I’ve sifted through dozens and dozens of blogs, attended some productive, some not-so-productive meetings and listened to speakers all week. Here are some tips to spitshine your blog, your productivity and your speaking.
Blogging
- Never start a blog post with anything that is similar to “it’s been awhile since I’ve written,” “I’ve been sooo busy and haven’t been able to write lately” and “I’m going to try and write more.” Nothing makes me cringe as much as seeing 165,000,000 results show up on Google
- You won’t find that fine line between personal and professional until you write a lot under each.
- I met with blogger Danielle Bruflodt who advocates planning out blog posts. I, on the other hand, never do. I argue that not planning forces you to observe more and keep a more open mind throughout each day to find something to write on. Both ways work.
- What Danielle and I both agreed on: write daily.
Productivity (meetings)
- Don’t let any meeting go past an hour.
- Know who the leaders are and those that flat-out standout. Thank them for it.
- Some meetings don’t need to be ran. Some meetings run themselves. Recognize this. Leading meetings that don’t need to be lead damages productivity and how people will view you as a leader.
- If you’re not running the meeting, know more about the people who are than anyone else attending. It’s not creepy to know I completed National Novel Writing Month or stayed in Madison for Thanksgiving.
Speaking
- Much like the que on how you start a blog post, never start speaking by giving an apology, no matter what you’re sorry for.
- Not everyone loves cherries on their sundae’s, but everyone loves getting gifts when they get information. Give. Give. Give.
- Handouts are your friends, but not at the start of your presentation. Let everyone know they are getting a handout outlining the presentation. What matters is that they focus on you, not on following an outline and not on taking notes the entire time.
- No one goes to just listen to a speaker anymore. They go to speak to. Involve your audience, they expect it. There’s a reason it’s called a “speaking engagement.” Engage them in conversation.
Stay Positive & Do, Learn, Share
Garth E. Beyer
