The professional business coaching industry is estimated to generate revenue of nine billion dollars worldwide this year with an annual projected growth of .02% going forward (according to IBIS World Market Research).
Why would so much money be invested into the arena of coaching? The easy answer is "it’s worth it." Many large global companies have done their homework, measured the performance improvements and have decided to invest even more in coaching their employees.
The real estate industry is no different than many of the Fortune 500 companies. In fact, in some ways coaching is an even more valuable tool in this field. The National Association of Realtors has indicated that agents who are coached successfully can increase their performance by 20%. That of course relates directly back to the real estate company in the form of increased revenue. But how do you know your coaching program is the right one?
What makes an outstanding coaching program? As in every discipline, the science and art of coaching cannot be successfully executed without sound philosophy and techniques to guide interactions with those you are charged with coaching. Coaching is not just cheerleading or meeting a randomly set goal. The successful coach must take a more holistic approach to a very complicated and sophisticated branch of learning. The following are examples of what I would consider to be the top three elements to be fulfilled:
Attitude and Philosophy
Methodology
Proven techniques for assessing goals and measured results
The good news is, if your company learns to “coach” well (all other variables being equal) you can easily beat the competition. Remember, if you miss even one step of a successful program it can have a negative impact on the final results.
Over the next six months, I will be expanding on this subject matter. Ben will continue to write articles on other interests, but I want you to expect one article each week on coaching and how to do it better. I hope that this concentrated time of learning will be valuable to you, your managers, agents and your organization.
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
I’m going to veer slightly off course today from our normally serious and thought-provoking WorkPuzzle content and talk about something different: Men’s fashion.
Ok, maybe that’s a hard right turn, but it does have something to do with performing at a high level during the next few weeks. Even if you’re one of our female readers, I promise we’ll have some fun with this topic and you’ll learn something too.
Here’s the topic: How does a guy successfully wear a sports jacket with jeans?
Of course, if you’re a guy you can immediately see why this is an important topic. Dressing to look your best for a holiday party often means balancing a casual look with something that still looks sharp. If you can learn how to master the jeans and sports jacket combination, you’ll be well on your way to making a great impression. If you look good and feel good, you’ll be well-equipped to do some of your best networking.
What about the ladies? Well, I would never be so foolish as to try to give you fashion advice, but many of you have guys that you coach on what to wear (or what not to wear). Truth be told--if my wife did not coach me on fashion issues, I'd be lost. Perhaps you can pick up a few pointers for the guy you're coaching from this discussion as well.
There are two ways to digest the information, a great 11-minute video that outlines some of the highpoints of this topic:
If you’re more of a reader, I’d suggest taking a look at his complete article. It has lots of pictures and examples. Here are some of the high points I found helpful:
Selecting The Right Jeans
“The jeans you wear with a jacket need to look dressier (if there is such a thing!) than your basic worn out work jeans for this to be a good combination.
‘Dress jeans’ is something of a contradiction in terms, but people should be able to tell at a glance that you don’t wear these pants for working on your car or hiking in the woods.
A good pair of jeans to wear with a sports jacket should have the following “dressy” features:
Close fit. They don’t have to be skinny jeans, especially down below the knees, but there shouldn’t be any sag up around the thighs and crotch. You want a smooth outline of your body, not a drape of loose cloth that you can wave back and forth.
Dark color. Deep indigo is most common, but grays and black are also typical choices for nice jeans. More fashion-forward men may also experiment with white or very light gray jeans, or even brighter colors, but beginners should stick to jeans that are darker than the jacket.
Proper length. You’re going to be wearing nice-looking shoes with most of these outfits, and the cuff of the jeans should rest very lightly on the tops of the shoes when you stand straight.
You want to stay away from fashion details that make the jeans look more worn, even if it’s a deliberate fashion statement:
Severe fading or “acid wash” patches, rips or tears of any kind, fraying at the cuffs and pockets, cargo pockets or gear loops.
That’s not to say that some men don’t wear deliberately distressed jeans with jackets, but it’s a fashion-plate look — affected and a little over-the-top. Don’t experiment with it if you’re just trying to look a little sharper.”
Selecting the Right Jacket
“The other half of the equation is your jacket. There’s a huge range out there to choose from, and no one ‘right’ style. But think about a couple important factors when you choose one:
Casual Jacket Fabric – This is more important than a lot of guys realize. A very fine, worsted wool jacket pretty much screams “suit jacket” to a practiced eye. It can work with jeans, but it’s not the unthinking casual ease of something more relaxed like corduroy or a visible twill weave.
Relaxed Jacket Cut – The advantage of any men’s jacket is the added definition, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want a razor-edged Italian suit here. A little softness in the shoulder is good, and the taper at the waist shouldn’t be too extreme. For tightness, remember the name of the garment — it should be loose enough that you could do “sport,” i.e. hunting and hiking in the countryside, comfortably.
Bold Jacket Color & Pattern – A solid jacket is fine, but you’re not going to be wearing it to any business meetings. Have a little fun. Colors like browns and grays work well, as do patterns like windowpane checks and plaids. In general, keep the dominant color lighter than your jeans, and if you’re wearing blue jeans steer away from navy blue jackets.
A jacket that you’re buying to wear with jeans is also a great place to play around with unusual decorations you don’t wear on your other jackets. Ever wanted to see how you look with leather elbow patches, or with big, square, accordion-style pockets? This is the place to try them out.”
I know that some of our clients (especially our East Coast clients) have accused me of being a little more casual in my attire than is sometimes appropriate for the real estate industry. Hopefully, this is some middle ground that will help you feel confortable at your holiday parties, but also sharp enough to feel confident. If it doesn’t work…just blame it on the guy you know from Seattle!
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
About four years ago, I wrote a popular blog on an obscure medical book called the Checklist Manifesto. Since then, that book has become quite popular and the principles outlined by the author for hospitals have benefited managers and individuals in many industries. Hopefully, you’ve used it yourself!
Since reading this book, I’ve often wondered why people are naturally drawn to the concept of a checklist. Whether I’m talking with a seasoned executive or my 7-year old, it just seems right to create and follow a list. I never get an argument on this topic—it’s always, “…of course we’d need to create and follow a checklist, that only makes sense.”
Well, I need not wonder any more. Best-selling author Maria Konnikova recently wrote a fascinating article in the New Yorker magazine that reveals the science behind the ubiquitous success of the list.
It’s a long and very detailed article (that surprisingly does not contain any lists), but here are a few of the points I found most interesting:
"Your mind seeks organization. “Lists tap into our preferred way of receiving and organizing information at a subconscious level; from an information-processing standpoint, they often hit our attentional sweet spot.
When we process information, we do so spatially. For instance, it’s hard to memorize through brute force the groceries we need to buy. It’s easier to remember everything if we write it down in bulleted, or numbered points.”
Your mind wants to categorize. Lists also appeal to our general tendency to categorize things—in fact, it’s hard for us not to categorize something the moment we see it—since they chunk information into short, distinct components….
Because we can process information more easily when it’s in a list than when it’s clustered and undifferentiated, like in standard paragraphs, a list feels more intuitive. In other words, lists simply feel better.”
Your mind wants to know how long this will take. “The more we know about something—including precisely how much time it will consume—the greater the chance we will commit to it. The process is self-reinforcing: we recall with pleasure that we were able to complete the task instead of leaving it undone and that satisfaction, in turn, makes us more likely to click on lists again.
The social psychologist Robert Zajonc, who made his name studying the connection between emotion and cognition, argued that the positive feeling of completion in and of itself is enough to inform future decisions. Preferences, goes his famous coinage, need no inferences.”
Konnikova’s insight has a number of applications in the real estate industry. Here are a few that come to mind quickly:
Recruiting. During an interview, help the candidate categorize the dissatisfaction they feel in their current job/career by creating a list. Prioritizing the list will help them feel and remember the dissatisfaction.
Coaching. You have important concepts that you want your agents to understand during a coaching session. Present the information in a list. It will be easier to remember and refer back to later.
Training. As the Checklist Manifesto taught us, if you want someone to consistently do something, create a checklist. This will be good for your brain and the person you’re trying to train.
Communicating with clients. Teach your agents to use lists in their communication with clients—especially marketing pieces. As people skim information, their eyes are naturally drawn to lists.
Follow-up emails. When you’re finished with a meeting and write a follow-up email to those who attended, use lists to summarize. Here is what we discussed (bullet list). Here are the action items (2nd bullet list).
There are many more applications (another hint; done’ make your lists too long), but you get the idea.
The psychology of digesting information is key to your success as a communicator. If you think about it, getting people around you to hear, digest, and act upon the information you’re communicating is the main part of your “job description” as a leader. Make sure you become proficient at using this tool.
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
Writing doesn't come easy for me. It's actually one of my least favorite things to do. As many of us do with tasks that take us outside our comfort range, I usually leave it until the very last minute. It sometimes takes me days to come up with just the right title or the beginning paragraph and often it is still not quite “right." At times, the task of writing feels overwhelming.
I would guess there are many candidates who feel this way about their goal of becoming an effective and successful agent. For example, they might love selling because they are socially adept, but find studying and taking tests more difficult. Trying to pass the licensing exam may seem like an unreachable goal, they leave the studying until the last minute. In turn, procrastination causes many people to fail.
What can we do to avoid the pitfalls of procrastination? I recently read an article in Psychology Todaythat spoke more about laziness than procrastination, but the solution proposed works well for both. The following is an excerpt from the article:
"Dealing with our own mind is a bit like dealing with a small child. It doesn’t always know what’s best, and our job is to take it by the hand compassionately and set it on the right path. With practice, inertia is relatively easy to overcome – at least compared to other mental roadblocks. The key, in my experience, is to stop arguing with the mind.
Most minds, like children, don’t switch gears easily. “Time to go to the gym,” you might say to yourself, to which your mind answers, no thanks, I’m fine where I am. The gym is far away, and it will take too much time, and everything there is really heavy, and do you really want to spend your day lifting heavy things?
And by the way, says your mind, you should be ashamed of yourself for laying on this couch.
It’s easy to get drawn into an argument with the mind, and it can stymie us with that bizarre combination of sloth and shame. Sometimes arguing works; sometimes it doesn't and you feel awful. But there’s an easier way – a lazier way: don’t engage in the argument.
When the thought of going to the gym (for example) seems overwhelming, try shifting your attention to something more manageable, like the first small step that starts you down the path. We may not be able to prevent lazy thoughts and urges, but we can control whether or not we focus on them.
You might tell yourself, "I don’t have to go to the gym right now, I only have to put on my shoes.” Once your shoes are on, the next task is simply to get to the car, and so on. Momentum will often take over if you can get your body moving in the right direction. Don’t worry that your mind isn’t in the mood, it will catch up later. Before you know it, you’ll be working up a sweat.
It takes practice, but I’ve found this approach to be quite effective. While you’re in the process of ignoring the bigger picture and taking small steps, it helps to divert your attention to something external, like music. It also helps immensely to frame your goals in terms of what you want (I want to be physically fit) rather than what you don’t want (I don’t want to be fat).”
I vividly remember reading about Ed Viesturs (a famous mountaineer) who would continually break down each climb into 25- 50 yard segments. He would look ahead and find a rock or a snowdrift, and focus his attention on only reaching that landmark. He would then celebrate his small accomplishment and repeat the process. After doing this again and again, he would eventually find himself standing atop a 30,000-foot peak.
I am going to try this when writing my next blog. Ironically, this is the same advice I frequently prescribe as a psychologist, but I had not thought about it in broader terms.
If we can help agents (and ourselves) see the goal as a process, it sets us free to break that process down into small, manageable steps. The security of knowing that we’ve successfully completed one small step makes it much easier to take the next step. Like Ed Veisturs, we’ll also be amazed at the significant things we accomplish!
Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network. Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?
By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust. Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes). To get started, click here.
Already of a member of TMOC? If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage. Questions? Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
As we discussed earlier in the week, there is no such thing as an “active candidate” (someone that needs a job from your company) in the world of real estate. By default, all prospective agents are “passive candidates.”
Since passive candidates don’t need a job at your company, they are evaluating if working with your organization is better than what they are currently doing. Often, their easiest option is to do nothing.
To treat passive candidates (especially new-to real estate prospects) as if they are active candidates is a mistake. It destroys your chances of convincing high-quality individuals to join your organization.
With this foundation in place, Peter Weddle addresses one more issue during telephone screening that commonly derails the passive candidate recruiting process.
“In order to engage and effectively influence passive prospects…the recruiter begins the call and continues the selling effort for an opening that was begun in the recruitment ad to which the applicant replied.
This short but carefully orchestrated period should not be used simply to restate the information in the ad, but rather to highlight the key elements of its value proposition. In other words, what makes this opening a special opportunity and what makes the employer a special place to work?
The purpose of this initial interaction is "re-recruitment." It's done to remind the passive prospect why they applied for the job and to reinforce the position's potential advantages for them.”
Notice how the telephone screening builds upon the message the candidate “heard” when they responded to the initial sourcing event. Typically, a sourcing event would be a job advertisement, but it could also be something like an agent referral or a visit to the career page of your company’s website.
If the initial sourcing message and the next contact (the telephone screening) do not complement and support each other, the candidate will typically sense the disequilibrium. When this happens, the red flags go up in a prospect’s mind.
Researchers have frequently demonstrated that the human mind doesn’t like disequilibrium when it is trying to assimilate new information. If candidates can’t quickly find equilibrium during the telephone screening (“This makes sense based on what I initially heard…”), they’ll eject themselves from the recruiting process to find that equilibrium (“Changing careers was probably not going to work for me anyway. What was I thinking?…").
By the way, the same principle applies to the interview stage of the recruiting process.
If the messages at these three recruiting junctures (initial sourcing event, telephone screening, and interview) do not match and support each other, your recurring success with passive candidates will be greatly diminished.
If you remember the take-away from part one of this discussion—all prospective agents, new or experienced, are passive candidates—you can see why it’s so important to master this technique.
Here is some final advice from Peter:
“The telephone pre-screen is often implemented as a mechanical element of the recruitment process - a pass-fail test that is all about what the employer wants to know. By [being consistent in your messaging] you can both assess applicants more effectively and get more of them - especially those elusive passive prospects - to accept any offer that is made.
Consciously or unconsciously, passive prospects believe that the way they are treated in the recruiting process mimics the way they will be treated as employees, so it's essential to optimize their experience from the beginning to the end.”
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
One of the purposes of WorkPuzzle is to aggregate recruiting information and best practices from traditional recruiting industry sources. While many of the topics that corporate recruiters and staffing companies discuss do not apply to the real estate industry, there are occasional parallels that are instructive.
Peter Weddle, an author and popular recruiting columnist, recently addressed such an issue in his bi- weekly newsletter. The topic was telephone screening, but the application for the real estate industry has broader implications.
We’ll discuss not only the nature of the candidate (who are you talking to?), but also the message your candidates are hearing as they progress through the recruiting process in your organization.
Nature of the Candidate. For traditional recruiters, candidates come in two flavors—active candidates (those who need a job) and passive candidates (those who are already employed and would consider changing jobs if a better deal came along).
Depending on the nature of the candidate, the initial phone contact (often called a telephone pre-screen) is handled differently. Peter makes the following distinction:
“Traditionally, the telephone pre-screen has primarily been used to verify the qualifications of candidates and determine if they should be invited for an on-site interview. The assumption behind this approach is that every applicant has already been sold on working for an employer.
While that may be true for active job seekers, it's not true for most passive prospects. This difference occurs because passive prospects have a choice, and active job seekers don't.
Active job seekers are almost always unemployed, so their application for a position signals their genuine interest in it and, more often than not, their intent to accept an offer made for it. They have applied because they need the job.
Passive prospects, in contrast, are almost always employed, so they can choose to stay with their current employer or to accept any of the offers they have likely received from other employers. They have applied because they are interested, but not yet sold on the job.”
In the real estate recruiting world, there is no such thing as an active candidate.
Whether you’re recruiting new or experienced agent candidates, they are all, by default passive candidates.
Why? Due to the independent contractor nature of the agent/broker relationship and the fact that your competitors are always hiring, no one “needs” a real estate agent job. Any candidate can easily find a broker at any time with which to hang his or her license.
While this concept probably seems simple and self-evident, it’s amazing how many real estate recruiters treat prospective agents (especially new-to-real-estate candidates) as active candidates.
In the initial telephone pre-screen, they make the assumption that most candidates are unqualified and need to prove themselves worthy of evaluation by the company. There is also a secondary (more subtle) belief that most candidates don’t have other compelling employment options, so they’re considering real estate.
Peter points out that this attitude greatly hinders the recruiting process if the objective is to hire talented individuals:
“Why worry about the different responses active job seekers and passive prospects have to a telephone pre-screen? As the Golden Rule of Recruiting acknowledges: what you do to recruit passive talent will also recruit active talent, but the converse is not true.
In other words, if you configure your telephone pre-screen for active job seekers, it will work just fine for them, but will turn away many if not most passive prospects. On the other hand, if you design the pre-screen for passive prospects, it will have a positive impact on them and on active job seekers as well.”
From this discussion, there are two questions worth considering:
How does your organization treat candidates during their initial phone contact with the organization?
If you don't know the answer to this question, find out by asking some questions of those making the calls and listening to some of those calls as a third party observer.
Does the messaging in the telephone pre-screen (positive, passive-candidate messaging) carry over into the other part of the recruiting process (interview, post-interview, etc.)?
We’ll cover this question in Part 2 of this discussion. As you probably guessed, starting off on the right foot is an important part of connecting with talented individuals, but communicating consistently also plays an important part in shaping the candidate’s perspective.
Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
In past blogs I have focused on the relational aspect of recruiting. There is another aspect just as important, but perhaps not as intuitive, and that is the habitual side of a recruiting strategy. It is one thing to identify a strategy or process, but another to commit to the execution of said strategy.
The single most important aspect of any recruiting strategy is engagement, be it prospecting, interviewing or following-up. It is the foundation of any recruiting process, without it you cannot build and sustain a recruiting pipeline that will convert to hiring talent. Paul Castain, Vice President of Castain Training Systems, wrote a blog extolling the pitfalls of inconsistent prospecting relative to sales, but I usually see parallels in the wonderful world of recruiting in general.
To summarize, Paul pointed out three problems with inconsistent prospecting, two of which stood out to me:
You’re visibility is severely diminished. Without consistent contact your prospects won’t really know who you are or feel connected to you in any meaningful way. People want to work with people they know, like and trust. If you are not engaging with them they won’t engage with you.
You’re giving your competition the advantage. You could have the best brand in the world, but if you aren’t talking with a prospect, you know your competitors are.
I would say the number one complaint I hear repeatedly from managers regarding the task of recruiting, is that they just don’t have the time. There are meetings to be had, fires to be extinguished, agents/staff knocking on doors… This is where the habitual side of recruiting comes into play.
Schedule your “engagement time” (yes, another feeble attempt at re-framing the term recruiting). I mean, literally put it on your calendar like any other appointment. Put on the proverbial “do not disturb” sign and shut your door. Make this a recurring “appointment” as many times per week as you can to:
Make calls
Send emails
Document your action for the day, including a date for follow-up contact or scheduled meetings
Rinse and repeat
I don’t know if I have any “dare devils” out there, but like Paul did for those in sales, I challenge you to open up your calendar and schedule your “engagement time(s)” and kick-start your recruiting habits.
Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .
Earlier this week, Dave wrote an insightful blog on how to improve your presentation skills. There were several great tips that would help even the most experienced presenter to make improvements.
But, what if you do find yourself attending more presentations than you do actually giving them? It may surprise you, but there are best practices for getting the most out of situations where you’re on the receiving end of presentations.
For an owner or hiring manager, many of these receiving opportunities come at conferences. The real estate industry is not alone in its affinity from getting together under the auspices of the professional conference.
Besides being fun to attend, the sharing of information and the face-to-face networking has numerous benefits. There is no doubt conferences will continue to be an important business tool in years to come.
The downside of professional conferences is they often cost thousands of dollars to attend, and they are not of equal benefit to everyone attending. This is why a recent article by Siraj Datoo and Gideon Lichfieldcaught my eye. The article titled The Complete Guide to Getting Your Money’s Worth Out of Conferences, was originally published on QZ.com and list 13 insights on the topic. Here are the five I found most helpful:
"Arrive a day early so you’re not groggy.
An extra night in a hotel might seem indulgent, but it can pay for itself in the value you get out of the event. Arrive the day before a conference starts and work from the hotel that day. When everyone else at the opening reception is haggard from their flights, you’ll be fairly relaxed and in a better state to network.
Be careful where you put your nametag.
If you hang your name badge around your neck it can be hard for people, especially casual passers-by, to see. Instead, put it as high as you can on your chest and next to the shoulder of the arm you shake hands with—so for most people, on the right lapel. That puts it directly in people’s line of sight when you greet them.
Don’t go to many talks—talk to people instead.
There’s a reason why an increasing number of conferences are happy to live-stream their talks and panels: They know that’s not what people pay for. Big-name speakers may draw the crowds, but going to talks is like visiting an aquarium. You look at the fish and they are doing their shtick and you cannot interact with them.
Instead, spend time in the hallways. It’s the chance to meet lots of people with similar interests, and that’s the only thing that makes a conference an irreplaceable experience.
Don’t be shy, and don’t hover
If someone you want to talk to is standing alone, just walk up and say hello. The nametags at conferences ‘imply a social contract’ that people are open to discussion.
If your target is talking to someone else, get into his field of vision from some distance away and walk up to him calmly but confidently, looking straight at him. He will usually become aware of your approach before you get there. You then have a window to interrupt politely, introduce yourself, and either join in or agree to talk later. There’s nothing more irritating than having a conversation with someone else hovering on the edge.
Be helpful to organizers—you never know when it’ll come in handy.
Get to know the organizers and try to help them out, says Vardi. If you’re a constructive member of the community, you may be able to suggest other people to invite—and nothing builds capital with contacts like getting them invited to a conference they want to go to."
Hopefully, these ideas will help you make the most of your next conference. For more ideas, read the rest of the article on this topic. If you’re becoming proficient in the use of social media, there are some new aspects to attending conferences that may prove helpful as well.
Bottom line…a little planning, purposeful effort, and attention to detail will insure you’re getting a return on your conference investment.
Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
Really? I don’t know that there is a “perfect presentation” but there are certainly some very successful ones. Think of Steve Jobs or Tony Robbins; different personalities and different topics, but both extremely engaging.
I selected this topic for a rather selfish reason. Most of the time I get a favorable response to my seminars, but there have been a few times when I have been left with the feeling that the audience was not fully engrossed with what I had to say. The dazed looks or multiple yawns are usually the first signs!
There are a few scientific facts that are helpful:
“Think of your short term memory as your brain’s Post-It-Note. Like a Post-It- Note it doesn’t have huge capacity. On average our brain can hold onto fewer than 7 items for no more than 10-15 seconds.” (March 18, 2013 Hubspot, Marta Kagan).
There is also a theory called the Picture Superiority Effect that says that concepts are much more readily remembered if they are presented in picture form.
Although studies and theories are always important, perhaps the most relevant proof is how you react to different presentation styles. I like to feel that the presenter is comfortable with the material and that his/her manner genuinely reflects how they feel about the topic. The best presentations have knowledge, passion and emotion.
There are many differing guidelines as to how a speaker might achieve these goals, but here are a few that seem to appear on everyone’s “tips” page.
1. Simplicity: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” (Leonardo DaVinci). In all of the presentations I have given or attended, the most memorable and effective are those that don’t overwhelm us with too much information. Keep your delivery to two or three key points. This lets the audience absorb and retain what you really want them to know. By using this method you inevitably repeat; which is great, as that also aids in retention. And be sure to use simple English – don’t be too technical.
2. Be Comfortable: There are lots of ways to achieve this. Some speakers are just “naturals” but that’s rare. The best way to feel comfortable and be relaxed and effective is to know your material. This means practice and rehearse. How much practice depends on you, but you should never rely on your wits or the Power Point to direct the presentation.
3. To Power Point or Not: Although educational presentations may benefit from long winded text or bullet points, most slides are best restricted to powerful images or carefully selected words or phrases. Remember the Picture Superiority Effect.
4. Show Your Passion: If you aren’t passionate about your topic you won’t be able to ignite your audience. Demonstrate your emotion through voice and motion. Get your audience excited about what you have to say. Even if they don’t agree they’ll remember what you had to say. Make sure you have a clear and compelling beginning, middle and end. It’s a bit like a three act play.
5. Control the Environment: Make sure you are focused on your audience as much as you want them to be focused on you. If you notice they are distracted move the presentation along. Remember you are in control!
I am going to take these points to heart and hope they are helpful to you as well. And I hope you will be able to attend my next seminar – it should be close to a “perfect presentation.”
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
As the name describes, a list of Harvard Graduates from the class of 1963, on their 50th anniversary of graduation, offer advice on a number of topics ranging from careers, business, marriage, leadership, happiness, wealth and several others. I thought this might come in useful as a resource in leading and inspiring others.
Business
Ralph Linsalata
"Never use the pronoun “I” except when taking responsibility for a problem or mistake. When success occurs, it should always be “we” or “they.”
Communication with all employees is critical. Strategies must be explained repeatedly — as many as 20 times — before most people really understand them.
The right culture is also critical. It takes a long time and an exceptional amount of effort to change a bad culture. Most companies fail because they do not have the right culture.
All competitive advantages last for a very short time. You have to be paranoid to stay as the leader of a successful company."
"When I entered Harvard Business School, I was staggered by the ability of classmates (especially Ivy-Leaguers) to talk. Everyone seemed trained to be very articulate. In my mind, people were given two ears and one mouth for a reason: one should listen many more times than one should talk.
Active listening requires understanding what you are hearing, asking follow-up questions, and watching body language. The better one listens, the better one learns.
As one ages, it seems that people tend to talk more about themselves and less about the people they are talking to. Listen more and talk less for success."
"The most successful lives are those people who have had a very positive impact on a great many other people."
Marriage & Family
Ralph Linsalata
"Tell your spouse and children that you love them every day, no matter how you feel.
Do not bring your problems home with you.
Realize the joy that comes from helping your spouse and children excel in their fields of interest and enjoy themselves.
Develop within your family a sense of obligation to help others.
Spending quality time with your family — not just time — is critical.
Choose a spouse who will understand and support you, and one for whom you will do the same. Life is much better if you can help each other grow and expand your knowledge, experiences, friends, and capabilities."
"When raising children, make sure they grow up to be independent. Too many of us want to make life easy on our kids and save them from anguish. That is not always the best course of action."
"Marriage is an 80–20 partnership, on both sides. If you each understand that, you always go out of your way to please your spouse. When both partners do that, you have a happy marriage.
The greatest gift you can give your children is to love one another."
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It's hard for any of us to imagine 50-years into the future--especially when we're young and inexperienced. This is one of the reasons it's so important to learn the lessons of those who have more experience. As you lead and coach the young agents under your care, share these insights and the insights of others who have gone before us. It will not only enrich your coaching experience, but it may also make you a better person in the process.
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
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Why would so much money be invested into the arena of coaching? The easy answer is "it’s worth it." Many large global companies have done their homework, measured the performance improvements and have decided to invest even more in coaching their employees. 
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 
