.: Steve Kaye Profile and Articles
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1). How to Impress Others When You SpeakPeople expect more of a speaker that just words. Here's how to stand out.
1) Be the message. You must exemplify the principles, values, and ideas that you talk about in order to have credibility urging others to adopt them.
2) Think like the audience. Present your ideas from the viewpoint of how they will find them most useful. Realize that things that work for you, may depend upon your situation.
2). Five Ways to Use a Meeting
1) Determine a person’s ability to plan. Does the person who called the meeting have a clear goal and a specific plan to achieve it. People who do, recognize the value of preparation and can be trusted with larger projects.
2) Measure teamwork. How are the participants working together? Are they making methodical progress toward an agreement, decision, or solution? Are the more skilled participants helping the others? Is the group working toward a result that benefits everyone? People who work as a team contribute more to productivity.
3). Monsters in Meetings - Part 7, Personal Attacks
You remember these people for the wrong reasons.
They are the monsters who hurt others with insults, ridicule, and sarcasm. They bully. They threaten. They attack.
And that ruins your meeting.
Personal attacks are unacceptable because if one person is being hurt in your meeting, everyone else feels it. As a result, the participants retreat into making safe and generally useless contributions.
4). Three Ways Meetings Make Your Business Better
1) Effective meetings make money
Effective meetings make a business smart by producing creative strategies, solid plans, and workable solutions. And smart businesses always outperform others. Bad meetings produce nothing, except maybe a decision to call another meeting.
A smart business attracts customers because they know that smart companies provide reliable products and services.
5). How to Survive Being Overwhelmed
1) Know Your Purpose.
Know your vision, your goals, and your plans because these help you set priorities. Each day, identify the task you must accomplish and make that your top priority. Also, set aside time to invest in your future, working on important things that you will need later. If you have yet to write out your priorities, then take time to do this.
6). 12 New Tips for Effective Meetings
1) Ask everyone to arrive five to ten minutes early. This gives everyone time to socialize, obtain coffee, or organize materials before the meeting. It also ensures that everyone is present at the scheduled starting time. Make this part of the agenda.
2) Discuss sensitive issues with the key participants before the meeting. Use this as an opportunity to listen and gather information on the issues.
7). How a Facilitator Helps Your Hold Effective Meetings
Meetings are an essential part of your business.
The results obtained in them determine your future and your profitability.
Yet, many people take meetings for granted. And as a result they squander opportunities.
One way to hold effective meetings is to hire a facilitator.
Why?
1) A facilitator adds value to your meeting by preparing the agenda, conducting the meeting, and writing minutes.
8). Conquer Speaking Fear - 5 Tips
Reduce your fear of speaking by taking the following steps.
1) Conduct Research.
Visit or call key participants to ask them what they expect from your presentation. That is, what do they want to learn from it? What do they already know about this topic? How will your presentation help them? Such conversations enlist these people as your allies during your presentation.
9). Achieve Success with Positive Communication
Use these six strategies to communicate effectively.
1) You can accept anything without agreeing with it. Thus, acknowledge amazing requests and outrageous statements with responses such as:
"That's an interesting idea."
"That's a novel request."
"What an intriguing question."
Use this as an opportunity to understand what the other person is saying.
10). Get Replies to Your Voice Mail
If you are like most business people, voice mail has both simplified and complicated your life. On the good side, it helps you exchange information. On the other side, leaving messages can seem like putting notes in bottles that drift off to sea. Here's how to make sure that your messages get results.
1) Prepare for the call. Realize that you are more likely to end up in a voice mail system than to talk with someone.
11). Monsters in Meetings - Part 6, Deadlocked Discussions
This one creeps up on you.
And if you let it continue, it will ruin your meeting.
At first it seems that the participants are working toward an agreement. They raise concerns. Then they explore the concerns. It all seems normal.
But it keeps going.
In fact, it expands. And soon you have an argument where neither side will let go. Your meeting is now stuck in a deadlock.
12). Different Types of Goals That Take You to Success
Leaders set goals. But they often set only one type of goal, and in so doing they set themselves up for failure. Here is the complete tool kit.
1) Achievement goals - These describe results that you will have when you finish the goal. Examples include: retire with a million dollars at age 65, earn a promotion by June, increase sales by 5%. Most major goals are achievement goals.
13). How to Make Friends and Avoid Enemies
Over the past few years an epidemic of rudeness has swept America. Here's how to stop the disease.
1) Acknowledge people. Answer the phone. Return phone calls. Listen carefully when people talk to you. Be an active participant in conversations. Never use your cell phone when with others, especially in restaurants or other public places. Remember: acknowledgment satisfies a basic human need.
14). Monsters in Meetings - Part 2, Multiple Conversations
Side conversations ruin meetings by destroying focus and fragmenting participation.
Here's how to bring your meeting back on track when a side conversation starts.
Approach 1: Ask for cooperation
Start by asking everyone to cooperate. Look at the middle of the group (instead of at the people talking) and say:
"Excuse me (pause to gain everyone's attention).
15). How to Get the Most out of Your Next Conference
Success in your career depends upon how well you manage your professional development. A prime source of this development comes from being a member of a professional association that relates to your career. As a member, you can attend conferences where you advance your skills and meet people who can help you.
Some people, however, treat conferences as a paid vacation.
16). How to Lose Friends and Make Enemies
Over the past few years an epidemic of rudeness has swept America. Here's how to perpetuate the disease.
1) Ignore people. Don't return phone calls. Never answer the phone. Don't listen when people talk to you. Talk on your cell phone when with others, especially in restaurants or other public places. Don't acknowledge that others exist. The greatest insult that you can give someone is to ignore the person.
17). Help! My Boss Conducts Bad Meetings
What to do?
Your boss conducts terrible meetings. You can put up with it.
Or, you could try:
1) Start with praise, such as: "I know you work hard. And I have an idea that would help you get more done."
2) Offer to help with some small part of a meeting that would make the process more effective.
3) Leave a book on effective meetings on your desk.
18). 10 Attributes of Effective Meetings
Here are ten fundamental concepts that characterize an effective meeting.Definition: A meeting is a business activity where select people gat
19). How to Deal With Salespeople
Sales people can be relentless. Here's how to protect your time and your sanity.
If you're an executive, you may sometimes feel l
20). How to Enjoy the Holidays With Your Relatives
Here are five simple things that will make the next holiday party enjoyable for everyone.
1) Leave Home Without It
Unless you visit like-minded people, leave your private cause at home. Cover the tattoo, remove the nose ring, take out the tongue stud. Similarly, avoid editorials, lectures, and sermons. Remember: it's a holiday party. No one comes to be offended.
21). Monsters in Meetings - Part 5, Dominant Participants
Most meetings are attended by a giant.
These are the people who dominate a meeting with big ideas and big voices and big talk.
While dominant participants contribute significantly to the success of a meeting, they can also overwhelm, intimidate, and exclude others. Thus, you want to control their energy without losing their support.
Here's what to do.
22). Rate Your Meetings to Predict Your Business
Most leaders want to improve their business. After all, these improvements lead to increased profits through greater productivity and efficiency.
Sometimes clues to important improvements lay hidden in events that everyone takes for granted.
For example, how well do you score on the following quiz about your meetings?
* How much time do you spend.
23). Four Uncommon Energy Savings
Here are four uncommon things that you can do to save energy.
1) Change time zones.
That is, when possible, travel when others are less likely to be on the road. You will save gas by avoiding delays. For example, avoid rush hour traffic by leaving an hour early. Then use this extra hour to read, plan your day, or add an little extra to your job. If your company permits flex time hours, then you could leave for home before rush hour starts.
24). 7 Myths That Make Meetings Miserable
Myth 1: Executives belong in meetings.Although the demands of business cause executives to attend more meetings than other professionals, executiv
25). 3 Lessons About Meetings from the Forest
Here are three lessons about meetings that came from a walk through the forest.
1) Giant Sequoias
These marvelous trees are a living example that some things take time.
True, we need to work with a sense of urgency. We need to do more with less. We need to move faster than the speed of chaos.
And we also need to be appropriate.
Rushing through some issues can produce false solutions.
26). How Leaders Use Voice Mail
Your outgoing voice mail message tells a lot about you. In fact, it may be the first impression that you make with a new client. Here's how to appear successful.
1) Present a Positive Image
Your outgoing voice mail message should be simple, positive, and professional. State your name and company followed by concise directions. You may want to leave a daily message because it shows that you check your messages and tells callers what to expect.
27). Monsters in Meetings - Part 1, How to Manage Unproductive Behavior
It happens easily.
You're conducting a meeting and suddenly a small side meeting starts. Then two side meetings develop. Soon you have many meetings going at once, and all of them are out of control.
Or maybe someone introduces an unrelated issue. Someone else ridicules the new issue. Everyone laughs, except the person who mentioned the idea. Then someone insults the person who told the joke.
28). Monsters in Meetings - Part 3, Drifting From the Topic
We welcome new ideas, sort of.
True, new ideas lead to creative solutions. But, they can be a challenge when they interrupt or distract the work on an issue.
Here's how to bring your meeting back on track when some offers an amazing (seemingly unrelated) idea.
Approach 1: Question the relationship to topic
When new ideas seem inappropriate, say:
"That's an interesting point (or question).
29). Monsters in Meetings - Part 4, Quiet Participants
Sometimes you have people who appear to be spectators in a meeting.
There are many reasons why someone would decline to participate. For example, the person may feel reluctant to speak out, may disagree with the approach endorsed by others in the meeting, or may be tired.
And yet, your job is to put the participants to work.
In fact, an effective meeting depends upon fair and equitable participation from everyone.
30). How to Start Meetings on Time
Here's how to begin on time.
1) Make it part of the agenda.
Put the arrival time on the agenda. For example, for a meeting scheduled to start at 9:00 AM, you could put "8:50 AM - - - Arrive at the Meeting" at the top of the agenda.
An arrival time is useful because it allows everyone time to socialize, obtain coffee, or organize materials before the meeting.
31). How to Protect Yourself from Meetings
You just checked your computer and (surprise) someone has scheduled you for a meeting.
Now what? You had planned to work on a project - and this meeting promises to be a repeat of the last one, which was a long painful discussion of unrelated ideas, stories, and complaints.
Instead of just showing up, you could:
1) Be busy.
Fill your calendar with activities that relate to your job.
32). Why Discussion Fails to Produce Results in Meetings
Most people use discussion for their meetings. And it seldom works. Here’s why.
1) No structure
Discussion is like conversation in that it is a free-form dialogue without any direction. Each person responds to what the last person said. While this can produce entertaining party chatter, it seldom leads to agreements or decisions. In fact, in a meeting, discussion can even make things worse.
33). How to Reach a Person When You Phone
Companies are trying to save money by transferring their work to you, the customer. For example, when you phone a business, you'll most likely encounter some sort of answering system. These systems cause you to waste time in a labyrinth of menus or they insult you by asking you to converse with a robot.
Here's how to reach a person (or avoid wasting time).
34). Don't Be Robbed in Your Next Meeting
What if someone asks to borrow your checkbook? And then the person says, "By the way, could you sign the checks before handing it over?"
Absurd, right?
And yet, people freely sign over huge chunks of their lives by agreeing to attend pointless meetings.
Here are five things to ask about before agreeing to attend.
1) Goals
What are the goals for.
35). 5 Keys to Success
Treating people with respect wins trust and develops lasting relationships. Here’s what to do.
1) Be on time. In fact, arrive early for appointments and meetings. Plan time milestones in your daily schedule that tell you when to begin transferring to an appointment. That is, note when you will stop working on a task, begin collecting resource materials, and start traveling.
36). What to Do With an Mean Boss
Question: "How do I get my boss to treat others with respect in a meeting?"
Simple answer: "It depends."
You see, we always have three choices when confronted by a dilemma. We can:
1) Change the situation. In this case we could talk to the boss about how disrespect undermines a meeting's effectiveness. Of course, this depends upon the boss. If the boss is a mean, vindictive person who fired the last person who made a suggestion, attempting to change this boss could be a bad idea.
37). 3 Myths That Ruin Meetings
These myths have cost companies billions of dollars in wasted payroll money.
Myth #1) Structure spoils spontaneity.
I once attended a two-day long disaster that easily cost over $40,000. Thirty people spent the first hour seeking an issue to discuss, then spent the next 15 hours arguing over insolvable problems. When I asked the manager who called the meeting, "Where's the agenda?" the reply was, "I didn't want to spoil the spontaneity by imposing a structure.
38). Are Your Meetings Like This
It's true.
Ducks hold meetings in the park. And they are remarkably similar to business meetings (held in conference rooms, for example).
Here's what happens.
1) No one pays attention to anyone.
Every duck is looking in a different direction. Most don't even appear to be part of the meeting. And none of them are watching the duck who is quacking.
39). Why My Cat Won't Attend Meetings
It was part of her job - to attend meetings held without an agenda. Now, after attending a few, she refuses to attend. Here's why.
1) No one asks her to help.
Olivia always comes prepared to be part of the action. She puts on her best fur, fluffs up her whiskers, and sharpens her claws. But people treat her as if she's just a cute little pet. Sometimes they don't even notice her when she enters the room.
40). Better Than E-mail, Guaranteed
There's a rampaging fascination with E-mail. People send out billions and billions of messages every day.
And they're missing out on a more effective tool.
So what could be better than E-mail?
What guarantees effective communication?
What always lets you accomplish more?
The answer is (drum roll, please) . . . .
Talking to people.
Here’s why.
41). 3 Job Search Tips That Increase Your Success
1) Approach finding a job as if it were a full-time job, because it is. If you had a job, you would report to work at the same time each day (like 8 am), take an hour (or less) for lunch, and quit at the same time each day (like 5 pm). You would work five days every week. And you would work hard to accomplish as much as you could because your career depended upon it.
42). 7 Ways Your Phone Can Work for You
The most important person in your company is the person who answers the phone. And if you use some trendy machine, you could be losing business. Here's what to do.
1) Hire an operator to answer your phone. This promotes good will, shows that you have employees, and may cost less than the consequences of rotten service. If you must use an automated system, let callers reach an operator from the first menu.
43). "Why Would Anyone Do That in My Meeting?"
Imagine that you open a meeting by saying, "We need to talk about the budget."
And someone says, "I named my dog Budget because