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Hi Everyone,

Here are some thoughts on the 3 phases of communicating in a negotiation.

Negotiation is basically an interactive communication that takes place between persons, for making a deal and coming to a mutual agreement at the end. In today’s fast paced world we are negotiating with some one or other everyday.  Most people are at sea when it comes to Negotiation Skills. These skills are not inborn and anyone can achieve with training and practice.

A good negotiator is not someone who pulls off deals by working miracles or hypnotizing his opponents into nodding their heads to all his proposals. He is simply better in his demonstrations because he follows certain rules that the novice negotiator does not. Once we learn the rules and understand their consequences we can master negotiation skills ourselves. Basically negotiation is a three phased communication.

Pre bargaining Phase includes the following:

•    Information. Get all details about the issue, from the other side.
•    Evaluate your leverage and that of the other sides. Try to raise our leverage while, subtly lowering the leverage of the other side.
•    Analyze the issue and try to establish a good rapport with the opponents , if You cant get a mediator
•    What are your expectations and goals, and what can you expect from the other side, co-operation or conflict?
•    Costs . Analyze your budget , take lawyers help , see where your leverage can get the best and yet a cost effective deal.
•    Plan. Set our plan rolling.

Bargaining Phase of the negotiation skills will include:

•    Planning  the time, place and how you will negotiate the Logistics
•    What is the best offer and what sort of tactics you will employ
•    What are the concessions you can give and how can you effectively resolve a problem if any

Closure Phase will be:

•    Prepare the final agreement and documentation,
•    Emotionally close all underling issues and under currents
•    Implementation of the deal

Remember  the deal is not over until implemented fully.

Those with minimal experience should remember that attitude is important to enhance your Negotiation Skills. Everything is negotiable. Be quick verbally , try to enhance your memory and remember all you can about the deal , learn to handle stress.

Compromise is ubiquitous .
Whether you are settling or buying, be fair on the numbers. Always adopt a fair attitude to closing the number gap.
Polish your communication skills and let go of aggressive and intimidating attitude while learning to be assertive at the same time.

Co-operate , but don’t give up, because co –operation is better than competition if you want to build up your negotiation skills.

‘Committed to Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

 Hi Guys,

Here is some more tips on effective public speaking and presentations.

Fear of public speaking plunges most people in a dilemma, while some walk in and present their speech skillfully, get rave reviews and walk away with pride. It is important to know that Public Speaking and Presentation Skills requires a clear purpose, a strategy for achieving that purpose and preparation and practice. Every speech made in public whether in an office or in front of huge audience is a presentation.

Trainers of effective public speaking outlined some basic skills for every public speaker. Some of them are:  every public Speaker should be able to research a topic, focus on the message, and organize ideas logically. Presenters should avoid quotations to make the language flowery, and use it only to complement ideas.

Telling a story, incorporating some humor, using visual aids if necessary, connecting with the audience by having a question and answer session are some of the rules for an effective presentation. .Seeking feedback at the end is also important, to know how much you have been understood. Generally a good presentation is seasoned with the rule of three.

It is a popular concept in writing and is believed to make the writing more humorous and easy to remember and also effective. Some examples are

• Friends ,Romans Countrymen
• Blood, Sweat and Tears
• Veni, Vidi, Vici

Once you have an effective speech, learn how to present it successfully. If you are inhibited by stage fright, you are sure to stumble and make verbal blunders and struggle with the filler words like “umm” and “ah” which are considered errant during public speaking and presentation. Deliver the speech without being nervous. Perhaps the biggest fear after death is to speak in public. Nearly 41% of the people fear to speak in public. Follow some of the principles given below for effective presentation.

• Turn your speech into conversation
• Use eye contact, appropriate gestures for optimum effect.
• Organize, develop and design the Presentation carefully.
• Handle tough questions and learn from them.

So you have learnt the basics. How about enhancing your Public Speaking and Presentation skills? There are numerous trainers and life skill coaches. It would be advantageous to take some lessons to bring out the leader in you.

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

P.S. To get more FREE resource on speaking like a pro go to the including video  tutorials and other downloads click here now!

Free Presentation and Public Speaking Resource

Hi  Guys,

Here are a few thoughts on teams.                               

A team is only as strong as the combined performance of those involved. Each member of the team must be dedicated, collaborative, and proficient. When one person disagrees with the common goal, his or her performance will affect others in the group. At this stage the Team Manager enters to play a pivotal role in organizing his team. What is the Team Managers role?

Effectively speaking a good manger needs to adhere to some basic management principles while at the same time he needs to exhibit some efficient Team Management skills in his personality. There are a few basic know-how’s for Team Management.

• Leadership. As a manager what counts is not individual contribution, but how well you get work done by others. This would mean that the Team Manager needs to adapt his leadership skills to meet the needs of every member in his team. Team Management is about carefully assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the team member and guiding them towards the accomplishment of a common goal. This means a just allocation of work to the members, planning and  implementation of the task assigned and guiding  the team with task completion

• Team Building: Another basic Team Management skill that includes dealing with people, encouraging the team members to speak up, allowing them to make mistakes and learn from them is Team building skill. To build a good team the Team Manager needs to foster team spirit, and motivate the Team Members all the time. To succeed, a manager needs to cater to the team’s expectations, recognize their strengths and weakness.

• Team Management is also about effective communication and presentation. An alternate term for this would be Soft Skills. The team manger needs to determine the best communication strategy with your team and your higher authorities.

• Decision Making in other words is problem solving. When your team is grappling with a problem, or the right decision, the manger needs to face the issue and brain storm solutions effectively.

In short Team Management is making the right decision and getting the right people to execute them.

 So how do you make a good decision?

Here is a simple 7 Step formula:

1. Identify the problem

2. Consultation

3. Develop alternatives

4. Analyse alternatives

5. Select alternative

6. Implement decision

7. Evaluate effectiveness

P.S.  If you want to discover more about how to create successful performers download this Special Industry FREE report on ‘The Set Up to Fail Syndrome’  Click this link below:    The Set Up to Fail Syndrome

Hi Everyone,

These days it is not just Artificial intelligence, but also Emotional Intelligence that is becoming a popular topic of discussion. People with high intelligent quotient, who excel in academics because of their logical skills, or math or verbal skills, were often poor performers in life. Daniel Goldman brought out the equation of the Emotional Quotient Test, to measure the Emotional Intelligence.

This ground breaking test revealed that people with high EQ, and a lower IQ fared better than people with high Intelligence Quotient but a lower Emotional Quotient. There four areas of capacity or skills that collectively describe Emotional Intelligence.

• Perceiving Emotion. This basic area deals with the non verbal expression of emotions and also how these emotions are received. Expressions like anger, sadness, fear, joy are all easily recognized by humans as they are facial expressions. The capability to perceive these emotions (facial or verbal), is the starting point to a wider understanding of emotional intelligence.

• How do we use these emotions in our thought Process? How do these emotions enter our thoughts and guides our actions is interesting. How humans react to anything that grabs our attention? The answer is simple-they do so emotionally. They are happy, or sad, angry, fearful, and so the list goes. These emotions contributes to what we call mood swings.

•  Understanding these emotions and acting accordingly forms the next aspect.

• When you are happy, you are gregarious, when you are sad you are a loner, when angry you want to attack or withdraw into loneliness. Each pattern sends out its own messages. Anger may be due to unfair treatment. Understanding the Messages is important.

• Managing Emotions. Emotions can be managed to a large extent. A person may remain open to Emotional Signals as long as they are not painful, but block out the overwhelming emotions. Within the person’s emotional comfort zone, he has to manage his own and others’ emotions too.

The Emotional Intelligence test was hence formulated to test the emotional quotient of the individual. The tests have a list of questions and choices of answers. It basically spills out situations and how you react at such times.

The answers reveal your emotional response to difficult situations and grade your emotional quotient and suggest ways and means of improving yourself. Many organisations are actively engaged in coaching skills for better emotional intelligence, since it has become imperative that emotional intelligence can boost or mar your job performance.

To download an Emotional Intelligence Checklist to gauge your EI strengths and weaknesses click this link and download instantly:

Emotional Intelligence Checklist

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

Hi Everyone,

How are you perceived by those that you lead within your organisation? While a great deal of time and focus is spent on branding a product or service, little attention is directed to an individual leader’s brand and its potential impact on their leadership results. Business leadership results are often derived from a leader’s ability to develop and maintain their brand.

A brand is a set of expectations and a promise that those expectations will be met. A leader’s brand must express and reinforce their underlying values along with those of their organisation. So, how can a leader develop their brand within their organisation?

Integrity

One of the most important leadership skills to master is that of integrity. Simply put, integrity refers to a leader’s ability to remain consistent between their actions and their words. To strengthen your brand, ensure that you are under promising and over delivering and that you are constantly striving to remain consistent with those you lead.

Consistency

Do your team members know what to expect when they interact with you? Is your demeanour consistent, are your actions consistent, do you regularly follow up and hold others accountable? To strengthen your brand, ensure that you focus on developing and maintaining consistency in your words and actions when working with your organisation. You will gain effective leadership results when those you lead know what to expect from you.

You have a brand, similar to a popular product or service. How your brand is perceived by those within your organisation will affect your ability to obtain desired leadership results. To improve your brand image, focus on maintaining and demonstrating integrity along with working to exhibit consistency in your words and actions. If your current leadership brand is not representative of your leadership skills, just like a company or product can redefine their brand, so can you.

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

Hi Guys,

Do you spend enough time focusing on your current customers?

While businesses often spend a great deal of time and money on acquiring new customers, it is actually less expensive and more effective to up-sell current customers. Satisfied customers often become repeat customers. So, how can you improve your customer service within your organization?

1.     Set Clear Expectations- Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than lack of response. If you are not able to answer your phone or emails during the work day, be sure to set up an email autoresponder and to leave clear direction on your voicemail as to when a customer can expect a response.

2.     Answer your Phone- During business hours, ensure that either you or someone on your team answers the phone. Customers begin to become very frustrated when they cannot reach a live individual or are forced to use complicated phone systems during business hours.

3.     Under Promise- Don’t Over Promise- Nothing is worse than lack of follow through. Strive to under promise and over deliver on any expectation that you set with a customer.

4.     Listen- Customers are not always right, however, listening will facilitate a solution to any issue or problem that you may have. Actively listen to every customer’s conversation whether in person or over the telephone.

5.     Throw in Extras- When possible, provide added value to your customers. Whether you add a promotional item, send a thank you card or acknowledge them in some way, going the extra mile will benefit your business over the long term.

Always search for viable ways to improve your customer service. Happy customers will not only provide repeat business opportunities, but they will also in many cases provide valuable referrals that will help to grow your business. All it takes is one unhappy customer to damage your business reputation in the community or online. So be sure that customer service is at the forefront of your thought at all times.

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

Hi Guys,

As a leader, one of the most important skills to master is that of persuasion. Similar to skills required in selling products or services, leaders must learn the art of reading people and communication in an effort to positively persuade others. To improve your ability to persuade others, learn how to present your proposition clearly, to support it with data and facts and to structure your deals in such a way as to move forward toward closure.

Follow these 3 easy steps to improve your ability to persuade others:

1.     Present your ideas, thoughts or proposition clearly to those you are looking to persuade. What is the outcome that you are anticipating? What do you hope to accomplish? If you have presented your ideas already, have you done so in a clear manner? If not, what can you do to rectify the situation?

2.     Present supporting data, facts or information for your idea. Many people respond positively when you support a statement, request or idea with supporting information. Search for information that will add credibility in order to improve your ability to persuade others. Even if you don’t require the information that you gather to persuade someone, it is a good process to work through as it will enhance your initial presentation. Knowledge is power.

3.     Develop structure for your ideas and work through to completion. Persuading others is a process. And the process will go smoother when you implement structure into your methodology. With practice, the process will become more and more like a habit, and your skills will improve. Always follow the entire process through to completion or resolution.

The art of persuasion has many advantages when implemented within a business setting. Like anything new, this skill will require practice in order to perfect it. But, over time, your ability to persuade others will strengthen when you follow these 3 easy steps.

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

P.S. To learn more about how to influence and persuade others read my  free report entitled “10 Strategies to Gain the Influencing Edge.”

Just click this link to gain instant access to your FREE report:  http://vtiperformance.com/InfluenceEdge/

Hi Everyone,

Public speaking is a crucial skill to master when looking to advance within an organization. While many people associate large audiences with the term public speaking, in the business world, public speaking can refer to conferences, lectures, classroom lessons, management meetings and even phone conferences. Follow the tips below to improve your public speaking skills.

1.     Practice, practice, practice. Professionals recommend that you spend approximately three times as long as your presentation practicing in order to be prepared. So, if you have an hour lecture approaching, schedule at least 3 hours of time to practice your speech.

2.     Know your Material. Don’t wait until the day of your presentation to review your material. Waiting until the last minute will only amplify your nerves, causing you to make unnecessary mistakes. Review your material and ensure that you are comfortable before going on stage.

3.     Relax. It is natural to be nervous when presenting. Take a deep breath once you start a conference call or walk onto stage. Then, after you face the audience, breathe again and begin. Many presenters often find something to focus on that enables them to relax; a focus point, an individual within the audience or an image within their mind.

4.     Know the Room. If you are giving a live presentation, be sure to observe the seating arrangement, exits, the stage and any other features of the room before getting on stage. It is easier to present when you are familiar with your surroundings.

5.     Gain experience. While this seems like common sense, it is true. The more experience that you have giving presentations, the more effective you will become. Seek opportunities to speak, no matter how large or how small they are. Your skills will improve exponentially with experience.

By following these 5 easy tips, your public speaking skills will improve in no time.

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

P.S. Here is a great program I recommend if you desire to get rid of your nerves and speak like a pro. Just click the link below to find out more:

Get Applause NOW!

Hi guys,

Every one of us has the same amount of time within any given day, yet some of us seem to be more effective with our time than others. When you are effective with your time, you often experience a reduction in stress and an enhanced quality of life. Much like any other skill, to improve time management requires focus and practice. Implementing the tips below will allow you to improve your time management skills.

Spend Time Planning your Time

While this may seem counter-productive, planning your time before you engage in any activities will enhance your performance. Spend time once a week planning your entire week, and then spend time each morning before beginning your day planning the activities that you need to accomplish within that given day. Planning will allow you to focus your attention each day on the most important activities, rather than spending time being overwhelmed by the quantity of work that needs to be completed.

Learn How to Prioritise

The truth is that most of us will never complete every single task that needs our attention on a daily basis. So, spend time prioritizing which activities are crucial, which are important and which are not urgent on a daily basis. Crucial activities are those that you should divert your attention to first. Next, focus on the important but not urgent activities to prevent them from becoming crises. Then, when you have time daily, focus on the not urgent tasks.

You can take time management one step further and create a mini- list of tasks to complete each day. This list should contain 4-6 items from your master list that you need to focus your attention on for the given day. Breaking time management into bite sized pieces will make things much easier to manage, not to mention reducing your anxiety levels.

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

P.S. A good friend of mine has a FREE Tutorial on productivity using technology.  You can check it out here at:

http://findtime.com.au/

Hi Everyone,

Despite our movement to a digital world, many individuals and business owners still struggle with the concept of time management. We are all aware that we have a fixed number of hours to work with during any given week. Yet some of us seem to utilize these hours more effectively than others. How can you easily improve your time management skills?

1.     Plan your Week in Advance- This is one of the easiest steps to take when working to improve your time management. Take time either on Friday at the end of your work day, or on Monday during the beginning of your work day, to map out your week. Ensure that you are allocating time for friends, family, work, health, spirituality and yourself. If you don’t schedule time for it, unfortunately, you are likely to overlook the task or that area of your life.

2.     Daily Lists- Start each day off by creating a consolidated list of tasks that you must accomplish during the given day. All of us seem to have giant to do lists that never get any shorter. Part of the reason is that we search for the easiest tasks to complete first, giving us something to check off. But, the rest of the list seems to linger over time. Choose 4-6 tasks from your master list to complete during the day, and check them off as you go.

3.     Filler Time- All of us has filler time during our days. Filler time refers to dead time, waiting time or time that appears when we complete a task earlier than expected. Individuals who are effective at time management utilize that time to complete tasks on their master to do list. Make a quick call to a friend or family member, check your emails, log into your online network accounts or catch up on your daily news during your filler time. Or, reach over to your master to do list and search for something that you can quickly complete and check off.

By implementing these 3 easy, high level concepts for time management, you will notice an immediate improvement in your overall work productivity.

‘Empowering People to Exceptional Performance.’

Warmest regards,

David Patmore

P.S. A good friend of mine has a FREE Tutorial on productivity using technology.  You can check it out here at:

http://findtime.com.au/