Dianna Booher's Blog, page 21

3 Things Executives Should Communicate to Managers About Money

Guest Post By Tim Alba Mum should not be the word when it comes to money in the marketplace. Yet […]

Communication Is About Time—And the Tools. Really

(Special thanks to Microsoft Office, the sponsor of this article. Their Modern Workplace webcast Organized Communication: Avoiding Information Overload  addresses […]

How to Make a Second “Positive FIRST Impression”

People preach the importance of making a good first impression. Some even put a time limit on it: 5-7 seconds.  Certainly, it doesn’t take long for people to decide if you’re credible, trustworthy, and sharp or a nitwit, dishonest, and dull.

Somewhere between seven seconds and seventy minutes, you may walk away from a presentation, conversation, or meeting, feeling disappointed in how you “came across.” When that’s the case, you often wish for a do-over. But ringing in your ear is that old ad...

How to Change Deplorable Healthcare Communication With Older Patients

Recently, I called a local hospital to make an appointment for a CT scan at the direction of my mom’s orthopedic doctor. The scheduler in the doctor’s office insisted she didn’t have time to “get through” and suggested that I as the patient could make the appointment quicker if I called the surgeon directly.

So I called the hospital’s radiology department only to hear their recorded greeting—but with a promising message that directed me to Press 4 for “Scheduling.” But then the real maze bega...

How To Work With People You Don’t Like

(Forbes first published my article here.)

Being locked into a leadership role or project with a person who rubs you the wrong way produces stress—and often collateral damage and bad decisions. We see the results played out at the highest levels of government, corporations, and nonprofits. To get specific: Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump.

So how do you neutralize such situations, focus on resolving issues, and work together smoothly without creating havoc for a project, organization, or country?...

The Communication Competition: How to win in today’s chaotic business environment

Guest post by Sara Canaday

An article in Forbes recently explained that our brains use our senses to gather roughly 11 million bits of information per second from the environment around us. However, our conscious minds have the capacity to process only about 40 of those at once. No wonder it’s a challenge for professionals to filter through all of the emails, webinars, podcasts, meetings, and phone calls to determine which communications really deserve their attention.

The competition is incr...

5 Communication Skills That Will Identify You As a Leader

(Forbes previously published my article here.)

How do “leaders” get labeled in your organization?  While most organizations these days have a special emphasis on “developing leaders,” selection to these groups varies widely—from seasoned senior managers being considered for promotion to the executive ranks . . . to those members with less than three years’ experience about to become a first-time supervisor.

Despite these variations in who gets labeled as a leader, they typically have five cha...

The 10 Commandments of Successful Sales Communication

Salespeople typically do a great job in engaging customers and presenting their service or product. But occasionally, a salesperson stuns you. Such was the case about a year ago while I was shopping for a jewelry armoire. When I climbed into the car after the sales interaction, I grabbed my iPhone to make a note of the following scene:

 

Wish All Salespeople Knew the 10 Commandments of Sales Communication?

 

Not Exactly a Successful Sales Conversation

Me:   Do you have this armoire in stock?...

Myths Versus Facts in Book Writing and Publishing

Anybody can write and publish a book today. If you don’t believe it, read Brent Underwood’s “publishing success” reported in the Observer.  With his smartphone, he literally took a photo of his foot, created a one-page book of the image, titled his book “Putting My Foot Down,” and published it on Amazon priced at 99 cents. Then he asked 2 friends to buy a copy, plus he purchased a copy. Voilà, the book appeared as an Amazon bestseller.

To repeat: Anybody with access to a computer and the i...

Communicating Love Through Stages and Seasons of Marriage

Remember Valentine’s Day: Feb 14!

My gift to you: The week’s guest article by Dr. Jeff Rees. We hope it makes a big difference in your communication and ultimately your relationship!

Marriages go through different developmental stages. When periods of joy and pleasure are sustained, life is good.  But when marriage has its equivalent of the Terrible Two’s or tempestuous teenage years, marriage can be the source of great discomfort.  Most people are unfamiliar, unprepared, and at times, unw...