Speaking Skills

You must have good communication skills if you want to have rewarding relationships. No one is a good communicator all the time; skill depends on the situation and personal factors such as your upbringing, education, and level of self-esteem. The good news is that you can learn skills to become a better communicator.

·         Practice what you will say before you say it.

·         Try different ways of saying things with friends you trust.

·         Ask for feedback from people who have strong communication skills.

·         Take classes, read books and listen to tapes.

·         Study people whose communication style you admire.

Article Writing in Five Easy Steps

Do you need an article for a newsletter, magazine or blog post? Here is a quick, easy formula for writing one.

1.  Start by identifying one problem your clients have mentioned. For example, an image consultant may have clients worried about how to update their wardrobes without spending a lot of money.

2.  Write a short description of the problem.

3.  Add three solutions to the problem. Devote one or two paragraphs to each solution. In our example, the image consultant could write about using accessories to update clothing, adding one or two trendy pieces, and mixing and matching existing pieces in new ways.

4.  End with five tips the reader can follow for a do-it-yourself wardrobe update.
5.  Add your contact information and a free offer.

That's it. Article writing in five easy steps.

Contact me at info@patriciahaddock.com for a tip sheet on how to do a how-to article in 10 easy steps.

Start the Week with Inspiration

Four minutes to touch your heart
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WEqdr_Awdak"

SEO for Your Blog

A good article for SEO for your blog at Blog Traffic Exchange: Principles of Good SEO for Your Blog

Write for How People Read

Skimmers decide what to read based on the first sentence. They skim documents and look for key points. When you write for skimmers, start with the main point. In an e-mail, use the subject line to convey what the e-mail is about. Use bullets or boldface to highlight key facts, dates or figures.

Skeptics tend to read a document thoroughly and want to see documentation and facts to support statements. Use lots of supporting details and evidence and provide examples, statistics, factual anecdotes to support everything.

For both, organize the body of your document as an inverted pyramid--place the most important information first and drill down to the least important. In this way, both types of readers get what they want.

Word of Wisdom from Jim Rohn

Authors Need Websites

If you have authored a book, you need a strong website. How do you make sure your website looks professional and supports—even furthers—your career? How do you know whether to gear it toward agents, editors, or readers? All these questions and more will be answered in this nuts-and-bolts session about creating a model author website. Check out this webinar from Writer's Digest.
Five Essential Components of a Strong Author Website

Speak Up

Being a competent speaker is a great way to grow your business and develop your professionalism. As your career progresses, you will have to make presentations to clients, management and staff. The more comfortable you feel speaking to small and large groups, the more successful you can be. Here are some tips for improving your speaking skills.

1. Practice. That's right. Just start speaking at every opportunity. No opportunities? Don't let that stop you. Offer to do a three-minute report about a workshop you attended at the next staff meeting.
2. Be prepared. Take some 3x5 cards and jot the points you want make. Decide what you want to say about each point and practice. Do not read from your cards or from a prepared speech. You want to sound natural and conversational.
3. Stay calm. Many people are nervous when they have to speak. Their hands shake, their voice quivers, they get a dry mouth. All this might happen to you. Just take a few deep breathes to relax. Go to the restroom and open your mouth wide to loosen up your mouth. Drink water and avoid dairy products since they produce mucus that affects your voice.
4. Get help. Join Toastmasters to gain experience and improve your skills. http://www.toastmasters.org/.