I believe all the text slang has made it more difficult for people to write properly. It also makes it more difficult to understand if you don't use slang often.

As we know coaching should be tailored to the individuals personality,goals,and attitudes of the individual. I had some challenges with one of my a student whom I was coaching on personal conduct during a job interview. I realized very early that for coaching to be truly effective, the person being coached requires an openness to change which my student wasn't. My student also lacked a high enough level of self awareness to be able to recognize and accept his current reality. I tried to work with this individual to make him realize that it is okay to let his guard down and also follow instructions and more importantly to trust that he is not being interrogated.

I dislike unproductive meetings. When a meeting is unproductive, it's a waste of employee time and company funds as well. I agree with trying to cover what all is on the agenda. That can usually be accomplished if the host is able to keep control of the meeting and not let too many sidebar conversations take over.

Ideas to improve presentation skills

When I went back to school one of the courses I had to take was speech. My instructor found it amusing that I taught for a living but was unable to participate in the class without freaking out each time I had to speak. I even used one of my lessons as a speech and still struggled. For me it is not the lack of knowledge that did me in but the feeling that I am being judge. When I reach my students are so eager to learn that I am not aware that I am talking in front of 30 people. I feel that I am just talking to friends that want to hear about ECG's.

One of the most difficult things I find in public speaking is projecting my voice clearly. More often than not, the audio equipment will fail or not be working properly so it becomes VERY important to know how to project, much like actors on a stage, speaking from your diaphram while not actually yelling, if that makes sense.

An additional aspect that could assist if providing and receiving feedback in a team setting is to better understand how our unique personalities come into play. Possibly by introducing a tool such as the Meyers Briggs type indicator (MBTI) or Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) would assist in approaching others on the team in an effective way. What may work for one personality type, may not work for another type. This would help move the team or individual in the appropriate direction.

I always take the moment out from time to time to mentor and coach my students, it seems to give them a sense of direction which is great.

What differentiates coaching from advising ?

This is a challenging topic. Feedback should be designed to improve an employee's performance by: 1. Reducing incidents or practices that impair performance and productivity. 2. Promoting (and praising) incidents or practices that demonstrate outstanding performance and productivity with an eye to increasing the use of these practices. For a model employee, the job is easy--point out the positive practices and request more of the same. For an employee who is having a difficult time adjusting to their role, the job is considerably more difficult...you want to discourage the practices and behavior that are detracting from that employee's performance without angering or discouraging them--that's why I always try to start with a complement, lead into the problem at hand, and then end with suggestions and impress upon them that I am confident that they can solve the issue--without inducing panic! This can be very tricky. I welcome all input! Thanks! Richard--

This is an important topic... Meetings are an vital part of a smoothly running organization, however, they can be abused as a tool for efficient operation. I have been in situations where no meetings were ever held, and the project lost focus and had to be tabled. I've also been in situations where SO many meetings were held that it was impossible to get any work done. One of the most important aspects in planning a meeting is knowing WHEN a meeting is appropriate. It's vital to strike a balance between micro-management and no management. I welcome all input! Richard--

Choosing the most effective communication method is important, but what is more important is that the message is UNDERSTOOD and COMPREHENDED. One of the most effective ways to do this is to assess the understanding of the group following the presentation--the best way to do this is to tell the group that there will be an assessment at the end of the presentation which will have some sort of incentive attached to it. You can use a short quiz, or an oral Q&A, or both..if your message isn't understood...it isn't effective. I welcome any feedback! Thanks!

I really found this course to be beneficial to me. I am now in a new position in which I will have to have meetings with students good and bad and there was so very pertinent information in here that will help me to be sucessful. Thanks

I have not had a chance to give feedback to my associate about his negative behavior, regarding his duties. By taking this course i feel better prepared to handle the situtation. It has been actually helpful for me to read everything along with printing the material. I feel better prepare for the the feedback i can give him.

I have observed a number of difficult interactions and been a member of teams where such interactions required intervention by the team leader. The plans I saw being implemented sometimes improved the overall function of the team, but not always. I believe this was related to "skipping" the results assessment element of conflict management. Has anyone else experienced this?

I always try to liken Feedback to Coaching. Feedback, because done poorly, sometimes feels punitive. Most people are familiar with Coaches, be it little league, swimming, etc. When feedback is couched in the vestments of coaching, I believe it is easier to take, actively discuss, and set positive measurable outcomes. It takes more work, but it gives both parties a clear understanding that we want improvement and 'WE' want to work together to get there.

I thought all points were valuable. I know I'm sometimes guilty of "waiting for my turn" to talk instead of listening to what's being said, or not letting people finish before adding my two cents. I will take these suggestions and practice better listening skills.

I have been fortunate enough to work for an individual who was an outstanding story-teller. He actually belonged to a story-telling group and would often use some of his colleagues for a group presentation that was centered around "stories". Bill could put together two or three stories that were specifically tailored to particular objectives and intent. It was quite a remarkable and entertaining experience to be an audience member. His stories would "involve" the audience because they were stories that everyone could identify with; and really "paint" a mental picture that involved the listeners almost as characters/observers in the story. His stories were often very humorous, centered around common every day experiences and would really "bring the important points" home. The details of the story would remain in your mind for a day or so; the story itself a bit longer, maybe a week or so; but the "talking-points" would often remain in one's mind in such a way that anything that evoked a memory of the story (or a part of the story) would "automatically" and almost immediately bring the essence and purpose of the story back to mind. Some people are very good at story-telling; and story tellers usually have a talent for painting a "picture" that the mind retains. This being said, if one is a good story teller, he/she may want to utilize story-telling or give a "story-telling" presentation a try.

I was also taught that a meeting should be scheduled for at least 15-30 minutes longer than you intend to run it. This allows you to have buffer time for discussion and creates the impression that the meeting ended early when you don't need to cross over into the 30 minute buffer having the participants leave happier thinking they have a head start on the rest of their day and therefore, according to the training, more likely to accomplish their assigned tasks.

I recently had to conduct a training presentation for people who were not exactly thrilled to be there. The technique of asking questions to evoke responses worked like a charm. Once they realized I was there to learn from them as much as they were from me they relaxed and ended up responding well to the situation.