We saw last year how social networking sights like Facebook and MySpace helped, then Candidate Obama, build a grassroots movement and win an election. We’ve seen news agencies such as CNN, Fox, or MSNBC use blogs to deliver information and gather viewer opinions. They even rely on pictures and videos from viewers’ cell phones to report information. And recently, the world has been following the social unrest in Iran, through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

These various technologies can be used for very practical business purposes, even though they were originally intended for other purposes. So the question is “How will you use technology to strengthen your business?”

The answer will vary based on your type of business, but I have a few suggestions listed below:

1. Create an online ‘social’ network within your company.

An online network will help your employees communicate across various departments and locations. They can post best practices to share with fellow employees or ask questions on the network to which others can respond. They can even post pictures of work-related events to boost moral. If your network has audio or video, you can post recordings of staff meetings in addition to meeting notes.

2. Send alerts to your team via Text Messaging.

Text messaging can be a quick and easy way to let your employees know that a staff meeting has been rescheduled or that the CEO is making a surprise visit to the office.

3. Create a series of YouTube videos demonstrating the use of your product.

This will provide instruction for those who already own your product and it may also generate interest among those who happen to stumble upon your video. Which leads to my next point…

4. Use the Internet to promote your product.

Tools such as stumbleupon.com or digg.com are great resources to promote your product. They scan the Internet and present users with recommended websites based on their interests. If a user finds your website interesting, they may recommend it to others. With millions of users each, stumbleupon.com and digg.com reach a lot of potential customers.

5. Use the Internet to promote yourself.

LinkedIn is an online networking service that allows members to connect with colleagues, classmates and friends. It is focused on professionals and provides access to professional communities and alumni associations. It is also a great way to list your accomplishments and promote yourself.

Almost any technology can provide a great advantage, even if it seems geared to personal use. Like me, you may not see it at first, but I’m sure that once you’ve tried Twitter to enhance your meetings or created an inner-office social network, you’ll be sold.

Final Thought

I’ve included hyperlinks to the various resources discussed above. I encourage you to click on a few and explore them for yourself. Chances are that you will find one or two that will help make your company more StrategyDriven.

Reference

1. Johnson, Steve. “How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live.” Time. 5 June 2009. 20 June 2009

Lucas D. Ives is a training consultant at Verizon Wireless and a StrategyDriven contributor. A dynamic facilitator, he excels at creating and delivering captivating training focused on the business professional. To read Lucas’s complete biography, click here.

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Impacts

The lack of loyalty can have devastating effects on any organization. The development of each employee is a considerable investment in time and money. In addition to salary and benefits, a company will invest in classroom and on-the-job training, networking opportunities, equipment and tools for each employee. Each employee also gains valuable experience while performing his/her duties. If an employee is lost, say to another company, so is the sum of the investments your company has made in that employee. In most cases, any replacement will need time to match the former employee’s level of production. Additionally, if the employee is lost to a competitor, the competitor may benefit form his/her extensive knowledge of your company.

By fostering loyalty in your employees you not only avoid the downfalls listed above, you gain a team member who is often willing to work a little harder and a little longer for you or for the company. Loyal employees don’t just work for a paycheck. They consider themselves a part of a team. They have an emotional interest in seeing their team, their company and their coworkers succeed. These employees are always the best performers, simply because they care about more than themselves.

Earning Loyalty

As mentioned, loyal employees don’t just work for a paycheck. Put another way, loyalty is earned, not bought. So how do you keep your best employees from jumping ship at the first sign of a larger paycheck? The best way is to provide an environment in which your employees will enjoy working. Work sponsored events and periodic employee appreciation activities will build moral and strengthen the bond between employee and company.

Recognition for good performance is critical in creating loyal employees. No one likes to feel as if his/her hard work is being overlooked. Acknowledging a job well done will encourage even more good work. Additionally, employees are more likely to stay in a position when they know their work is appreciated.

Being an ethical manager and company also fosters loyalty. Most people take pride in being part of a group with integrity and good will. It reinforces confidence that they will be treated fairly and strengthens the trust between employees, their coworkers and management.

Much more goes into building a corporate culture and identity that employees will be proud of, than can be said here. However, you should frequently ask yourself “why am I proud of my company?” or “what would make me proud?” Answering these questions will bring you a step closer to creating loyalty among your workforce.

Final Thoughts…

Because of the impact employee loyalty has on any business, it must always be on the mind of company leadership. By making an effort to build and maintain loyalty, you may very well save your most valuable resource – your employees.

Lucas D. Ives is a training consultant at Verizon Wireless and a StrategyDriven contributor. A dynamic facilitator, he excels at creating and delivering captivating training focused on the business professional. To read Lucas’s complete biography, click here.

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In the end, being the first to do something is not what’s most important. Doing what’s smart is!

Take the US Automotive Industry for example. Would Chrysler and General Motors have filed for bankruptcy had they followed the example of Toyota and Honda and built more fuel-efficient cars? A successful company encourages new ideas from within, but also adopts the best ideas and business practices from the corporate world at large. Very successful companies make those ideas and practices even better. (Look at what Apple did to the MP3 player!)

So keep your eyes, and your mind open. A good idea from inside your company, or from the outside, is still a good idea.

Lucas D. Ives is a training consultant at Verizon Wireless and a StrategyDriven contributor. A dynamic facilitator, he excels at creating and delivering captivating training focused on the business professional. To read Lucas’s complete biography, click here.

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Lucas Ives
Principal Contributor
StrategyDriven

The best leaders are those whose employees perform well because they want to, not because they are forced to. This may be based on those employees’ work ethic, or it may be because their leaders inspire them. Chances are that it will be a combination of both, however, it is certain that anyone who manages through fear or intimidation is a leader in name only. Real leaders are both respected and respectful, regardless of job title.

An integral part of being a leader is coaching others on their performance. Providing constructive feedback is often the only way that an employee will know what they are doing well and where they have an opportunity to improve. Coaching is also a way to build relationships by showing others that you respect them and, by doing so, earning their respect.

Coaching is meant to be constructive, building up the employee and improving his/her performance. When coaching others, follow the three tips below to ensure you are doing so constructively:

Focus on the behavior to be changed, not on the person

Keep the focus of any coaching on the behavior itself. Because an employee is verbose and takes twice as long to assist a customer on the phone as he should does not make him a bad person. By focusing on the behavior, you demonstrate that it is the excessive chatter you want to change, and not the employee himself. This prevents the feedback from being viewed as a personal attack.

When possible, coach in private and praise in public

Coaching an employee in front of others will almost always cause embarrassment and is usually counterproductive because the individual being coached will focus her attention on the embarrassment she is feeling in front of their coworkers and not on the message you are trying to deliver.

On the other hand, praising an employee in public has several benefits. First, the employee being praised will feel good about her performance and her recognition, which will translate into continued positive results. Second, observers will be motivated to do well in the hopes of receiving similar recognition.

Be objective and never coach an employee when you are angry

It is difficult to make sound decisions when you are angry or frustrated. If you are angry with the employee to be coached, you may be focusing (although unconsciously) on achieving the wrong goal of scolding him rather than improving his performance. While the employee’s actions may make you furious, your first reaction may make the situation worse. Step away from the heated situation, collect your thoughts and coach that employee when you have calmed down.

Remember, coaching is meant to be a constructive way to encourage positive actions and discourage negative ones. Whichever one of these you are attempting at any given point and time, the goal is always the same: to improve your employee’s performance.

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Thomas Jefferson
President of the United States of America (1801 – 1809)

Conflict in the workplace is a fact of life. We are all human and, whether it is intentional or unintentional, conflicts with others will arise. How you handle conflict says a lot about you. A person who keeps their cool is more likely to be respected than one who looses it when wronged by another.

Reacting to conflict by turning defensive, raising your voice or being condescending or insulting in any way, will project the image that you cannot rationally handle difficult situations. Think of handling a conflict with an individual the same as you would handle a drop in sales, loss of production on the assembly line or a costly engineering defect. The way you conduct yourself in a personal conflict is a reflection of how you will conduct yourself in any one of these other situations. Your potential for advancement may be affected as will the respect of your peers and subordinates.

So how do you avoid this pitfall? There are four basic rules of conflict management that will keep you from reacting to conflict in a way that will only hurt you in the long run. They are:

• Pause to analyze the situation
• Consider whom you need to convince
• Weigh the outcome of your action or inaction
• Make a smart decision

An Illustration

The application of these rules may be best illustrated by the following story:

Larry, a consultant at a widget manufacturing plant was given the task of documenting the widget making process from beginning to end. He finished his first draft of the material and sent it off to Kiel, the floor supervisor, to review and sign off on the documentation.

A week had passed and Larry had not received a response from Kiel, so he sent a polite e-mail to remind Kiel that the document needed to be reviewed and the due date was approaching. Just a minute later, Kiel sent Larry an e-mail that made no reference to the previous two Larry sent, but simply stated that there had been a change in procedure so that step 3 had been eliminated. Realizing that Kiel could not have reviewed the original material in the minute that had elapsed between his and Kiel’s e-mail, Larry replied by saying, “I will eliminate step 3 just as you said. Please review the rest of the material that I sent you and let me know if there are any other changes you would like made.”

After a few more days had passed with no reply from Kiel, Larry followed up with an e-mail stating, “I have made the change you requested by eliminating step 3. Are there any other changes you would like me to make before finalizing this document?”

The next day, Larry received an e-mail from his manager which read: “Kiel said that he told you to eliminate step 3 in your document and you did not. The material he forwarded to me still includes this step. Please explain.”

Larry felt the urge to call his manager and explain to her that Kiel was an idiot who didn’t read his e-mail. He even thought of telling Kiel this directly, but instead he decided to apply the four basic rules of conflict management.

Pause to Analyze the Situation

It was apparent that Kiel did not read the e-mails Larry had sent (at least not very carefully). If he had, he would have known that Larry did eliminate step 3 and requested a review of the rest of the material before finalizing it. When Kiel finally looked at the documentation, it still contained step 3 because it was the first draft of the material.

What was worse than not reading the e-mails was Kiel’s action of e-mailing Larry’s manager directly. Mistakes happen and e-mails get overlooked, but by going over Larry’s head, Kiel had damaged the relationship they had and future projects would be negatively impacted. This could have been avoided if Kiel had simply called or e-mailed Larry and asked about the update, eliminating step 3.

Consider Whom You Need to Convince

While Larry still needed the rest of the document to be reviewed by Kiel, it was his relationship with his manager that was most important in this situation. Larry needed to reassure his manager he was not in the wrong. He also wanted to let her know he was mature enough to handle this situation in the most professional manner possible.

Weigh the Outcome of Your Action or Inaction

Occasionally a conflict will arise that can simply be overlooked. You bump into a co-worker in the hallway and they scream at you to watch where you’re going. Or your manager, clearly frustrated, asks why you haven’t delivered the monthly report yet and you reply that it was turned in two days ago, (and she discovers it under a stack of papers on her desk). In these situations, inaction is the best response. Otherwise you may either make the situation worse or appear condescending. If the situation will blow over quickly and there are no negative repercussions, it is usually best to ‘let it go.’

However, Larry’s situation required action. Again he needed to mend his image with his manager and he still needed Kiel to review the document. The question was, what action should he take to accomplish these goals without over-reacting.

Make a Smart Decision

This step will vary widely, based on your particular situation. Suffice it to say, if you have followed the first three rules, you have allowed yourself some time to calm down and come to a more rational decision.

In Larry’s case, he forwarded the e-mail chain to his manager with the following statements:

“I believe there has been a miscommunication. I have eliminated step 3 as requested and asked Kiel for his review of the rest of the material before finalizing it. Once the remainder of the material is reviewed and the document finalized this project will be complete.”

“On a personal note, this situation seemed to cause some tension with Kiel. Communication being key to the success of our business, I would like to ask your advice. Is there anything you would have done differently, had you been in my position, to avoid this tension?”

While Larry hadn’t done anything wrong, he was open to the possibility that there may have been a better way to communicate with Kiel in this situation. Even if there wasn’t a better way, his approach had several positive effects.

1. Larry’s manager could see very clearly from the e-mail chain that Kiel was in the wrong. However, by not pointing fingers, Larry demonstrated that he is interested in getting the job done, and not in placing blame.
2. Larry also demonstrated to his manager a desire to learn from difficult situations and he showed his ability to act calmly and rationally in such situations. Larry demonstrated that he was mature and professional, even when others were not.

The Outcome

Larry’s manager assured him that he acted correctly and that this ‘miscommunication’ on Kiel’s behalf would be resolved.

Kiel finished the review and never went over Larry’s head again, (probably for fear of looking foolish). From that point on, whenever Kiel had a question or misunderstanding he called Larry and they always worked it out to their mutual benefit.

The moral of this story is: if you take the time to apply the four basic rules of conflict management before reacting to a conflict, you are more likely to resolve the situation and you will better your standing in the long term as well.

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Here are five basic guidelines that will help you to build and maintain the image of a professional leader in the workplace:

• A professional leader dresses the part.
• A professional leader has integrity.
• A professional leader treats others with respect.
• A professional leader seeks input from others, and then makes an informed decision.
• A professional leader follows reason, not emotions.

Dress the Part

The first impression most people will have of you will be based on your appearance. A professional leader will always dress appropriately for his/her position. In the business world, (unless you work for Apple), professional attire is considered to be a suit and tie for men and a pant or skirt suit for women. Even if you worked until midnight the day before, you must always show up for work neat and clean. If you cannot take care of yourself at home, you will never be entrusted to take care of a business.

As important as the impression you make with your appearance is the one you make with your words and conduct. To succeed, you must not only look professional, but you must act professional as well. The remaining guidelines speak to your words and actions.

Have Integrity

Having integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Conducting yourself in an ethical manner is habit forming and contagious. As a leader you have an example to set. Let others know that doing what is right will be rewarded, unethical practices will be punished, and that you ‘practice what you preach.’ Hypocrisy is not professional.

Treat Others with Respect

Treating others with respect involves talking to them as equals, regardless of their job or title. Be courteous. A simple ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ will make the difference between a difficult interaction and a comfortable conversation.

As a leader you will need to coach others on their performance. Except in rare circumstances, you should coach in private and praise in public. Coaching someone in front of others will almost always harm your reputation. You run the risk of being viewed as ‘power tripping,’ or as someone who puts others down to build yourself up. While this may not be the case, you are dealing with people who have their own egos to bruise. Others’ impressions of you will affect team moral and performance.

Additionally, coaching in public often does not have the desired result of correcting a mistake or a wrong practice. The individual being coached will often focus their attention on the embarrassment they are feeling in front of their coworkers and not on the message you are trying to deliver.

Praising an employee in public has several benefits. First, the employee being praise will feel good about his/her performance and his/her recognition, which should translate into continued positive results. Second, observers will be motivated to do well in the hopes of receiving similar recognition. You will also be viewed as the effective leader who can guide a team to achieve positive results.

Seek Input from Others and Make an Informed Decision

A true professional is not intimidated by the ideas of others, rather, he/she will embrace them. You may be presented with a whole new way of approaching a situation or tackling a problem. You will also instill confidence in your employees that you are open to their thoughts and views, and that you are making truly informed decisions based on all the information available. You will also benefit from the strong lines of communication you create by encouraging dialogue.

Follow Reason, Not Emotions

It is difficult to make sound decisions when you are angry or frustrated. Your choices may not be sound if you are making them when you are angry. At that moment, you may also be focusing (although unconsciously) on achieving the wrong goal of shooting down your colleague’s argument or proving your own point and not on what is best for the team. While a colleague’s actions may make you furious, your first reaction may make the situation worse. Take a professional approach by stepping away from the heated situation, collecting your thoughts and formulating an informed response. If you are in public, choose to take your discussion somewhere private. Remember, getting the last word will not project a professional image, keeping your cool will.

Remember…

The professional image of a leader is not made over night. Once it is created it must be maintained and it cannot be faked. If you practice these steps, chances are you will project the image of a professional leader… because you will be one.

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5. Management – Introduction

Author Unknown

Teaching via the Socratic Method

The best way for someone to learn something and to retain it, is for the individual to figure it out on their own. This is the concept behind the Socratic Method. As the teacher leads the conversation, the student observes, participates, and eventually understands. This method is most often used in law school, to the dismay and embarrassment of many law school students. Often the legal professor is ruthless when cutting down student ideas, asking what universe they live in because their version of the law certainly does not exist in this one. This tactic has the effect of ensuring students study.

While the insults and embarrassment law students live with would certainly not be acceptable in the business world, the constructive application of the Socratic Method can provide a great deal of benefit to businesses and employees alike.

The idea behind this method is to guide a conversation using questions and accepted facts; keeping the conversation on its proper course. As participants discuss their views and essentially think out loud, others will learn from what is being said. A good teacher will ask a participant to justify their response and the audience learns as a unit why the response is correct or incorrect.

It may sound simple but remember, a discussion is, at a minimum, a two-way event. You need to get a point across, and because others will be speaking as well, you will essentially be using their voice. In other words, you must direct the conversation to your desired conclusion.

Choose Your Setting

The best way to lead a discussion is to be at eye level with your audience. By standing behind a podium or in front of a classroom you are portraying the image of an orator or teacher. Your goal should be to draw ideas and information out of your audience. While you may be teaching or training this group, you want them to feel comfortable voicing their ideas. Most law school classrooms are designed with this concept in mind. The class is usually arranged in a horseshoe with the professor at or below eye level of the class. If necessary, you may choose to sit down on the edge of the stage or the table and look your audience in the eye. This body language will encourage participation.

Be a Director

Direct your conversation. Because others are involved, there is the potential for the discussion to get off track. When this happens, ask a question that will redirect the focus back to the desired topic. Ask, why will this move be good for the company? How can this policy change spur growth and increase revenue? If you get the correct response right away, ask the audience member to prove it. What was wrong with the old way? You are not just looking for what is correct, but also why it is correct.

To effectively lead a discussion you must learn how to ask a different kind of question. Determine what questions you will ask prior to giving your class or presentation. Make sure to use a variety of question types such as open-ended and close-ended questions.

Open-ended questions are used when you are looking for a more detailed response. These can be used to determine if the participant or audience truly understands the information you are delivering. They can also be used to encourage discussion or to let the audience talk their way through a problem.

• Why do you think this policy benefits us in the long term?
• What results can we expect to see after implementing this change? Why?

What, Why and How are great question words to use when seeking a more detailed response. If you are looking for more detail or clarification of a response, ask a follow up question:

• Can you tell me more?
• Would you elaborate on that for us, please?
• Can anyone explain that in a different way?

And ask for examples:

• Can you describe a time when you had to deal with a hostel client?
• Give me an example of when you could apply these steps to your job.

Close-ended questions elicit a one-word, often a yes or no, response. These can be used to quickly check for understanding or as a way to respectfully stop the conversation when it strays off course.

• So you think this new process will show long-term results?

When the participant answers, “Yes,” affirm their response and move on to the next point in the discussion.

• You’re absolutely right, this will be a great move in the long run. Now, let’s move on.

As mentioned earlier, you should formulate your questions in advance and have a clear idea of the response you are looking for as well as what incorrect responses you may receive. Also, think in advance of how you will respond to your audience’s potential answers to your questions. Should you say, “Tell me more,” or should you elicit others’ feedback?

Remember, you are teaching your audience ‘to fish.’ Simply telling them of a new process may be easier, but guiding them to a thorough understanding of the process and why it is better for the company will yield better results. You will promote critical thinking and leave your audience knowing not just what, but why and how.

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This article will present several tips to enhance your public speaking skills. You will learn the basic Dos and Don’ts of public speaking, and then take a look in greater detail at some advanced skills. You will discover ways to engage your audience and improve their chances of retaining the information you give them and you will learn how to avoid some common pitfalls.

Remember, the most important part of public speaking is getting your audience to receive and retain the information you provide. It’s about them, not about you, so you must adjust your delivery accordingly. If your audience walks away from your presentation better informed and better prepared to do their job, everyone benefits.

Speaking Basics

These tips can, and should be used any time you are delivering information to a group of people. Your goal is to direct your audiences’ focus to the information you are delivering, to hold their attention and to leave them better informed, and maybe even inspired, at the end of the presentation. The following tips will help you to achieve that goal.

Don’t Read

The first rule of public speaking is ‘don’t read’ to your audience. Look at them. This can only be accomplished by proper preparation. Know what you are going to say. Memorize it if necessary. Index cards or a teleprompter should be used as a guide only, not a script.

If you feel nervous in front of a room full of people, then pick several points on the wall in the back of the room on which to focus. Looking at these points will give the illusion that you are looking at the audience. They will never know that you are focusing on the clock, the door and the empty chair.

Use Visual Aids

If all they have to look at is you, your audience will lose interest very quickly. Use visual aids to introduce a topic, underscore an idea or create a theme. The most common visual aid is a presentation or slide show. Since most people are visual learners, graphs and charts are a great way to deliver information. Pictures can be very helpful as well because they add life to a presentation.

Be careful not to make your visual aids too complex or too busy. Some simple rules to follow:

• Organize your visual aids around one single idea or theme. The objective should be clearly defined and obvious to your audience.
• Use no more than three colors. Using more than three colors will make the visual aid feel too busy and distract your audience from its meaning. Choice of colors depends on the mood or feeling you are trying to convey. Some examples include:
  • Yellow – Bright, sun, intellect, caution, notice me
  • Orange – Power, unusual, eye-catching, weird
  • Red – Bold, urgent, powerful, angry, emergency
  • Dark Blue – Communication, sky, sea, calm, steady
  • Light Blue – Playful, sky, up beat, flow
  • Green – Growth, money, earth, power, plants, spring
  • Brown – Wood, solid, dull, ground
  • Black – Sleek, finished, formal, final
  • Purple – Bright, psychic, regal, royal, intuitive, artistic
• Use different styles of lettering to catch the class’s attention. Examples include:
  • CAPITALS
  • lowercase
  • BLOCK
  • Shadow
  • Slanted
  • UNEVEN
• Always use a border around a poster or slide.

Visual aids do not always need to be a slide or poster. For example, if you are discussing the strength and durability of a new all-weather cell phone, throw it against the wall, drop it in a bucket of water and then take a phone call. Being dramatic can be a great way to demonstrate your point.

Control Your Body Language

Don’t stand behind a podium during an entire speech or presentation. Interact with your visual aids, even if you are just pointing out a fact or line on a chart. If you are interacting with someone in your audience, take a step or two toward them. This gesture will demonstrate that you are interested in them and what they are saying.

Keep your hands out of your pockets. When necessary, use your hands to direct the audience’s attention to the screen or another visual aid. Gesture with an open hand to a member of the audience if you are calling on them, but avoid pointing with one finger at someone. This may be taken as a sign of aggression.

Adjust Your Tone

Use inflection to get your point across. A monotone voice will lose an audience and perhaps even put them to sleep. Sound excited and your audience will be excited. If necessary, over-emphasize your words. What may seem like over-doing it to you will come across as energetic to your audience.

Think about the words you want to emphasize ahead of time and practice. Your use of inflection can actually change the meaning of your words. For example, place the stress on the word on bold in the following sentences and see how the meaning also changes:

• I never said you stole the money. (No, but someone else did.)
• I never said you stole the money. (I said that Sally stole the money.)
• I never said you stole the money. (I said you borrowed it.)

Use Examples

As demonstrated above, they will enhance your message and they will tie your concept to a real-life situation. Keep the following rules in mind when choosing your examples:

• Keep your example relevant. If you are speaking about delivering quality customer service, use an example of when you received quality customer service or of when you received poor service.
• Discuss the example. What made this a positive customer service interaction? Why was the service poor?
• Keep your example simple. If your audience can’t understand the example, then it does nothing to help them understand the concept.

Advanced Skills

If your goal is to teach your audience about a new product, process or a policy change, you will need to employ more advanced speaking skills. In this situation, your goal is not just to deliver information. Rather you must ensure your audience receives and understands the information you provide and be able to apply it on the job as well.

Ask Questions

It can be easy to fall in the trap of becoming a ‘talking head.’ One way to avoid this is to include your audience in the presentation. You may ask questions that tie the topic to the audience. For example, ask:

• By a show of hands, who here works in the Finance Department?

Choose a member of the audience, who raised their hand and continue:

• How will this change in policy effect you?

Asking questions allows people to feel included. If the question and response are applicable to a group, like the Finance Department, then others in that department will pay attention even if they were not called upon. If you take this approach, be sure that you ask questions of several groups or departments so that you include a larger portion of the audience.

You may also call directly on people rather than asking for volunteers. This has the effect of getting your entire audience to pay attention. No one wants to be the one who is called on unprepared.

Lead a Discussion

One of the most effective skills, and the one that is probably most difficult to master, is leading a discussion. This method is often used in Law School and is generally referred to as the Socratic Method. The idea behind this method is to guide a conversation using questions and accepted facts to keep the conversation on its proper course. As participants discuss their views and, essentially think out loud, others will learn from what is being said. A good teacher will ask the participant to justify their response and the audience will learn as a unit why the response is correct or incorrect.

Effectively applying these skills takes practice but, like any other valuable job skill, will payoff through advancement and a greater sense of confidence.

More importantly, practicing the skills outlined here will help you to engage your audience and accomplish the goal of leaving your audience better informed and better prepared to do their job. Remember, in the end it’s about them. Have you direct their focus to the information delivered? Did you hold their attention? Do they understand the information you provide and can they apply it on the job?

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