Hearing is the complex set of physical structures and actions that combine to enable us to register and interpret sound. In many ways, it is a mechanical process that is vastly different from the act of listening. Indeed, hearing is only the first step toward truly effective listening. Once you have mastered this skill, you…
Effective listening techniques
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Running Great Meetings
Whether your goal is to motivate your sales staff or to pique the interest of investors, it is vital that you find ways to present yourself and your business in the best light possible. The problem is that the last thing most people want to do is to congregate around a conference table for hours…
Decision making models
Whether your business is a tiny retail operation or a multi-store conglomerate, change is unavoidable. In order to adjust to the many variables you encounter on a daily basis, you and your staff will inevitably need to make decisions. Exactly how you choose to go about doing so has been the subject of study and…
How to improve business communication
Learning how to improve business communication isn’t as daunting as it may sound. If you’re like most people these days, you spend over a third of your life engaging in work activities. With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense to make that 33 percent-plus time block flow as smoothly as possible? PUT COMMUNICATION IN…
Organisational Development – Active Leadership
Organisational development is about people. Have you ever noticed people from the same organisation often use the same language, phrases, clothing style or references when they talk? Some groups of people can have a high level of energy and see many solutions while others express negativity or see things in black and white terms. …
Barriers to Effective Listening: 4 Issues That You Can Eradicate Today
Barriers to effective listening can cause many types of communication issues. The truth is, much training and attention is given to making people better at speaking and getting their point across. The thing that’s often overlooked is the supply side of the communication loop. And that’s listening. And nearly all areas of your life can…
How To Improve Employee Engagement – The Fundamentals
If you’re looking at how to improve employee engagement, here are the fundamentals of what it is and what to focus on to improve it. The fact is, engagement remains the ultimate prize for employers. Let’s face it, economic pressures and glottalization means that nearly all companies are trying to get more out with less…
How Important is Employee Engagement? Here Are The Stats
I was recently asked by a business owner, “how important is employee engagement, anyway?” And so I thought I would share some reasoning behind Employee engagement and its importance. Employee Engagement Defined But first, what’s employee engagement? Employee engagement is about getting the right conditions in place to enable employees to give their best…
16 Good Interview Questions (Including 11 Great Ones) to Help You separate the Wheat From the Chaff
When it comes to running interviews, having good interview questions can separate you from employing the next high flier to that resource sapping problem child. Let’s face it, there are three things you need to get right (and answer comprehensively): Can they do the job? How do they react under pressure? How well do they…
3 Critical Business Process Improvement Tools to Reduce Defects and Improve Productivity
When it comes to business process improvement tools, there’s no silver bullet. That’s the bad news… But, there are 3 critical business process improvement tools, which are close to it. And that’s the good news. I’m not going to describe the standard DMAIC, lean six sigma tools. Or Quality Management Tools. I’m going to describe…