Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
How to ask for a raise during tough economic times -
Jul 21, 2011 - 3:23:23 PM
Most people feel some anxiety about asking
for a raise during the best of times, let alone during a recession.
However, if you feel you deserve more money, be direct and make an appointment
to speak to your boss about a salary increase. Good employees are the
key to keeping the company afloat during tough times.
Write down and rehearse what you want
to say. This will help you to be succinct. You don’t want to ramble.
Knowing what you want to say will increase your confidence.
Include all the areas in which you are
an asset to the company. Support your claims with examples of new business
you’ve brought in, projects you’ve worked on...
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
Talking Tips: Polish and Presence -
Jun 22, 2011 - 7:23:34 PM
Many people underestimate the value
of polish and presence when representing themselves and their company.
Polish conveys you are serious about your business and you don’t take
your customer’s business for granted. It is easy to become so relaxed
in our jobs that we forget to be polished. Beyond the outward presentation,
polish is demonstrated in the way you communicate with those who choose
to do business with you.
Polish is that professional dimension
we should show when we are at work, which should be different than the
persona we show when we are relaxing with our friends. It takes effort,
it requires us to “turn it on” and earn the right to the client’s
business.
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
When to apologize in business -
May 6, 2011 - 12:48:22 PM
It’s common in business to have to
deal with an unhappy or even angry customer in instances where the company
has somehow dropped the ball or there has been a misunderstanding. Often
company representatives feel hesitant to offer an apology for fear of
further exposing the company or being forced to take the blame for something
they had nothing to do with. When is it appropriate to apologize to
a customer who is obviously upset? What about those instances where
the customer is at fault, like when they have failed to read disclaimers
or policies?
Research has shown that fifty percent
of unhappy customers never receive an apology. Unfortunately this can
sour the customer’s experience even more than the actual incident.
Remember, the issue is never the issue...
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
Small Talk -
Apr 7, 2011 - 11:49:07 AM
If you absolutely hate being in situations
that require you to ease awkwardness with insincere chit chat, you are
not alone. Online polling company Amplicate recently found 78% of their
participants feel the same way. Some see
Small Talk as meaningless
conversation with people they could care less about and have little
in common. However, in social/business settings
Small Talk is
how we build relationships, make valuable connections and let people
know what we have to offer. Like it or not the better you are at making
good conversation the more doors open up to you. The good news, you
can acquire this skill...
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
Seven Communication Errors That Can Kill Your Business -
Mar 2, 2011 - 4:21:10 PM
The way your staff answers
your phone may actually hurt your business. Your advertising,
sales representatives, referrals, etc. all help to form an image of
your company in the mind of the client. That image can be destroyed
in five seconds just by the way your telephone is answered. There is
a right and a wrong way to answer the phone. However, most staff has
never been trained, many employers assume they know. There are a number
of components that constitute a polished sound. One is to pause whatever
you are doing and take a breath before answering. You should never sound
like you’ve been interrupted.
Lack of enthusiasm
conveyed by your staff, is always disenchanting for someone who is inquiring
about a product or service to purchase now or in the future...
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
Crafting an Impromptu Response -
Feb 14, 2011 - 9:49:42 AM
Okay, so you're in an important meeting
with your company's Regional Manager and five other District Managers.
Your boss catches you off guard by asking your opinion of some new idea.
You have a definite opinion, but you want to give a clear, concise answer
minus the rambling that you often hear when people are put on the spot.
How do you think clearly and answer the question while supporting your
position?
One way is to break the question into three components; past, present
and future. Start by making a statement about what things were like before,
i.e...
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
Techniques for Better Enunciation -
Feb 3, 2011 - 11:29:00 AM
There are so many different elements
to a more polished vocal image. But the one element that helps to instantly
improve your personal presentation is
Enunciation. Oh I know we
take it for granted, we all assume that people understand us, but sloppy
enunciation is actually considered to be one of the most irritating
of all bad speech habits.
Failing to enunciate each syllable
in each word and actually pronouncing the endings may make it difficult
for listeners to understand us. The few seconds it takes to decipher
what we are saying may cause them to miss a part of our message...
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
Curing Verbal Viruses -
Jan 27, 2011 - 2:50:31 PM
Investing the time to eradicate verbal
viruses can have big returns in terms of coming across as confident
and well-spoken. We all have our favorites but those senseless fillers
such as: “ah”, “duh”, “um”,” like”, “you know”,
“ya’ see”, etc. can be very distracting. If uncontrolled they
can cause a listener to totally miss your message.
It seems these fillers come in handy
when we are searching for the right word or phrase, so we fill the silence
with our favorite word or even non-word. Typically, we are unaware of
how often these viruses creep into our speech and the habit is so deeply
embedded it really requires cognizance and work to correct...
Columns :
Influential Voice - Kim Welcome
Effective Communication - Talking Tips 101 -
Jan 21, 2011 - 11:56:28 AM
The Bahamas Weekly is pleased to introduce Kim Welcome as our new columnist for the "
Influential Voice", a column based on effective communication skills.
Kim
Welcome lives in Nassau and is CEO of Influential
Voice, a Communication Trainer and Coach; she assists businesses and
individuals to achieve their goals through helping them to develop deliberate,
skillful, polished communication skills.
Enclosed is Kim's first article called, Talking Tips 101...