Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Phyllis E. Thesier of The Articulate Advantage and a continuation of the post, Speaking to be Understood
Remember, you are working toward becoming extremely good at speaking English which is a primary requirement to being a top manager. Let’s review the first three strategies.
I. Speak English EVERY DAY for 16 hours. In the car, on your way to work, rehearse…out loud… the names of each person in your office. Are you saying each correctly? Rehearse what you are going to say in your morning meetings. Do you have your ideas organized? The appropriate vocabulary? When you get to the office, write down what you wan to say and say it out loud. (If you do not have a private office, say it in a whisper….). We must make our mouth move to the sounds in order to reprogram the speech sound movements.
II. Audiotape and Listen to yourself. Preferably while you are on the phone. This way, you get the best idea of how you sound to others. (Note: Do not record the other person’s side of the conversation as it illegal in many areas of the USA). Record your “outgoing” telephone message every day. Change the day and date on it.
III. SLOW Down! An average of 110 words per minute is best. Sound interesting by speeding up an introduction phrase (to 140 WPM) …then pause for 1 second.. And, then list your points at 130 WPM, with a ½ second pause between each of them. It will get others attention.
Now on to the next set of three effective communication strategies.
Western communication style has some pragmatic communication features that are very different from Eastern speaking styles. Western communicators want an open, accessible communication style. This style is connoted by several types of body language.
IV. Eye Contact: The easiest way to accomplish this is to look at the other person’s Right eye. One can maintain relaxed eye contact this way. Especially when listening. Your listener’s deeply appreciate this attention. That said, it is not appropriate to maintain constant eye contact. If you are speaking, you will periodically need to look away as you formulate an idea yet come back to the eye contact when you want to make a point. It keeps your head up and relaxed.
Brian Tracy, a world renowned success coach, devotes four chapters to eye contact in his book “The Power of Charm: How to win anyone over in any situation.” For those of you in China, Chaterhouse bookstore carries this book. (When I was living in China, I bought my copy there).
V. Smile while speaking. A genuine smile draws people to you and your ideas. Smile even if you don’t feel like smiling. Physiologically, a smile accomplishes several critical voice and speaking needs. A smile opens the airway allowing for effective replenishment of air while speaking. We have often heard people speaking on residual air and sounding strained and too soft. This loses the listeners attention. A smile also relaxes and opens the articulators for more effective targeting and pronunciation clarity. When we speak with a more closed mouth, tension sets in and minimizes movements, making words sound mumbled. Smile and be clear.
More on How to Harness the “Power of the 10,000 Hours”: Strategies Four through Six
July 19, 2009
Creation Myth: Cirque du Soleil
In over two decades and more than 15 separate productions, Cirque du Soleil has never had a flop. By comparison, 9 out of 10 shows on Broadway — productions aimed at the same sophisticated, big-ticket audience as Cirque — fail to earn back the money invested in them.
Cirque's reputation for never missing is so strong that, in exchange for half the profits, four Las Vegas resorts, as well as Disney World, each agreed to spend tens of millions of dollars to build a custom theater to house a Cirque show and foot half the show's production costs, which can hit $25 million.
Cirque du Soleil was hatched in 1984 by two high school dropouts — Guy Laliberté, a 23-year-old Montreal fire breather, and Daniel Gauthier, 24, a youth hostel manager. In what had to be one of the entertainment industry's most audacious acts of persuasion, they talked the Quebec government into granting them just over $1 million to develop a show around local street performers as part of a festival celebrating the 450th anniversary of Montreal's founding. The pair hired Dragone in 1985, and what he calls the "transdisciplinary experience" of circus blended with stagecraft, live music, and song became Cirque's trademark and a hit across Canada.
The moment of truth arrived in 1987 when Laliberté and Gauthier took their act to the L.A. Arts Festival. The pair knew that if the show flopped, they couldn't afford to fly the cast and equipment home. They needn't have worried, however: The standing ovation went on for five minutes, and by the time the box office opened the next morning, 500 people were standing in line. Cirque du Soleil was no longer a nonprofit organization.
Business 2.0, The Phantasmagoria Factory by Geoff Keighley
This is a great creation myth and captures the spirit and ethos of this remarkable organization, their audacity and their willingness to take huge risks to deliver a great experience to their audiences.
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photo credit: StuSeeger
July 3, 2009
Social Responsibility in Action
WomenEntrepreneur.com recently had a feature on Francesca Kuglen, HairZing: Social Responsibility in Action.
Francesca Kuglen is not only a client, taking The Henderson Group Art of Presentation workshop in 2005, but she is also the sister of our very own sales guru, Chuck Kuglen.
HairZing has a fresh, innovative and socially-responsible approach to both hairstyling and manufacturing.
HairZing Mission: bring business to female entrepreneurs in areas with limited resources and economic infrastructure.
Advice for would-be social entrepreneurs:
- Do not pick a recession. "Timing is everything," Montgomery says. "Be sure you not only have your own life savings but about four other people's life savings," she jokes.
- Have an open mind and be willing to adjust as needed. Kuglen and Montgomery figured they could communicate and make business work halfway around the world. "The answer is, we couldn't. They need managers," Montgomery says.
- Be consistent. Kuglen and Montgomery want to help needy women everywhere, and they want to do it in an environmentally responsible way. See even in the U.S., those who sell the product tend to be single women or women who are struggling. Consistency also demanded that HairZing change its packaging to be more ecological. "We changed from a toxic plastic to a biodegradable plastic," Kuglen says. "That took a tremendous cost. We'd already designed a fabulous package. And we said, 'Let's go back and redo that.' "
