Recently, a colleague on LinkedIn asked how do you present yourself as the most important person [...]]]>

Not too long ago I wrote about how to find the most important person in the room by reading specific body language cues. (By the way, thank you to all the magazines and other blogs that picked up this story!)

Recently, a colleague on LinkedIn asked how do you present yourself as the most important person the room?

Great question!

While the body language cues I discussed in the first article came primarily from how people react around you, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few things you can do to bring the “air of power” back to you.

1.) Look the part: As nice as the saying is “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, we still do it every day. You want to be as well dressed and as well groomed as possible. Don’t worry about having to stretch your credit card limit on clothes. You can find some great looks for low prices. You want to make sure whatever you wear it is fitted, current, and classy. Good image consultants can be very helpful in this area.

2.) Feel the part: The first person you have to convince is yourself. If you feel shy, insignificant, and scared, it will translate to your facial expressions, body language, and voice. Think of ways that you can pump yourself up. Before going to any event that intimidates me, I play my favorite “go get ‘em” music in my car – loudly. Music is one of the best ways to get your mojo flowin’. You can also get a friend to give you a pep talk. Use them as your pre-game coach. However you get there, get there! The more confident you feel, the more powerful you present yourself.

3.) Be the part: Once you’ve accomplished looking powerful for a first impression and feeling powerful inside, you can then project your powerful nature to the rest of the world. Here are a few power stances you can use when networking and wanting to appear approachable. Nothing projects power like confidence. If you want to appear confident and approachable, you’ll want to be sure to:
Have a genuine smile
Open body language (uncrossed arms and legs, no hands in pockets, palm up gestures)
Strong eye contact
Nodding when listening
Slight tilt of the head
Feet pointed in same direction

While some of these suggestions on “be the part” may seem simple and obvious, you’d be amazed at how many people overlook these necessary confident signals. The main reason why people fail to project these signal is that they don’t believe it. They don’t believe they are powerful. They don’t believe they are significant. They don’t believe in their confidence. This is why step 2 is so critical to this process. You body language leaks the true thoughts your mind (both conscious and subconscious) has.

If you believe it, they will see it.

Poor Communication Skills Costly to Businesses

I often talk about the importance of effective communication and presentation skills. I usually focus on what the benefits are for your business. Today I realized that perhaps some companies aren’t aware of the cost of poor communication skills. I believe that this must be the case – a [...]]]>

Poor Communication Skills Costly to Businesses

I often talk about the importance of effective communication and presentation skills. I usually focus on what the benefits are for your business. Today I realized that perhaps some companies aren’t aware of the cost of poor communication skills. I believe that this must be the case – a general unawareness – because businesses are not focusing enough (or any) of their development efforts in this area.

Today, allow me to make it very clear how your business suffers because of underdeveloped employees and poor communication skills.

Lost Business: When things go wrong, how your team handles the situation will determine whether or not your client will stay with you. In our “flat world”, you are replaceable. If your employees don’t handle a crisis situation with strong and effective interpersonal communications, all your client has to do is hop onto Google and contact your competitor.

No Business Growth: Without good interpersonal communication skills, networking efforts are futile. New connections will not be made. Discussions with the decision maker will never happen. Phone calls will not be returned. You may have a good product or service, but if it is not presented well, it won’t get bought.

No Advocates: If your people can’t clearly communicate what your business does and how it can help, how can you expect outside people to turn around and tell their friends, family, coworkers, and others? It won’t happen. The message needs to be clear, concise, and presented effectively. With a strong message, outsiders will be able to spread the word and drive more business to you. Without it, you’re on your own – literally.

Personnel Issues: 80% of office complaints are a result of communication misunderstandings. Think of the time and money that could be saved without the distraction of inter-office communication problems. Plus, people who are happier in their work environment are more productive. With communication training and development, you will not only save money, but also increase revenues.

Underdeveloped People = Underdeveloped Business: Training and developing your people to become highly effective communicators is one of the best investments for your business. How we communicate with the rest of the world directly determines the outcome. Strong communications equal strong relationships, which result in a strong business.

These are only a few of the costs you will be incurring if you allow poor communication skills to fester in your organization. Communications training and professional development are a critical element to the future and continued success of your business. Without improving this crucial area and allowing the communication skills of your employees to stay stagnant, you are choosing to let your business lag behind.

Find resources and training programs that will help you develop your employees, and therefore increase your business success.

Related links:

• Communication Skills for Leaders: What Your Can Learn from Coca-Cola CEO
• Why Meetings and Presentations Matter
• Networking for Introverts

by JOH_3164

Wondering how to overcome shyness when networking? Not a fan of approaching complete strangers? Don’t feel the urge to deliver your 30 second elevator pitch right after saying hello to someone? Don’t feel like listing off the benefits of your services to someone who unwittingly asked what you do for a living?

Networking for [...]]]>

by JOH_3164

Wondering how to overcome shyness when networking? Not a fan of approaching complete strangers? Don’t feel the urge to deliver your 30 second elevator pitch right after saying hello to someone? Don’t feel like listing off the benefits of your services to someone who unwittingly asked what you do for a living?

Networking for introverts has never been easy. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. Not all of us feel comfortable being a “power networker” – which somehow has translated into being a pushy conversationalist. Networking is not nor has it ever been intended to be the battle of “you need what I got”. It doesn’t matter if you have an outgoing, charismatic personality or not. Networking boils down to having a successful conversation.

As it has been said, “The good Lord gave you two ears and one mouth. Use them in that proportion.” The key to networking – and therefore selling – is asking questions. Your focus should always be on the other person. You never know where their specific needs, wants, skills, or other connections might be. Don’t focus on asking only leading questions that result in your pitch. You can factors those in, but you’ll miss out on many future opportunities if you don’t venture outside your prepared script.

If knowing that you only have to talk half as much as you anticipated for a networking event isn’t enough for you brave those extroverted waters, then how about setting a goal? Instead of thinking about having to shake hands with every person in the room, why not take a more targeted approach? Plan to meet only 5 people. Get in and get out. Perhaps, next time you can plan to meeting with 7 or 10. This will not only let you make your networking quicker, more targeted, and more efficient, but you will also have fewer follow-up conversations after the initial meeting. (Hint: always follow-up if there’s a good connection.)

And if talking less and meeting fewer people isn’t making networking seem a bit more tolerable, there’s nothing wrong with the buddy system! Bring a friend. Compete with each other. Who can meet the most people? Or better yet, who can meet the most qualified people. After each conversation, go to your buddy, make jokes, debrief, and search out your next complete stranger.

But how do you know who Mr. or Ms. Right is? Who is the person who can green light your product or service within their company?

One [...]]]>

Networking events. Association meetings. Conferences. Regional meetings. Trade shows. Each of these events represents an opportunity. Making the sale. Making the right connection. Exchanging business cards with the right person.

But how do you know who Mr. or Ms. Right is? Who is the person who can green light your product or service within their company?

One option is the internet. Do your research, find the bigwig’s name, do a Google Image search, and you have your target. At the event, you can scan the room until you see the person and introduce yourself.

by d'n'c

But what if that’s not possible? What if they don’t show up? What if Google Image search pulls up nothing? What if you’re not sure who your ideal target is?

Thankfully, when this happens, you don’t have to randomly approach people and hope they are your mark. You can be a detective at all your future business meetings and use the skills of deciphering body language to discover the most important people in any group.

After speaking at an event, I went to the hotel’s lounge to relax and unwind. Wanting to enjoy some alone time, I sat in the far corner booth and began one of my favorite activities: people watching.

There was another conference at the hotel and some of their attendees came to the lounge for a social hour. At first everyone was shaking hands, welcoming one another and being very friendly. After awhile the large group started splitting up into subgroups. 5 women chatting at one table. 3 men laughing at another. 2 women standing and gossiping. But, there was one subgroup that caught my attention.

I noticed 3 gentlemen. One tall, good posture, well dressed. The second was of average height, well dressed, good posture. The third was short, had poor posture, and was – quite frankly – poorly dressed. Who is the most important person of the group?

Most people would say one of the first two gentlemen. They had strong posture, knew how to carry themselves, and their clothing reeked of success. Most people would be wrong.

After knowing a few body language basics, you would know to look more closely. While posture and clothing are good variables to observe, they are surface level indicators that can easily and consciously be altered for any situation. As a body language pro, you would want to look at the unconscious indicators to discover your alpha-person of the group.

In this case – as in most – the feet gave it away. Even though the men were standing in a circle, politely facing each other and looking at one another while they spoke, the feet pointed toward Mr. Important himself, gentleman #3. That’s right. Mr. slumped-over-I-don’t-need-to-iron-my-clothes-or-put-together-a-snazzy-outfit-like-the-rest-of-you.

The feet of the other two gentlemen were pointed directly at guy #3 like a pointing dog during the hunt. The feet give away so much information unconsciously. They almost always will point towards the direction where you want to be or towards the person you perceive to be the most important person in the conversation.(Where was Mr. Important’s feet pointing? The door.)

While initial looks might lead you to one conclusion, body language will give you the power to detect the subtleties that lead you to the truth.

Use this body language detective skill for your next meeting. If you want to converse with the “top dog” just follow the feet.

Related Articles

• Body Language between Men and Women
• Too Close for Comfort
• A Good Handshake

Meeting Presentations Matter to the Bottom Line

Meetings and effective meeting presentations matter more than ever.

I recently stumbled upon some interesting statistics about the ROI organizations receive from coordinating their large company-wide meetings at the Meetings Mean Business site – http://www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com/.

With the unfortunate economic downturn, companies and other organizations drastically cut back on their meetings. [...]]]>

Meeting Presentations Matter to the Bottom Line

Meetings and effective meeting presentations matter more than ever.

I recently stumbled upon some interesting statistics about the ROI organizations receive from coordinating their large company-wide meetings at the Meetings Mean Business site – http://www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com/.

With the unfortunate economic downturn, companies and other organizations drastically cut back on their meetings. And as the statistics below demonstrate, these organizations could be doing themselves more harm than good by canceling such gatherings.

Meetings Mean Business:
1. For every dollar invested in business travel, companies realize $12.50 in incremental revenue.
2. More than half of business travelers stated that 5-20% of their company’s new customers were the result of trade show participation.
3. According to business travelers across all industries, 25% of existing customers and 28% of revenue could be lost to competitors if customers were not met in-person.

Face-to-face conversations, networking, and presentations obviously lead to wonderful business opportunities. So if your company is thinking about canceling any important event in the near future, provide them with this information and other enlightening facts found at www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com.

Coke CEO Muhtar Kent Understands Communication Skills for Leaders

Communication skills for leaders is an undeniable necessity for any organization. Imagine the importance of communicating effectively and clearly to 92,400 employees in over 200 countries. That’s the responsibility Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent has every day. Fortunately for Coke, Kent understands the importance of effective communication [...]]]>

Coke CEO Muhtar Kent Understands Communication Skills for Leaders

Communication skills for leaders is an undeniable necessity for any organization. Imagine the importance of communicating effectively and clearly to 92,400 employees in over 200 countries. That’s the responsibility Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent has every day. Fortunately for Coke, Kent understands the importance of effective communication within his expansive organization.

In the October issue of Spirit, the Southwest Airlines magazine, Kent was interviewed about his version of a “power hour”. Each day Kent takes an hour to focus on 5 critical areas that keep him grounded, focused, and effective every day. #1 on Kent’s list was “Go to Rehearsal”

Kent: “I can’t delegate communicating Coke’s vision. It’s the most critical thing I do. Every day I shut my door for 15 minutes to rehearse communications, whether it’s with a journalist, an investor, or other stakeholders.”

“It’s the most critical thing I do.” Wow! As LeVar Burton would say, “You don’t have to take my word for it.” Just listen to the CEO of one of America’s top Fortune 100 companies.

After posting through the restrictive medium, I have found communication through Twitter [...]]]>

When Twitter first came on the scene, I must admit I thought it was ridiculous. 140 characters to say something. What in the world could you have to say that’s worth saying in 140 characters? Well,  I’ve been converted to the Twitter world.

After posting through the restrictive medium, I have found communication through Twitter to be fascinating. Especially when you compare how much CAN be said in 140 characters vs. how very little is said in meetings that last over 2 hours. I believe Twitter has taught us to be more specific, succinct, and powerful in our communications.

In my business presentation training, I teach there is power in brevity.

“I have a dream.” | “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” | and more recently “Yes we can.” … All in less than 140 characters! These guys were way ahead of their time, in more ways than one!

William Henry Harrison

And just to prove the point, on a rainy day in 1841 President William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural speech in American history (8,444 words) and 31 days later died of pneumonia – thus serving the shortest presidency in history.

So, not only is there power in brevity, but it can save your life!