When an eager young person, perhaps a recent college graduate, applies for a job, will they mention their MySpace page? Or their Facebook entry? Probably not, but those sites can be checked, regardless of whether or not they’ve added them to their resume, application or(for some reason) are discussing them during their job interview.

Employers engaged in the hiring process today often consider their candidate’s online pictures and pages, which are quickly and easily accessible on the internet. More than ever, a reputation gained (or lost) by these sites may be an important aspect of whether or not that eager young person is one who wins the job.

NY Times columnist, Thom Friedman, reminds us that, "When everyone has a blog, a MySpace page or Facebook entry, everyone is a publisher. When everyone has a cell phone with a camera in it, everyone is a paparazzo. When everyone can upload video on YouTube, everyone is a filmmaker. When everyone is a publisher, paparazzo or filmmaker, everyone else is a public figure. We’re all public figures now. The blogosphere has made the global discussion so much richer – and each of us so much more transparent."

Since the word transparency is defined as seeing through an object, in discussing individual reputations, it also defines seeing the faults and missteps caught and recorded — now instantly available to the world.

More on Transparency and Reputation: Communication

This last Saturday, June 21, I finished reading "What is the What" by Dave Eggars. It is billed as a novel but is essentially a biography of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan who fled a civil war in Sudan.

Thousands of boys died during their 1,000- mile walk to Ethiopia, most from starvation and dehydration, some from man-eating lions, and others from attack by the murahaleen; Sudanese government-armed Arab militias. The boys live for a time in relative peace in a refugee camp - Pinyudo.

Then, Valentino and all refugees at Pinyudo are forced to leave Ethiopia when that country's dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam, is overthrown. They were run out of the country at gunpoint and forced to swim the Gilo River where two thousand lives were claimed by shooting, drowning or crocodiles.

They ended up in a huge refugee camp - Kakuma in Kenya. Eventually, Valentino made it to the United States where he met Dave Eggars, a Bay Area writer who agreed to write his story. Valentino has created a foundation and uses his web site to tell the story of his efforts to rebuild his village (Marial Bai) in Sudan.

The setting: In the vast camp of Kakuma which houses 72,000 refugees from all over Africa, Valentino has achieved a position of leadership. He's been a model student in the camp's schools gaining an education he never would have had in his village in Sudan. He's participated in the camp's drama program and even performed plays in the other-worldly, bustling metropolis of Nairobi. He's gained the lofty status of coordinator for the Youth and Culture Program, a paying job with an office, unheard of for a Sudanese boy without any family.

More on Public Speaking enhances leadership of famous African refugee, Valentino Achak Deng

"We live in a culture that barely acknowledges and rarely celebrates the arts or artists."  Dana Gioia, Chair for the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts

How many writers, artists, scientists can the average American name?

In a speech delivered to the graduating class of Stanford University, Dana Gioia decried the lack of interest in cultural figures (other than pop culture) in America today.

He claims that the cultural entities of today are all for the sake of entertainment. And so ultimately it follows that everything today comes with a price tag. When celebrities appear on radio or TV talk shows, their main, and often only, purpose is to push their book, movie, new TV show, or a new vote.

What has happened to American culture?

More on Communication: Is Our Culture Failing Us?

"We are usually convinced more easily by reasons we have found ourselves than by those which have occurred to others." - Blaise Pascal.

Is strategic questioning part of your sales process? Successful sales people involve the client by asking questions, then listening to the client’s answers. A key aspect in a successful sales person’s process, drawing the client into the process works far better than spouting a packaged sales pitch.

A sales person who does 80% of the talking, immediately touting the memorized features of their product, without involving the client, merely turns into a caricature of the manipulative salesman. A sales person who asks questions forces them to take the talking down to 20%.

Think about a physician – who wouldn’t dare give a diagnosis or health directive without asking questions first. First, to find out what’s wrong, but also to give the patient a sense of control. Asking questions has a positive effect on the patient. And a positive effect on a potential client. Both the doctor and the sales person need to try to pinpoint the most pressing priorities and problems, then find ways to solve and fulfill those needs. 

Start your sales conversations with questions that are easy to ask and easy to answer, then escalate.

1. Ask for Permission

"Can I ask you some questions?" Right up front, let the client feel a sense of control in the buying process. Questions help to focus their thoughts and feelings.

More on Strategic Questioning: Sales Process

In these days of seldom speaking to a human when we make a phone call, we need to have a successful strategy for dealing with voice mail.

Since business people receive dozens of voice mail messages a day, their time is too valuable to spend it listening to some sales person ramble on.

 

Your voice mail message must be the one that generates a response. A call back.

 BEST VOICE MAIL PRACTICES

1. Plan what you’re going to say before you call; write it down, or at least a few notes.
2. Introduce yourself and your company first.
3. Make the message concise and crisp; 30 seconds or less. Speak slowly and enunciate.
4. Ask them to make the next step: "Please call me at……"
5. Give your phone number twice, or once very clearly and slowly.
6. Be unique. Create curiosity or get their attention. Compel them to call you back.
7. Refer to them personally: their company or their role in it.
8. Mention who referred you to them.
9. Use a conversational tone.
10. End the call with a "Thank you," always appreciated and never out of place.  

More on Voice Mail Strategy

It is almost impossible when meeting acquaintances, friends of friends, business associates, to not be forced to give your "elevator speech." If you are not sure what an elevator speech is, it is just a clever name for a mundane task: answering the ubiquitous question "what do you do?" Nonetheless, while mundane, the elevator speech is quite important; who knows what possible role the person you give your speech to will take in your life: perhaps you have found your next client, or employer, friend, partner, or an important contact for further networking?

Here are a few tips to help.

1: Keep it succinct and interesting

A successful elevator speech will be a descriptive statement that provokes questions and interest.

The first obvious reaction to the question of "what do you do?" is to quickly give your label for your profession; however, I think this is a mistake. Instead, frame what you do in a more interesting way: instead of saying you are a lawyer, say that you try to help the disenfranchised and under-represented get a fair-hearing. Explain what you do in terms of benefits and who it is you are helping.

2: Keep your audience in mind

Did you meet this person professionally or in your personal life? While it may be okay to be highly informal at the bar, this off-hand style will probably not be met well at important business meetings. That said, you don't want to be too formal either, since this will make you seem stiff and less personable.

3: Practice and polish

Since you will be asked this question often throughout your life, and the answer is so short, there really is no reason to not have a good answer ready. Practice your speech so that it starts to sound natural and effortless, without any verbal filler or awkward phrasing.

4: Don't be over the top

Finally, some people in an attempt to come across as interesting may overdo it. For example, to make sure that they don't fall into the trap of pigeon-holing themselves, they will give vague answers such as: "I make people's dreams come true." This, however, sounds more cliché than it does interesting and will often turn your audience off.

Read More >>

Little says more about you to those with whom you interact with than how you answer their questions.

Some people show annoyance when a question derails their monologue. Their body language reflects the thought, “why is this person interrupting?”

A question indicates interest in your subject — embrace it.

1. Pause one second before answering.
2. Answer the question simply and directly. Don’t skirt it but also don’t answer more than was asked.
3. Confirm, “Have I answered your question?” Anything but a clear yes means no.

Continued >>

Verbal fillers make a speaker seem less articulate and less sure of themselves and their message. Here are techniques that can help to shed the use of verbal fillers (uh, um, so, like, you know, basically, etc.)

1. Video tape or record yourself delivering a presentation or in a conversation. Watch your videotape or listen to the recording once just counting your verbal fillers. It may be painful and embarrassing but can fuel your determination to shed the fillers.

2. Enlist the help of others - your partner / spouse, friends, coworkers, family, etc. Empower them to repeat your fillers whenever they hear you using it.

3. Listen for your use of verbal filler at ALL times, whether presenting, in conversation, on the phone, in social situations, etc.

4. Don't beat yourself up about it. Just make a mental note and remind yourself that you want to …  More On Verbal Filler >>

If you're enjoying our blog, consider applying for a workshop >>  Our work has to be experienced to truly understand its value.  Once a quarter The Henderson Group holds a "By Invitation Only" Art of Presentation workshop in San Francisco, led by our VP of Services, Terry Gault.  With that in mind, we set aside a couple of free seats for the right candidates.

 Below, Slam Poet, Taylor Mali, performs his speech 'Totally Like Whatever'

Influence is shaping someone else's behavior without resorting to positional power. Real buy-in is achieved when others participate in the process of making decisions.

Some approach customers and clients by telling them about the superiority of their product, countering customers' "objections," then "closing" the transaction. Influence is more subtle.

In complex transactions, involving experienced parties on both sides, a more sophisticated approach is called for.

• Increase your ability to shape someone's behavior when you do not have direct control of them.
• Gather better data while building ongoing relationships in any business environment.
• Motivate others when involved in projects with virtual teams in remote locations.
• Exert leadership that transcends organizational boundaries.

Learn more about Influence>>  

TED Talks always offers furtile ground for us bloggers on presentation and public speaking.  This particular presentation is from Hans Rosling, who is a Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institutet and Director of Gapminder Foundation, in Stockholm, Sweden.  His talk is about a weighty topic - mortality rates across the globe.

This is one of the best uses of graphics I have ever seen.  In addition, Roslings enthusiasm and energy, conversational and self-effacing style make him a charming and effective speaker.  He opens with an amusing story about how he started teaching global development to Swedish undergraduate students.  His use of graphics to support his story is clever and funny.  It's a remarkable use of visual media.

I won't comment much on the graphics and statistical analysis because Andrew Dlugan, author of the stellar public speaking blog Six Minutes offers up an outstanding review of Roslings use of statistics here.

Click on the photo  below to be transported to the video URL.  Enjoy!