Six Steps to Writing a Thank You Note – Holiday Edition

Writing a sincere thank you note is one of the professional skills that can make a lasting favorable impression. People like being appreciated. One of Dale Carnegie’s fundamental human relation principles is “Give honest, sincere appreciation.” When writing a thank you note, use a plain, small card. However, the card is not as important as the effort, so if paper is all that is available, write the note anyway! Use this 6-step formula as a sure-fire method of expressing appreciation in a written note.

1. Greet the Giver: Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith OR Dear Jamie. It seems like an obvious point, yet many people will begin a note with “Hi” or even omit the greeting.

2. Express Gratitude: Thank you so much for the book. The key is to keep it simple and specific. The point of writing the note is to create an expression of a heartfelt sentiment.

3. Discuss Use: I started to read the book immediately and have found many great ideas already. People like to know that you found their gesture or gift valuable. Sharing how you are using the item or idea makes their effort more meaningful.

4. Another Thank You: Thank them again for the gift. It’s not excessive to say thanks again.

5. Complimentary Close: Wrap it up with a close that expresses your final thought: Regards, All the Best, Sincerely, Gratefully, etc. Then sign your name.

6. Send It: Even if your colleagues and acquaintances are not of the note-writing variety, be the one who sets the precedent.

It is the mark of a true professional to become skilled at writing thank you notes in this age of email, voicemail, and text messaging.

Demonstrating business professionalism is not difficult; it just takes effort and focus. Applying simple aspects of business etiquette goes a long way in establishing our professionalism, which builds our confidence and comfort in business settings.

Twelve Tips to All-Win Negotiations

Negotiating is the process of attempting to agree on a solution. Compromising, or settling on a mutually agreeable solution, is the result of successful negotiations. Compromise is all about being flexible. It means being able to generate alternate solutions when you've "hit the wall." Whether it involves a person you can't get along with, an idea you know will work but that others are reluctant to embrace, a change in office systems, or a turf war that needs ending, learning to negotiate and compromise is essential to your success.

1) Have a positive attitude.

Your attitude is essential to the outcome. You improve your chance of achieving a mutually rewarding solution if you approach the negotiation as an opportunity to learn and achieve an all-win outcome.

2) Meet on mutual ground.

Find a mutually agreeable and convenient physical space to meet that is comfortable for all involved. Agree on when you will meet and how much time is available to devote to the process. Whenever possible, deal with negotiations face-to-face. Be careful about negotiating over the phone or in e-mail. A lack of facial expressions, vocal intonation, and other cues can result in a negotiation breakdown.

3) Clearly define and agree on the issue.

Agree on a statement of the issue using simple and factual terms. If the situation is multifaceted, search for ways to slice the large issue into smaller pieces and deal with one issue at a time.

4) Do your homework.

Take time to plan. You must not only know what is at stake for yourself, but you need to know the other side's concerns and motivation. Take into consideration any history or past situations that might affect the negotiations. Know the must-haves (non-negotiable items) and nice-to-haves (negotiable items). Determine the best resolution, a fair and reasonable compromise, and a minimally acceptable deal.

5) Take an honest inventory of yourself.

Determine your level of trust in the other person and the process. Be conscious of aspects of your personality that can help or hinder the process.

6) Look for shared interests.

Get on the same side by finding and establishing similarities. Since conflict tends to magnify perceived differences and minimize similarities, look for common goals, objectives, or even gripes that can illustrate that you are in this together. Focus on the future, talk about what needs to be done, and tackle the problem jointly.

7) Deal with facts, not emotions.

Address problems, not personalities. Avoid any tendency to attack the other person or to pass judgment on his or her ideas and opinions. Avoid focusing on the past or blaming the other person. Maintain a rational, goal-oriented frame of mind. This will depersonalize the conflict, separate the issues from the people involved, and avoid defensiveness.

8) Be honest.

Don't play games. Be honest and clear about what is important to you and communicate why your goals, issues, and objectives are important to you.

9) Present alternatives and provide evidence.

Create options and alternatives that demonstrate willingness to compromise. Consider conceding in areas that might have high value to the other person but are not that important to you. Frame options in terms of the other person's interests and provide evidence for your point of view.

10) Be an expert communicator.

Nothing shows determination to find a mutually satisfactory resolution to conflict more than applying excellent communication skills. Ask questions, listen, rephrase what you heard to check for understanding, and take a genuine interest in the other side's concerns. Reduce tension through humor, let others vent their concerns, and acknowledge their views. Focus less on your position and more on ways in which you can move toward a resolution or compromise.

11) End on a good note.

Make an all-win proposal and check to make sure that everyone involved leaves the situation feeling they have won. Shake on it and agree on the action steps: who is responsible for each step, how success will be measured, and how and when the decision will be evaluated. Be open to accepting an impasse for noncritical issues; agree to disagree.

12) Enjoy the process.

Look at the benefits of learning other people's point of view. People report that after overcoming conflict and reaching an agreement, the relationship grew even stronger. Reflect and learn from each negotiation. Determine the criteria to evaluate the process and the solution.

How to Tweet Like Dale Carnegie

From US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT. November 1 2011

Dale Carnegie, the esteemed self-improvement guru of the last century, might never have sent a Tweet or started a Facebook page. But in the updated version of his bestseller, How to Win Friends & Influence People, he (and his co-writers) explain how he would do so, were he alive today.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/alpha-consumer/2011/11/01/how-to-tweet-like-dale-carnegie

The Change Process

Engaging in workplace change can be an unpredictable experience because processes and people evolve in diverse ways as they undergo change. No two individuals will respond in exactly the same way to workplace changes. In the same way, identical changes implemented in multiple areas of an organization produce distinctly different outcomes.

This Change Model shows how we can stay on top of the change engagement process by thoroughly preparing for it while allowing for various outcomes. This model allows us to take a structured approach to organizational change and still maintain flexibility.

1. Locate the Motivation for Change

The Change Model begins at the point where the organization finds a motivation for change. Sometimes external issues drive the change, like reorganizations, management changes, relocation's, or acquisitions/mergers. Other times, internal forces drive the change, such as upgraded technology, expansions and growth, or continuous improvement.

2. Analyze the Situation

As the organization becomes progressively more motivated to change, leadership undertakes a thorough analysis of the risks and opportunities associated with the proposed change.

• What are the potential gains in undertaking the change?
• What are the costs?
• What are the risks of making the change?
• What are the risks of not making the change?

3. Plan the Direction

Once the leadership determines that opportunities outweigh the risks of making the change, a plan is developed for change implementation. Many organizational change initiatives fail because of lack of careful, thorough planning. In this step of the model, the stage is set for the change's ultimate success or failure. Key elements of the plan must include:

• Planning for the impact of the change on individuals who will be most affected.
• Planning for the impact of the change on the systems within the organization that will be most affected.
• A step-by-step plan for integrating the change into the organization.
• A review plan to measure the success of the proposed change.

4. Implement the Change

Depending on the type and scope of the change, implementation within the organization may be gradual or abrupt. Changes such as layoffs or acquisitions often are implemented with little prior warning, while staffing, reorganization, or technology changes may be phased in over a period of time. The team's most critical role in this step of the change process is to maintain open, honest lines of communication with each other.

• Define individual responsibilities.
• Announce and launch the change.
• Adhere to timetables.
• Promote the anticipated benefits of the change. 

5. Review the Direction

Once change has been implemented, monitor the outcomes of the new structure and system. As team members in a changing work environment, you can't assume that the change will evolve exactly as planned or that every individual affected by the change will react as anticipated. Your role is to observe review checkpoints that will reveal if the change is working as anticipated and is producing the desired results.

• Establish ways of measuring results.
• Communicate criteria for successful change outcomes.
• Coordinate the gathering and measuring of change effects.
• Inform key team members consistently during the review process. 

6. Adopt the Change

When you review the change implementation and find it to be succeeding as planned, the change is adopted and becomes part of the new organizational norm. The review process is not terminated; instead, it transitions into ongoing monitoring of the changed systems and relationships within the organization.

• How well is the change meeting planned outcomes?
• How well have I adjusted to the new status quo?
• What aspects of the change have not met expectations?
• What is my role in making those aspects more successful? 

7. Adjust the Change Plan

If the review process concludes that the change is not working as planned, adjustments need to be made to the change implementation. Assuming that your change analysis and plan have been executed accurately, you ought to be able to adjust the implementation of the organizational change to achieve your desired results.

• Determine where the outcomes are falling short of your plan.
• Engage key individuals in determining adjustments that need to be made.
• Keep the lines of communication open with everyone involved.
• Adjust the review process and the change implementation.

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age

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Challenges of Change Engagement

There are challenges in an organization every time something significant changes. Some of the challenges are personal, some evolve within work teams, and some challenges emerge across the organization. To successfully engage in organizational change, you need to be aware of the challenges and be prepared to deal with them professionally and confidentially.

Breaking Down Resistance

Change typically generates at least some resistance. Individuals often feel that they are losing power, autonomy, or resources due to a changing work environment. As a result, they cling to the status quo. As team members engaging in change, your role is to challenge yourselves, persuade others to lower their resistance, and focus on positive outcomes.

Gaining Buy-In

One of the biggest challenges of change engagement is simply getting people to take change seriously. During periods of change, individuals often take a "wait and see" attitude, neither embracing nor resisting the change. Your challenge is to inspire yourselves and others to embrace change, support it, and even become champions for it.

Minimizing Anxiety

Change often generates anxiety. Individuals are more likely to embrace change and teams function more successfully when anxiety is at a minimum. Your challenge in minimizing anxiety is to understand the plan for change, to express your level of commitment to the plan, and to recognize that the plan and your role in it will evolve during the change.

Gaining Cooperation

Organizational change may breakdown cooperation. During change, organizations often observe the "silo effect" between departments, functions, and work teams when groups begin to function independently of departments or teams whose responsibilities overlap with theirs. Cooperation and communication during this time are at a minimum. As participants in organizational change, you are challenged to break down those walls and build bridges of cooperation between organizational functions.

Establishing Correct Priorities

When the work environment is changing, there is typically confusion over priorities. If you are getting a new manager, for instance, you may wonder what will he or she thinks is the most important priority or what you should focus on to emerge from the change successfully. The best way to meet the challenge of organizational change is to plan for it carefully.

8 Tips to Attitude Control in Tough Service Situations

Here are 8 tips you can use to help you and your team control stress and worry in tough situations:

1. Live in a compartment of the present. The professional with a commitment to service seals off each interaction with a customer so that negative experiences don't poison future interactions. Don't allow past successes or failures or future anticipated success or difficulties influence your current performance. When it comes to customer service, live in the moment.

2. Don't fuss about trifles. A "trifle" is something that is insignificant in comparison to other things in your life. When you focus on trifles, you lose perspective. Keep the big picture in mind. Doing so will help you objectively sort out the small stuff from the important issues.

3. Cooperate with the inevitable. Realize when your situation is inevitable. If you can learn to recognize situations where you have no control, you can gain some control over the emotional aspects of the situation. By cooperating with the outcome, you are making a conscious choice about how to respond to an inevitable situation.

4. Decide just how much anxiety a situation is worth and refuse to give it any more of your energy. Once you make it this decision, it is easier to find ways you can improve on the situation or let it go and move on.

5. Create happiness for others. This principle appeals to your nobler motives. It is difficult to sustain a negative attitude when you are doing something good or helpful for someone else. Simply put: Doing good for others makes you feel better.

6. Expect ingratitude. In your job, you provide many diverse services. When you do so, you probably expect in return some signal of gratitude for your assistance. This expectation is rarely met. If you do receive heartfelt thanks from someone, you should count yourself lucky you are dealing with a grateful person. Most people are simply not accustomed to being grateful, even when you provide them with excellent service. You shouldn't let ingratitude deter you from providing top-quality service.

7. Put enthusiasm into your work. Enthusiasm is the positive energy and sustained effort that keeps you driving toward your goals. Making a decision to have a positive outlook can be critical in enjoying your job and working with your internal and external customers.

8. Do the very best you can. It can be difficult to deal with criticism, especially if you feel it is undeserved or if it hurts your self-esteem. One way to put criticism in perspective is to ask yourself if you are doing the very best you can with what you know and are able to do. If you are, then you can avoid taking the criticism personally. If there is room for improvement in your performance, you can look at the criticism objectively and take responsibility for improving your performance.

Seven Types of Listeners and Tips to Better Listening Skills

Exceptional listening skills and the ability to persuade others to your way of thinking make the difference between good and great teams.  Pure listening builds trust, credibility and respect.  One reason is because when you fully listen, instead of trying to compose your response, the result is a relevant and on-target response.  What you say is proof of how well you listen.

The “Preoccupieds”

These people come across as rushed and are constantly looking around or doing something else.  Also know as multi-taskers, these people cannot sit still and listen.

Tips

If you are a “Preoccupied” listener, make a point to set aside what you are doing when someone is speaking to you.

If you are speaking to a “Preoccupied” listener, you might ask, “Is this a good time?” or say, “I nned your undivided attention for just a moment.”  Begin with a statement that will get their attention, be brief, and get to the bottom line quickly because their attention span is short.

The “Out-to-Lunchers”

These people are physically there for you, but mentally they are not.  You can tell this by the blank look on their faces.  They are either daydreaming or thinking about everything and anything else but what you are saying.

Tips

If you are an “Out-to-Luncher”, act like a good listener.  Be alert, maintain eye contact, lean forward, and show interest by asking questions.

If you are speaking to an “Out-to-Luncher”, check in with them every now and again and ask if they understood what you were saying.  As with the “Preoccupieds,” begin with a statement that will catch their attention, and be concise and to the point because their attention span is short.

The “Interrupters”

These people are ready to chime in at any given time.  They are perched and ready for a break to complete your sentence for you.  They are not listening to you but focused instead on what they want to say.

Tips

If you are a “Interrupter”, make a point to apologize every time you catch yourself interrupting.  This will make you more conscious of it.

If you are speaking to an “Interrupter”, when they chime in, stop immediately and let them talk, or they will never listen to you.  When they are done, you might say, “As I was saying before…” to bring their interruption to their attention.

The “Whatevers”

These people remain aloof and show little emotion when listening.  They give off the impression that they could not care less what you are talking about.

Tips

If you are a “Whatever”, concentrate on the full message, not just the verbal message.  Make a point to listen with your eyes, ears, and heart.

If you are speaking to a “Whatever”, dramatize your ideas and ask questions of the person to get his or her involvement.

The “Combatives”

These people are armed and ready for war.  They enjoy disagreeing and blaming others.

Tips

If you are a “Combative”, make an effort to put yourself in the speaker’s shoes and understand, accept, and find merit in his or her point of view.

If you are speaking to a “Combative”, when he or she disagrees or points the blame, look forward instead of back.  Talk about how you might agree to disagree, or what can be done differently next time.

The “Analysts”

These people are constantly in the role of counselor or therapist and they are ready to provide you with answers even when you have not asked.  They think they are great listeners and love to help.  They are constantly in an analyze-what-you-are-saying-and-fix-it mode.

Tips

If you are an “Analyst”, relax and understand that not everyone is looking for an answer, solution, or advice.  Some people just like bouncing ideas off other to help them see the answers more clearly themselves.

If you are speaking to an “Analyst”, you might begin by saying “I just need to run something by you.  I’m not looking for any advice.”

The “Engagers”

These are the consciously aware listeners.  They listen with their eyes, ears, and hearts, and try to put themselves in the speaker’s shoes.  This is listening at the highest level.  Their listening skills encourage you to continue talking and give you the opportunity to discover your own solutions and let your ideas unfold.

Tips

If you are an “Engager” keep it up.  People truly appreciate this about you. 

If you are speaking to an “Engager” take the time to acknowledge their attentiveness.  Thank them for their interest in you and your topic

Dale Carnegie - Principle 7 Be a good listener. Encourage other to talk about themselves.

Managing a Successful External Partnership

In today’s business environment, most organizations rely heavily on the expertise of external business partners.  A typical business has multiple external partnerships operating simultaneously, such as:  IT Consultants, Accounting Firms, Training Organizations, Vendors, Suppliers, Customers, etc.  Managing external partnerships successfully requires commitment at all levels of the organization to plan carefully, communicate openly, follow through, and provide a profitable outcome for each partner.

Like any relationship, successful external partnerships evolve over a period of time into higher levels of trust and accomplishment.  Part of managing external partnerships involves successfully guiding the relationship to the next level.  There are five dynamics to achieving a successful partnership.

Formation

Ideally, external partnerships are formed through comprehensive needs analysis and a selection process that balances emotional and logical factors.  In the formation process, you assess the required experience and knowledge of the external partner, and the perceived chemistry that exists between your values and theirs.  In this initial stage, everyone in the partnership gets to know each other and learns how to work together as a team.

Planning

Nothing ensures the success of an external partnership more than careful, thorough planning.  This is a collective process with your external partners to bring everyone’s expertise into the design of the team effort.  In this step of partnership development, the goal is that all members grow in terms of their respect and understanding of each other, and in mutual understanding of the desired outcomes.

Cohesion

As the teams move beyond the initial stages into performing as a partnership, everyone’s vision becomes more unified.  Relationships smooth out as you learn how to approach and engage one another.  A sense of accomplishment begins to set in as you see the partnership effort unfolding as planned.

Achievement

As the partnership accumulates successes, people see that the synergy of their talents and effort is working.  They begin to take pride in their joint accomplishments and have a greater sense of the importance of their endeavor.  People engage each other with an attitude of confidence and mutual trust.

Actualization

In this stage, the partners are operating at an ongoing high level of cooperation and mutual understanding.  The partnership is functioning at its greatest level of efficiency and collaboration.  The likelihood that this external partnership will endure is very high.

Dale Carnege Program Schedule 7-12-11

Dale Carnege Program Schedule 7-12-11

Warren Buffett on Communicating

If Dale Carnegie were alive today, what would he say about Social Media? The same thing

By Corey Perlman, eBootcamp

Here are 9 Dale Carnegie Human Relations Principles that are just as relevant today as ever before.

1. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

Engagement is the key to success with social media. A Facebook page that is just a platform for a business to talk about themselves will not draw the attention of people. In the world of the Internet, you listen by asking questions. When you ask questions, you tend to garner more engagement because people love to be heard. And when people comment, your page spreads.

2. Talk in terms of the other personʼs interests.

A question Iʼm often asked is “What should I post to my social media profiles?” My answer is always the same. Whatever your audience thinks is valuable. Value can be in the form of an intriguing article, a thought-provoking question, an inspiring quote, a humorous video, or something else. The more interested they are, the more likely they are to engage in the conversation.

3. Smile.

How do you smile on the computer? :)? No, itʼs not that easy. What Mr. Carnegie meant is that a smile helps warm people up to you. And when writing content on the Internet, a smile takes the form of a positive attitude. In the world of social media, this can come in the form of a LinkedIn endorsement, a Like on Facebook or a Re-Tweet (restate something someone else says) on Twitter. 

4. Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Most people know that if you aggressively sell your products or services on your social media profiles, people will run for the exits as if there was a 3-alarm fire. So donʼt do it. Instead, find ways to creatively get people to “want” to learn more about your products or services. An example of this would be a free preview of a Dale Carnegie Course or a low-priced workshop that is easy for a new prospect to say yes to. By keeping the risk low, youʼve successfully aroused an eager want and found a creative way to get me to

the next step in the sales process.

5. Remember that a personʼs name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

If youʼve used Twitter, youʼve most likely seen the letters “RT” in many different tweets (Twitter posts). This stands for “re-tweet” and means that you are restating what someone else originally said. The proper way to do this is to add the personʼs Twitter handle (or name) to that message. This is to give them the recognition for originally writing what you considered to be a valuable tweet. When you do this, it makes that person feel important and they, in turn, are likely to return the favor and re-tweet one of your future messages. When they do this, your twitter handle is hyperlinked and so anyone who reads their tweet can easily click on your name and connect with you. So would Mr. Carnegie have been successful on Twitter? Well, he would have used a personʼs name in every tweet he posted and, therefore, would have had thousands of people very happy with him and ready to return the favor. And thatʼs a very successful Twitter strategy.

6. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

This pertains to negative reviews on the Internet. Now that people can vent their frustration behind a computer screen, these nasty-grams seem to be more frequent and a lot more damaging. So when confronted with criticism on the web, the best thing to do is avoid, or ignore, if at all possible. By defending yourself, all you will do is fuel the fire and, unfortunately, give more recognition to the critic as well as the content they have written. Do your best to rectify the situation or the next best thing is to simply ignore the negative and work on getting your champion customers to come to your defense by writing a positive review.

7. Throw down a challenge

Having a blog that nobody reads is no fun. Having a Facebook page for your business with no connections is both lonely and downright depressing. So we need to be proactive in getting people to connect with our social media profiles. Mr. Carnegie was right again as the best way to get people excited about connecting with you is to throw down a challenge. An example of this is a recent contest we have done with local Dale Carnegie Franchises. Each Franchise donated $100 and the first Franchise to 1000 Facebook connections got to donate the total amount collected to a local charity. The Franchises were able to promote this contest to their customers and class members

and everyone was anxious to help out as it was for a very good, local cause. The result of this challenge was every Franchise who participated saw an increase in support to their Facebook page.

8. Give honest, sincere appreciation

Linkedin is a powerful networking tool geared more towards businesses and

professionals than itʼs counterpart, Facebook. Studies show that roughly 80% of companies check Linkedin before hiring an employee and many of those same companies also review other businesses before purchasing a product or service. A nice feature that Linkedin offers is the ability to post recommendations from other people on your profile. This allows others to sell you instead of having to sell yourself which can appear more like bragging. One way to increase the number of recommendations you have is to go out and give recommendations to others. When you do this, the person receiving the recommendation is asked by Linkedin to approve or reject your recommendation and, more importantly, if they would like to return the favor by giving you a recommendation as well. By following Mr. Carnegieʼs advice, you can give others sincere appreciation for something theyʼve done for you while also building your recommendations at the same time. A win-win! 

9. Become genuinely interested in other people.

Few times in my life have I been truly speechless, but what else is there to say? If you follow only one of these principles when using social media, just follow this one. Truly become interested in those you are connected with on the web, and positive things will begin to happen for you and your business.

So would Mr. Carnegie be successful in social media? You bet he would. My guess is heʼd have literally hundreds of thousands of friends, fans, or followers, but theyʼd all truly feel that they had a friend in Mr. Carnegie. Heʼd probably tell them to just call him Dale. :)

Leave a Lasting Impression

Making a good impression the first time you meet someone is very important because it is what people remember the most. Your employer and employees will appreciate if you are pleasant and warm the first time meeting you, but it should not stop there. It is crucial that they continue to have a positive impression, trust and respect you. The following steps should get you started on leaving a wonderful and lasting impression.

1. Smile - Always have a smile on your face when you first meet someone. It makes you look friendly and confident. People like someone that smiles, because they seem approachable and easy to talk to. This makes others feel at ease as well, especially your coworkers.

2. Be a good listener - By listening attentively to others, you open the doors to trusting you. People love talking about themselves so ask them questions and listen. When devoting your attention to others instead of talking about yourself, it shows that you are truly interested. This will make you stand out because everyone appreciates a good listener.

3. Look them in the eye - To show others you are easily approachable and feel comfortable, shake their hand firmly, look them directly in the eye and smile. This never fails! It creates a connection between the two parties meeting. Everyone loves someone that looks confident and friendly.

4. Remember names -  People love the sound of their own name, therefore, it is important to remember names. It is not always easy to remember someone’s name, especially if you are meeting a group of people at once, but try to remember. It shows that you are paying attention and interested in what they are saying.  A good way to do practice is to repeat the name out loud after meeting someone. Try to mention the name several times in the conversation so it remains in your mind. Another way to remember someone’s name is to find a connection or characteristic between the name and the person.

Dale Carnegies Part 1 of 3 Personal Leadership! App is in the Top Ten Paid Business Apps on iTunes this week.

Dale Carnegies Part 1 of 3 Personal Leadership! App is in the Top Ten Paid Business Apps on iTunes this week.

 

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You know you have the attributes of leadership in you.  Let the Personal Leadership app help you perfect them and bring them to the surface.

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Effective First Impressions

Each customer is different, but certain basic principles apply to nearly all customers, and you can safely assume that most customers are looking for the same things in their interactions with you.

To be treated with courtesy:
Even rude people dislike being treated rudely. Common courtesies go a long way towards expressing respect to your customers. Good manners, like saying "please" and "thank you," listening attentively, and expressing understanding, are courtesies that nearly everyone appreciates.

To be heard:
Every customer has a unique situation, issue, and desired resolution. Even though a customer's circumstances may seem identical to the circumstances of many other customers, each customer typically still wants to talk through their issues, and your role is to listen.

To get what they want quickly:
Customers are on the move today, and you are just one stop on their list of errands. While there are exceptions to this preference, you can assume that the faster you address the customer's issues, the happier they will be.

To be satisfied with their transaction:
Every customer wants a satisfactory end result and a hassle-free encounter with a customer service professional. Your primary goal in serving the customer is to leave them feeling positive about your organization.

To deal with someone who is knowledgeable:
Customers come to you for your expertise, advice, and experience, as well as for the products and services that you provide. They expect you to be able to answer their questions or know where to find answers.

To deal with a decision maker:
A customer's life is easier if one person can provide answers and make decisions about the resolution of the problem. Customers don't want to have to repeat their requests over and over as they are referred to other people for decisions.

To be appreciated:
Customers have a wide range of options. You should never take for granted their willingness to do business with your organization. It takes little time to express your appreciation for their business, and it sends a positive, reinforcing message to the customer.

Warren Buffett on improving your communications skills and what it can mean to you.

More nuggets from Omaha

From the The Columbus Dispatch May 29, 2011

Here are some words of wisdom from superinvestors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger from the recent Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, paraphrased:

• On what young people should study: Do anything you can do to improve your own skills - you never know when it's going to pay off later on. The one diploma Buffett has hanging on his wall is from a Dale Carnegie course on public speaking. Communication skills are what he most recommends developing.

Read the whole story here

Improving Your Interpersonal Skills

It takes time and practice to improve your interpersonal skills. Many of the skills may take time for you to adopt; however, there are also some quick techniques that you can use to start to make things easier almost immediately.

Stay professional.
Be at your best in every situation. Remember that the way you act reflects on your character. Learn to deal with situations in an appropriate way.

Establish credibility.
Be sincere. If you are truthful and upfront with people, it will go a long way to gaining another person's respect and trust.

Understand others' point of view.
Remember to reflect on what others tell you. Even if you disagree, take the time to learn and understand another person's perspective.

Learn about others.
Take time to talk with employees or clients. Conversations do not need to be work related. Sometimes simple conversations can help you learn about the person and build rapport.

Be confident.
Keep eye contact and a relaxed body posture. Be sure to speak clearly and at a moderate pace.

How to Communicate with Diplomacy and Tact - 1-Day Seminar

Have you ever been awed by someone who always seems to know what to say and how to say it in any situation? They know how to communicate with diplomacy, tact and confidence; and now you can acquire these same skills at this One-Day seminar.

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How Peter Handal and Dale Carnegie & Associates train leaders to communicate better

Every leader knows that communication provides the most opportunity to really mess things up.

That’s why Chairman and CEO Peter Handal and his team at the New York-based Dale Carnegie & Associates Inc. spend so much time working with executives around the country about how to be better in business and better communicators. In fact, they work with 400 of the Fortune 500 companies.

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Program Schedule

Dale Carnegie Colorado Program Schedule.

Money Watch - Job Outlook for 2011 College Grads Best in 4 years

Job Outlook for 2011 College Grads Best in 4 years

We have launched our new website on May 4th.

There are a few bugs that have to be worked out but, want you all to know that we are working on them with the webmaster and they should be worked out shortly.

Let us know what you think! If you are having trouble finding what you need, feel free to give us a call at 303-964-8688.

Dale Carnegie Colorado

Ease Public Speaking Anxiety Through Preparation

Prepare, prepare, prepare. You can never be too prepared to present. Knowing your presentation through and through can help boost your confidence while easing your fear and anxiety. Preparation does not just include knowing what you are going to say, it also includes how and why you are going to present the information. Here are some tips to help you create an effective speech or presentation.

Open with Confidence

Your opening gives your audience a first impression. Know the audience and the purpose of the presentation. Find out what they might expect from your remarks and what they may already know about the topic. Consider how you will grab the audience's attention. If you need to deliver bad news, consider ways to connect with the audience from the beginning of the presentation. Be well prepared for the opening because it sets the tone for your entire presentation--leave nothing to chance.

Focus on a Few Key Points

Know the major points you want to make. This will help ease your worry and increase your confidence. Outline the key concepts in your electronic visuals, on a note card, or better still use a memory technique such as stacking so you remember your key points. Avoid trying to memorize your presentation because it will sound canned and stiff and you want it to sound comfortable and real.

Support Ideas with Evidence

It is always important to provide evidence to support your main points. Supporting evidence will reinforce your points to the audience and give you a chance to explain your points more fully.

Close with a Call to Action

This will be the last impression your audience has of you and your presentation. It is important to look at the purpose of the presentation and then determine a proper close. Emphasize the key action or actions that you want the audience to take after hearing your presentation. This serves as a nice summary of your content and assures they leave with a clear direction.

Remember, Anxiety is Normal

Most people have some presentation anxiety. Remember that people who don't feel some stress may appear to be taking their audience for granted. Replace negative thoughts that creep into your subconscious mind with positive affirmations from yourself and others.

Be Human

Allow yourself to make mistakes. Do not try to be a perfect presenter. A brief pause to collect your thoughts may feel like eternity, but it's not. Tell stories from your personal experiences. Conduct your presentations as if you are having a conversation with people rather than talking at them.

Ask for Feedback

You will be surprised how much will be positive. Accept and internalize compliments you receive without minimizing them. Remind yourself about what went well rather than what didn't. Focus on one or two key improvement areas for the next time. Not ten or twenty.

Prepare for Future Success

View each presentation you give as a development opportunity. Enjoy the experience. Use each presentation as an opportunity to enhance your confidence and skills for the next presentation.

How to Get a Real Education By SCOTT ADAMS (Mr. Adams is the creator of "Dilbert." )

An excerpt from the Wall Street Journal - Saturday April 9, 2011

By Scott Adams ("Dilbert")

"How to Get a Real Education"

"Conquer Fear. I took classes in public speaking in college and a few more during my corporate days. That training was marginally useful for learning how to mask nervousness in public. Then I took the Dale Carnegie course. It was life-changing. The Dale Carnegie method ignores speaking technique entirely and trains you instead to enjoy the experience of speaking to a crowd. Once you become relaxed in front of people, technique comes automatically. Over the years, I've given speeches to hundreds of audiences and enjoyed every minute on stage. But this isn't a plug for Dale Carnegie. The point is that people can be trained to replace fear and shyness with enthusiasm. Every entrepreneur can use that skill."

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12 Tips for Negotiating and Compromising with Difficult People

Negotiating is the process of attempting to agree on a solution. Compromising, or settling on a mutually agreeable solution, is the result of successful negotiations. Compromise is all about being flexible. It means being able to generate alternate solutions when you’ve “hit the wall.” Whether it involves a person you can’t get along with, an idea you know will work but that others are reluctant to agree to, a change in office systems, or a turf war that needs ending, learning to negotiate and compromise is essential to your success.

1. Have a positive attitude.

Your attitude is essential to the outcome. You have a much better chance of coming to an outcome involving mutual gains if you approach the negotiation as an opportunity to learn and achieve a win-win outcome.

2. Meet on mutual ground.

Find a mutually agreeable and convenient physical space to meet that is comfortable for all involved. Agree on when you will meet and how much time is available to devote to the process. Whenever possible, deal with negotiations face-to-face. Be careful about using the phone and e-mail. A lack of facial expressions, vocal intonation, and other cues can result in a negotiation breakdown.

3. Clearly define and agree on the issue.

Agree on the statement of the issue using simple and factual terms. If the situation is multifaceted, search for ways to slice the large issue into smaller pieces and deal with one issue at a time.

4. Do your homework.

Take time to plan. You must not only know what is at stake for yourself, but you need to know the other side’s concerns and motivation. Take into consideration any history or past situations that might affect the negotiations. Know the must-haves (nonnegotiable items) and nice-to-haves (negotiable items). Determine the best resolution, a fair and reasonable deal, and a minimally acceptable deal.

5. Take an honest inventory of yourself.

Determine the level of trust you have in the other person and the process. Be conscious of aspects of your personality that can help or hinder the process.

6. Look for shared interests.

Get on the same side by finding and establishing similarities. Since conflict tends to magnify perceived differences and minimize similarities, look for common goals, objectives, or even gripes that can illustrate that you are in this together. Focus on the future, talk about what is to be done, and tackle the problem jointly.

7. Deal with facts, not emotions.

Address problems, not personalities. Avoid any tendency to attack the other person or to pass judgment on his or her ideas and opinions. Avoid focusing on the past or blaming the other person. Maintain a rational, goal-oriented frame of mind. This will depersonalize the conflict, separate the issues from the people involved, and avoid defensiveness.

8. Be honest.

Don’t play games. Be honest and clear about what is important to you. It is equally important to be clear and to communicate why your goals, issues, and objectives are important to you.

9. Present alternatives and provide evidence.

Create options and alternatives that demonstrate your willingness to compromise. Consider conceding in areas that might have high value to the other person but are not that important to you. Frame options in terms of the other person’s interests and provide evidence for your point of view.

10. Be an expert communicator.

Nothing shows determination to find a mutually satisfactory resolution to conflict more than applying excellent communication skills. Ask questions, listen, rephrase what you heard to check for understanding, and take a genuine interest in the other side’s concerns. Reduce tension through humor, let the other “vent,” and acknowledge the others views. Focus less on your position and more on ways in which you can move toward a resolution or compromise.

11. End on a good note.

Develop a win-win proposal and check to make sure that everyone involved leaves the situation feeling they have “won.” Shake on it and agree on the action steps, who is responsible for each step, how success will be measured, and how and when the decision will be evaluated. Be open to reaching an impasse for non-critical issues; you can agree to disagree on minor issues.

12. Enjoy the process.

Look at the benefits of learning other points of view. People report that after overcoming conflict and reaching an agreement, the relationship grew even stronger. Reflect and learn from each negotiation. Determine the criteria to evaluate the process and the solution.

6 Rules for Communicating with Diplomacy and Tact

How to Communicate With Diplomacy and Tact

We have all been awed by a Manager or a Team Member who always seems to know what to say and how to say it in any situation. These people know how to communicate with diplomacy, tact and confidence.

The way in which we communicate can elicit positive or negative emotions. If we communicate aggressively, without respect or sensitivity, defensive or angry emotions can prevent others from hearing the message we are trying to convey. Communicating with diplomacy and tact is an approach that combines strength and sensitivity and keeps negative emotions at bay. 

The Six Rules for Disagreeing Agreeably

Rule #1: Give others the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the person who made that outrageous generalization isn’t really insensitive. Maybe this person has had a painful experience that made him overreact.

Rule #2: After giving someone the benefit of the doubt, listen to learn and truly understand why this person holds this belief. We must let him/her know we’ve heard them and we are genuinely trying to see things from their perspective.

Rule #3: Always take responsibility for our own feelings, when disagreeing with someone. Make a commitment to respond using “I” statements only. When we begin with “you” we come off as blaming and confrontational and immediately put the other person on the defensive. This reduces the chance of our point of view being heard.

Rule #4: Use a cushion. Connect or “cushion” a different opinion, starting with “I hear what you’re saying” Or “I appreciate your view on”. Again, begin with the word “I” and not “You said…” or it will sound confrontational.

Rule #5: Eliminate the words “but” or “however” from our vocabulary. Once we have cushioned the other person’s opinion, use “and,” or pause and say nothing, following the cushion. Acknowledging the individual’s point of view and following it with a “but” or “however” erases the acknowledgement.

Rule #6: State our point of view or opinion with relevant and factual evidence. Keep our emotions out of the equation by using the following formula:

Take time to reflect:
What do I think?
Why do I think it?
What evidence do I have?

Then speak:
“One example is”
“This shows that”
“Therefore, I think”