Stop Emailing and Get Personal

Wendy Terwelp Leave a comment

Jeff Pic 2Today’s post is from my colleague,  Jeff Kortes, Human Asset Management. Jeff’s a leadership trainer and executive recruiter. I chose his post for many reasons, the main one being that many people forget about voice-to-voice and face-to-face connections. It’s important to make that personal connection and Jeff’s post shares some of the reasons why. Enjoy! – Wendy Terwelp

Stop Emailing & Get Personal! – Jeff Kortes, Human Asset Management

I was talking with a buddy of mine and he told me he is getting more than 150 emails a day. That is mind boggling! Worse yet, because half of them were crap, he hits the delete button again and again and again. There’s something wrong with that picture. Email was designed to be a communications TOOL, not this monster it has become. So, how do we stop the insanity?

The one way to get the most bang for your buck is to go back to the rule that if it takes more than 5 minutes to write the email, pick up the phone and call instead or (God Forbid) get out of your office and go talk with that person face-to-face. Not only will you save time, you will enhance your visibility as you walk to where the person is located. You have just killed two birds with one stone: saved time and enhanced your visibility. But more importantly, you will be building better rapport when you do it face-to-face. Besides, it’s a heck of a lot more enjoyable!

The other key benefit as a leader, is that you have an opportunity to use your people skills. I make no bones about it when conducting my leadership training programs. I am seeing people skills starting to deteriorate as we rely too heavily on “electronic” communication. If you start to lose those skills, your value as a leader drops. If you are a young leader, this is even MORE important for you, because many of your peers have NO PEOPLE SKILLS. Many people in the younger generations of leaders are not practicing them as much as back in “the day.” Want to stand out compared to your peers as a leader? BE GOOD AT BOTH COMMUNICATING FACE-TO-FACE AS WELL AS ELECTRONICALLY!

Today, before sending off that lengthy email, get off your butt and walk down the hall to talk with the person. If you do, you will be more productive, build a better rapport with people, enhance your visibility and, perhaps most importantly, have a more ENJOYABLE time when you get face-to-face with people.

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Want to make more networking connections that work? Pick up a copy of Rock Your Network for Job Seekers and get hired faster! And the extra bonus Jeff points out? Gain stronger leadership skills. Share your story!

Networking: How to Remember Names

Wendy Terwelp 4 Comments

Editor’s Note: Updated 6/17/19

A friend told me he was at a block party and talked with a guy who was an engineer, like my friend. They bonded over robotics. Then, my friend moved on to the next house where he met another engineer, who happened to be in the market for a robotics expert.

My friend said, “Man, I see how networking can work – if only I could have remembered the guy’s name, he could have had a job! All I could remember is that he had on funny pants and I didn’t think that would be too professional to mention.”

Has that ever happened to you? All you are trying to remember is a name.

You recognize the face, but the name escapes you. And, she’s not wearing a name tag either. (Who wears name tags at summer parties?)

What’s in a name? It’s the one word that’s music to your listener’s ears. If you’re great with faces but have a tough time remembering names, here are three tips excerpted from my book, “Rock Your Network®:”

1. Associate the names.

Alliteration is especially helpful for large groups or if more than one person has the same first name. Barbara in blue, Mary the mortgage broker or Frank the financial planner can help you remember who is who.

At one networking event, we went around the group and introduced ourselves by saying one or two words that described us, followed by our name. I still remember, “Calling Card Candy” who sold telephone calling cards.

2. Learn something unique or special about this person.

During your brief conversation you may discover interesting facts. Put this on the back of the person’s business card. For example, Mary speaks seven languages. Ramona used to be a professional juggler! Jim plays rugby.

3. Follow up.

If you make promises to others during your networking event or meeting it is important to follow up promptly. If you promised to send them an article on their topic of interest, jot that down on their business card – then do it the next day.

These are just a few tips. Next time you’re at a block party and you meet a guy wearing funny pants who’s in robotics, you’ll remember his name. How? Why it’s Rob in Robotics with the Retro pants.

Want to learn even more about networking? Check out my half-day online workshop, Leverage Your Personal Brand and Propel Your Career, in partnership with the Association for Talent Development. Save the date: July 11, 2019.

Post excerpted from “Rock Your Network® for Job Seekers.”

Take 5 to Manage & Track Your Social Networks

Wendy Terwelp 1 Comment

Social Networking Wheel

With all the social networking sites, it can get overwhelming to manage them all as well as track what you’ve got online. With that in mind, here are five tools I use to track my social networking efforts and some for simultaneous posting. These tools will help you Rock Your Network® using just five minutes a day!

  1. bit.ly – This is a terrific tool to shorten your links AND track those used in your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo Pulse and other social networks. This way, you can quickly and succinctly communicate your thought leadership by linking to your blog post or cool article. PLUS it’s FREE. Get your account.
  2. Hootsuite.com and ping.fm – I use ping.fm regularly if I want to post to all my networks and link it to a blog post or cool article. Same can be said for hootsuite.
  3. Got an iPhone? If so, I use Tweetdeck to manage my posts, post from off-site locations (like Summerfest, conferences, or other places of interest), check what people are saying, and review/respond to my direct messages (DMs).
  4. Want to see where your Twitter account rates? Check out Klout.com and find out.
  5. Want to track it all – even your videos? Check out Addictomatic.com. This site does it all. Tracks everything you do online.

All of the above tools are FREE.

Want more social networking tips to help you network using just five minutes a day?

JOB SEEKERS: Contact me at consultant@knocks.com and put “SOCIAL NETWORKING REPORT” in the subject line.

Please include your name and snail mail along with your email – as I had a printer overrun for a recent presentation, “Social Networking: Get Personal; Get Hired!”

Did I mention my report is also FREE? First come, first served. I expect to run out quickly. 🙂

Get Personal: Take Your Social Network Offline

Wendy Terwelp Leave a comment

Courtesy of Springwise.com

Long gone are the days when “online” was synonymous with social isolation. In fact, we’re now witnessing the opposite: technology is driving people to connect and meet up with others in the “real world”. This mass mingling makes for an interesting trend, begging to be turned into new services for consumers. Here are five such services:

1. MEETUP EVERYWHERE — Meetup’s new service, Meetup Everywhere, is an open and free platform that helps people build communities based on a common interest. Organisers can map offline gatherings and share announcements and updates through Facebook and Twitter accounts. One recent initiative: ReadyMade magazine partnering with Etsy.com to encourage DIY crafters to host local “craft-ups”.

2. GATSBY — Gatsby is a mobile app that introduces people according to shared interests and locations, using Foursquare. Users tell Gatsby their Foursquare account details and describe their interests. Gatsby then searches for like-minded people locally and texts them with first names and what they have in common.

3. LOOPT MIX — Loopt Mix is a free iPhone app for finding and chatting to other users nearby. Users identify shared interests by means of tags and preferences on their personal profiles. There’s also a set of search filters for ad hoc link-ups. Favoured contacts can be flagged to provide users with quick access to their core social circle.

4. STREETSPARK — Another iPhone app using location to get people in touch, StreetSpark has a specifically romantic intent. Users describe themselves and the kind of person they hope to meet. The app then informs them when a possible match is nearby. No contact information is divulged automatically; people can chat and choose whether or not to identify themselves.

5. LOVESTRUCK — Also in the match-making business, UK-based Lovestruck is aimed at single professionals. The website and mobile apps use work locations as a base to link potential lovers. Customers can display their availability through status updates, and iPhone owners can also see if other users are in their current vicinity when they’re on the move.

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Time to take your social network offline and get personal – that is, meet those in your network in person. The above are several resources for you to connect with them. The goal is to build your networking relationships. It’s a two-way street.

Want more help building your network? Check out Rock Your Network® Online.