relevant for global companies. Make sure your organization has the right tool or necessary processes set up to be able to answer ‘yes’ to the above questions.

If you have any suggestions or other ideas, please leave a comment.

How far have you come on this journey? Are you “there” yet? Sometimes it is hard to see our progress, especially when we are making small changes, changing habits and fine-tuning our existing skills. Maybe it would be helpful for you to go back and see where you were when you started. Were you really uncomfortable, stressed out or nervous about presenting? Now how do you feel? Hopefully those negative feelings have abated as you have learned skills and thought processes that are more productive.

How are your delivery skills? At first you might not have been aware of your delivery habits. You were “unconsciously unaware” of speaking too fast, or clearing your throat, or saying “um” too many times. Once you became aware of these things, you may have been “consciously unaware,” meaning you began to notice what you were doing but possibly didn’t know how to change it. You still kept speaking too fast, but you were aware of it. As you kept working on it, you might have been able to substitute the new behavior (talking more slowly) with “conscious awareness.” That is, you had to deliberately think about it in order to make the change, but you could do it. Here comes the good part; with practice you may have become “unconsciously aware” of speaking more slowly. At this point, you have built mastery over this skill and you rarely have to deliberately focus on it.

Now what? I encourage you to celebrate the awareness you have experienced, the choices you have made, and the new habits you have built. You have a lot to be pleased about. But, as with so many things in life, you are not really finished. There is always more to learn, more to strive for. Take another look at your delivery skills; what is the next habit you could begin to work on? It might be a strength you want to hone even further; maybe you love to tell stories or use humor, so why not focus on mastering those areas? It could also be working on a weakness; maybe you have a few grammar issues, and it will be worth it for you to build in that area. It might be more difficult and may never be your strength, but some weaknesses need to be corrected so they don’t become stumbling blocks.

Once you have examined your delivery skills, focus a bit on your content. Have you begun crafting and stating clear Targeted Messages? Have you made your content clear and crisp? Do your openings capture and engage your audience? Do your closings drive home your message, or create a call to action? If not, this would be a great time to reexamine structure. Great structure supports you just like a basic recipe supports you in the kitchen. Yes, you can adapt and improvise, but it helps to start with a solid foundation.

While you are at it, take a look at your slides. Are they dull, crowded, and difficult to follow? Or have you added graphics and photos and taken out bullets? Are you asking your slides to be a send-along document, or have you reconciled yourself to the fact that you probably need both a document and a separate slide deck? If your slides aren’t all they could be, and if you end up reading them more than you would like, there is a clear signal to focus some attention there.

Finally, how are you doing with Q&A? Do you prepare yourself so that you have a pretty good idea of which questions will come up, and do you have answers prepared? It might be a good time to start rehearsing the Q&A with someone who knows the tough questions that might arise. Have you learned to rephrase the question, using a Neutral Bridge to restate each question before answering? If not, you might find practicing this skill and turning it into a habit will make your Q&A sound more polished and professional. Have you learned to use body language to keep moving from one person to the next, and to move on to the next question? Or do you sometimes get “stuck” with one persistent questioner? Here is another opportunity to explore a few small changes that make a huge impact.

And how are you getting feedback? This could be the perfect time to start video recording your rehearsals, or your actual presentations. It is so easy to record yourself—maybe you could even use your smart phone. I know it may not be so easy to watch. But if you do, you will begin to notice the changes you have made, the strengths you have, and what really works for you. You will see weaknesses and stumbles, but you will know where to put your focus so you can continue the journey to excellence in presentations.

Part of a Technical Writers job is to create test plans and to communicate it to the Quality Assurance Team. The Technical Writer will be responsible for the standard test plan (see previous posts) for user acceptance testing to be performed, maintenance of an organized list of open issues, verification of resolved issues, and continuous communication with all stakeholders. Many Technical Writers can gather information and create test plans from working and collaborating with relevant stakeholders, managers, clients, etc. But with the popularity and reliance of mobile devices being a huge part of our industry now, how do we create independent test plans for applications loaded onto them? What should be in these quality check blueprints?

Similar to application testing on a laptop or personal computer, the test plan will involve equipment, functionality, user acceptance testing, interface, data entry, validity, and regression testing. But this is not enough. The standard testing is not just the application any longer. It will also involve content (such as size, language, security), DRM (Digital Rights Management), data risks, the device location, mobile carriers, special features (i.e., screen orientation – rotational ability, voice activation, screen navigation, etc.), audio, the cloud, social media access, simultaneous application behavior, and as usual, various scenarios.

Compatibility

• Will it be able to coexist with other applications?
• Will it work without interference or interruption if, e.g., a message or a call is received?
• Will it work within any device and with any system version?
• Will it work with any mobile carrier?

Functionality

• Will it work on touch-screen devices?
• Will it provide user friendly functionality, e.g., scanning images?
• Will it provide eye-pleasing displays, movement, and presentations?
• Will it provide quick keys, menus?
• Will it provide accurate swiping capabilities?
• Will it be able to function via wireless technologies, i.e., Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.?
• Will it function even when coexisting with the maximum uploading and downloading of various applications?
• Will it be able to upload or download material and objects, i.e., revised content or images files?
• Will it be able to download all or any entertainment items via the application links if needed, i.e., e book material, games, movies, etc. without conflict?

Consequences

• What are the effects of haste in jumping from one module or application to another?
• What are the results of service disruption?
• What are the outcomes of moving incompatible objects from one module to another?
• What are the effects on battery power usage?
• What are the effects of program errors on other applications?

Testing mobile device applications is quite challenging as you are not working off of a network nor have access to any normal desktop features such as viewing via a large screen, nor be able to manipulate any hardware or software. You are solely dependent on your mobile carrier (i.e., cell phone carrier) and your mobile device.

Testing therefore can be difficult. I do not have any experience in using specific testing tools to help as I have only tested my practical needs in determining whether or not a mobile device application works for me or not. But if you are familiar with some mobile application testing tools, please leave a comment.

Definition – Policies and Procedures involve ensuring control over processes, giving directions, setting standards and following them. In other words, maintaining compliance or preserving requirements. The Policies are a set of rules or guidelines that are decided upon by higher-ups. The Procedures are the steps or processes involved in completing a task. Policies and Procedures:

• are a growing necessity in Companies as they aid in ensuring accuracy, consistency, upholding standards, and
• usually answer questions of who, what, and how.

Companies are paying more attention to compliance due to concerned awareness of risk management, security, confidentiality, etc. From protocols and regulation material to process breakdowns, companies are now having more Technical Writers create Policies and Procedures documents.

Industry Usage – You need Policies and Procedures for laws, guidance, audits, performance improvement, training, sales and marketing, instructional designers, medical writers, etc.

Below is a sample list of areas in organizations using Policies and Procedures:

• Healthcare – in elderly care (for appointments, lab procedures, admission/release process, equipment usage, emergency care, insurance, etc.)
• Business – in insurance (for processing claims, liabilities, appraisals, reinsurance, etc.)
• HR – in orientation of new hires (for employee handbooks, training, etc.)
• Education – in learning (for equipment handling, libraries, labs, instruction material, etc.)
• Manufacturing – in production (for safety procedures, setting routines, monitoring schedules, quality checks, etc.)
• Technology – in applications (for setting development standards, designing new software, authenticating privileged users, testing systems, data management, etc.)

As shown above, Policies and Procedures help eliminate confusion by reducing questions and errors, clarify instructions, and maintain smooth operations by keeping stakeholders all on the same page.

Writing – Creating Policies and Procedures is not an easy task. It involves a lot of research and verification. Begin by creating an outline for yourself as to who needs to be interviewed and observed and what needs to be researched. For Policies and Procedures to work, keep it up-to-date. In the end, they have to be for the target audience and be user-friendly. Follow many of the rules mentioned in previous posts to make your document understandable and clear. Most importantly make sure the higher-ups support the creation of Policies and Procedures. Also, interview the right resources, such as your SME (Subject Matter Expert).

Questions to ask:

• what (does the policy or procedure do, what is expected, acceptable, and what is not.),
• why (is it done this way, does it have a history, etc.),
• where (is this policy or procedure performed, under what circumstances, etc.),
• when (does this policy or procedure occur, etc.),
• how (is this policy or procedure prepared, completed, etc.), and
• who (is responsible for ensuring the success of the Policies and Procedures, who is affected or is involved, etc.).

Organization – Organize the Policies and Procedures so that they are all located in one central database or location and is easily accessible to the right personnel. Categorize them for easier access. Create a process to maintain communication on all levels so that you can track changes and apply updates accordingly.

If you have thoughts to add, please leave a comment.