The other day I was reading a sales-related article but the point really translates back to any aspect of business – especially if you are a manager. The article talked about your voice and, more specifically, the tone of your voice.

So here’s a sales-related example first. You give a huge sales presentation and in the end your prospect asks you to get to the point. What’s the price? You hesitate. Your voice gets a bit softer. Perhaps you state the answer more as a question than a statement of fact. You seem unsure of yourself. The tone of your voice convinces your prospect that you aren’t sure your product is actually worth what you’re getting ready to charge. Suddenly, your prospect begins to question you and the value of your product. Maybe you aren’t the right choice.

As a manager, you have to be careful about the tone you use when answering employee questions – especially when it comes to matters pertaining to policies and procedures. Say, for example, an employee questions a time-off procedure and tries to get some time without giving proper notice. Are you going to hesitantly approve it (making you sound like a pushover), sternly warn the employee about not using the proper notice and give him one chance, or simply deny the request. What tone of voice will you use for each? Will you set a negative precedent? Will you establish your own level of authority?

The tone of your voice, from the beginning of your day until the end, will play a huge role in your success as a manager. Be calm, be fierce, and – most important – use a tone that is appropriate to each individual situation. Keep your mouth closed until you’re sure of what you’re about to say. The way you say it will make a huge difference!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

It doesn’t matter if you work in customer service, as a salesperson, or as a manager for either team. Leaving an effective voicemail is essential to your success in the workplace. So what exactly is a successful voicemail?

One that can be understood.

The truth is that most people leave terrible communication skills and leave horrible voicemail messages. They speak too fast, they ramble as if they’re speaking to you instead of just getting to the point, they’re sometimes rude, and they sometimes even forget to leave their name and phone number. Those who receive their messages end up having to play them over and over again in order to understand what is being said – that’s if they can figure it out at all.

Get into the habit of taking your time when leaving voicemail messages. Don’t let your fears of leaving a message for someone make you nervous. Slow yourself down, speak clearly, and stick to the pertinent details. Make sure you state your name and phone number at both the beginning and end of the message. If you are in sales, you may even want to throw in a brief, complimentary comment about the company or its website before getting to your point.

In short, brief voicemail messages with clear information and an obvious purpose are a lot less aggravating than long, drawn out messages that seem to never end. The clearer your intention, the better your odds of receiving a return call!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

What’s one of the best ways to keep your team motivated? Help them avoid negativity in the workplace, of course.

Here’s what I mean. The other morning I was sorting through some emails that had piled up in my inbox. Amongst them were a bunch of newsletters from sales experts. I decided to glance at a few of the articles and by the time I was done I was feeling glum about the state of the economy and sales market. If I had kept reading I might’ve been convinced that my team and I would be out of the job by the end of the year.

What did I do about it? First, I recognized that it was the newsletter itself that was causing me to have so many negative thoughts – so I unsubscribed. Then I thought about the sales newsletters, customer service newsletters, and emails that get sent to my team members (from myself and from others within the organisation). I wondered – if I feel so bad about reading these things, how must my team members feel?

Pretty horrible, I imagine.

I urge you to take a few moments out of your day to reassess the types of communication you send to your team members or employees. Are they mostly positive or negative? It’s often difficult to completely avoid adding a piece of negative information (the loss of a friend, retirement, illness, etc.) but does every newsletter need to be made up of mostly negative articles? No way.

Keep this in mind as you write your next employee newsletter, update email, or communication. Remember that the more positive the information you present, the better the mindset of the receiver. The better they feel, the better they’ll work.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Development

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

To wrap up the week I’m going to talk a little bit about your mouth and how it pertains to body language. Your mouth gives away a myriad of incredibly signals but very few people realize, or have control over, the movements they make with their mouths.

The mouth can easily be hidden with papers or with a person’s hand but is something most can’t control unless they’re physically touching it. Smiling involves the entire face while fake facial expressions only involve the mouth. Here are a few things to look for when you assess a person’s face – specifically the mouth.

• Fake or pasted smiles appear on a person’s face very quickly, stay in place longer than a real smile would, and is limited to the person’s mouth alone. Their eyes don’t shine, their cheeks don’t move, and they don’t actually look happy. If you see a faked smile you should wonder why.
• People who smile with their lips closed, aka tight-lipped, are usually trying to hide something. They either have a secret or are rejecting you because they don’t like or trust you.
• When a person juts out his bottom lip he’s letting you know he is upset about something. Some people do this naturally when they are crying but a person doesn’t have to be crying to let you know something is wrong.
• If you notice someone biting his or her lip it may be because he feels as though he’s in a tense situation. Lip biting often indicates stress, tension, or anxiety or in rare cases may indicate a person is focused and concentrating on something.

These are, again, only a few examples of how the mouth is used in studying body language. You may see people poking their tongues out, chewing on pens or pencils, pursing their lips, biting their nails, or even covering with their hands. Each has something significant to say and it’s up to you to determine what each action really means in your own situational contexts.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

We’re going to continue our study of body language by taking a close look at the eyes. The eyes play a huge role in an individual’s ability to express himself. They send several different non-verbal cues and if you know how to read the eyes you’ll be better able to anticipate the needs of your employees and clients alike.

The eyes are really amazing. You can look at someone from across a crowded room and instantly know whether or not he is looking back at your, or making eye contact. There are very few other communication gestures you can make with that same type of power. From a distance you can’t see what a person’s eyes are doing, aside from looking at you, but if you get closer you’ll be able to learn a lot more about what they’re thinking.

Here are just a few examples of how people move their eyes and what those movements mean:

• If a person’s eyes tend to look towards the right the person may be either guessing, creating a story, or formulating an outright lie. Children, for example, may be making up a fictional story, which is a sign of creativity. On the other hand, a person looking both to the right and down maybe thinking about how he feels about a situation – a response that may or may not be genuine.
• People who look towards their left when speaking are often trying to remember facts. They’re attempting to access their personal memory banks in order to participate in conversation. Those who look down and to the left, on the other hand, may be having an internal conversation.
• Those who shrug their eyes are typically frustrated with a situation. This type of shrug of the face may be accompanied with an upward eye roll, indicating a person is “looking up” for help or assistance.
• What if you see a person blinking frequently? These people are generally either very excited or are feelings the pressure of the situation. The average person blinks between 6 and 20 times each minute while an excited person can blink up to 100 times in that same time period.

These are just few examples of the things your eyes can say to others as you speak – and what the eyes of others are saying to you. Pay attention to the way you react to others and watch their eyes as you speak to them. They may not be telling you something you need to know!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”