Posts by Clare Hefferren

quarterly recap: 2009 was a wonderful ride. Thanks for joining us. In case you missed our fourth quarter newsletter, click here to catch up to date. Missed past issues and curious what we’ve been up to? See our online archive here. And of course, Happy New Year! Callosum is grateful to have you in our…

They see you coming from afar. Color is the first sensory impression you make when approaching a person. Regardless of personal color preferences your audience will have the same subconscious response as our body’s nervous and hormones react to the magnetic energies and temperature of colors. The brain physically senses and interprets color visually resulting…

As a manager you have the challenge of revenue accountability and building a successful team. You have a choice to have effective or ineffective relationships with your team members. It’s best to show an interest in your subordinates as people with career ambitions. If they think you are willing to work at building a relationship…

Executive presence takes time to build. To start getting more comfortable in larger settings, begin by speaking up at least once in each meeting. Think through what you are going to say and when you open your mouth, don’t use any disclaimers (“This may not work but…”). Speak up loudly and hold the floor long…

To save time and money in building a consistent personal style, nurture relationships with retail sales staff. In essence, they are a free resource that acts as your research team for wardrobe development. Have a favorite store or discover a new one? As you enter approach a staffer you visually admire. Tell them you’d like…

Working in a multi-cultural environment requires setting your colleagues and clients at ease in both environments. A wise initial step is to create a bilingual business card. Print English on one side and second language on the other side. Include phonetic pronunciation in a second language. Present card using two hands holding card away from…

speaking skills tip: What makes a great speech, presentation or message?  Put the message up front.  Transition clearly from point to point and back up your viewpoints with credible ‘Forms of Influence’.  We recommend using S-P-E-A-K to give your messages more punch or ‘stickiness’.  S = Statistics & Facts, P = Personal Experience share, E…

business etiquette tip: Sitting on a future client or colleague? What may be habit for you, may be considered disrespectful to another. Proper etiquette when receiving a business card is to take a brief glance at it, say “Thank you <Name>”, and place in your shirt pocket, handbag or briefcase – never in your back…

Do you think of your client as THEM or vice versa? Often times it’s hard to determine how each side began competing for control of the relationship. Regardless, it’s imperative to not let the relationship spin out of control to enemy territory. Examples: 1) Focus on rehearsing call vs. planning how to get the conversation…

Speaking skill tip: Really, you want me to hug the audience? No, but metaphorically I do! If you want an audience to truly listen, trust your expertise and feel connected, it’s essential to connect on a human level. Remove the physical and energetic barrier by stepping away from the podium. Proximity creates vitality and gets…