Small businesses are especially vulnerable during this latest public health crisis. Supply chain issues, voluntary social distancing by customers, fear among employees about short term layoffs (not to mention their own health concerns) and financial management are just a few of the challenges that face the small business owner. Circumstances like these, however, also provide […]
Communication
7 Tips to Ask Better Questions
Regardless of your role or circumstance, asking great questions is a fundamental way to up your communication skills. A great question has the power to shift the dynamic of a conversation, help you gain clarity on a situation, or bring out the best in others. Here are 7 tips that you can use to start […]
How to Replace Email with Texting for Team Communications
When seeking to better reach your company team members, consider strategically replacing emails with text communication. A recent study found that 60.8% of respondents ignore emails at work—that’s almost two thirds. Additionally, 30% of respondents indicated that they don’t check their email after they leave the office. If you’re looking to improve your company’s communication […]
Why Video Explanations Are More Impactful Than Emails
Have you ever wished an email was shorter, easier to read, or maybe replaced by something more visual and easier to digest? Whether internal or client-facing, short videos can be incredibly impactful, hold your viewers’ attention and allow you to explain your work with more clarity. They’re not always the answer, but here are some examples for […]
7 Common Causes of Failure to Communicate in Business
Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to […]
3 Internal Communication Trends to Plan for Now
John F. Kennedy said it best, “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” JFK hit the nail on the head, because we see that the rules of technology and communication are rapidly changing—innovation is a constant that internal communication managers […]
Expert Tips for Managing Remote Teams, Part II
This article is part two of the series on managing remote teams. Please see part one here. 5. Go the extra mile with praise. As noted previously, body language doesn’t translate well over distance. Sure, video helps a lot, but it can’t capture everything, and not everyone is able or willing to use video conferencing […]
Expert Tips for Managing Remote Teams
In many ways, managing a remote team is like managing a team in your office. The main difference is distance. But that distance removes some aspects of in-person interactions—like body language—that help make connections and clarify intended meanings. Technology tools can help bridge these gaps, but it takes more than just tools to ensure your […]
The Hidden Benefit of Transparency
Lately, we have been focusing on the “mea culpa” ads that we’re seeing all over the media. Wells Fargo, Facebook, and Uber are some of the big brands that have actively run apology campaigns. The absolute expectation of total transparency is one of the factors driving the need for these campaigns, but that expectation falls […]
Non-Profit Texting: This is Creative!
Just the other day I was introduced to an East Coast non-profit providing year-round licensed childcare. They are a paid up customer and using text messaging in a very creative way. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get permission for me to use their name or logo… BUT they were using our texting service in such […]
