Communication Coach Blog
Professional Development and Networking Event: Key Communication Skills to Grow Your Business!
The key to successfully starting and growing a business is effective communications. Your great idea will not get interest from anyone if you can’t share your vision, persuasively pitch your company to investors, and clearly market your products and services.
NCCA Canada is proudly partnering with YEDI and City of Toronto to co-host a half-day professional development and networking event at Toronto City Hall where you will learn how to develop these vital business communication skills. Our President, speaker extraordinaire and body language expert Mark Bowden will deliver a keynote not to be missed, which will be followed by your chance to join mini-workshops hosted by our industry professionals on the topics of pitching, networking, and clarifying your business vision.
This is an exciting and unique opportunity to meet coaches, trainers, learning and development professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners, gathering together to connect, share and learn. This event is open for everyone, but space is limited. Please join us!
Toronto City Hall – Friday October 13th 2017, 10 – 2 pm
Cost: $20 (**free for NCCA Canada Members)
To Register with EventBrite: https://ncca2017.eventbrite.com
**Discount code will be emailed to NCCA Canada members. If you didn’t get yours, please contact NCCA Admin and we will email it to you. Hope to see you there!
Schedule:
In Main Chambers
10-10:45 – Welcome, Opening Remarks, Body Language Expert Mark Bowden’s keynote on how to use non-verbal communication to persuade, assist with selling and add credibility to the business individual
10:55-11:30 – Mini-Workshop 1 – The Art of the Quick Pitch
NCCA Executive Director and 3V Communication Coach Ric Phillips leads an interactive class on how to effectively pitch your business in a very short time, with or without a slide deck
In Member’s Lounge with Select Vendors
11:30-12:15 – Lunch and Networking
*Note – Member’s Lounge will be open to all for food and networking until 4 pm!
Mini-Workshops in Committee Room 3 (2nd Floor)
12:15-12:45 – Mini-Workshop 2 – Networking: It’s Telling Not Selling
Networking guru Colleen Clarke shares her top tips and formulas to make networking less painful and improve your elevator pitches – something every business person needs to help self-market better!
1-1:30 – Mini-Workshop 3 – Know Your Vision
YEDI President and successful serial entrepreneur Dr. Marat Ressin leads a dynamic seminar on understanding the importance of having a vision for the entrepreneur/coach/small business owner, and how to identify and communicate it to others. This skill is essential if you want to get buy-in, gain followers to your cause, or lead a team in business.
1:45-2:30 – Round Table – Coaching and Learning & Development Trends
Informal discussion on the coaching and learning and development industries, their trends and how they can help businesses and individuals grow. Hosted by Ric Phillips and L & D Consultant/NCCA Designated Trainer Lauren Waldman. Bring your questions!
Our half-day event is complete, but networking remains available in Committee Room 3 and the Member’s Lounge until 4 pm.
Register with EventBrite: https://ncca2017.eventbrite.com
Here’s another Maclean’s video interview where I am asked about the non-verbal communication of President Trump with others, including James Comey. It’s a quick analysis of Trump’s ‘aggressive’ off-balancing TrumpShake, his open arm and head nod gesture (including chin thrust) to James Comey, and Comey’s initial hesitations, uncomfortable hand-wringing gesture and his seemingly strong desire to not show rapport with Trump, and escape the scene ASAP. Enjoy!
Balanced Counter Shake
Everyone is talking about President Trump’s power handshakes, and today everyone is proud of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not allowing Trump to bully-handshake him at their White house meeting yesterday. I was contacted yesterday myself by Maclean’s Magazine for an interview on my thoughts on their non-verbal communication. That short video can be seen here, but be advised the interview was done before the video was made, so my comments do not necessarily match up with the images shown.
Are handshakes such a big deal? Well, yes, they are. They show non-verbal communication intentions on dominance, control, balance and openness. They are worthy of a bit of study, and I will give some tips on what to do or not do when shaking hands, particularly at a political or business function.
To start, ‘medium’ is the rule to remember. Walk at a medium pace, speak with medium voice/volume, gesture and shake hands with medium speed. This shows you are calm and in control of yourself.
After a calm approach, you should make sure you are engaged in eye contact and then smile as you extend your hand. Maintain good posture as you approach and extend the hand. Don’t bend at the waist (unless in Asia or with Asian delegates) and don’t over-extend your arm so you appear too eager and/or off-balance. Introduce yourself (e.g. Hello – I’m Ric. Nice to meet you!) and connect hands (not fingers) evenly, palm to palm. Be ‘firm but fair’ to the other people in your networking circles! Never crush a hand and never offer a seemingly ‘broken wrist’ or ‘just-fingers’ weak handshake. Both hands should be level – do not twist the hands to either extreme side, if possible. I am not a fan of twisting someone’s hand so that my palm is up and they have ‘the upper hand’ now, or vice versa. Let’s start off on equal footing, shall we?
Pump your hands 2-4 times, gently and evenly, and repeat the person’s name after they introduce themselves to help you retain that new information if necessary. There is usually no need for extra tactics, like using your free hand to clasp the hands while shaking (the double) or patting the shoulder of the person you are engaging (the pat-down). In the North American culture these extras are not necessary, but if someone does that to you, it’s almost natural to return the favour, to even the score. Go ahead and do unto others as they do unto you.
Dominant people may want you to enter a room first and will gesture to let you go first, and may even lightly touch/pat your back, as a ‘guide’ through the doorway. It looks polite (and it technically is) but it also is another example of them ‘steering’ you somewhere and being in control because they can see you the whole time, and you need to ‘trust’ them when they’re behind you. In evolutionary terms, you never wanted a potential predator or someone you didn’t know/trust to be behind you where you’re vulnerable to blind attack.
Regardless of what is in their mind or their style of greeting, you should always aim for a balanced and equal meet to start the relationship on the right foot. Just don’t be surprised if others have favourite tactics they wish to use on you. Whether it is at a formal business meeting or at a relaxed social outing, learning how to hand shake with balance and confidence, and learning how to match the other person’s style is all good practice! Go ahead – put your best hand forward! 🙂
The importance of interpersonal skills in today’s tech-world cannot be underrated or undervalued, and that’s why I focused my recent TED Talk on them. Please take a moment to view and learn about “The Long Life of First Impressions”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuG-BHquAHU
If you like it, please ‘like’ it and share to your social networks, or directly on YouTube. Let’s spread the idea! Much appreciated!
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| Is it a good thing to centre your hands while speaking? |
Hello fellow communicators!
Do you often wonder how you could improve the results of your meetings and presentations in the boardroom? Do you wish you could read the body language and non-verbal communications of business people across the table from you during negotiations? Well a global company called FIRMEX believes these are valuable skills to learn and partnered up with “yours truly” to create a couple of no-cost body language videos. Please watch and enjoy these vital and easy-to-apply tips to modify your non-verbal communication and gestures, as well as become more attuned to others in business. Body language isn’t everything, but it’s a very large part of effective business communication! Click the link below to see the video on Firmex’s blog:
http://www.firmex.com/thedealroom/body-language-in-the-boardroom/
I hope you enjoy the tips and more importantly put them to good use immediately!
The Body Language of a Warrior
I’m currently re-reading an old book I have, called The Martial Artist’s Book of Five Rings: The Definitive Interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi’s Classic Book of Strategy, by Stephen F. Kaufman. This was prompted by my recent viewing of The Samurai Trilogy, the 3 movies created a long time ago to tell the life story of Musashi (1584-1645), who was a real samurai or ronin in the olden days of Japan, and wrote his Book of Five Rings to express his feelings, attitudes and strategies of dueling and of being a warrior.Please enjoy this ‘clip’, and then ask yourself if you were going into a big meeting, interview, giving a talk or PowerPoint, what would your body language convey? Do you think about it beforehand or just ‘go with the flow?’ I think you know that my advice would be to actually ‘plan’ your vibe that you are sending, just like Musashi did, many years ago. Here it is, found on page 27:
“I always stress form and balance. If you are lax in your stances and positioning, then you will be unable to perform your technique effectively. Focus your concentration on only one thing – making the “hit.” Narrow your eyes slightly and ever so subtly flare your nostrils. Always fight with your spine erect and unbent. Keep your shoulders relaxed and lowered. Tighten your abdominal muscles and root yourself into the ground. Make yourself bigger in your mind than you are as a manner of intimidating the enemy. Slowly work your way toward the enemy until you are ready to strike. Then do so with utmost conviction, quickness, and power. Keep your weapons ready at all times. You should practice the proper stances and movements prior to using any fighting technique and in this manner establish your own sense of being through your particular art. How often have you witnessed so-called experts with no form or balance?”
Learn about Ric Phillips and 3V Communications coaching, including body language. Options for communication coaching/training include interpersonal/professional communication skills, public speaking, presentations, body language, business ESL, etc. We help you communicate clearly and confidently. Please enjoy this short video that highlights key aspects of our communication coaching and training. Thank you!
As most of you know, I am a big fan of studying body language. It is a huge part of interpreting other people, as well as presenting the right ‘vibe’ to others. I love teaching what I know to my clients, and seeing it in action everyday. In fact, my company is named ‘3V Communications‘ because we interpret and relay information using the 3 Vs of communication – Verbal, Vocal & Visual. But what are the ratios?
Perhaps surprisingly to you, according to an old and very specific study, they are 7% verbal, 38% vocal and 55% visual. That means 93% of all communication is non-verbal, if those numbers are true. But even if the numbers are just ballpark figures, what does that realistically mean? It means I can swear at you, but as long as I am smiling and my body language is relaxed and open, and my voice is not too loud, you will NOT get mad at me! You will know that I am just joking or messing around with you. That is just a small example of how important it is to understand and properly use body language.
Did you know that the singer Shakira was correct when she sang a song called “My Hips Don’t Lie?” I realize that she meant it more in terms of sexy dance moves, but in reality, where we point our feet and hips does say a lot of who and what we are interested in. If you and I are sitting in a meeting or a café, and my feet are continuously pointing towards the door, what does that say to you? It says I am ready or waiting to leave.
If I am talking to someone on a 45 degree angle, that means I am inviting others into the conversation. Therefore if I am square to the person, I want their full attention and would not appreciate being interrupted. You can see this kind of ‘footwork’ at networking events or social mixers.
I could go on and on, since I have put a large number of hours into this fascinating field of study, but for now I just want to let you know that you can study body language with me either in individual coaching sessions or in a team workshop environment, and you can choose to focus on a course just on body language or have it included into other communication training programs. Give me a call or email and I will send you some more information. 🙂