7 Important Things You Must Know To Excel In Your Table Topics

When I stepped into the auditorium yesterday, the enthusiastic mood of the audience filled the air. Indeed, they were present to learn and acquire the art of public speaking. The fervor to learn was undeniable. You will be inspired by their passion and touched by their willingness to improve.

As I presented my workshop on “Table Topics Triumph”, I could see all of the participants gripping on to their pens, ready to note down the various pointers that I would cover. When I asked for their suggestions for table topics, the willing hands would raise up. We were never short of ideas when it came to topics. I liked that.

Most of all, I take honor in having the privilege to contribute my knowledge, expertise and services to the participants. I appreciate them coming forth with enquiries and their answers to my questions. This is what sharing is all about. We grow together.

Adding on, there are important things that can further help you if being excellent in Table Topics is your aim:

1. The audience is smart. Never underestimate the people you are addressing nor look down on them. Treat them with worth and respect.

2. Remember to answer the question. Instead of getting too carried away with your opinions, get back to attention to the topic eventually.

3. Ensure that there is a logical flow to your speech. In the midst of time pressure, it’s easy to be way too scattered with your speech. Keep it flowing smoothly.

4. Avoid the dreaded awkward introduction where the audience knows that you are unsure. This usually serves as a major obstacle to an otherwise great speech. Stand your ground on this.

5. Use the stage positions to display compare and contrast if required in your speech. This will enable your audience to differentiate your points within a very short time in a quick duration of your speech.

6. Let the topic drive your speech and its content. In this way, your entire speech will come across as more coherent and answering to the topic.

7. Know that there are always multiple angles to approach the topics. Short of being too absolute, topics can truly be answered from more than one methodology. Work on showing your perspectives of the topic, allowing it to make sense with the audience.

At the end of it all, it’s ultimately your show. To put up a positive display of your speaking prowess, correct and constant practice is essential.

Here are my best wishes. May your speeches always Excel Beyond Excellence!

(Source: wekie.com)

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What You Can Do To Boost Your Sales, Negotiation and Persuasion Techniques

What I truly love about full day trainings on Sundays is that the streets are so peaceful whenever I travel to the workshop venue. And it always gives me newly energized perspectives to share differently. Hence for the recent Sunday training, I decided to add even more value to provide more concepts taught.

This was a customized training on “Selling Skills and Persuasion Techniques” for a major company in the industry. The large group of audience was highly participative and massively added to the fun and laughter. While sales techniques were practiced, I was also glad when I showed them how to further create more strategies that work.

Let’s explore how you can boost up these vital techniques of yours:

1. Be willing to experiment with different variations

Understand that there are no absolute fixed techniques that will work perfectly. You have to mesh the techniques with your personality and your mannerisms. As a result, varying circumstances do call for an invented strategy sometimes. While impromptu techniques may not work all the time, it adds to the fun of selling and negotiation.

2. Learn to be observant of your potential customers

Your customers, when you are observant, will give you plenty of clues to know how to sell to them. There are always signs and cues that will somewhat provide you hint as to whether you are ‘colder’ or ‘warmer’ to getting the sale. However, your part is to train yourself to be observant enough to detect these all-important, profit-generating, quota closing signals. Experience through interaction does count very much in this case.

3. Work with a persuasion mentor by sharing your encounters

Your mentor for persuasion should be competent enough to detect, highlight and analyze your various blind spots during your interaction with your customers or colleagues. This will certainly help to accelerate your learning curve on this skill. In addition, your sharing allows you to further encapsulate your thoughts through your expression, giving in greater reflection and learning.

When you conscientiously work on these pointers, you will, over time, experience a greater sense of understanding towards applying addition sales and persuasion techniques. These hence, become an integral part of you eventually.

Wishing you the results that Excel Beyond Excellence in this New Year!

(Source: wekie.com)

Exploring The Essence Of What It Truly Means To Be A Befriender

As Day 2 of the double Sunday Befrienders’ Training last week came to an end, some participants lingered on. We managed to discuss on the real life issues that faced the client’s families. These are not merely misunderstanding but real cumbersome problems that plagued these families and existed for a long time.

Being a Befriender implies that one ought to be ready to serve that special friend for the troubled person. Your presence could sometimes make the difference between the family’s hope and despair. You bring the hope, the comfort and the possibilities of a brighter outlook to their own future.

The following essential points thus become crucial for the Befriender:

1. The key to being a Befriender is Trust. And you will be entrusted with many untold information divulged by the family you befriend.

2. You have to balance the Ethics issue with your Integrity as a Befriender.

3. Your perspective of life is called into challenge. Be steadfast but receptive to other lifestyles that exist for your befriending family.

4. You should help the family prepare for a life after you. Guide them as a friend to help themselves live better on their own.

5. Both of you are eventually transformed, enriched and empowered in the process. It’s not only that the family gets better; it also becomes your personal reflection to appreciate life.

(Source: wekie.com)

When The Boss Speaks: How Should You, The Management, Make A Speech So Your Staffs Will Listen. (7 Proven Pointers To Guide You Through)

As long as you are holding the managerial position, you will eventually find yourself having to give talks to your staffs. By default of the fact that you are a manger or a leader, you have to deal with people. Whenever it comes to working with others, relationships, emotions, opinions come into the picture. You cannot avoid this. It’s all part of the art of working together.

Whenever I coach the managers and top executives individually or in a group, I help them to better craft their speeches to further appeal to their staffs. I call this “Leadership and Management Talk”. After all, the power of public speaking by leaders can never be discounted. They should never be taken lightly at all.

Think of how the US President-elect Barack Obama triumphed in the recent Presidential Election and won the massive numbers of voters over with his power of eloquence, thrilling and inspiring the audience in the process.

Should you work on these forms of leadership talk, I’m sure you will benefit greatly as a result. It will absolutely augur well for you as a manager, a leader, or both.

Therefore when you, the boss, speak, consider the following pointers:

1. The speech is really about them. When your staffs are willing to work well as a result of your speech, then can the company take off.

2. Keep your points smooth and flowing. Make it easy to listen to, absorb and understand what you want them to know.

3. Avoid mixing up the issues and over interfacing them with multiple layers of problematic discussions. Focus on one point at a time, please.

4. In your speech, let them know that you do care for their wellbeing, really. And show full sincerity.

5. Raise examples from their own job situations, instead of asking them to understand yours. People usually see from their own points, not others.

6. Include an avenue where they can see or air their views with you. Remember, outlet, outlet, outlet. People need a channel for let go and to give out emotional concerns.

7. Conclude with an uplifting note. Every staff in his company wants to know that the future of the company is secure, hence so is his job. Even if you have to let some of them go, show them another better future.

(Source: wekie.com)

Ignore Them At Your Own Risk! Exploring The 5 Essence Of Managing Your Conflicts Without Making Them Worse

As I approached this training topic over the past 2 days, I’ve derived even more ways of handling conflicting situations and tough people. What I’ve always liked about “Conflict Management” workshops are the freshness and renewed challenges that keep presenting themselves.

What did I do? I basically encouraged the participants to explore the tough conflicts with me.

And throughout these interactions, I helped them to design the different approaches that they can use whenever the conflicts arise. It’s never a quick hit-and-run solution if you want to get to the root of the issue, but there are truly some words and approaches that can put you in a more positive light.

Do reflect and consider the following essence of conflict management:

1. When people get angry, they are exhibiting a inner set of conflicting values. These values often, though not always, have been accumulated over time. You want to recognize that in you.

2. Conflicting people want to be heard, and seriously do not appreciate receiving any condescending treatment.

3. They are also seeking support of some kind for their points of views. Notice when the areas of similarity might be for both your viewpoints.

4. These people have either an overly high or overly hurt ego of some kind and want to assert it unto people around them. Handle their egos with care!

5. Avoid getting too carried away to prove yourself right, because that’s exactly what conflicts can get you to do — get carried away and your conflict escalates.

(Source: wekie.com)

How To Integrate Leadership Communication Into Your Interaction With People

I completed the first segment of the training yesterday with a sense of satisfaction. Although it was Saturday, I was glad the participant-leaders were able to be dedicating their time to better themselves. After all, this course “Communication and Problem Solving for Leaders” was specifically customized for them.

We had a fair bit of in-depth discussion on what it meant for a leader to communicate. I call this “Leadership Communication”. The participants understood that the manners and style of communication were also very much affected by the leader’s personality. Hence, I was pleased when the leaders were able to integrate the various concepts into their practice.

When we explored the concepts of leadership communication, we also derived various ways of displaying them at work.

Here are some of them:

1. Understand how your staffs prefer to interact and communicate.

2. Discuss with them your corporate goals with values and how you are going to lead them to fulfill these objectives.

3. Seek to inspire them by communicating trust in their capabilities.

4. Remember that one key element of communication is listening, active listening.

5. Let your staff know that you understand them by communicating with empathy and your willingness to adopt possible, workable ideas.

(Source: wekie.com)

5 Useful And Proven Ways To Start The Next Round Of Your Negotiations Excellently

After a few days of heavily packed seminar sessions, I’m updating this blog again. However, the next round of super intensive training is just about to come up soon. Nonetheless, I know that my life is just about to get even more exciting and the ride has just become more sensational. *Wink 😉

I was pleased that the participants remembered what I taught them a week ago. This particular run of “Effective Negotiation Skills” training was slightly different from the usual in the sense that it had a one week break. Both sessions were conducted on Saturdays, full day. Hence, with the one week break, participants were requested to review and practice their skills. I glad they had displayed how to apply the negotiation skills and strategies taught in my training.

And since negotiation can, from time to time, take more than one meeting; it becomes imperative that we understand how to restart the negotiation talks effectively and excellently.

Here are some proven ways you can begin your next round impressively:

1. Rebuild the rapport.

2. Review the previous agreement with tact and diplomacy.

3. Attribute credits to your counterparts when credits are due.

4. Start the session with sincerity.

5. Promote the sharing of long term views for mutual benefits.

(Source: wekie.com)

5 Truths You Must Know About Winning The Inner Game OF Negotiation And Deals Making

Yesterday saw the completion of the 2 day Negotiation and Conflict Resolution training for a very popular multi-national corporation. I’ve always enjoyed conducting such trainings and handling the questions because they are usually challenging, tough yet so prevalent in our lives.

It’s never an easy task especially when negotiation skills seem to be needed almost at every turn and nearly every facade of our life. This requires us to raise our game of bargaining to a much higher level, especially for the ambitious. For it is through negotiation that many productive and profitable deals can be made. Progress is therefore dependent on your bargaining success.

To set you on a winning negotiation advantage, you’ve have to know the truth in playing the inner game:

1. Negotiation is a test of your mental strength and dexterity.

2. Negotiation requires you to compete on thinking speed and pushes creativity limits.

3. You have to possess superior sensory awareness and acuity to win the game.

4. Negotiation demands of you to attain emotional balance.

5. The one who can exercise greater linguistic fluency wins the game.

(Source: wekie.com)

When Your Negotiation Gets Tougher: 5 Ways To Turn The Tables In Your Favor

Two days ago, I wrapped up another session of the very rigorous “Effective Negotiation Skills” training. This training on Negotiation directly addresses the urgent needs of today’s working professionals regarding their personal lives and work careers. Checking on my schedule and bookings, there are already more runs of Negotiation training on the cards in the coming weeks.

It is often likely that the negotiation and the flow of communication will get tougher before it gets better. In this case, fret not. (You better fret not.)

Here are some of the ways to turn the tables in your favor:

1. Always remain steadfast whenever the situation gets tougher.

2. Clear your mind of negativity. You cannot afford to have these thoughts at all, certainly not at this moment.

3. Listen out for the incongruence in the other party’s communication. These provide clues to the ‘cracks’ on their stand.

4. Highlight to increase or decrease their values as your bargaining chips. The more of such ‘chips’ you have, the better your position is.

5. Get the firm assurance and commitment. A nodding of head will not suffice.

(Source: wekie.com)

How Neuro-Linguistic Programming Helps You To Manage Your Human Resource Matters At The Workplace

I was invited to give a talk to a number of human resource mangers and leaders from various companies yesterday. The talk entitled, “Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Skills” enabled me to introduce to them the origin of NLP as well as sharing with them the various concepts and techniques that will empower them to become better HR managers.

The participants were highly interactive, fun-loving and made further enquires about this practical technology of human excellence. I was glad to provide the information which can direct them to what they are looking for. And their commitment to their jobs in implementing effective HR policies for their staffs earned my respect and salutation.

Similarly, when you apply the understanding of NLP technology and concepts unto your human resource matters and issues, you will discover that NLP:

1. Gives you specific strategies to build rapport and deepen relationships with the staffs at work, influencing them faster than before.

2. Guides you to better avoid, deflect and handle conflicts and tough situations arising from work.

3. Provides you the practical tools and relevant technology to better formulate human resource policies. It also takes you into effective implementation strategies that let your staff ‘buy-in’ to these policies or directives.

In short, NLP enables you to Excel Beyond Excellence!