The article’s author, Tsedal Neeley, states that in order to remain competitive proficiency in English is not a matter of choice. This is true for multi-national organizations as well as for enterprises that compete in global marketplace.

The article goes on to indicate that proper training is necessary for companies that are considering the implementation of an “Englishnization” strategy.

Click on the following link to read the complete article that was published in the May ’12 edition of the Harvard Business Review:

http://www.boston.com/Boston/businessupdates/2012/05/harvard-business-review-mandating-english-must-for-global-companies/0SzYzzKKxKSzItCiQSmnNJ/story.html;jsessionid=A4BFC2D75B398654F03703D1181B9CDF

Who says punctuation is not powerful? This humorous example from www.facebook.com/grammarly will illustrate the point.

An English professor wrote the following sentence on a chalkboard and asked the students to punctuate it correctly:

“A woman without her man is nothing.”

All the males in the class wrote:

“A woman, without her man, is nothing.”

All of the females in the class wrote:

“A woman: without her, man is nothing.”

P. S.-The guys’ version did not require commas after the words woman and man.

In a letter written in 1956 to a young American fan, the children’s literature author, C. S. Lewis, provided several very useful writing guidelines. What is amazing is how over the generations these ideas remain valid and can be added to any business writer’s list of best practices.

Click on the link http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/04/c-s-lewis-on-writing.html to review the gems contained in this brief letter to an aspiring writer.

Here’s what you can expect from CMI -

“Joe was awesome. He showed a way to overcome fears, be confident and deliver effective presentations. I wish I attended this class five years ago.”

“Loved it. Lively!”

“(Joe) Taught! Led by example by practicing what he preached.”

“I will be better able to deliver important material and more likely to get buy-in.”

“This will allow me to be more confident in presenting my ideas and findings to mixed audiences.”

“Made me aware of strengths and weaknesses. Recording the exercises really brought this to life.”

“I do not think the class would have felt the way we did about each other if it wasn’t for such a wonder facilitator like you!! You engaged us to comment (well not engaged but forced us to step out of our comfort zone and feel comfortable to comment on what we were feeling.) Thank you once again for our two day AMAZING training!!”

“Enthusiastic, realistic and truly held our interest–and had our best interest in customizing the course content”

“In the years that I have been at (my organization) this has definitely been the best class ever. You completely engaged us and hooked us to your charismatic personality. I have let my coworkers know that this is a class for everyone since we are all ‘Sales Professionals’.
I hope to meet again in another class.”

“I was able to see what changes I needed to make to give better presentations, especially with the videos.”

“Loved looking at the video of myself and hearing what the other associates had to say”

“Tremendous, since my team delivers presentations often”

Over the years, I have emphasized the most important skill in presenting information and selling ideas is the ability to listen. Effective presenters have to be good listeners because they help audiences with the job of gathering and responding to information.

Keeping engaged in the conversation and engaging others are critical skills for presenters…and everyone else who is a part of this world.

Click on the link below to read Mr. Garner’s short, but informative piece in the February 2012 issue of Reader’s Digest.

 http://www.rd.com/slideshows/all-i-really-need-to-know-i-learned/#slideshow=slide3

By the time they’ve reached the Super Bowl, players have undergone extensive training covering every aspect of their responsibilities from different members of the coaching staff. Responses to various situations become second nature and the team which executes the best wins.

The correlation to the workplace is that coaching to enhance performance may not be as consistent and immediate as in the sports world. Formal performance assessment may only take place sporadically or once or twice a year.

Too often, the performance appraisal becomes just another task on the manager’s to-do list and can be pushed off side easily when “real” work issues arise. But, when it is considered an integral part of team management and productivity, trust builds between the manager and the direct report, strengthening both individual performance and team success.

We’ve created a short video which pokes some fun at a performance meeting with an ill-prepared manager. The second part shows what can result when performance appraisal is done properly, is prepared for and is considered a priority for the manager.

The Performance Appraisal Zone

The performance appraisal is one of the most important, ongoing relationship building meetings for employees. It’s the opportunity to reinforce productive behaviors and to evaluate areas where performance can be improved.

People want to know “how am I doing?” and “how can I improve?” the way in which these answers are presented is equally important as the answers themselves.

CMI can help your professional team get ready for these critically important interactions in terms of providing either instructor-led workshops or online training for:

• preparing organized and accurate written documents
• working through challenging situations
• practicing for the actual meetings
• improving the productivity of the performance process

I am passing along a summary of an excerpt of a thought-provoking book that might have a bearing on some the decisions that your businesses make.

The Coming Jobs War by Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO of Gallup Research, reveals one of the most important discoveries that Gallup has ever made. This research firm gained a clear understanding of what 7 billion people want.

What the world wants now is a GOOD JOB.

“A good job is a job with a paycheck from an employer and steady work that averages 30+ hours per week.” Global labor economists refer to these as formal jobs.

Here’s the challenge:

Global unemployment for those seeking a formal good job with a paycheck and 30+ hours of steady work is approaching 50% with another 10% wanting part-time work. This means that the societal stress and instability lies within 1.8 billion-nearly 25% of the world’s population.

This big discovery suggests that the new world war for good jobs will trump everything else.

The lack of jobs will become the root cause of almost all world problems (hunger, extremism, out-of-control migration patterns, reckless environment trends, widening trade imbalances, and on and on) that America and other countries will attempt to deal with through humanitarian aid, military force and politics.

This excerpt went on to say that leaders of countries, cities and other municipalities must make good job creation their number one priority. Good jobs are becoming the new currency for all world leaders.

While the excerpt seemed to focus on governmental leaders, it would seem reasonable that jobs creation could become an important criterion in evaluating the vitality of commercial entities. Therefore, The Coming Jobs War can provide an excellent perspective for business leaders as well.

Although this activity is something that we have been doing all of our lives, it’s amazing how communication between people can get off track.

During a recent airing of ABC’s prime time program, Shark Tank, an aspiring entrepreneur, a self-proclaimed sales training expert, made a huge blunder. He was asking for $90,000 for a 40.0% stake in his company in order to produce a mobile app for his sales training program. After three of the sharks passed on the deal, one of the two remaining sharks agreed to his offer…. $90,000 for a 40% stake.

At this point, you would have thought that other than reviewing some fine points of the arrangement, done deal, shake hands, pack up and go home. The shark met his initial terms. All signals go. Right?

Well believe it or not, this man lost the deal. He wanted to hear what the last shark had to say. In chasing after what he thought might be another, possibly sweeter offer, he turned his attention away from the deal that he originally wanted. By the way, the last shark passed on the deal.

Needless-to-say, he fell on his own sword, lost the deal and received some good, old fashioned advice from his once prospective buyer.

In sales parlance, this was a classic example of selling past the close– a pretty tough lesson to have to re-learn on national television.

The supposed sales expert lost the deal because he decided not to listen at the most crucial time.

Effective listening goes well beyond hearing what someone says. It is about responding appropriately, being totally focused on the message that is being conveyed and making every effort to be in tune with the speaker.

My guess is our sales expert wanted to make certain that he was leaving nothing on the table. However, a different strategy that might have preserved the deal would have been to ask a question and get the interested shark to talk more.

When asked “would you be willing to sell if…”, the entrepreneur could have answered emphatically, “yes I would; but may I ask you one question before we shake on it.” This approach might have bought him some time without turning his attention away from the prospective buyer.

The question would have allowed time for clarifying a key consideration, possibly eliminated the necessity for further discussion with any other shark or even re-ignited discussion with sharks that initially declined the offer.

Our listening skills impact every interaction with others. It is the foundation of all communication. Bad outcomes can occur when we take our eye of the fundamentals.