Effective Communication is a 50-50 Deal.

Written by Michael Harrison


When chatting with friends I was recently reminded how important it is to be sure that we remember to be effective in our efforts to communicate. It is so easy to assume that others know what you know and spout off thinking they are onrepparttar same wavelength.

This happens allrepparttar 138544 time and sadly very few are prepared to reveal their ignorance and get clarification. You will have come across this at seminars.

I remember discussing an IT issue with a former colleague and after two hours wondering why we could not progress. The penny suddenly dropped when I realised that his understanding of a key definition was at variance with mine and if we had understood and resolvedrepparttar 138545 variance earlier we would have saved two valuable hours.

It is so important to be clear on what you are trying to communicate and ‘listening’…

Hearing and listening are two very different things. Master listening and you will perceive more.

Listening is part ofrepparttar 138546 skill used in communication that we often take for granted. We are not taught to listen but we can easily fall intorepparttar 138547 trap of failing to concentrate, drawing our own conclusions too soon, hearing what we want to hear by filteringrepparttar 138548 message through our own experiences and prejudices.

We need to maintain interest with an open mind and respond to what we hear in a meaningful manner. We need to be constructive with our responses, seek clarification and contribute positively.

As we only take in 30% of what we hear so it’s important to be attentive. I find I am able to listen very well onrepparttar 138549 telephone because I am less likely to interject (being an enthusiastic listener!!!) so I think carefully about what is being said before I make a response.

Questions are important to create understanding. Leading questions can be destructive, such as “don’t you think it would be better if….?” This can haverepparttar 138550 effect of leadingrepparttar 138551 conversation where you want it to go. Strong expressions of opinion don’t help in creating trust and understanding.

How to Sound Like the Expert You Are

Written by Dina Giolitto


You, too, can become a recognized expert in your specialized field. How? By writing articles that get published onrepparttar internet! Millions of people are gobbling up internet articles right now. I'm one of them.

Other people's articles interest me for two major reasons. 1. I'm a copywriter, so I use them as an information resource to write my own articles. 2. I market my writing services onrepparttar 138432 internet, so I'm always seeking out exciting new business relationships. Articles speak volumes about an author's intelligence and integrity. If I like what you write, I may do business with you as well as pass your good name along to others who can use what you offer.

Some articles meet my criteria for being "expert-level," and others don't. Trust me, I'm notrepparttar 138433 only one out there who's judging. Position your articles atrepparttar 138434 top of your category and increase your credibility a thousandfold! Read on for some helpful article-writing tips.

1. Userepparttar 138435 active voice. Move your audience to action with action words. This means eliminating forms ofrepparttar 138436 verb "to be" in all their wishy-washiness. Is, am, are, was, were: these sad excuses for verbs will weaken your message and put your audience right to sleep. Replace them wherever possible with action verbs, and make your message pop!

2. Directrepparttar 138437 reader. Lately I've come across articles whererepparttar 138438 author tellsrepparttar 138439 reader what they 'could' do. What a lame way to offer advice! Which of these sentences motivates you: "You could start your own affiliate program" or "Start your own affiliate program"? People want to be told what to do; not what they can, could, should or might do. Take a firm stand, and give your reader a direction to go in!

3. Be specific. Want to knowrepparttar 138440 quickest way to lose your reader? Give them a broad topic and then don't follow it with any details. I speak on behalf of allrepparttar 138441 information-seekers when I say this: if you have valuable insights to share, then please take care to explain them fully. You don't have to go on for paragraphs. Just a few gems of wisdom are greatly appreciated, and will establish you as someone who really knows his stuff. If you're hazy on how to do this, always ask yourselfrepparttar 138442 who, what, when, where, how and why ofrepparttar 138443 topic at hand.

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