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Deliberate communication a lost art

Does making a presentation in front of people send chills down your spine?

 

You’re not alone. Research shows that at least 75% of people struggle with some degree of anxiety or nervousness when it comes to talking in front of people.

 

Kevin Swayze, former journalist and communications consultant, hopes to help quash these fears by providing tips about good communication at our virtual YIP Growth Learning Series on April 28 entitled ‘Public Speaking 911’.

 

“I think that most people stand up in front of a crowd and think everybody there is against them, when in most circumstances they’re there with you and want you to succeed,” says Kevin.

 

He says the key to good communication centres on connecting with people, whether it’s one-on-one or in a large group, which is something he will stress during his learning session.

 

“I’m going to show how to polish your elevator pitch when you’ve got only a minute to talk to somebody; to connect with somebody and make yourself memorable.”

 

Kevin says stories are the best way to accomplish this and during his 30-year newspaper career tried to do just that.

 

“The best stories are always told through a person. I’ve always tried to do that with my writing,” he says. “People don’t want to be lectured at, they want to connect, and the best stories connect with people. The best communication is conversation.”

 

Kevin, a client communications teacher at Conestoga College, says he finds inspiration from the international students he instructs. Not only does he admire their bravery for travelling to another country to study, but the fact they will question his use of any corporate jargon or slang.

 

“I get the look from them,” he jokes, adding good communication doesn’t involve slang or jargon. “It’s pervasive everywhere and it kills communication because you’re either in or you’re out; jargon is exclusive, and it pushes people away.”

 

Kevin says the use of ‘buzz’ words doesn’t further proper communication and hopes to convey that to participants.

 

As well, he will also touch on some basic tips surrounding presentation, such as holding on to a piece of paper while standing up to speak.

 

“I like to give them something to hold in their hands so they’re comfortable,” says Kevin, who has been involved with Cambridge Toastmasters for the past four years.

 

He says the club, which consists of several groups under the Toastmasters banner, has helped him considerably.

 

“I’ve seen the change myself. I would not be able to teach as effectively,” says Kevin, explaining club members evaluate every aspect of any presentation by their fellow members. “It’s hard to find anyone who will give an honest and reasonable evaluation of something.”

 

He hopes YIP participants will leave the session understanding the importance of being an active listener when it comes good communication, noting the temptation of cellphones is difficult to ignore.

“Even if you leave your phone upside down on the desk it still draws your attention,” says Kevin.

He expects participants will already arrive with a set of their own communication tools.

 

“They will know how to communicate in bits and pieces. My goal is to reflect on what they do and think about what’s working well and where they can build,” says Kevin. “And encourage them to practice what really works well.”

 

He says most people don’t think about communication deliberately anymore.

 

“There’s no app that replaces face-to-face communication,” says Kevin.

 

The YIP (Young Innovative Professionals) Public Speaking 911 session, sponsored by Deluxe Payroll, will take place virtually Tuesday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

For information, visit: https://bit.ly/3cF92MN

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Navigating the Multigenerational Workplace

As a young professional there are many challenges that one faces, not least of which is the reality that most of us nowadays work in a multi-generational environment – and it is probably only going to continue to get even more crowded. What I mean by this is right now you probably work in an environment that has at least one: baby-boomer, Gen Xer, Gen Yer and Millenial.


There are two main thinking points I want to start this article with before we continue, please consider:

  • Life expectancy is rising, people are living longer and so need to secure more income now to cover retirement costs later
  • Cost of living and inflation are out sync – meaning each generation has had less disposable income to help their offspring than the generation before (and you’ll have even less to help your children)

Quick explanation on that last point here:


http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2014/07/23/what-does-the-consumer-price-index-measure-inflation-or-cost-of-living-whats-the-difference/

 

“As Bryan explains it, the cost-of-living concept arises from the role of money as a medium of exchange. When we say the cost of living increases, we mean that it gets harder to maintain a given standard of living on a given income. Either we have to be satisfied with fewer goods or services, or save less, or work harder. In the language of economics, a change in the cost of living is a real phenomenon.


On the other hand, we can best understand inflation as a change in the value of our unit of account, the dollar. When there is inflation, the value of the unit is smaller each day than it was the day before, for all transactions.”

 

So in essence, because each generation has been given less help, each generation has had to provide more for themselves, and what this really leads to is more profound sense of urgency when beginning your first career. Millenials, for instance, are seen as much more ‘pushy’ or ‘impatient’ by their older colleagues – which may or may not be true of ones personality on an individual basis – but when the group is looked at as a whole this is a general impression that is formed.


Take a step back and have a talk with your grandfather (or great-grandfather if you are so lucky) and ask them to tell you about their early professional life. I’ll be a good majority didn’t even attend a post-secondary school for one reason or another, meaning less initial debt when entering the work force, where as you are much more likely to hear that your parents did (and in those cases, you can rest assured that you definitely went to College or University – or at least that it was heavily expected of you).


This is really what Navigating the Multigenerational Workplace is all about – realising the differences in situations not just at the current point in time, but the differences from every other generations point in time at the initial stages compared to your current stage. My personal belief is that before you can have effective dialogue with someone, you need to be able to see how you are perceived from their point of view.


That’s probably the longest intro to a blog post I’ve ever written – so I’ll try to be briefer the rest of the way, feel free to stretch your legs and come back and finish the rest of this.


So the purpose of this post was to try to offer suggestions on how to go about handling the different generations so maybe I’ll list a few out and then get into more detail; these suggestions by the way are targeted at the Millenial group:

 

  • Go slower with your communications and be more exact
  • Communicate with people based on how they like to communicate
  • Be prepared to have the same information in different formats for different audience members
  • Remember that while you like to move fast, it took those ahead of you a long time to get where they are
  • Everyone loves sharing their own story


These five points are probably the five strongest points that have helped me in my careers, they may not all apply to you in every situation but here’s a breakdown of what I mean by each:
 

Go slower with your communications and be more exact


The #1 thing our CEO hates is when he has to reply to an email to extract more details on a particular subject. It results in an increased number of communications and a slower overall turn-around time. Remember, everyone above you in the chain of command probably makes more money than you do – so not to be trite, but that means their time is more valuable than yours. Take 5 extra minutes of your time to save them even 1 of theirs, and it’s worth it – even if they don’t notice. Because trust me if you try to save 5 minutes of your time and end up wasting 20 of theirs, they will notice.


Communicate with people based on how they like to communicate


I still remember the first time I had to send my grand-father an email, I work for a family owned business so at one point we had all three generations here at the same time – you can imagine the communication challenges that presented. About 5 minutes after I had hit send, he was standing over my desk, email printed out in hand, with sections highlighted that he wanted to discuss. I quickly learned that email was probably not the best way to communicate with him if I was hoping for a quick turnaround time.


Be prepared to have the same information in different formats


One of the positions you might find yourself in one day, if you aren’t already, is being a mid-level manager and having a few people that you “report” to in a sense. One of the best books I’ve read about how to deal with the expectations of various levels of management and staff is John Maxwell’s The 360 [degree] leader. If you have a chance I recommend picking up a copy and giving it a thorough read through. Some people are purely analytical, some people are purely visual – most are somewhere in the middle. Be prepared to provide arguments, charts and graphs in different formats, sometimes as simple as having several different ways to word the same information is good enough.
 

Remember that while you like to move fast, it took those ahead of you a long time to get where they are


This point speaks more to the fact that often times us youngsters are perceived as impatient (mentioned above). Most companies that are large enough have clear guidelines as to how long you have to be with the company or how long you have had to have been in your current role before you can apply for a different role or a promotion. Focus daily on being the best at what you’ve been assigned to do and when it comes time to fill other roles you’ll be in a much better position to be asked to fill it rather than applying to every opportunity that comes up.
 

Everyone loves sharing their own story


Human beings are natural story tellers. That’s not to say that everyone feels comfortable standing in a room of 500 people and giving a speech or lecture – but find a quiet relaxing environment to engage with those of different generations around you. This can be especially effective if you spin it in a way that makes it look like you’re asking them for advice in a situation you’ve found yourself in and, because you value their expertise, you would like their opinion on how they would deal with the situation or if they ever encountered a similar situation in their early careers. Above all else when considering this as a strategy you need to be sincere in your request to learn from them.

 

So, if I haven’t completely bored you, you may be wondering why I started the article off with two points:

 

  • Life expectancy is rising, people are living longer and so need to secure more income now to cover retirement costs later
  • Cost of living and inflation are out sync – meaning each generation has had less disposable income to help their offspring than the generation before (and you’ll have even less to help your children)
     

First, so long as you maintain a moderate lifestyle, you will probably be around for many years to come and you may in fact need to plan to work well past the age at which your fathers-father worked until to support that (I could go into the whole CPP fiasco.. but that might turn political, a side lesson here is try to avoid politics in work environments).


Second, you’re entering the work force with different stresses than those ahead of you, and alternatively when you become the “old guy” at the office, those entering will have different stresses than you. While it’s probably not likely that coworkers will begin assisting one another financially, be mindful of others situations and how much you would have liked extra help at your current age when you’re older (I sure hope I do) – and remember, advice and guidance is always free no matter what generation you grew up in.


Sources and / or resources:

 

http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2014/07/23/what-does-the-consumer-price-index-measure-inflation-or-cost-of-living-whats-the-difference/

 

http://www.adecco.ca/EN/knowledge-centre/employers/Documents/whitepapers/managing-multigenerational-workforce.pdf


https://www.johnmaxwell.com/store/products/The-360-Degree-Leader.html


 

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Secrets of Successful Leadership

Being a leader may come natural to some, being a successful leader is an entirely different story. Orrin Woodward once said, "Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar." Below, I will share what I believe to be the secrets of successful leadership:


Lead by example – a successful leader is a person of authenticity, a role model, an influencer, someone that others follow because they want to, not because they have to. So, make an example out of yourself and demonstrate the energy and passion that you have for the work you want your team to do.


Communicate – a successful leader never assumes, instead they paint a really clear picture for the team to ensure that they are up to speed and in the know. Keep the momentum going, by re-visiting goals and encourage your team to share their successes and their challenges with each other, giving them every opportunity for growth.


Anticipate obstacles – a successful leader is ready for any road bump along the way, because there will always be road bumps! Be prepared to conquer obstacles and keep the team moving in the forward direction; a successful leader will not allow the team to lose momentum when a crisis occurs.


Keep your team engaged – ROLE PLAY if and when possible, and have some fun! If your team is not a close knit team, allow them to get to know each other. Trainings and team meetings are perfect opportunities for team building activities; present them with a challenge and allow them to work through it, and be excited about what they have just accomplished… together! 


Acknowledge - John Maxwell says, "A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit." Successful leaders always acknowledge their team and give credit whenever possible. A little ‘thanks’ and ‘great job’ goes a long way! Say it often.


Becoming a successful leader is not easy, being mindful of the attributes and actions listed above will definitely get you on the path to becoming one. For anyone still doubting that they can go from being an average leader to a great one, I will leave you with one last thought from Donald McGannon, "Leadership is an action, not a position." So what are you waiting for? It’s time to take action!
 

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What is a young professional? Why should we network?

What is a young professional?

What is a young professional is a term that can be answered in many ways but typically they are someone who is between the ages of 20-40 years old. Age is not so much a factor in my mind to be a young professional as there are some people who enter the professional world at 20 years old and there are others who enter at 30-35 years old. A young professional is someone who is in the learning and development stages of their careers. These people are motivated to meet others, are innovative, want to be a part of the community, and are humble in knowing that there are others who can provide mentorship and leadership to help develop their own skills. They are hungry for knowledge and the opportunity to meet other business professionals to develop their clientele and social network. Young professionals are the people working early in the morning and late at night to make a name for themselves in the community and in their business life. Through proper networking, education, mentorship, and community involvement, young professionals will be the future business decision makers.
 

Why Should we Network?

Networking can be one of the most powerful ways to spend one’s time to help grow as a person both in their personal lives and their business lives. For me, networking helps in the following ways:

  1. Building a social network- as a young professional especially, you are at the early stages of your career and are finding ways to make yourself of value to the business you work for. Networking is the answer. You need to build a social network of people that are like-minded, have similar goals, and can possible provide you leads and business in the future. It is important to know a variety of people in a variety of different fields as everyone has something to offer.
  2. Lead Generation- Networking is a fantastic way to build your business and your personal profile. Whether you are a brick layer, a fashion designer, or a sales rep, you need to let people know what you do in order to have them think of you when opportunities arise in their day-to-day activities. The more people you touch on a regular basis to remind them of the services you provide, the more opportunities will come your way.  Through networking, you will build relationships with others, have opportunities to talk to people you may have been trying to get a hold of, or just learn about what is going on in your community that will spark up opportunities for you to provide a service.
  3. Personal growth- As a young professional, we still have a lot to learn and are dealing with obstacles that many go through everyday. We are very confident people but also understand that there are people who have been doing this a lot longer then we have. Networking allows you the opportunity to meet people who have seen and done things you may not have. You can talk to them about their experiences, their mistakes, and how you can apply that to your life and business. You can meet people who are where you want to be in twenty years and they can provide you with advice on how to get there. Sometimes it is just nice to talk to someone who is in the exact same position as you; young, working long hours, trying to make a name for yourself. Let it out, work through problems together, LEARN.

 

This world is full of interesting people that can make a huge difference in your life and the only way to meet them is to put yourself out there and network. Your future best friend, boss, wife, mentor, sale could be right next door.

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