What newsletters do you feel compelled to read regularly? Tim and Roger take a look at six newsletters that keep pullin’ ‘em in. Interesting and compelling stories and articles keep us coming back.

In no particular order, they are… (you may click while listening to our podcast: all links open up a new tab or window):

• BNET
• Paul Castain’s Sales Playbook
• Valeria Maltoni’s Conversation Agent
• Michael Stelzner’s Social Media Examiner
• LinkedIn (Groups)
• SpeakerNet News

I came across a newsletter this morning that made me stop and question my assumptions. Again.

I think many of us indeed DO question what we assume about the world. But probably not often enough.

Here’s what I read in the newsletter from Rob Stokes @ Quirk:

“I’ve just come back from Bucharest where I spent a week with the Quirk UK Team training one of our clients on eMarketing and in particular Social Media and Web Analytics. It was a fantastic trip and we learnt a huge amount about Romania – its friendly people and its truly fantastic Internet access, which was without doubt the best I’ve ever experienced anywhere in the world. Not only is it lightening fast, but it’s free pretty much everywhere. A geek’s paradise indeed.”

Uh – lightning fast – and FREE – Internet access in, of all places, Romania?

Gee, I don’t think I get out enough. I shouldn’t be surprised at this, however. Living here in the USA, it’s easy to think that much of what we have is the best and the fastest – no matter what it is.

Even if you don’t travel much (and I don’t – at least not as much as I’d like) it’s easy to get complacent about what’s going on ‘out there.’ When I see a brief anecdote about how lightning-fast the Internet access is in Romania, it’s a good eye-opener.

When I read that Japan’s computer technology, especially cell phones, is a couple of years ahead of the US, it makes me wonder why the US is lagging.

When I hear that students from many schools around the world are beating the academics of American students, I wonder what it is we’re doing wrong.

All of that is for another discussion in another time or place. My thoughts in this piece are really about how the rest of the world probably doesn’t live up to (or down to) our expectations. There is a lot of fantastic things out there – and the instant communication and sharing brings those stories to my desktop on a regular basis.

It’s good to know what’s happening elsewhere because it gives me a better perspective on what I have. Or don’t.

What about you? Are you making assumptions about the rest of the world that may ultimately prove to be wrong?

And if you are, are those assumptions getting in the way of your understanding of other cultures and places? And does it impact your efforts to communicate with them when the opportunity arises?

Communicating with people from other locations on the globe brings its own set of demands, not the least of which is to keep an open mind about virtually everything to do with that communication.

Is your mind open? Or is it shut?

photo credit: paulgalbraith

Unfortunately, a lot of ‘communication by keyboard’ falls woefully short of even basic grammatical standards.

Roger and Tim discuss them in this podcast.

photo credit: Techhie

One of the hardest things to do is to apologize. The challenge is not only to apologize – to decide to do it and to go through with it – but to do it fully and completely. Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon and Roger Pike discuss the Art of the Apology.

In the world of communications, being a broadcaster is one of those careers that can put you in a lot of different places: radio, TV, online…broadcasting news, sports, music, politics, entertainment news and more.

Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon and Roger Pike explore the world of broadcasting and discuss some of the challenges and issues you’ll face when considering the broadcasting life.

photo credit: [derekmswanson]

For the ‘newbie,’ being asked to stand up and give a short speech or presentation can be one of the most nerve-wracking moments he’ll ever have.

So what do you do to keep from drowning in sweat or turning into jello from all that shaking?

Rule Number One: first, take a moment to compose yourself. During this moment, focus on one message you’d like to deliver.

For instance, if you’re at a luncheon meeting and you’re asked to stand up and introduce yourself and your company, that’s going to be a fairly easy thing to do, assuming you are able to articulate a few words about yourself and your company!

It could be a bit more difficult, though. Perhaps you’re asked to comment on you or your company’s position on an important local issue. This does require a bit more thought, but follow rule number two.

And Rule Number Two is to focus on just one topic. Remember, you’re not there to give a speech, just a few remarks. Your remarks might last a couple of minutes at best. So pick out one thing you feel is important – even if it’s obvious – and deliver that comment, with a few follow up supporting comments.

Rule Number Three: Give your idea some structure. Depending on how much time you’re able to speak – you might ask the person who called on you how much time you can take – do some ‘mental organization’ of your impromptu speech.

Rule 3.1: For instance, the ‘Rule of Three’s’ is something that research has show is very effective. Break your main topic into three sub-topics. Why three? Because four is too many for to remember, two isn’t enough for people to think you really covered anything of significance. Three is the optimum number of ideas anyone can remember from your speech.

Rule 3.2: Another organization outline you might easily use is the ‘Cause and Effect’ approach. If you are commenting on a subject where you can show a ‘before and after’ scenario you can use the ’cause and effect’ approach.

Rule 3.3: Give Examples. If you can think of any example that vividly supports your point, use it.

Rule Four: Don’t expect to be perfect! Impromptu speaking is a learned skill. Rarely is it a gift that people are born with. Some people may do it more naturally than others, but speaking ‘off the cuff’ is not something too many people prepare for.

So here’s the last – Rule Five: Practice. If you pick a few topics, get a stopwatch and practice giving impromptu speeches at home or in another safe area where you’re allowed to flub, stumble, stutter and lose your train of thought. Pick a wide variety of topics – news, family, local issues, ancient history, personal history, whatever – and give yourself two minutes on each topic.

If you can record yourself with an audio recorder or even a video camera, do it. When you review you’ll pick out weak areas which you’ll work to avoid next time, as well as the stronger points in your presentation that you can enhance.

Next time you’re called on – and who knows, it might be tomorrow! – you’ll have a little better idea of how to make it through a daunting experience. The more you do it, the less daunting it’ll be. The opportunities for ‘unprepared speeches’ are countless. Take them on with grace and a smile!

photo credit: stevendepolo

What does it take to network effectively both online and in-person? Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon and Roger Pike discuss various networking ideas and strategies they use for both online and in-person meet ‘n’ greets.

What to do, how to meet people, what kinds of things to bring up, how they use LinkedIn and more…Tim and Roger talk about what works for them.

photo credit: stevepurkiss

One survey I like to quote when I talk to groups or individuals about peak performance is this: a recent survey of HR Managers asked what was the Number One Skill most lacking in people for positions they were trying to fill?

Wanna guess? I’ll tell you: Communication Skills.

That’s right. Simple communication skills. You’d think we’d learn that as we grow up, but it doesn’t necessarily work that way. And from the results of that survey it must be a rather rare skill.

Whether you’re in management, marketing, customer service or sales, your communication skills will help you rise to the top.

Nowhere is this more important than in the sales arena. It’s true that people working in all of the other areas mentioned, as well as those not mentioned, can reap huge gains by improving their communication skills. But sales depends on not only communicating a message, it depends on understanding what your client or prospect is really saying.

This is where two learnable skills will help those pursuing a sales career: public speaking and active listening.

Having been a salesperson for almost a decade now (and a radio communicator and public speaker for much longer), I can vouch for how important those two skills go hand in hand.

A lot of people make good public speakers. They give great presentations that knock prospects off their feet.

Many people are good listeners. But ask them to deliver an extemporaneous speech or presentation and they come up short of what that situation may require.

Having both of the skills means being able to not only deliver a great presentation based on what the client’s true needs are, it’s also being able to HEAR what they’re saying and UNDERSTAND the context of how it relates to their needs. And of course it’s up to you to communicate how your product can solve their problem. Or maybe it can’t. Either way, if you’re truthful the client will see that and know that they’re dealing with an honest person. And will likely remember you when it’s time to buy what you’re selling, or to refer someone to you.

I’ve seen salesmen (and women) get up before a prospect that wasn’t vetted or questioned, and deliver a beautiful presentation that hit all the marks. Except what the client needed to hear.

There is more to sales than great presentations; it’s an entire field of study of which communications is only a part.

But if you can improve your communication skills – presentation skills, speaking skills and listening skills – you’ll be ahead of most of your competition.

And that’s not a bad place to be.

Powerful communicating depends on high octane fuel.  The good news is the best stuff is near to hand…and it’s free.  What powers writing, you ask?  VERBS, I answer.  Yes, verbs, along with adjectives and adverbs, are the gasoline that makes your writing take off.

You never hear a sports caster tell his audience that the baseball player “hit a home run.”  No, the player “clubbed the ball into the bleachers, he belted it, he smacked it, he ripped it into the right field stands.  He spanked Mr. Spaulding, tore the cover off it, launched it into the Fenway stratosphere.”  See the difference?  Writers “tear the cover off it” when they understand the use of powerful verbs to energize their writing and their audience.

Adverbs, which modify verbs, and adjectives, which modify nouns, also add horsepower to your writing.  And, when you throw in a metaphor (or simile) or two, you truly have high octane writing.  A metaphor, in case you’re not a word geek like me, is when you say something is “like” something else.  A simile occurs when a writer says something is something else.

A novelist rarely tells her reader that her heroine has clear green eyes.  Nope, the ladies eyes are “emerald ice.”  Her lips are like rosebuds and her words touched lightly in his ears like the first warm breeze of spring.  Metaphors and similes make writing come alive…and they’ll do the same for your product or service.

I’m not saying you should turn every corporate E-mail or press conference into a romance novel or the Superbowl.  I am saying a well placed power verb, metaphor or simile, makes writing stand out; and, more importantly makes it stick in the listeners or readers memory.

That’s what we’re after:  communication that hangs around, that the audience remembers.  When the occasion arises, make it memorable with communication jet fuel.

Personally, I collect them.  While I’m reading, or listening, or, heck, doing almost anything, I’ll make a note of a powerful verb, a good metaphor, or a well placed descriptive adjective or adverb.

Then, as the need arises, I’ll mine the collection for the gold nugget of communication I’ll need to power my writing.  Every good writer I know does the same.  You should, too.  Collect good phrases and good verbs the same way we’ve advised you to collect good personal stories and anecdotes to use in your writing.

Remember, dry rarely sells.  It won’t sell your product, your idea, or your point of view.  Pump up your communication with words that have impact; and, when it makes sense, words that hit your audience with the impact of a meteor the size of a Volkswagen.

That kind of verbal fuel will power your communications to speeds that could leave you breathless.

Photo used with permission http://flickr.com/photo/7765337@N06/2955312136 Creative Commons Licensing