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I attended a wonderful ’s networking event last night hosted by Reid & Reige law firm and their Women’s Alliance. The main activity was speed networking. The purpose of the speed networking exercise is to make multiple new connections in a short amount of time and to practice and get more comfortable giving your elevator pitch. If you haven’t experience speed networking yet, look for opportunities to do so.

In addition to meeting new motivated women business leaders, I learned a valuable lesson. Be careful not to use too many “I message” when you introduce yourself. You might even count how many times you use it in a 2-minute introduction. For example, how many times do you find yourself starting a sentence with the word “I”?

Click through to read why I think this is a real networking turnoff and what you should be doing instead.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christine Harvey is on a mission: Transition into the civilian working world.

I first met Chris Harvey at the 2009 Business Women’s Forum in Hartford, CT. It was hard not to notice her commanding presence and radiant energy. She is what I call a “motivated leader.” We have since networked together quite a bit and I am motivated to help her accomplish her “mission” in whatever way that I can. In my opinion, she is the kind of principled leader that “civilian” businesses need.

Read about about Christine Harvey’s four-point strategy for orchestrating a successful career transition from her military life into the “civilian work world.”

In this humorous video, actor Robert De Niro reminds of the common mistakes that can be made in the sales process. While it’s exciting to make a sale, land a new customer and “do the transaction”, our impatience can be counterproductive to our desired goal.

Watch this short and entertaining video and see if you can identify the common mistakes made in selling. Here’s a few that I noticed:

• using inappropriate humor
• using foul language or talking like a “sailor” (or gangster, in this example)
• insulting the customer’s buying strategy
• pushing too hard – forcing the close
• not reading the customer’s body language
• not controlling your own body language
• raising the volume of your voice
• grabbing things you shouldn’t

I believe that inspiration can be found anywhere, anytime and from anybody. This one was worth sharing with all of you, because I think it contains a bit of creative genius. While attending a Boy Scout court of honor ceremony (where one of my twin boys was being promoted to Tenderfoot class), the Scout Master, Mr. Nick Civitillo (Mr. C to all of his friends), read aloud the following Top 10 List at the end of the ceremony. With his permission, I share it with all of you.

Thank you Nick for the inspiration and for all that you do to help boys grow and become strong leaders and citizens of the world!

Much About Life Can Be Learned from Noah’s Ark

Top 10 Lessons

1. Don’t miss the boat.
2. Remember, we are all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark,
4. Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
5. Don’t listen to critics. Just get on with the job at hand.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. Use the buddy system.
8. Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you’re stressed out, float for a while.
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

Please share this inspiration with someone you care about.

The power of non-verbal body language is huge and most of us are unaware of what we “do” when we are face to face with other people.

Becoming more aware of and learning to control your body language will help you to be more successful in securing second interviews, team meetings, peer encounters, selling, networking and more.

Research studies* show that 55% of the meaning of your communication is derived not from what you are saying, but from what you are doing with your body and movements. (source: Professor Albert Mehrabian, UCLA, 1970 study known as The 7%-38%-55% Rule)

“The fact is that body language is more honest than words.” Allan Pease, author of The Definitive Book of Body Language.

A tilt of your head, crossing your arms, pointing your index finger at someone when you are speaking to them, rolling your eyes: these and other physical motions communicate volumes without even opening your mouth. So the question is, are you signaling what you want? Is your non-verbal body language congruent (or aligned with) your spoken message? Is there a conflict with what you say and what you do and if so, which message will be believed?

“When a person’s words and body language are in conflict, women ignore what is said.” Allan Pease, The Definitive Book of Body Language

Click through to watch a TV interview with Kathy McAfee and PBS TV host, Steve Adubato on the importance of vocal power and body language intelligence for professionals.

Does it really make that much difference?

I first become fascinated with non-verbal communication when I Read the rest of this entry »

How many of us …

• have written new year’s resolutions fully knowing that we will soon abandon them?
• have our resolutions in our heads, but have not yet put them to paper?
• have not shared our resolutions with someone who will help hold us accountable?
• have the same lofty resolutions year after year after year…but fail to accomplish them?

When in doubt, turn to the Webster Dictionary for insight:

• Resolve (vb): to deal with successfully. To reach a firm decision about.

• Resolution (n): the act or progress of reducing into a simpler form. The act of determining.

• Goal (n): the end towards which effort is directed. An aim or end of action.

The Thesaurus says: Determination. Will. Decision. Strength of Mind. Steadfastness. Firmness. Energy. Perseverance. Tenacity. Devotion. Courage. Desire. Aim. Ambition.

5 Tips for Creating New Year’s Goals that You Can Achieve:

1. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.  For example, instead of writing Stop Smoking, how about stating it as “Increase Health and Energy by Eliminating Smoking from My Life Forever, starting TODAY.”
2. Less is More. Don’t set yourself for failure by making a huge list of goals. Focus on the most important 5-7 things and put your energy and resources towards them.
3. Clear the Fear…Fast! It takes courage to get out of your comfort zone and to move into the Stretch Zone. Need help? Call the expert – Mark Shepard, The Rapid Change Specialist. Mark’s Clear the Fear Fast program is amazing. He helped me overcome my fear of cold calling and selling. (Tell him that The Marketing Motivator sent you).
4. Invest in Yourself. If losing weight has been a forever-goal, then consider hiring a health coach.  If you need to acquire new skills or knowledge, then attend workshops, start networking, carve out time for reading, become a learning sponge.
5. Get Support. Stay Motivated. Even the most motivated person needs help to stay on track. Engage the services of an executive coach, business coach or accountability partner so that you can continue moving forward.

Watch this video “The Motivation Song” by Mark Shepard and remember, wherever you desire to take your life, career, business and community in 2010, start visualizing it now. Set your goals. Get help. Get it DONE!

I just love Seth Godin and his irreverent way of telling us what we really need to hear at the very moment we need to hear it.

Here’s something from a recent Seth blog that I think might be worth sharing with your team (not to mention reflecting upon ourselves as motivated leaders). It is about employee engagement…starting, as always, with self.

Perhaps it is time to raise your hand and create the kind of job experience that will really satisfy you and make you proud.

- Kathy McAfee, America’s Marketing Motivator (and Seth Godin fan)

Different kinds of work by Seth Godin

If your boss asks you to move a box from point a to point b, it’s probably not okay to say, “I don’t feel like it right now.”

If you work on the chain gang and it’s time to dig a ditch, you don’t get a reprieve if you roll your eyes and say, “that’s not what they pay me for.”

And if you’re a dishwasher, you don’t get a chance to say, “I guess I’m just not the kind of person who’s good at putting his hands into really hot soapy water all day.”

And yet.

And yet when we ask you to look people in the eye, be creative, brainstorm, be generous, find a way to satisfy an angry customer, work with a bully, learn a new skill or bring joy to work, suddenly the excuses pile up. Is this a different sort of work? Is raising your hand in class too much to ask of you?

The jobs most of us would like to have are jobs like this. And yet we put up a fight when given the chance to do them well.

• To read more musings from Seth Godin, visit his blog site or better yet, sign up for Seth’s blog. He is prolific and wickedly sensible!

Today was the United Way 2009 Fall Campaign celebration luncheon, where they announced how much they had raised through the generous support of thousands of people working at companies across the region.

These types of awards and recognition banquets can be hard on the audience – tons of clapping for people you don’t know, sitting in uncomfortable chairs for long stretches at a time, eating high fat foods. You know what I’m talking about.

The United Way team WOW’d their audience with an unexpected skit that definitely proved to be “high engagement.”

Find out just how they engaged their audience with a creative presentation and a well-rehearsed spoof off the popular Deal-No Deal television game show.

Congratulations to the United Way, its staff, volunteers, community leaders and fans who believe in the value of making our community and world a better place for all. Yes – it’s true. Everybody has something to give.

You don’t want to give or receive the Wet Fish handshake – one of the 8 world’s worst handshakes. Ditto goes for the Vise or the Bone Crusher, or my personal pet peeve, the Finger Tip Grab. Yuck!

Whether you are going on an interview, meeting someone for the first time, or welcoming your colleagues to a meeting, your handshake will be among the first things that people judge you by. Your handshake will either build your credibility and reputation or it will create a moment of doubt and discomfort for other people.

What kind of first impression do you want to make?

Click through to read about the eight world’s worst handshakes and why you should avoid giving them. Kathy McAfee shares the elements of professional handshakes that help to build your credibility and signal confidence and trust.

Click through to watch the video and learn more about handshake do’s and don’t’s – how to make a good first and last impression with a professional, confident handshake.

Do you like money? Does it motivate you? Want to make more, keep more, and live more richly? If so, you need to spend some time listening to Michelle Singletary, the sassy, no nonsense personal finance expert. Michelle was the keynote speaker at this year’s Money Conference for Women, hosted by the YWCA of the Hartford Region, CT, as part of its effort to increase financial literacy for women.

Michelle Singletary shared 5 steps to financial freedom with over 350 women (and a few good men) this weekend in Hartford, CT.

This year was my fourth time attending the Money Conference for Women. It the kind of professional and personal development that should be required for all women. The price is right (it’s FREE) and the energy, information, and networking connections are off the charts!

I listened to Michelle from two vantage points:

1. From the perspective of a woman who wants to and needs to get smarter about money;
2. From the perspective of an executive presentation coach who works with professionals to present themselves and their ideas to others more powerfully. Click through to my assessment of what Michelle Singletary  did well as a speaker and whaty you can learn from her to become better presenter yourselves.

5 Steps to Your Financial Freedom from Michelle Singletary

S = Save automatically. Pay yourself first by setting aside Read the rest of this entry »