In order for feedback to be effective, it needs to be specific–what was not liked about the product? Why did it suck? What was wonderful? Being specific allows the receiver to know what not to do and what to continue doing. Statements such as “Couldn’t be better;” or “it was perfect!” are not constructive–in fact, they’re destructive. Everyone can always learn something more or do something differently that will give a little extra pizazz.
When you breath shallowly, your voice becomes strained and your throat may begin to hurt after a duration of time (most likely an hour). Your vocal chords are muscles that must exert force to create sound. As your body works in harmony to communicate (the process is actually QUITE complex), you may find your voice getting tired or strained in some manner. This is bad. Very, very bad.
You have a relatively short amount of time to come up with something. Where do you start? Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to avoid hot-button topics such as politics and religion; also, it would be best to avoid trite topics such as weather and that local sports team.
ntrinsic motivation is something within the individual–”I want to do a good job because I will be proud of my work.” Extrinsic motivation is something that causes the individual to succeed–”I want to do a good job because I will win the $50 spiff.” Money is a motivator–but only for the extrinsically motivated! When you run contests, try to mix them up–run them against each other within a group and run them against the individual employees. For example, “The top salesman of the quarter will receive a $100 gift card to iTunes,” is a competition among a group; “If you improve your productivity by 10% over last month’s, you will receive a free gift of your choice,” pits the employee against himself–and is a call for improvement!
You’re not going to be where you are forever. If you have a say as to who your replacement will be, train that person to do what you do. Teach them the in’s and out’s of your job–give them tips and techniques (like this blog or podcast!)–ask for their feedback and suggestions for solutions.
What do swallows have to do with you? Simple, my friend. As Arthur states to Bedivere (who is impressed by his knowledge of swallows), “One must know such things when one is King.” And one must know such things when one is speaking. Especially if one is a manager conducting a meeting. In fact, one should have–or, at least appear to have–all the answers hidden neatly within one’s pocket.
But, then something dreadful happened. We graduated and entered “Corporate America.” Meetings ceased being fun. We stopped looking forward to them. In fact, we started finding work to do to keep from going! What a 180! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go back to the days long gone and enjoy meetings again?
They knew to whom they were speaking and they knew with relative surety how that group would react to them. Because of this seeming “insider knowledge,” they were able to craft their words in such a way to develop three separate aspects: logos, ethos, and pathos. We’ll discuss those in a future entry (or entries!). For now, let’s focus on winning your audience.
Everyone’s been there–the uncomfortable position of standing in front of a large group of people and being forced to talk to them about a subject. The topic once known intimately, seems to slip sleezily from the brain and the speaker is left stammering and looking quite like a deer in the headlights. “I am NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN!” I’ve heard time and time again…and three weeks later, the person’s back in that same, vulnerable position
