Posts by Clare Hefferren
Credibility and Conditional Language
Speaking Skills Tip | Last week Todd Smart spoke about building credibility at Illinois Technology Association Marketing Roundtable. My favorite take-away: When you use conditional language in presenting yourself you lose credibility. Listener can sense your lack of confidence. Eg. “IF we get that result for you…” vs. “WHEN we get that result for you….” Conditional language…
Read MoreMentor vs. Sponsor
Harvard Business Review, Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women, asserts women are over mentored (leadership development, executive presence, professional development, relationship building) and under sponsored (strategic, exposure, networking, promotion positioning). Setting aside sweeping gender accusations, what can we do to help both genders? I agree it is challenging to effectively place mentoring and…
Read MoreRace Ready
Are you race ready? This week, my strategic brain was in high gear. I am a triathlete. This Sunday is my final, my big, race of the season, The Chicago Triathlon — .93 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run. My goal is to finish in under three hours and fifteen minutes. I’ve…
Read MoreSeven Seconds of Clarity
I attended a workshop this week, Effective & Realistic Marketing Strategies for WBEs, held by the Women’s Business Development Center featuring excellent speaker, Julia Hubbel. My favorite moment? “Clarity is power.” Recall the childhood game “telephone”. Whisper a statement in one ear and pass it on through ten sets of ears. What comes out the…
Read MoreSocial Networking and IRL
At a business networking event with social media focus, panelists were asked to share a sing important tip on how to build your personal brand. Among the standard tips, self-pronounced techie, Jean Pickering, shared she prefers dark corners and behind the scenes work (natural for social networking). Her tip “Get out there and IRL.” I.R.L.…
Read MoreLocking Cheeks
Seems I’m not the only one craving human contact these days. Step inside the personal life of busy single professionals and you’ll likely find frustration on the dating front. Online dating has solved the need for 24/7 “shopping” but it’s also decreased the spark that may exist in locking eyes with a stranger. The more…
Read MoreA New World
non-verbal cues tip | Today I attended a panel discussion on building effective sales teams. Layering the solid deck of tools and technique suggestions, the most memorable question I heard was, “When do you think the world changed in terms of valuing relationships?” A panelist, Rick Mazursky, answered, “When voicemail was invented.” Zap. Wow. Pow!…
Read MoreRighteous Rotnem
leadership development tip | Last Friday I attended a Step Up Women’s Network professional development power breakfast. Nancy Ruscheinski, President & COO of Edelman US, spoke on “How to Ignite Creative Thinking”. Of many ideas shared, a week later I am still talking about Rotnem. Rotnem (mentor spelled backwards) is a reverse mentorship program Edelman rolled…
Read MorePower Struggle Handshake
business etiquette tip | We’ve all experienced the ‘dead fish’ or ‘death grip’ handshake. Another version of an ineffective handshake is a ‘power struggle’. Shaker approaches with palm facing down – parallel to ground. This is a sign of dominance and an attempt to establish power in the relationship. Just the opposite, a hand extended…
Read MorePlayground Bully Ineffective in Workplace
A recent Green Peak Partners study, in collaboration with Cornell University, shows bullying traits (arrogance, overly direct, impatience, stubbornness) in the workplace are an attempt to mask incompetence and strategic intellect. Driving for results at all costs will result in ineffective leadership. A better solution? An intelligent leader builds self awareness and hires competent team…
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