Why do some business meetings result in boredom and lack of focus, whereas others send attendees charging out equipped to wage battle? Why do some supervisors confuse their workers with vague, contradictory suggestions while others support their charges with vision and assistance and help them build their own path to success?
It boils down to good ol' human interaction - a subject somewhat out of vogue since the advent of the motherboard - but guess what? It ain't going away. Without good clear human connectivity, a mile-high stack of computers won't save your company from faltering.
So here is our list of steps you can take to improve your business communication.
1. Remember your vision. You are doing things for a reason. What is it? When you remember why you are doing something and can really feel its importance, that is the time to share your vision with others. Encourage them to speak of their vision for the future. Charge each other up with thoughts of where you want to go. Catch a buzz from envisioning the big picture.
2. Keep the vision alive. People will get mired down with the day to day. Find times to stoke the dream, even informally.
3. When a mutual vision is established and accepted, it is time to talk about how to get there. These talks have two distinct parts: brainstorming and action planning. In brainstorming, you share ideas about what kinds of actions can get you to your goal. But these ideas should be loose and a little wacky. Pick a few uncommon ideas and throw them out to model creative thought. Let your co-workers know that it is time to think freely without criticism. Have fun and laugh. Have a posterboard and write the ideas for all to see, in order to foster associations which could lead to even better ideas.
4. When the ideas seem exhausted, it is time to get serious and build a plan. Cross off ideas which are clearly unworkable. Boil the ideas down to 3-5 action items.
5. There should be one person assigned with overall responsibility for each action item. That person is accountable for its development. She might solicit others to assist. She might assign tasks. Nonetheless, she is the key person for that work item.
6. Follow-up is a fundamental business activity. Without follow-up, all the good work and ideas which are in play will wither and die. Meetings or other follow-up venues must be scheduled regularly to keep all the pots boiling. The top person for each action item must be asked about progress by the person responsible for the overall plan.
7. Review and analyze results and make necessary adjustments. Then build on the good and drop the bad.
8. Do not stigmatize failure. Remember that failure is necessary for success. If you can really internalize this idea, you will be able to fearlessly and logically parse the good and bad in your plan. If you truly embrace failure as a part of the success process, you will be able to make the review/analysis phase engaging, creative and extremely useful.
9. Notice when people do good things and tell them. Some very hard working people toil for a very long time without hearing even one positive sentiment. It's an idea as old as Andrew Carnegie and Reader's Digest, but it may be even more important today. Our computers separate us from human contact even as they connect us. Reach out in a human way. Pay a well-earned compliment. Then watch the startled, then untrusting, then relaxed and very gratified looks you get back in return.
10. Remember that you are a role model. People watch you. If you act fairly, they will trust you. If you are mean or egotistical, they will dislike and undermine you. If you help them, they will help you. Think of the people you most admire. Think about their effect on you. Can you absorb some of that goodness and pay it forward?
Due to the lack of keyword focused, high quality content on their web sites many small businesses rank poorly in search engines. This means they don't get a lot of traffic anyway. And the few visitors that do arrive at their site are confronted with a pure sales pitch. Not what they were looking for. On the Internet people search for information, not for your sales offer.
Unless you are a well known brand you need to build a relationship with your visitor FIRST, before you offer them your products or services. Convince them honestly that they can trust you. How? By OVERdelivering great content. By giving them the high value information they were looking for. By "PREselling" before leading them gently to your product or service or whatever monetization model you have. That's where every successful business communication should start.
The good news is, anyone with some brainpower and motivation can do it. Writing like Ernest Hemingway is a talent, that no one can teach you. But you CAN learn how to write compelling content, in your own voice, with credible, trust-inspiring knowledge and a unique twist, that makes you stand out from the crowd.
There are thousands of books that teach you how to write effective sales copy. However, no matter how brilliant your sales copy might be - if your potential customer doesn't know and respect you, it's very unlikely that they will buy from you. Build a relationship with your visitors FIRST, make them trust and like you. The sales will follow.
After years of making the same mistake like 99% of small business owners, I consider myself lucky that I found a source that taught me what I never learnt at school: how to write to communicate!
I you have your visitors best interests at heart and are able to put your own needs (for earning money) second, amazing things will happen! My single best piece of advice: Treat yourself to a copy of Ken Evoy's "Make Your Content PREsell". And I deliberately say "treat yourself", because reading this book is sheer delight. And, best of all, you'll get it for FREE now.
So, grab yourself a copy and learn
how to build income through content,
how to increase free traffic of targeted visitors to your web site,
how to achieve two digit conversion rates,
how to reduce costs for advertising or - simply put -
how to turn your web site into a real business, that grows slowly but steadily.
One caveat: "Make Your Content PREsell" does NOT offer a "Get Rich Quick" scheme. It guides you through the learning process, shows inspiring examples and gives you all the advice you need. However, it will only work for you if you are determined to apply what you read, and to practise, practise, practise.
Both Mark Meshulam & Margit Streifeneder are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mark Meshulam has sinced written about articles on various topics from web development, Information Technology and Information Technology. Mark Meshulam offers the Poingo Productivity Suite, a suite of simple software programs which make your work easier and much more fun at .Also, see his bl. Mark Meshulam's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
Margit Streifeneder has sinced written about articles on various topics from Flirting Tips, How To Grow Wealth and The Internet. Margit Streifeneder had been a successful Small Business Owner,before she took on a job at the world's leading search engine. Her web site