Dianna Booher's Blog, page 22
February 4, 2019
How to Become A Person of Influence
(Forbes first published my article here.)
Business circles are buzzing often these days about influence. Who has it? Who lacks it? Why people need it? Often, the conversations sound as if influence were a commodity you could buy at the local store or install on your laptop. Although it’s not that easy, people have more influence than they realize. They simply fail to recognize opportunities to exercise it.
Far too many people “walk in the shadows” so to speak. That is, they think they can’...
January 28, 2019
6 Ways to Think Positively in a Negative World
No one will argue that negativity surrounds us. Government shutdowns. Politicians pointing fingers, giving their counterparts tongue-lashings, and plastering the airwaves with expletives. Terrorists strikes. Natural disasters. Health crises that threaten loved ones. Financial challenges that stretch and stress.
Dwelling on these things could make you want to duck your head under the covers and not get up in the mornings. But telling yourself just to “not think about it” is neither possibl...
January 21, 2019
How to Lay the Perfect Foundation for an Online Meeting
(Microsoft first published my article here.)
Planning and leading a successful online meeting is much like planning and constructing a building. Except that the meeting is faster and cheaper—and can achieve far more.
To ensure that both the building and the online meeting are successful, follow these five steps:
5 Tip for a Smooth Online Meeting
Make Detailed Plans
Builders have blueprints. Every detail shows up somewhere on the drawings—on the foundation silhouette, the front elevatio...
January 14, 2019
How to Have Tough, Productive Conversations About Money at Home
Guest Column by Mary Kelly, PhD
THIS is the year you are going to lose the weight, exercise 3 times a week, and get your finances in order. You are going to create a budget, fully fund both your Roth IRA and your 401 (k) plans, save 10% for your current asset fund (which is also your emergency fund), and get rid of that credit card debt.
There’s only one problem: When you try to talk about household finances, the conflict starts before the conversation begins. Sound familiar?
If so, yo...
January 7, 2019
3 Things To Consider Before Agreeing To The Job, Deal, Or Partnership
(Forbes.com previously published my article here.)
Early in my career, an international organization contacted me about licensing my intellectual property. Four of their executives and I talked for more than a year in negotiating and setting up a complex arrangement involving a third partner and multiple distributors. Those initial complex, detailed communications eventually led to a long-term profitable relationship for both of our organizations.
We all became friends and made a great dea...
December 31, 2018
4 Ways to Maximize Your Business Communication in the New Year
(This article first appeared on the Microsoft blog here.)
The mantra for many every new year: Faster. Better. Cheaper. Applied to communication, that phrasing typically means email productivity.
I knew we’d reached a tipping point on business communication when I heard my 87-year-old mom lean back from the dinner table and say with a heavy sigh: “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer. I need to go home and do email.”
Business communication has become the chore most people love to hate. Yet few bus...
December 24, 2018
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!
We at Booher Research Institute would like to wish you a wonderful and safe holiday season. Have a relaxing time with family and friends.
May . . .
Your conversations be meaningful,
Your conflicts be few,
Your memories be pleasant, and
Your joy be multiplied.
God bless!
Dianna
Get the blog delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe to Dianna’s ezine. Tags: Merry Christmas
December 17, 2018
Top 10 Communication Blogs From 2018: Did You Miss These?
Thanks for being a reader in 2018. To wrap up the year, I’m re-running 10 of the most popular communication blogs in the last 12 months just in case you missed them.
Top 10 Booher Communication Blogs of the Year
How to Stop a Micromanaging Boss
Far too many people have had a “bad boss” experience in their past. But complaining to coworkers rarely improves the situation. You can, however, take some practical steps to relieve the tension—if not rehabilitate your boss altogether.
Read the...
December 10, 2018
How Strong Leaders Ask For Help
You don’t get bonus points for struggling. Only battle scars. When taking over a new job or project, or when the responsibilities or multiple deadlines push you to overload, it’s time to collaborate for the input you need.
Weak leaders hesitate to ask for help, fearing others will see them as incapable. Strong leaders, on the other hand, focus on more strategic issues of accomplishing the mission, developing team capabilities and confidence, and gaining buy-in for overall success.
So when...
December 3, 2018
Using Apostrophes Properly in Perplexing Possessives
Possession presents problems to plenty of people—on social media platforms, in emails, in formal proposals. Not demonic possession. Not even possessive parents or spouses. I’m talking about pesky, perplexing possessives in grammar: the proper way to show ownership.
Showing Ownership: Using Apostrophes Properly in Perplexing Possessives
The Concept
Here’s the concept that will help you never again make another grammar mistake with apostrophes and possessives:
Make words singular or plu...
