Facilitating a 3-day FM programme this week, I am hearing more and more that suddenly FM is becoming high profile. Why? Two reasons:
1. People believe FM roles are relatively secure in the current economic climate, and
2. Our organisations are starting to understand the impact FM has on corporate strategy.
FM is a profession that should be held in high esteem, but which, until now, has largely been overlooked. You know how it is, no-one knows who you are when things are going well (and you rarely get thanks for it!), but once things go wrong (no heating, wrong coffee, someone's parked in the CEO's parking space...) everyone knows your name and your mobile number!
So, what's the answer? As your profile will be raised anyway when things go awry, why not focus on raising it anyway, letting people know when things are running smoothly? Publish your KPI results widely, not just to your boss and /or client, and perhaps use charts to demonstrate your performance - Transport for London do it for their tube lines and bus routes, and it's done them the world of good! Show how the FM services you provide support the overall business strategy - show clear links, how FM can be the foundation stones, how the business really cannot do without it.
This will start to deal with any lack of understanding about FM and its diverse services, and in turn will help turn around any lack of recognition.
Send your burning questions about raising the profile of FM to Liz Kentish The FM Coach, coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk or call 07717 787077
Tuesday 24 February 2009
Friday 20 February 2009
Be More Persuasive
I heard on the news that Oprah Winfrey’s school for girls in South Africa has an oratorium. Why? It’s because she feels that leaders and influencers need to have good speaking skills. Whether you’re speaking to 1 or 100, I couldn’t agree more.
Public speaking is one of the quickest ways to establish credibility as an entrepreneur. It’s also one of the biggest phobias most human beings have. So for the moment, let’s forget about giving a planned, formal presentation to an audience.
Public speaking encompasses many other opportunities to establish credibility. Think about it. We’re formulating opinions of fellow entrepreneurs every day, based on those experiences. When and where?
At committee meetings, volunteer groups, boards, public forums, with co-workers, with a boss, with customers, networking events, luncheons, trade shows, and informal meetings. (OK, you get my drift.) Just remember that a big part of an entrepreneur’s brand and image are influenced by how a person presents him/herself in each of those settings.
There are two different ways we make that impression. One way is through the choice of words and the delivery of a well thought-out position. The second, and more powerful influence is the speaker’s level of passion, conviction, and sincerity. To give you a great example of the power of conviction and passion, consider this excerpt from Tony Robbins’ The Power to Shape your Destiny . “When two people meet, if there’s rapport, if there’s a feeling of mutual respect and trust… if one person is more certain than the other, that person will eventually influence the other person’s feelings.” Pretty powerful stuff, if you think about it. By having a stronger sense of conviction, belief, and passion, you can persuade someone. Because you must establish trust and rapport, of course there is the need for sincerity. Think of what happens when sincerity is NOT present. The minute someone starts bragging or arrogance creeps in, we tune out. We assume that in future dealings that person will be looking out for them self. Call me old-fashioned, but I know there are some powerful people out there who are humble and genuinely interested in the well being of others. So those are the type of people we should choose to surround ourselves with and rely on.
That said, as long as you’re sincere and have conviction I believe you’ll have more credibility and will be more persuasive than the passion-less person who might put together a more articulate argument.
Here are a few tips for being persuasive:
Tip #1: Be sincere, be genuine, and don’t worry about how you’re going to come across. (I think this also helps to relax us, making it even easier to formulate our thoughts.) As long as we speak from our hearts, we’ll be powerful.
Tip #2 If you’re fearful of speaking, start small. But do practice. Start with your introduction or “elevator speech”. Practice on coworkers, friends, significant other, kids or the dog. Anybody who will listen!
Tip #3: Be likeable. Smile, and let your passion shine through. Of course, you don’t want a silly grin on your face the whole time. But the idea is to make yourself approachable. You want to connect with your listeners.
Tip #4: Appreciate your listeners’ time and don’t drone on. There’s an old quote that says, “Be accurate! Be brief! And then be seated!” I can remember being at a networking meeting where everyone had 30 seconds for a quick introduction. Most took more than their share of time. What was fascinating is that I had several people come up to me afterwards, simply based on my brief introduction. They appreciated the fact that I kept it short, I sounded confident yet approachable, and I whet their appetite with just one tidbit of info that had them asking for more.
Tip #5: Believe it! I’ve seen people speak with so little conviction that I wondered if they truly believed what they were proposing. If you don’t believe it deep down in your heart, no one else will. Just remind yourself of the wonderful value you’re offering, and how much your listener needs the information you’re about to share.
I’ve covered just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being a more persuasive communicator. But even a modest improvement in each of the five areas above will result in a dramatic change in your results. Try it!
Looking for a keynote FM speaker? Call Liz Kentish on 01778 561326 / 07717 787077 or e-mail coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/be-more-persuasive-779485.html
About the Author:
Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/Resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.ThePriceGroup.biz.
Public speaking is one of the quickest ways to establish credibility as an entrepreneur. It’s also one of the biggest phobias most human beings have. So for the moment, let’s forget about giving a planned, formal presentation to an audience.
Public speaking encompasses many other opportunities to establish credibility. Think about it. We’re formulating opinions of fellow entrepreneurs every day, based on those experiences. When and where?
At committee meetings, volunteer groups, boards, public forums, with co-workers, with a boss, with customers, networking events, luncheons, trade shows, and informal meetings. (OK, you get my drift.) Just remember that a big part of an entrepreneur’s brand and image are influenced by how a person presents him/herself in each of those settings.
There are two different ways we make that impression. One way is through the choice of words and the delivery of a well thought-out position. The second, and more powerful influence is the speaker’s level of passion, conviction, and sincerity. To give you a great example of the power of conviction and passion, consider this excerpt from Tony Robbins’ The Power to Shape your Destiny . “When two people meet, if there’s rapport, if there’s a feeling of mutual respect and trust… if one person is more certain than the other, that person will eventually influence the other person’s feelings.” Pretty powerful stuff, if you think about it. By having a stronger sense of conviction, belief, and passion, you can persuade someone. Because you must establish trust and rapport, of course there is the need for sincerity. Think of what happens when sincerity is NOT present. The minute someone starts bragging or arrogance creeps in, we tune out. We assume that in future dealings that person will be looking out for them self. Call me old-fashioned, but I know there are some powerful people out there who are humble and genuinely interested in the well being of others. So those are the type of people we should choose to surround ourselves with and rely on.
That said, as long as you’re sincere and have conviction I believe you’ll have more credibility and will be more persuasive than the passion-less person who might put together a more articulate argument.
Here are a few tips for being persuasive:
Tip #1: Be sincere, be genuine, and don’t worry about how you’re going to come across. (I think this also helps to relax us, making it even easier to formulate our thoughts.) As long as we speak from our hearts, we’ll be powerful.
Tip #2 If you’re fearful of speaking, start small. But do practice. Start with your introduction or “elevator speech”. Practice on coworkers, friends, significant other, kids or the dog. Anybody who will listen!
Tip #3: Be likeable. Smile, and let your passion shine through. Of course, you don’t want a silly grin on your face the whole time. But the idea is to make yourself approachable. You want to connect with your listeners.
Tip #4: Appreciate your listeners’ time and don’t drone on. There’s an old quote that says, “Be accurate! Be brief! And then be seated!” I can remember being at a networking meeting where everyone had 30 seconds for a quick introduction. Most took more than their share of time. What was fascinating is that I had several people come up to me afterwards, simply based on my brief introduction. They appreciated the fact that I kept it short, I sounded confident yet approachable, and I whet their appetite with just one tidbit of info that had them asking for more.
Tip #5: Believe it! I’ve seen people speak with so little conviction that I wondered if they truly believed what they were proposing. If you don’t believe it deep down in your heart, no one else will. Just remind yourself of the wonderful value you’re offering, and how much your listener needs the information you’re about to share.
I’ve covered just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being a more persuasive communicator. But even a modest improvement in each of the five areas above will result in a dramatic change in your results. Try it!
Looking for a keynote FM speaker? Call Liz Kentish on 01778 561326 / 07717 787077 or e-mail coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/be-more-persuasive-779485.html
About the Author:
Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/Resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.ThePriceGroup.biz.
Wednesday 11 February 2009
Effective conversations that work
Success in FM is about different disciplines working together in a collaborative way.
To be effective, we need conversations that work. This means, we have to engage people in our conversations.
Yes, but Liz, we’re busy people and we don’t have the time!
It’s precisely when we don’t have the time that we need to ensure our communications are two-way, effective, and concise.
There are some fundamental emotional desires that people seek to have met in the workplace:
They want to be included and valued – this happens when they get recognition
They want to be competent – this happens when they are in control of their work
They want to be accepted – this happens when they are liked by their colleagues
They want different conversations that go somewhere, that inspire them and make them think!
When these desires are thwarted – or even when a person thinks that they might be – they are likely to feel angry, hurt, disappointed, sad, afraid, frustrated, rejected, resentful, ashamed. I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to work with people like that.
We need to be seeking out strengths, capabilities, possiblities, potential, and we can do this through simple questions like:
What do you want instead?
What else would improve as a result?
When have you overcome something similar?
What knowledge, experience, resources do you already have to help?
What will you do differently as a result of having reached the goal?
What might be the first small step?
Want to know more? Email coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk for your free Practical FM Guide - Effective conversations for high performance
To be effective, we need conversations that work. This means, we have to engage people in our conversations.
Yes, but Liz, we’re busy people and we don’t have the time!
It’s precisely when we don’t have the time that we need to ensure our communications are two-way, effective, and concise.
There are some fundamental emotional desires that people seek to have met in the workplace:
They want to be included and valued – this happens when they get recognition
They want to be competent – this happens when they are in control of their work
They want to be accepted – this happens when they are liked by their colleagues
They want different conversations that go somewhere, that inspire them and make them think!
When these desires are thwarted – or even when a person thinks that they might be – they are likely to feel angry, hurt, disappointed, sad, afraid, frustrated, rejected, resentful, ashamed. I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to work with people like that.
We need to be seeking out strengths, capabilities, possiblities, potential, and we can do this through simple questions like:
What do you want instead?
What else would improve as a result?
When have you overcome something similar?
What knowledge, experience, resources do you already have to help?
What will you do differently as a result of having reached the goal?
What might be the first small step?
Want to know more? Email coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk for your free Practical FM Guide - Effective conversations for high performance
Tuesday 3 February 2009
Is snow reason enough to work from home?
The Federation of Small Businesses estimated 20% of the UK's working population, or 6.4 million people, did not make it to work. South-east England had the worst snow it has seen for 18 years, causing all London buses to be pulled from service and the closure of Heathrow's runways.
In the FM environment, we need to be prepared for every eventuality, and ensuring your organisation has remote facilities for staff is one way to keep things running. More and more staff are being encouraged to work from home, but this does make some business leaders uncomfortable. Why? It's that T word again - Trust.
A recent poll by City & Guilds confirmed that many British managers were very uncomfortable with the idea of staff working from home, and were far happier dealing with people in the office. Is it because management techniques have not kept up with technological advances?
Of the employers who offer working from home, only 8% believe home-workers are less productive than their office-bound colleagues, while 30% say they are more productive. The remainder of employers say home-working makes no difference to productivity.
We know that home-working helps us save on space costs, but in return we need to consider our management style, health and safety issues and communication amongst other things. Let's not ignore the trend for working from home because it just seems to difficult to manage!
For a 30 minute laser conversation on managing your employees effectively, call Liz Kentish The FM Coach on 01778 561326 or e-mail coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk with your burning questions about managing your people.
In the FM environment, we need to be prepared for every eventuality, and ensuring your organisation has remote facilities for staff is one way to keep things running. More and more staff are being encouraged to work from home, but this does make some business leaders uncomfortable. Why? It's that T word again - Trust.
A recent poll by City & Guilds confirmed that many British managers were very uncomfortable with the idea of staff working from home, and were far happier dealing with people in the office. Is it because management techniques have not kept up with technological advances?
Of the employers who offer working from home, only 8% believe home-workers are less productive than their office-bound colleagues, while 30% say they are more productive. The remainder of employers say home-working makes no difference to productivity.
We know that home-working helps us save on space costs, but in return we need to consider our management style, health and safety issues and communication amongst other things. Let's not ignore the trend for working from home because it just seems to difficult to manage!
For a 30 minute laser conversation on managing your employees effectively, call Liz Kentish The FM Coach on 01778 561326 or e-mail coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk with your burning questions about managing your people.
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