Listening...the forgotten art of communition

Biggest ironies of our times : We say but don't listen, we show but fail to see and we teach but not ready to learn.

Communication is a two way process between a sender and receiver and many people are also aware about this. But how many people really care? In this era of technology and social media, everyone is busy in saying something on anything. Everybody wants to express himself or herself by every possible mean and rarely care about the other person's viewpoint.

The 1st two decades of 21st century have witnessed a revolution in communication. The penetration of smartphones and internet have made things accessible at the touch of a finger. Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin have given a voice to every netizen, which wasn't there till the end of last century. But may be, that was good. Now, don't get touchy!! Due to this technological revolution, most of us have lost one basic skill for proper communication, that's listening. 

For proper and better communication, it's very important for someone to pay attention to the speaker. But, with smartphones in hand, this has become almost impossible. People are either busy chatting or taking photos. Irony is that, on one side we want be with someone or somewhere, and when we are with that someone or at that place, we are as usual busy on smartphones. We have developed a habit of seeing everything from phone's eye. We fail to pay attention and enjoy the moment by keeping the smartphone active. And, even if we are not on smartphone, we indulge in meaningless arguments by preparing answers for unasked questions. We are always ready to discuss something which has nothing to do with our lives, just to show our knowledge.

These thing have our world like never before, and more for bad. Politicians and religious leaders have been smart enough to take benefit of this. They run their campaigns, utter something to create hysteria and then take advantage of fear and anger of innocent people. Companies across globe are also facing a bigger communication issue despite of having highly qualified and skilled workforce. Psychologists have been saying this for a long that improper communication is one of the biggest reason of  broken relationships.

It's time now that we start developing the basic art of communication and that's listening otherwise the extreme chaos will worsen and things will get out of control for mankind sooner than later.
Remember, when we are speaking we are only repeating ourselves, but something new can be learned by paying attention and listening.

Have you done a SWOT analysis lately?

SWOT analysis is a management term used as acronym of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is basically a planning & execution instrument, very commonly and regularly used by companies and organisations for various purposes.

Most people use such methodology in business but not for self. An individual SWOT analysis is very important for anyone and everyone who is willing to change and take his or her life to the next level.
It's true that you can't achieve a goal which isn't set yet. Similarly, it is also true that most people fail to achieve their set goals repeatedly. How many times have you missed your 'weight loss' target? How many times have you postponed buying a new car or bike? Since how long have you been waiting to go on a dream holiday? The list may go on, which shows how often one fails in achieving set goals.

A 'self-swot' analysis can be a great help in your road to success. An analysis of self will help you the manner below.

S : A strength can be skills possessed, qualification, resources, connections, facilities etc.

W : It can be a skill or qualification or also can be money or scarcity of resources.

O : When there is a weakness, there is an opportunity to improve. Find and start working upon.

T : Threats can be things like competition from colleagues, other industry players, new technology.

Above explanation is intentionally kept very brief  so that it can spark your mind but also not cage it categorically. These factors can be internal or external, but mostly interconnected. You should brainstorm as much as possible to get a clear picture.

This exercise will help you most if the the goals are clearly set, because when the destination is defined, making a road map is easier. You will be very happy to find out all your strengths, many of which will also surprise you. That will also give you a positive feeling. For all your weaknesses, you will have the opportunity to improve and create a better self.  Finding and assessing the threats will make you more aware and alert about your current situation, which will motivate you to move faster and smarter.

So, don't wait for someone else to come and tell you about your strong points and weaker points. Do it yourself today with open mind and complete dedication. Victory awaits you. 

Rule your fear and do it now

How long since you have been thinking of doing something and still not done it? Things like quitting your job for your own business, going on an adventure trip, talking to your boss about what your really want, or doing something weird without fearing criticism, etc.

To fear is one of the basic character of human nature. No one is alive without some kind of fear. We all have our own fears, but most of us are very comfortable in living with them. It also happens that many are not even aware about their fears and of those who are aware, barely do to fight and overcome about it. We rarely do something to fight them or get rid of it.

In life, there comes a time when you feel alone in-spite of being surrounded by thousands. Every sight is blurred with eyes wide open. All the contacts in your smartphone and Facebook look of no real meaning. Whatever seems right, turns out to be wrong.

Though it sounds foolish and unrealistic, this is the time when you can find your true potential. If there is no one around you to help, also there isn't anyone who can possibly stop you from doing what you love and always wanted to do. This is the time to move out courageously and strongly than ever before. Remember, only you are the force and you only are the obstacle in you way to success.

Get control over your thoughts and emotions. Set a destination. Prepare a road map and start taking actions. Always keep in mind that your actions will lead you to your destiny. Only thoughts and desires aren't enough.

If you can fight and beat your fears, concentrate your energy into a proper direction, no one will be able to stop you, rather things will automatically get in shape to help you in achieving your dreams.

Sales...the art of persuasion!

For any company or organisation or even an individual, selling is one of the most important tasks to be and grow in business. Sales, nowadays is a very common word in daily life, but is it that simple to perform or too hard to learn? 

Sales, in very common words, mean the exchange of any commodity for money. But it's not that simple when one needs to perform it on daily basis. In life, everybody needs to sell, be it a product or service to a client or just a simple idea to a dear friend or family member.

If you see around, sales is one of the easiest profession to get a start for the career but very difficult to survive and when it comes to moving up to the top, it's one of the toughest one. And that's true because one doesn't need a very high professional degree to get the entry, but s/he needs the willingness to work hard and good command over the words. One doesn't need a very deep knowledge of language, but at the same time, poor choice of words isn't healthy. Humans are the creature of emotions and to deal with that, one requires the art of dealing with people. Machines run as per the given command, they never argue. But in the case of a human, one surely gets some or more obstacles, and that's where most of the sales people fail and try to run away from the profession.

A lot of people believe that those who are not good at anything else become sales persons. But I differ from this point of view. While it may be true in some cases, can't be true for all. I really believe that sales is more of an art and one needs a lot of presence of mind, intellect and long-term strategy with fast actions to be successful. 

But the main question arises here is what does it takes to be better at sales? Does it require only the hard work or something more than that? The obvious answer is, sales does not merely includes hard work but also requires an art of dealing with people. No good product or service can be sold only on the basis of the quality. Customers simply need more than that and that's the feeling of being important. No matter how hard you try to convince the customer just on the basis of quality, without giving the proper treatment to customer you can't enjoy success in any market. That's why a sales person needs to be more persuasive than being argumentative!

Every person who is involved in the process of sales, needs to develop a habit of dealing with people and that too with a sense of care. Today, there are thousands of books available out there in the market which are focusing on training the sales staff, but one book which is highly recommended for everyone is Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. Though the book, written almost eight decades ago, was never meant for sales people only, but is highly effective when one is in the business of dealing with people.

For a sales person there are few points which I can think of as essential and must be practised in the process of sales.

1. Confidence

Be it your 1st ever sales call ever or a thousandth one, you must be confident enough to start a healthy conversation. If you lack confidence, nothing else may help you because; nobody wants to deal with a loser. Think of yourself for a moment, do you like to buy anything from someone who lacks confidence? 

2. Probing

First and foremost, find out the customer's need and desire, not the demand. In other words, try to offer solution, not just product or service. To offer a better solution, probing is very essential. Without it, things rarely work.

3. Comfort

Give the customer enough space to feel comfortable, so that a certain level of rapport is build during the conversation. Pay attention to what he talks, let him explain his requirements or wants, then and then only, go for pitching. In this way, you will be providing a solution, which, he will buy happily.

4. Avoid Arguments

Today's customers are smart enough to play with a sales guy, because they know that you are under pressure of target. Also, there are lots of options available in the market and that too a call away only. So, even if he has made his mind to buy your product, he may test you in various ways. Also, he will try to provoke you by talking about competitor. At this point, simply avoid the temptation of speaking ill of the competitor. Your prospect might already be the customer of your competition. Avoiding arguments will give you an upper hand at last.

5. Urgency & Closing

Now, when you have shown the benefits of your offering, don't let him run away very easily. If he has given enough time for meeting and discussion, many chances are there that he wants to buy it either from you or someone else. So why don't you? If he is avoiding closer, he probably is testing your patience and confidence. Don't lose courage and deal with this strongly and tactfully. Creating urgency is what you need at this point. If you succeed, deal will be yours. 

After all the heat is over, and the client has agreed to sign the deal, remember 'No wrong commitments' is the most important thing for a long-lasting relationship. Many sales persons commit more than they can deliver to get the deal. This practice puts them and the company in trouble at some point of time. So, promise only those things which can be delivered. It will help in winning customer loyalty.

Hope, this sales basics will be helpful in your next closing.

Happy selling!

When you hate your '9 to 5' work life...

Do you feel that your professional life is not allowing you to live the life of your dreams? Do you also feel deprived of what you desire or deserve? If your answer is yes, then let me assure you that you are not alone. More than half of those around you feel the same about their lives.

In today’s world, the professional life has gone far beyond ‘9 to 5’ work culture. Your job follows you wherever you are, even during the vacation in Maldives. No matter how good you are at escaping and running away from things, jobs’ long hands will catch you! Sounds funny? In reality, it’s not. Many surveys have been conducted on stress at work and work pressure on employees, which have alarming outcomes. This scenario is creating serious health and personal life problems. Still, it is going nowhere in near future. Situation will worsen and life is about to get more complicated and painful.

So, what to do when you feel nothing more than a slave?

1.   Find out whether you are in a right job or not

This exercise will take some time. First of all you need to identify your personality, for which you will have to take some counselling or consultation of an expert in this field. You can also take free online tests available on net. When you are done with that, you will come to know what type of job is best suitable for you as per your personality. And when you have found both, the only thing required is to find a job that suits you most.

2.   Don’t find a job, find a boss

If you already are in a right job as per your personality type and still you do not like it, then something is not right with the culture of the company or may be, the one whom you are reporting. Many surveys indicate that people don’t leave job, they leave the boss. It is possible that you fall into the same category of employees who are not happy just because of their boss. It’s better to give a deep thought on this matter and if the conclusion reveals that your boss is the reason behind your major dissatisfaction with the job, try to change your team first. If that doesn’t happen after much effort, start looking for another job, but this time with a better boss.

3. Sometimes a little change in attitude can bring wonders

Changing a job or to find a new and better boss is not always that easy. As they say, a known devil is better than unknown angel! Check out, if there is even a far possibility of developing a good relationship with your boss. It’s not always right to blame it on boss only, after all he too is a human being and everyone is bound to commit mistakes. Considering this fact, you should think of and try to find out various ways by which relationship with your boss can be improved. Stretch your limits and do some extra efforts to create a healthy boss-subordinate bond. Things will improve over the period and if not permanent, this can provide you a temporary relief in your job. This extended period will give you a great opportunity in finding new job.

4.   Watch out your social media acts

Never think you may escape by uttering bad words on social media. Stay away from actively participating in negatives against your organisation or your boss on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twritter or Whatsapp even. Nobody likes negativity in public. Although, many employees understand the risk of being followed on social media, few really care. But understand that there is no need to upload forward messages anywhere. If you have problems, then go and discuss straight away. Indirect ways will harm you more directly.One of my friends had intentionally forwarded a sarcastic message on boss in a Whatsapp group. Now you can imagine what would have happened to him afterwards.

5.   Update and Upgrade yourself

When was the last time you observed yourself and thought of the skills you ought to improve? When did you take even a certificate course in last few years? Which self-improvement book you read recently?We all are very busy in criticizing the company or the boss we are working for. But when it comes to self-improvement, most of us fail miserably. We always want more and better, but rarely offer best of us. We update apps in our mobiles regularly and upgrade mobiles quite often.  If we don’t like outdated gadgets, how can we expect an organisation to do better and offer better on outdated employees. Time is changing fast, we all need to accelerate ourselves.Reading books and taking new courses will not only help you in professional but also in personal life. When you feel a change of betterment within yourself, things will automatically improve outside.Think of this for a moment and decide the next thing you will do for self-improvement.

What if nothing of above works...

There is a very little chance of nothing of above working in favour of you, but in worst possible scenario, if that happens, the only option you are left with is...BE YOUR OWN BOSS. Brainstorm what interests you and what you are good at. Analyse the business opportunity of that thing you can do. If you get an answer in yes from within, then don’t wait for anyone else’s approval. Just go for it. If you have that deep desire and required skills, success is awaiting you. You have to be hungry for success, courage to fight come what may and strength to hold on to your decision. If you can fulfil these requisites, nothing can stop you from becoming a successful business person.Hope this will help you professionally as well as personally.

Any different thought or idea is welcome.

How to improve English speakig skills

"Language should flow like a water stream and not like mathematical formulas."

Being a trainer and educator, I am being asked this question, 'How do I improve my English speaking?' quite often. People do know the importance of English and everyone out there wants to improve his English speaking. But what they don't know is what and how to do to improve their language. Also, many of those who know what to do, are not doing enough.

There are many ways to improve English (or any particular language). I have tried to make a simple and easy to understand list of things.

Do it willingly, not forcefully

First and foremost thing is, one shouldn't fear the language, rather love it. I have come across many who want to learn English because they have no choice but to learn it anyhow. But that's the biggest obstacle in their way of learning. You don't need to learn it because you have to, but you should develop a passion for it. Don't take it as imposed, take it as a choice and decide you will do it as if it's your own wish to be a great communicator in English.

Clearing the fundamentals

To begin with, one can start with the basics of grammar. Many people forget that grammar is the base of any language and if you don't have strong fundamentals, you will face problems for sure. You won't be able to form sentences easily and that will lead to problem in communicating properly.

Reading & Listening

Now, when you have cleared the grammar part, start building vocabulary as fast as possible. Reading is the first thing that will help but only reading is not enough. You should listen to the content to avoid wrong pronunciation. This exercise will add new words to your vocabulary and also show various usage of a particular word. Start reading and listening story books for children, as they are a rich source of vocabulary and better expressions. For beginners, this can be the best tool to learn fast and easily. Another tool is to find out what subjects interests you most. When you find them, start reading various articles and reports on it, where and when you can find it. You can also find a lot of mobile apps and videos on net very easily.

Writing

Don't keep thinking that you will start writing after you gain a deep knowledge of language. It won't help. You should start writing as much as possible. Try to write short letters, applications, stories or any thought you can think of. This exercise will help you in expressing in a better way and also while writing, you will learn many new words. Start writing small paras on different topics and post on facebook. If you love blogging, then go for it too. Write whatever you can think of, but start giving words to your thoughts.

Talking 

How do children learn? Think of this for a moment. They listen, understand and then try to speak. They make mistakes, sometimes many times. But they don't shy away from speaking what they want.
You must develop the same approach and start talking in English. Initially, it will be difficult, without a flow, but slowly and surely, it will change. You will not fear of speaking and a natural flow will get developed. Moreover, your confidence will increase and when it is high, you will be able to speak better. It works like a cycle.

Hope, this will help you in Improving your English, faster and better.

If you have any different idea or thought on the subject, it's most welcome. I would love to hear from you.

Factors affecting one's personality

Q1 - What is a personality?

A1 - Personality is the result of various factors touching an individual's life. In simple words, personality is a mixture and combination of one's feelings, thoughts and actions.

Everyone has his/her own distinct personality which set him/her apart from other individuals.

Almost alike...but somehow different

Q2 - Which are the various factors that affect one's personality?

A2 - There are a lot many factors affecting one's personality. One can't pin point specific few. But the major factors which matter are the atmosphere and surrounding of one's upbringing, till he/she starts developing relations on his own. After a certain period, it totally depends upon the individual as what he reads and watches, whom he listens and follows, what he speaks is mostly of his choice.

So, choose people around you wisely and be very selective. Read and watch the stuff which helps in improving you as an individual. Travel to live, learn & evolve and not just to escape from somewhere. Last and most important is identify, analyse and talk to yourself.

Q3 - How to develop a better personality?

A3 - The answer is not as simple as as the question. Right from attitude to your day to day habits, everything should be looked into and changed/improved for a better persona.

First and foremost thing is, start believing in yourself. Self confidence is essential. Then study and analyse yourself. Find out what interests you and what not. What you are doing right and what needs to be changed. Then decide the next step and develop your schedule and habits as per the requirement.

Hire a right coach or trainer. Start studying and practising on daily basis. Practise hard without fail, don't lose the track till the time people in your circle identify a lot of improvement in you.

You will succeed.