The NoLimits Blog

Successful Communication and Customer Relationship Skills

Successful Communication and Customer Relationship Skills

Learn powerful techniques in influencing and leading relationships to build trust and confidence with internal and external clients and business partners, creating better outcomes faster with challenging situations and difficult conversations.

  

 

During this workshop you will:

  •    Learn the importance of adapting your communication style to the thinking and behaviours of         your clients and business partners.
 •    Discover how to connect, build rapport and develop long-term relationships, managing individual        relationships to get the best results.
 •    Develop a values and an outcome driven approach which will increase confidence in managing              relationships.
 •    Learn specific tools to influence better results, driving collaborative approaches to create win-win        outcomes.

 

 An intensive 2-day programme in Singapore

23 November - 24 November 2011

14 December – 15 December 2011

 

This 2 day workshop can also be tailored and run exclusively for your organisation, department or team.

For more details, click on    Download CommunicationRelationship Skills Advert - 2011

Lessons of history, there is nothing new about change...

... and how to deal with it...

"We meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political,and material ruin. … The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes for the few, unprecedented in the history of mankind; and the possessors of these in turn despise the republic and endanger liberty. From the same prolific womb of government injustice are bred two great classes of tramps and millionaires"

Sound familiar? It's from the Populist party convention in Omaha in July 1892

Why?

Lipsey and Bekar (Lipsey 1995) find that periods of pervasive innovation are characterized by periods of structural dislocation and economic crisis, ‘The evidence is also strong that such periods can cause protracted and painful adjustments in the facilitating structure of the economy, as well as a series of market reactions such as persistent de-skilling, technological unemployment, awidening of income inequalities, a slowing of the overall growth rate, and the obsolescence of a great deal of physical capital.’

The contention is that we are in just such a period of pervasive innovation in multiple fields, we now look back and characterise key times in history when similar conditions were apparent. Ususally over about 50 year periods. I supect future historians will look back on the period from around 1970 - 2020 in a similar way as we now do when we look at the industrial revolution in England 1780-1830 and in the US 1870-1920.

Clearly then the past may have important lessons for managing change and both leading and managing the consequences of innovation.

These two articles from a few years back provide a great summary of the issues in earier industrial revolutions and the relevance today - in fact they now seem somewhat prescient about what we are currently experiencing:

The 1st is from Michael Jenson at Harvard business school in 1993 The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit and the Failure of Internal Control Systems

The 2nd is a thought provoking extract from a draft thesis by Cliff Bekar at the Department of Economics, Lewis and Clark College The Productivity Paradox of the Industrial Revolution

Both provide interesting insights into how to manage innovation and how to thrive during times of rapid change. More on this later......

MBTI Prayers

For all you fans of Myers-Briggs profiling, here are the prayers of the the types:

 

 

MBTI 'prayers' - a simple indication of type preferences

 

 

• ISTJ: Lord, help me to relax about insignificant details, beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 a.m.
• ISTP: God, help me to consider people's feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.
• ESTP: God, help me take responsibility for my own actions even though they're usually NOT my fault.
• ESTJ: God, help me try not to RUN everything. But if you need some help, just ask.
• ISFJ: Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.
• ISFP: Lord, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don't mind my asking).
• ESFP: God, help me to take things more seriously, especially parties & dancing.
• ESFJ: God, give me patience and I mean RIGHT NOW.
• INFJ: Lord, help me not be a perfectionist. (Did I spell that correctly?)
• INFP: God, help me to finish everything I sta…….
• ENFP: God, help me to keep my mind on one th— … Oh Look, a bird … —ing at a time.
• ENFJ: God, help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing?
• INTJ: Lord, keep me open to others' ideas, WRONG though they may be.
• INTP: Lord, help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.
• ENTP: Lord, help me follow established procedures today. On second thought, I'll settle for a few minutes.
• ENTJ: Lord, help me slow downandnotrushthroughwhatIdo. Amen.

What is it that you firmly believe to be true?

If you really want to innovate, how do you challenge your own thinking?

The quotes below are amusing now. They were made by people who absolutely held them to be true.

So, what do you hold to be true? True innovation lies in what you dont know, not what you do know. "The only barrier to your creativity is what you know".

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers” – Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home” – Ken Olsen, President, Chairman and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication."   — Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."    — Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."    — Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18 000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers of the future may have only 1 000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1½ tons."    — Popular Mechanics, March 1949.

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."    — The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957.

"But what... is it good for ?"    — An engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, commenting on the microchip in 1968.

"The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a 'mouse.' There is no evidence that people want to use these things. …. This type of machine was developed by hardware hackers working out of Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. It has yet to find popular success. There seems to be some mysterious user resistance to this type of machine."    — John C. Dvorak on why the Macintosh would fail, San Francisco Examiner, 1984/02/19.

“Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility--a development which we should waste little time dreaming about.”   - Lee de Forest, 1926, inventor of the cathode ray tube

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk? - H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

640K ought to be enough for anybody - Bill Gates, 1981

Airplanes are interesting toys, but they have no military value - Marshal Ferdinand Foch in 1911

With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market - Business Week, 1958

Whatever happens, the U.S. Navy is not going to be caught napping - Frank Knox, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, on December 4, 1941

Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, October 16, 1929.

Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction - Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

 

The leaders role in innovation

Business Model Reinvention

Box 1: Manage the Present

Box 2: Selectively Forget the Past

Box 3: Create the future

 

Managers focus mostly on Box One and must now instead equally distribute their attention to all three boxes.

Old focus, Box 1: Existing customers, obsession with today’s rivals, leveraging on existing competencies (short term view)

Add the New focus on Box 2 and 3:

Focus on emergent customers, develop an obsession with potential entrants, how are you proactively building new competencies (long term view)

First focus on Box 2 in order to achieve Box 3

“Before you can create, you must forget” – V.Govindarajan & C. Trimble

Box 2 is not just changing processes, procedures and capabilities, it is even more critically about changing mindsets, cultures and beliefs.

Drive multiple Box 3 strategy processes:

1.      Engaging a subset of clients to challenge the company’s long range assumptions

2.      “30/30” rule of 30% of participants in any strategy discussion should be younger than age 30 because they are not wedded in the past

3.      Explore mechanisms like Strategy Graffiti Wall, Knowledge Cafes, Jam Session (i.e. fast paced round table sessions with one minute response time), speed-geeking to attract young employees to the process

Accountability: Shift from holding individuals accountable for results to one that allows for conjectures/speculations about potential nonlinear shifts.  i.e. rewarding the learning process of experimentation and ideas rather than just focusing on the end results.

Organisational design: New specialized teams are needed as existing ones are geared for Box One.  The first step in building these specialized teams is a Box Two action of dropping standard organizational practices.

 

Prioritizing for the Long Term:  Be prepared to change business models, processes, customers, products; that undermine the company’s future and long term brand.

Find your new balance amongst the forces of preservation, destruction and creation.

 

Leadership Development with NLP

I was recently asked to present how I use Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) in business and want to share with you how NLP has transformed both my work and life.   With over 20 years in the field of human resources development and a self-improvement and training addict, I’ve attended endless training programmes and gained many qualifications to deepen my knowledge of personal and professional development.

While all these training programmes have been worthwhile, the learning that has been most valuable, life-long and life-changing, has been NLP.  I attended my first NLP programme to help others in corporate organisations and soon realised I could help myself first. NLP opened up my world to new thinking and behaviours, including helping me overcome a chronic illness.

NLP is like having my comprehensive personal development tool box that I can dip into any time to help with my specific needs and challenges as they occur. I don’t have to rely on any external source to help me - no person, gadget or situation. It’s within me and I can help myself. It’s like having my own personal coach who travels with me everywhere.

Before discovering NLP, I was less productive, stressed and more in conflict. Since NLP, I feel more in control, confident, adaptable and equipped to achieve the outcomes I want.

What is NLP? 

Developed in the 1970’s by John Grinder and Richard Bandler, it is the study of how to model excellence.  It focuses on what works in our thinking, language and behaviour. 

 

 
NLP is like having your own internal navigator system that helps you find the best ways to focus on priorities and achieve goals. NLP is a practice.  The more you practise the tools and techniques of personal excellence, the more you feel in control of your own world, no matter what comes your way.

Similar to the habit of becoming fit, the best way to use NLP is to become habituated to it.  You don’t become fit for life by going to the gym for two days, you need to continuously keep fit. The same applies with NLP and the great news is that it can easily be used on a daily basis without having to go to a place or be in a situation to practise i.e. if you go on a Presenting Programme, the best way to try out your new skills is in a presentation.

 

How does NLP Help in Business?

NLP is an excellent aid in business. Many of the training programmes I have attended have been context specific. For example, performance management is useful in the work context.  Although I could extend the questioning techniques into my personal life, I don’t think I’ll receive too many favourable responses if I start appraising everybody around me.

NLP covers such a vast area of self development, it is versatile in many different contexts. For example, one of my former NLP participants told me how she was able to overcome her fear of presenting to a group of senior executives using the same NLP technique to overcome her paranoia of riding down a 650 meter luge (a sled for two people) with her young son.    

I find NLP highly beneficial in an all encompassing way for both work and life. If things are not going well at work we will carry these emotions, feelings and stress into our personal life and vice versa.  To perform at our best, both our work and life need to be in alignment.

In business, rather than dwelling on problems, for example what is wrong and who or what is to blame, NLP helps us turn around our thinking to what outcome we want. When we ask what outcome we want it’s much easier to identify resources and possibilities to make things happen. This enables us to overcome limits that we set for ourselves and our organisations and find ways to be solution orientated, achieving our vision of what we want. This resourceful thinking enables us to be better leaders for ourselves and others.

 

How has NLP Helped Me in Business?

Even though I’ve always been an optimistic person, NLP has given me more confidence, self assuredness and I have a more positive outlook. Prior to NLP, I would allow circumstances or people to get me down. NLP has particularly helped me in the following areas:-

 

1. Knowing what I want in work and life which has made me more fulfilled in both areas.
2. Confidence to overcome obstacles and not get distracted or put off by them.
3. Adaptability and flexibility which has resulted in more choices and control.
4. Belief and certainty using a values driven and visionary approach to achieve goals.
5. Awareness of how my brain works, resulting in knowing how to respond to challenges and how to focus my attention to get the best business results.
6. Improved communication style, building better rapport and connection with others by knowing more about how other people ‘tick’ and leading to increased sales with clients.
7. Changing unwanted behaviours in myself and facilitating these changes in individuals and teams.
8. Visualising good outcomes in client meetings (something I never had to do before I set up NoLimits), presentations, training and coaching programmes which has led to greater rapport and positive feedback from clients.
9. Running a business and helping me get through the challenging times of a worldwide financial crisis where the training budgets were the first to be cut by our clients.

 

How has NLP Helped Organisations and Teams?

The positive results and changes I’ve seen in organisations have been remarkable. Leaders and their teams become more certain of what they want, having clearer understanding of who they are, their overall purpose and discovering what is most important to them;  overcoming their limitations and lack of vision; and knowing how to achieve the results they are looking for. 

I have worked with organisations and individuals who have completely changed their outlook due to the NLP interventions that have helped transform their thinking. For example, the General Manager of a division where his part of the organisation was known as the place where employees went to retire, completely changed its image and reputation. NLP enabled the General Manager and his team drive:-

• Change - Transforming their business model by innovating and developing new revenue streams.  
• Engagement - Increasing team engagement by clarifying their new purpose, identity, team values and changed behaviours. 
• Results - Changing their thinking from being problem focused to thinking differently and outside the box, resulting in greater belief in their skills and delivering successful actionable goals.

Not only did the General Manager and his team grow at the personal and business level, employees from other parts of the organisation applied for jobs and transferred to this exciting division with its new reputation of increasing revenues, enhanced business prospects and an engaged team of highly talented players.

“NoLimits use of NLP techniques, when facilitated and made business specific, aided me and my team to achieve significant results by:-

• Improving team effectiveness.
• Providing high impact leadership skills and awareness.

NoLimits have transformed our outlook from being problem focused to thinking differently, outside the box and delivering more successful and actionable goals. I thoroughly recommend the NoLimits approach in translating NLP for success in your business as well as the growth of your people at a personal level. They are true subject matter experts and are able to ‘connect the dots’ to deliver a program that has always been relevant and impactful. Their efforts were best demonstrated by internal survey scores and the successful business results achieved.”

Lawrence Chan,
Vice President and General Manager, American Express Travellers Cheques, Japan Asia Pacific Australia

 

How has NLP Helped Individuals?

We have coached executives, managers and leaders who have transformed their behaviours and produced excellent results, leading to feeling more fulfilled at work and in their personal lives. Through the use of NLP, we have helped:- 

• Ambitious leaders who want to achieve business results and climb the corporate ladder; 
• Executives who want to re-invent their careers; 
• Managers who are struggling with their boss; 
  
• General managers who want to achieve more for their teams and divisions; 
• Women returning from maternity leave;
• Employees looking for promotion;
• Individuals who want to increase their executive presence and presenting skills;
• Executives who have lost their jobs;
• Entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses.

With NLP’s focus on outcomes and desired state, our coachees have embraced positive changes, achieving the results they want.

For example, one of our coachees not only had ambitious plans for her career, she also wanted to sort out her personal life.  With the help of NLP she was able to articulate and visualise what she wanted in a way that she had never been able to do before. Previously she had self sabotaged her plans by letting her limitations get in the way of what she really wanted. She ended up sacrificing her personal life for her work which did not make her feel good. NLP helped her change her state, have confidence in her beliefs and set outcomes that were well formed so her work and life values did not have to be in conflict. Previous to her NLP interventions, she only thought she could be successful at work.

 

What Makes NLP so Useful?

What I really like about NLP is that it has helped me both in work and life on a much bigger scale than any other training I have attended. As one of my former NLP participants said:-

“Different from other trainings I’ve attended, I use the NLP that I learned with NoLimits on a daily basis.”

Caroline Palmstedt, Leadership Coach, Ericsson Telecommunications.

NLP helps people be more proactive in all areas of their life. If you want influential leaders and teams and to turn around your thinking to create what you want both in business and life, invest yourself and your teams in NLP training.

Click here to find out more about our 7 day Transformational Leadership Programme in NLP.

 

 

Developing a Coaching Culture

The 2005 Annual Training and Development Survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development [CIPD] revealed that 88% of organisations are now using managers as coaches in some form or other.

There is considerable academic support and research for the view that developing a coaching culture can yield significant benefits. In a 2004 Harvard Business Review article, Sherman and Freas argued the case for a coaching culture in this way: “When you create a culture of coaching, the result may not be directly measurable in dollars. But we have yet to find a company that can't benefit from more candour, less denial, richer communication, conscious development of talent, and disciplined leaders who show compassion for people.”

A coaching culture promotes more open communication. It builds trust and respect and it improves working relationships by showing allowing everyone to engage in a solutions approach. By embedding coaching in the culture of an organisation you create a developmental approach where everyone can recognise that their role involves facilitating the development of others.

A review of the stated objectives of developing a coaching culture yields the following typical reasons for implementing a coaching culture.

TYPICAL OBJECTIVES

• Increase employee engagement levels, resulting in
  • Reduced employee attrition¹
  • Increased discretionary effort²
• Faster to market in terms of successful product implementation and project delivery
• Creating a ‘solutions mindset’ in overcoming problems and issues.
• Cross sharing of ideas, transfer and retention of know-how in the organisation

BENEFITS

The business benefits of a coaching culture are based on the linkages between the drivers of employee engagement and company profitability.

The annual Hewitt Employee Engagement Survey used by over 1500 of the world’s top companies over the last 12 years tracks employee engagement levels compared to Total Shareholder Returns (TSR).

The companies with the highest engagement levels have the highest shareholder returns, the correlation being driven by reduced attrition and increased discretionary effort.

An in-depth analysis³ of the drivers of employee engagement that have biggest impact on overall engagement scores identify the following four key factors:

• “I feel I can learn and grow on the job.”
• “I receive regular performance feedback that helps me do a better job.”
• “My leader regularly asks my opinion.”
• “I receive regular recognition.”

Each of these four factors can be linked to the behaviours of leaders who understand and apply coaching principles in their day to day interactions with their team members.

Companies with positive employee engagement scores above 60% have average total shareholder returns of 24.2% over 7 years. Companies in the mid-zone of 40-60% employee engagement have Total Shareholder Returns of 9.2% over 7 years. Companies from 0-40% engagement levels have average shareholder returns of -3.2% over 
7 years.⁴

 

Driving higher engagement levels correlates strongly with higher returns and higher engagement correlates most strongly with the above four factors linked to a coaching environment.

In addition to the benefit to business results the International Coaching Federation conducts regular employee surveys on the soft benefits of a coaching environment.

The International Coaching Federation, reports the following positive benefits for companies where a coaching model has been adopted:

• Lower stress levels 57%
• Self-confidence 52%
• Setting better goals 62%
• Increased self-awareness 67%
• Self-discovery 53%
• More balanced life 60%

The other perceived benefits relate to an environment where a coaching approach nurtures and inspires people to think for themselves.  Most people can be inspired to think creatively toward their own solutions to problems.  The coaching leader is one who enters into short and powerful coaching conversations, asking questions and getting the other person actively involved in the dialog in order to achieve their own conclusions.  This result is a success because of the following reasons:

• If you were encouraged to think through a problem and you achieved your own solution you will own it to the point that you will have a much higher motivation to perform and deliver the result.  To the contrary receiving a suggestion or an order about what to do is somehow easier but you will perform or execute a task as your boss suggested it.
• The coaching conversation is usually geared around the process rather than the content: that allows the manager to stay out of details and avoid the possible temptations of micromanaging their staff.
• The process of encouraging you to think through the various possibilities will also foster a more independent thinking mind that will naturally seek solutions rather than simply asking: "what shall I do next?".

APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENTATION

In evaluating approaches to implementation a useful thought starter comes from Fiona Eldridge, head of the standards committee of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council who identified six key success factors:

• Link it to the business strategy. The first step must always be to understand the organisation’s future direction and then clarify exactly how coaching can play a part in that. You need to demonstrate that working on individual effectiveness will have a cumulative effect on the performance of the whole organisation. Coaching cannot exist in isolation.
• Find a champion. Few innovative initiatives succeed without the support of a senior executive committed to the idea. Ideally this will be someone on the board, or an executive director, who has themself been coached and has more than a theoretical understanding of the potential benefits.
• Start at the top and sell the benefits. The first people to receive coaching training and implement these approaches should be at the most senior leadership level that it is possible for you to engage, once senior leaders have discovered its uses they will be keen to see it cascade throughout the rest of the organisation. Focus business benefits of these approaches in selling this.
• Develop a clear coaching methodology. If it is to become an accepted part of the organisational fabric, coaching must demonstrate clear outcomes. It should be related to actual projects and issues, not only theoretical ones. The leader as coach and coachee must agree clear success criteria, and there must be a driven process where feedback is provided as a matter of regular routine.
• Communicate clearly. Introducing a coaching culture is a major change for any organisation and resistance to any change requires active management. Resistance can be managed by communicating to all employees exactly what is happening, why, and what the intended outcomes are and through engaging key stakeholders in the process.
• Embed the process. Coaching modules should be included in the management induction programme. Create processes, policies and procedures that establish coaching approaches as the normalised leadership behaviours in the organisation. Once the senior management particularly have honed their coaching skills and coach their own teams, then in this way coaching will cascade through the organisation.

Based on our own research and experiences in Asia we see common frameworks for in the development application of a coaching culture.

I have summarised below the four areas of application that we have observed:

• Coaching for development.
• Coaching to on the delivery of specific tasks or projects.
• Coaching for individual performance.
• Coaching for high performance teams.

Each area relies on a common standardised coaching model and the development of essential key coaching skills and techniques, which are applicable in all four areas:

Coaching for Development

People leaders are trained in coaching models and the skills to practice coaching. Team members receive instruction on coaching and the application of coaching skills in order to understand the process and to actively engage and seek what they need to develop. Leaders learn the power of having a clearly defined coaching session on a regular (best practice=monthly) developmental discussion with their teams and drive increased employee engagement as measured by positive answers to the key engagement question that “I feel I can learn and grow on the job”. Skills development is based on relevant case studies and intensive practice.

 

Coaching for the delivery of specific tasks or projects. 

Leaders learn the importance of developing a flexible coaching style and coaching skills in supporting their team members to deliver on tasks, assignments and projects. The underlying models most commonly observed involve the implementation of ‘Servant Leadership’ behaviours, “Situational Leadership” type approaches and a practical application of coaching skills in learning to identify and agree the leadership style and support that an employee needs to attain high performance in the delivery of their role. Training is again provided to both leader and team member to ensure effective agreement on the employee needs.

 

Coaching for Performance

Leaders learn the application of coaching skills to create effective performance discussions on a regular basis – high engagement best practice performance discussions happen with high frequency, typically weekly and never less than monthly to actively manage performance issues and focus the employee on transforming their own performance.

 

 

Coaching for High Performance Teams

Often referred to as Peer Coaching or Action Learning Teams, this is a process where individuals in a team apply coaching models and skills together in a group at the same time and the group together coaches each member of the team.These are regular facilitated group coaching sessions for teams, which become established as normal operating behaviour. Participants meet by regularly for facilitated group peer coaching. The facilitator actively transfers coaching skills to the participants, as they coach each other through challenges and issues and on the implementation of their news skills.

Proven benefits are that participants solve problems faster, best practice is shared in a highly practical manner and knowledge is retained in the organisation as the team rises to the level of the best. This is real transfer of skills as the facilitator is able to back out of the sessions and these peer coaching sessions become an established business practice for the participants.

 

NEXT STEPS

NoLimits provides consulting services on implementation of a coaching culture. We also develop tailored solutions for training in coaching models and coaching skills across the four areas identified above and for the transfer of coaching skills into organisations.

Call Sandra Lai at NoLimits to arrange a complimentary no obligation discussion on your needs and these approaches in more detail, with a review of case study examples and to work with you to develop a high level approach to implementation. Call or contact Sandra at sandralai@nolimitsasia.com +65 6232 2466.

 

References

1. In a 10 year survey of 60,000 exit interviews by The Saratoga Institute, 80% of employees leave ‘because of the boss’. Managers who are coaches are significantly more likely to retain talent in the organisation. Retention levels, measured as ‘intent to stay’ for a longer than 5 years increase significantly when employees answer positively to the question “I feel I can learn and grow on the job”.
2. Discretionary effort is defined as an employee’s willingness to give an extra 10% effort when needs demand and correlates with improved organisational performance.
3. American Express Annual Employee Engagement Survey Data 1997-2007
4. Hewitt and Associates

Innovation and risk go together

Remember the importance of taking risks in order to innovate

Remember that innovation is 10% creativity and ultimately 90% execution.

Recognise that in innovating you need to be willing to take a risk.

There is a big with opportunity with risk when doing the creative bit:

Compared to innovation, ideas are risk free – have lots, immerse yourself in them, incubate and test and test and test. Then implement and just do it.

For a bit of motivation, watch the story of Dr Dwight E Harken........

 

via nolimits.typepad.com

Nine Elements of Great Presentations

(extract from The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, by Carmine Gallo, Mc-Graw Hill Companies, 2010)

 

1. Headline 

What is the one big idea you want to leave with your audience?

2. Passion Statement 

Aristotle, the father of public speaking, believed that successful speakers must have “pathos”, or passion for their subject.

Spend a few minutes developing a passion statement by filling in the following sentences: “I’m excited about this product (company initiative, feature, etc.) because it ___________.” Once you have identified the passion statement, don’t be bashful – share it.

3. Three Key Messages 

Write out the three messages you want your audience to receive. Each of the key messages will be followed by supporting points.

4. Metaphors and Analogies

Decide on which rhetorical devices will make your narrative more engaging. According to Aristotle, metaphor is “the most important thing by far”.

Challenge yourself to break away from what your audience expects.

Analogies are close cousins of metaphors and also are very effective. An analogy is a comparison between two different things in order to highlight some area of similarity.

5. Demonstration

Does your product lend itself to a demonstration? If so, script it into the presentation. Your audience wants to see, touch and experience your product or service. Bring it to life.

6. Partners

Whether it’s an artist or an industry partner like the CEOs of Intel, Fox or Sony, Jobs often shares the stage with people who contribute to Apple’s success.

7. Customer Evidence and Third- Party Endorsements

Incorporate customer evidence into your pitch. Including a quote is simple enough, but try going one step further by recording a short testimonial and embedding the video on your site and in your presentation. 

 

8. Video Clips

Video is a terrific tool for even the most nontechnical of presentations. Keep in mind that the average viewed clip on YouTube is 2.5 minutes.

 9. Flip Charts, Props and Show-And-Tell

There are three types of learners: Visual (the majority of people fall into this category), auditory (listeners) and kinaesthetic (people who like to feel and touch).

A presentation should comprise more than just slides. Use white board, flip charts, or the high-tech flip chart.  Bring “props” such as physical products for people to see, use and touch.

Slides don’t tell stories; you do. Slides complement the story.

-----

For further information on NoLimits Leadership Programmes and other services, contact:
Sandra Lai, sandralai@nolimitsasia.com, phone: +65 6232 246.

What do you think gets people promoted?

Based on your experience what do you think are the top three factors that result in someone getting promoted. Pick your top 3 and see how others voted.

MBTI not for Recruitment

Found this guidance the other day and it is helpful to remember specifically why it is that the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) is not a recruitment tool.

MBTI and Recruitment

We use MBTI extensively in improving team effectiveness, as a self awareness and personal development tool and in enhancing communication skills and can recommend its use in many specific ways in these areas.

We strongly recommend that MBTI is not used in recruitment and selection.

Use of the MBTI in recruitment can lead to poor business decisions for three reasons:

Lack of a validity/faking scale

When candidates complete a recruitment questionnaire, their answers can be influenced by what is quaintly known as "motivational distortion". Consciously or unconsciously they may recognise the types of behaviours that the organisation is looking for and their answers reflect that perception rather than their own personality. When this happens, the results of the questionnaire may be unreliable or even misleading.

Lack of predictive validity

"Validity" is an important concept in psychometrics. It answer the question: does the questionnaire do what it claims to do? In a few extreme cases, there have been some questionnaires used for assessment where the results have been the opposite of what was required (ie: capable people achieve a lower score). This had the effect of deselecting the best candidates.

"Predictive validity" is a particular type of validity that is required for recruitment. It asks the question whether the psychometric is able to predict how the person might behave at some point in the future - ie: if they were to be offered the job and join the company. Any tool used to support recruitment decisions needs to have predictive validity.

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator does not have any predictive validity. Nor do the publishers claim that it has any predictive validity. Knowing someone's personality type (ie their personality 'preferences') does not predict how someone will behave, because people can and do behave in many and different ways, including behaviours that are not their preference.

Mistaking preference for competence

The final reason for not using the MBTI questionnaire in assessment is that it is a measure of preference and not competence. If your candidate prefers to behave in a certain way, but is poor at it, this could be disastrous for you. The MBTI cannot identify people in that category because it doesn't measure ability.

Some argue that the MBTI can be used in recruitment "for information only". That is, the recruitment decision is not based on the MBTI type, but it is still useful to know. This is risky - especially for those who have a peripheral involvement in the recruitment process and limited understanding of MBTI - because of the tendency to mistake preference for competence. For example, many people assume that "extraverts are better at dealing with people..." or "introverts have better thought-through ideas...". These mistakes are likely to be made by those involved in the recruitment process, but the statements are incorrect. Whilst this misunderstanding can be countered through education/training for all involved in the recruitment process, it is time-consuming and expensive, and rarely done.

Therefore, any minor benefit that might be gained from having MBTI type as "information only" is far outweighed by the potential for misunderstanding.

Conclusion

Using the MBTI in executive recruitment will provide misleading information and result in poor recruitment decisions. There are some MBTI practitioners who will use the questionnaire in this context. This is a breach of the code of practice for using the MBTI, and will provide businesses with misleading information and poor recruitment decisions.

 

When Success is the Only Option: Designing Competency-Based Pathways for Next Generation Learning

A great thought starter on next generation learning approaches.

Technological advancements are opening up new educational opportunities that emphasize personalized, student-centered, performance-based, anytime, anywhere educational opportunities. This paper from inacol explores competency-based pathways, a necessary condition to realizing the potential of next generation learning.

Read more and download the report

Five opportunities to upgrade Bloom's Taxonomy

This is a continuous journey: Developing the 'learning about how to learn' and by extension, understanding how to better create the capability to learn, all of which is vital to ensure the effectiveness and relevance of what we do in a company like ours.

On exploring the theory of how we learn, I think that there are perhaps FIVE specific areas of opportunity for more research and development in upgrading one of the most established, tried and tested models of human learning; Bloom's Taxonomy (see Wiki here)

My 5 suggestions are:

1. All the 3 dimensions of the model need equal focus and there are benefits in ensuring this holistic learning approach. Most of the focus has been on the development of the cognitive aspects of the model and the emotional and physical areas are significantly under-developed, or can now be potentially be substituted with so much more recent research? True or not, the challenging question to ask yourself is, “in what ways do you ensure equal curriculum time with the development of EQ (and there is so much here to leverage) and with the development of psycho-motor capabilities”. (Overall how well are you doing in ensuring Bloom's original holistic learning intentions?)

2. Further transform the focus of Bloom's cognitive models away from subject specific application to general 'learning how to learn' skills related to each level – irrespective of what you consider the levels actually are.(e.g. DSRP method http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol5/523-wheeler.aspx )

3. Turn the model upside down: more specifically - as an additional process to the application of existing learning approaches - prioritise the development of individual cognitive capability and the learning of skills and techniques and do this 'from the top down'. i.e. ensure the development of generalised skills and techniques in each area and do so in the following order of priority (not perfectly upside down and this is my suggested order):

• meta-cognition (learning about learning, including self awareness and the capability of self engagement)

• skills to be creative

• skills to develop your own understanding and awareness

• skills and techniques in the application of learning

• skills in evaluation of approaches

• skills in analysing information

• skills and techniques in memorising and synthesising data

(This is my suggestion to dispel what I believe is 'the error of Orlich' that “Within the domains, learning at the higher levels is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels” (Orlich, et al. 2004) – He means when learning about a specific subject and I still think it is a limiting assumption – Einstein imagined riding on a beam of light first, he did the detailed math later)

4. Integrating all and any learning approaches with building and ensuring engagement, the skills to shape this for others, and the skills to transfer the capability to shape your own engagement. (eg Shulman's Table of Learning http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/elibrary/making-differences-table-learning )

5. Linking and re-linking the application of learning methodologies with the opportunities and challenges created by technology developments, ensuring relevance and that any models of learning continue to expand with the rapid development of technology (eg http://www.seriousgames.dk/node/511 and for fun http://www.businessinsider.com/sergey-brin-we-want-google-to-be-the-third-half-of-your-brain-2010-9

Take this a thought starter. I am focussing for now on number 5 and while I don't entirely agree with the way this model is developed, here is a thought provoking look at a ''Digital Bloom” http://www.fing.edu.uy/imerl/didactica_matematica/Documentos_2009/taxonomia%20de%20Bloom.pdf

 

15 Insane interview questions?

Is this how to select for ability? You be the judge.....

The Huffington Post listed 15 ridiculously hard job interview questions from top employers such as Google and Goldman Sachs.

The questions were selected from 80,000 interview questions on Glassdoor.com, a U.S. information website for jobseekers.

See how you get on with the questions below.

1. If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out? (Goldman Sachs - Analyst position)

Read more here

Thought Provoking: Our true motivations

This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace. Whatever you think about the conclusions I recommend this video for any leader who would like to engage is a real discussion about what shapes empowerment, engagement an motivation in an organisation.

 

 

How to make use of your own expectations

Someone emailed this to me today and it stimulated some useful thinking....

Put Your Expectations to Work for You

Do you expect to be successful, happy and abundant?

Or, do you spend much of your time worrying and obsessing about the possibility of failure and struggle?

One thing you'll eventually recognize is that expectations hold great power! Whatever you expect to see and experience is usually what you'll get.

There are many ways this can affect your ability to live a happy, healthy life and here are three main considerations you should be aware of:

1) Your expectations affect your attitude. It's amazing how much attitude has to do with success and happiness. A negative or cynical attitude is enough to prevent you from grasping opportunities, prevent you being open to meet the right people, and prevent you from giving your best effort and attention to your goals, all of which will lead to lukewarm results.

If you want to experience dynamic results in life, you can choose a dynamic attitude. You can decide to be fired up, passionate, and optimistic to attract better circumstances, people and opportunities into your life.

2) Your expectations affect your willingness to take action. A negative expectation will taint your attitude, it will also determine the lack of intensity and infrequency of your actions. If you expect things to go wrong, they usually will. If you expect to experience an unfavorable outcome, you'll see little point in taking action in the first place, which will return poor results (or no results).

When you are motivated and inspired and expect things to go right for you, your determination will skyrocket and you'll move forward deliberately and swiftly toward the outcomes you want to create for yourself. You'll know you're going to be successful, so why hesitate?

3) Finally, your expectations affect your interactions with others. People can sense a negative attitude even if you don't say a word (and it does seep into your language too). If you go into any social or business situation with a negative expectation, your potential friends and partners aren't going to be inspired by your attitude. They will view you as an ineffective, negative, unconfident person that they do not want to be involved with.

Be a confident, positive person with a clear focus, a zest for life and the confidence to take action, be someone that everyone will want to know!

You feel better by expecting the best in every situation and your potential partners and friends will be inspired by your vision and determination and will gravitate toward you.

You know the old saying, "Expect the best and you'll get it"? Take it seriously; for it holds a lot of wisdom, especially when you apply it to yourself.

Applying the Art of War

THE LEADERSHIP AND BUSINESS APPLICATION OF SUN-TZU’S “ART OF WAR”

Recommended Objectives

A facilitated session with a leadership team, building on the framework of strategic principles expressed in Sun-Tzu’s classic text of the Art of War, to:

• Create the opportunity to shape and explore new insights on company strategy
• Challenge the thinking of the team on their current ways of operating.
• Develop actionable items to improve business effectiveness.

Introduction

Sun-tzu ping-fa (Sun Tzu The Art of War) is one of those rare texts that transcends time. Though it was written more than 2,000 years ago, it is arguably still one of the most important works on the subject of strategy today.

There are many aspects of the “Art of War” that are relevant in modern day business strategy. As is often paraphrased from the Art of War; “The ultimate art of war is to win without fighting”. For a successful review session it is important to focus on those areas that are especially relevant to any given team or organisation and incorporate the current opportunities and challenges faced by the business to develop a targeted agenda.

Famous Quotations

故曰：知彼知己，百战不殆；不知彼而知己，一胜一负；不知彼，不知己，每战必殆。 
So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a thousand battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.

知彼知己，百战不殆 
If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

是故百战百胜，非善之善者也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。 
Therefore one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful.

兵不厌诈 
Never will those who wage war tire of deception.

Recommended Approach

A facilitated off-site session with a leadership team can review selected principles of ‘The Art of War’ using practical activities and active discussion and develop specific action items to enhance overall business success.

Each Chapter in the Art of War has a recommended area of focus for activities and discussion in the modern business context.

I Preliminary Reckoning

“Many calculations, victory, few calculations, no victory, then how much less so when no calculations?”

Session focus: developing vision and mission, defining the market place, establishing values and beliefs.

II Operations of War

“The important thing in doing battle is victory, not protracted warfare.”

Session focus: the alignment of resources and strategy – business output mapping, creating an environment for fast decisions and action – ready, fire, aim assessment and planning future organisational capabilities.

III Attack by Stratagem

“One who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be in danger in a hundred battles.”

Session focus: Understand your value proposition to the customer, align your strengths to the opportunities and create an environment where you truly understand what happens operationally.

IV The Order of Battle

“Those skilled in warfare make themselves invincible and then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable.”

Session focus: winning the customer and establishing measurable success.

V The Spirit of the Troops

“Commanding of many is like commanding of a few.”

Session focus: building empowerment and engagement to create extraordinary wins.

VI Emptiness and Strength

“Those skilled in warfare move the enemy, and are not moved by the enemy.”

 Session focus: establishing creativity, innovation and surprise and building organisational flexibility.

 

VII Battle Tactics

“Those who know the principles of the circuitous and direct will be victorious.”

Session focus: Establishing competitive advantage, strategic alliances and marketing communications.

VIII Nine Changes

“The intelligent general contemplates both the advantages and disadvantages.”

Session focus: Driving change and ensuring effective change management.

IX Army Manoeuvres

“Use the ground for assistance.”

Session focus: managing resources, building on your strengths, effective performance management.

X Ground Formation

“If you know the Heaven and you know the Ground, the victory is complete.”

Session focus: picking your battles, identifying market opportunities, knowing your competitors weaknesses.

XI Nine Grounds

“One who is skilled in warfare leads them by the hand like they are one person; they cannot but follow.”

Session focus: effective planning and organising and keeping the organisation on track.

XII Assault by Fire

“There are appropriate seasons for using fire attacks, and appropriate days for raising fires.”

Session focus: creating disruption, the importance of transformational approaches.

XIII Using Spies

“Enlightened rulers and good generals who are able to obtain intelligent agents as spies are certain for great achievements.”

Session focus: building market intelligence networks and competitive data capabilities.

Summary

The Art of War identifies practical approaches that have enduring relevance through more than two millennia and will repay your time in reading and reflecting on its messages.

Contact Sandra Lai at Nolimits to arrange a discussion on how mastering the Art of War can help you become even more successful today. Email or call Sandra at sandralai@nolimitsasia.com or +65 6232 2466.

 

 

 

China’s Talent Shortage

I found the following blog article on our office providers blog and interesting reading it is......

China’s Talent Market Confronts Negative Effects of Large-Scale Key Talent Competences Shortage in 2010

Kelly Services together with Harvard Business Review (Chinese-language version) recently issued the Kelly China 2010 Talent Competence Study. Findings of the study are below:

China’s talent market is confronted with negative effects of shortage of large-scale key talent competences in 2010

92% of companies competitive power is “affected” by the shortage of key talent competence, with 23% being “greatly affected”

* The 3 industries with the highest total negative impact are Life Sciences & Pharmaceutical (100%), Retail (100%), Engineering (95%)

* Greatest Negative Impact is Life Sciences & Pharmaceutical (36%), followed by Transport & Distribution (33%) and Banking & Financial Services (32%).

- The Top 5 departments that witness the worst key brain drain of enterprises are: sales, manufacturing, engineering, marketing and finance.

The top 3 most important and most in shortage skills：

1）communication

2）problem solving and decision making

3）creative thinking

The top 3 most in shortage but unimportant skills：

a）strategic thinking

b）global mindset

c）initiative and enterprise

Communication competence ranks the first among the most important and rarest competences. Ineffective and Inefficient communication remains the biggest obstacle that impedes enterprise development. This answer seems simple but also complicated when you try to find out its cause. For example, management hierarchy, regional difference, departmental interval, specialization of work and appeal difference among interested parties lead to different understandings of enterprise’s strategies, decisions, processes, standards and responsibilities. Such differences are often neglected or disregarded, thus getting enterprise reform into trouble. Communication becomes more complicated, so communication competence is still ranked the one most highlighted and needed by enterprises.

Overall data of the Report shows that strategic thinking, global vision, entrepreneurial spirit and other capacities are highly rare and highly important. However, CEOs interviewed state that they expect intermediate and senior talents are able to play a more important strategic role. However, facing economic recovery, enterprises are currently committed to business expansion to achieve their business objectives. Due to insufficient talent reserves, many intermediate and senior talents have to spend most of their time dealing with issues that should be coped with by first-line managers, while employees who are promoted to manager from the grass roots are not competent in communication skills, problem solving, decision making and creative thinking. Therefore, enterprises think that the most important and rarest competences in the short term include the following:

1) communication

2) problem solving and decision making

3) creative thinking.

In the long run, enterprises will attach importance to

1) strategic thinking

2) global vision; and

3) entrepreneurial spirit for intermediate and senior talent competences.

However, as talents with these competences are rare, enterprises should strengthen reserve and development in this aspect.

The most important skills in five industries

Life Science & Pharmaceutical: creative thinking, strategic thinking, problem solving & decision making, people management, communication, work-related technical skills.

Banking and finance: initiative & enterprise, problem solving & decision making, strategic thinking, creative thinking, communication

- Manufacturing: problem solving & decision making, communication, creative thinking, teamwork, work-related technical skills.

- IT& Telecommunications: communication, creative thinking, problem solving & decision making, work-related technical skills, initiative & enterprise.

- Engineering: Work-related technical skills, communication, creative thinking, initiative & enterprise, problem solving & decision making, teamwork.

Reasons for competence shortage: The shortage of competences of enterprises’ key talents is attributed to such absolute factors and relative factors:

-       Intensified talent competition causes increasingly higher brain drains rate, and enterprises’ key competences are confronted with drain.

-       Increasingly intense global and local competitions bring high requirements for the core competences of enterprises’ key talents.

-       Industrial restructuring and emerging industries bring new requirements for the competences of enterprises’ key talents.

-       The economic expansion of enterprises in China results in talent dilution.

-       As more foreign enterprises actively enter second-tier cities, local key talents are faced with requirement for competence enhancement.

-       High flow of young talents leads to big difference between their specialized competence levels and job specifications of enterprises.

-       Weak competence of grassroots employees causes more management personnel to spend much of their efforts to help first-line personnel.

Consequences of competence shortage

-       More key talents in Chinese enterprises will undertake responsibilities for Asia-Pacific regions and the world at large, and competence shortage would slow down the pace that foreign-funded enterprises enter China.

-       Competence shortage will reduce enterprises’ capability to meet customer needs.

-       Sharp increase in salary in the short term would result in the increase in enterprises’ business costs.

-       Rising brain drain rate causes reduction in enterprises’ productivity.

-       Employee satisfaction reduces. 1) Shortage of key competences causes some new managers to undertake responsibilities beyond their ability, and sharply increased pressure would reduce satisfaction. 2) Weak management skills of intermediate and senior personnel would impose influences on other employees’ satisfaction.

-       Loss and waste of resources will increase unit cost.

-       Problems occur with succession plans.

-       Growth of team is impeded.

 

Original Article and links here http://www.executivecentre.com/blog/2010/12/chinas-talent-market-faces-competency-shortage/

Retreats that Work

Here are a few things to consider in establishing a successful leadership retreat.

Great reasons to have a retreat are:

• to explore fundamental business concerns, eg poor business performance, staff turnover etc; a retreat is a great way of identifying causes and solutions
• to use the creativity of the team; to generate new ideas for products, services, work practices. Free of day to day demands, team brainstorming can drive real innovation and create action plans for implementation
• to create organisational change
• to change perceptions, attitudes and behaviours; to help a team really step up their individual and collective performance
• to fix what is going wrong, explaining change and driving commitment
• to enhance company culture and improve relationships that hinder the effectiveness of the culture; getting people to open up and creating a climate of trust
• to create a collective vision for the organisation; using processes to build a real actionable vision
• to do something that the leader cannot do alone; tap into the collective leadership brainpower, where all can contribute to shaping solutions
• to make tough decisions; eg eliminate a product, reduce staff, change an alliance, divest a business; the greater the participation the higher the buy-in and the greater chance of success

In overall terms, a retreat absolutely must have a real, actionable purpose and outcome.

The more say the participants have in the objectives, then the better the chance of successful outcomes – interviewing participants to create your retreat agenda will make it all the more powerful.

In terms of the engagement on your retreat, we believe it is important the all the participants participate in a highly constructive way. Retreats that fail do so when they are just a platform for the leaders own ideas, when they are controlled conversations, or have covert agendas, or if they avoid conflict. Similarly retreats that are just rewards, or simply for morale building, or held 'because we always have one', rarely add value and can even be destructive.

Retreat Format

The length and format of your retreat is important. There needs to be time to develop and resolve issues and we recommend that two days is a minimum, with ideally at least two and a half or three days providing an opportunity for real work. There is a law of diminishing returns and we would not recommend more than five days at a maximum.

It terms of format, the group needs and expectations are important. A group may be more comfortable in a resort type environment with all the usual business facilities available. Clearly the Asia region has a range of great resorts. We have arrangements in Bali with the Intercontinental and have the contacts to obtain good deals around the region, other suitable venues could be Langkawi, Phuket, Kota Kinabalu, Ko Samui.

With the major resorts it is also straightforward to bring in some fun activities to provide a welcome break for the team and as team building activities. So for example at the Intercontinental in Bali, we can arrange group activities such as kite building and flying, wood carving, white water rafting or even working on site at the local orphanage.

The other format is to take over a whole resort – we have arrangements with one resort in Ubud, Bali to book the whole resort. This holds about 15 people, more if some are sharing twin rooms. This can be more cost effective and opens up the possibility of group activities in a much more private setting.

At the other end of the spectrum, we can also suggest a complete getaway – eg where we can book a whole island for a retreat and truly get away from it all – depending on how the team feels, this can be a refreshing and relaxing change and is also a great environment for more personal development work.

Contact us at info@nolimitsasia.com . For powerful retreats that will transform your business and your life.

STORIES TO ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE

Why do so many people’s minds wander when they listen to a corporate presentation? It’s usually because the presentation fails to engage them.  One of the best ways to engage audiences and stop wandering minds is through story telling. Our brains are wired to enjoy stories. Stories engage audiences and captivate their attention both emotionally and cognitively.

During our No Limits ‘Presenting for Leaders’ workshops, I enjoy seeing and hearing the before and after transformation when participants present. One of the biggest transformations is when they start using stories to explain their points, rather than rely on descriptive text.

In this newsletter, I want to share with you how one participant powerfully engaged the whole audience through story telling. This young, career driven female leader was born and grew up in China.  For years she was a single child because of the single child policy. When her baby brother was born, her mother was demoted from the office to the factory floor as punishment for breaking the policy. Friends told this young girl that the reason her parents risked having another child was because they didn’t want a girl. For ten years, as she grew up and moved from home, she believed that her parents didn’t want her.  Finally after years of not feeling wanted, she plucked up the courage to ask her mother why she didn’t want her.  Her mother replied “I grew up as a single child and I wanted you to have a sibling to grow up with.”

This story pulled at our heart strings and has so many powerful meanings. It can be used in the corporate presentation setting in many situations, for example:

1. When people make the wrong judgements about others
2. There are always two sides to a story.
3. Learning to ask questions sooner than later.
4. Overcoming resentment, bad feelings and anger.
5. Being resilient.

Stories are not just for children or bed time reading. There are many different business contexts where stories can add ‘fuel’ to engage your listeners.
 
Here are some top tips on how to use stories in your corporate presentations to your advantage:

1. Keep Relevant
Make sure your stories are relevant to the purpose of your presentation. 

2. Make Short and Sweet
Keep personal stories short, succinct and to the point of the presentation. Most audiences will switch off if the story is too long, disconnected and rambling.

3. Use fables
Fables usually have a meaning attached to them. You can look up fables on the internet e.g. Aesop fables.

4. Give a Transformational Plot
Ensure that your plot involves a transformation and the framework of your story has a beginning, middle and end.

5. Use Vocal Variety
Variation of voice power, pitch, pace, pause, inflection and tone will add emotion to allow your audience to easily follow the story.

6. End on a Punchy Note
Either finish your story on a bit of a mystery or give a one line explanation. Let the audience come to their own conclusion as they will interpret the message according to their own experiences.  Long-winded explanations of the moral of the story will significantly reduce its impact.

7. Collect Stories
You can collect stories from many sources such as your own experiences, other peoples’ stories, books, newspapers, magazines and the internet. Create a database of stories so you can choose the most relevant ones for your presentation.

8. Learn from Others
Continuously learn from professional story tellers or people who can tell a good story to broaden your story telling abilities.

9. Be Creative
Story telling naturally influences right brain, creative thinking. When telling your story, always base it on the understanding of your audience and make it relevant to them. Use the same language as your audience so you are in rapport and they can relate to what you are saying.

10. Be Selective
Only select stories that you are comfortable with and can remember. Prepare and practise stories before you present so they flow well and you come across as a professional at story telling. A good story teller always stands out from the crowd and will be respected, as well as gain a good reputation.
 


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Please contact Sandra Lai at sandralai@nolimitsasia.com, phone: +65 6232 2466 for more information about our Presenting and Communicating programmes, whether your requirements are one to one coaching or group training.