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Seeing several clients each day can sometimes spin your head and make you lose focus. This week, I’d like to talk about a checklist I keep with me each time I talk to coaching clients. This list helps me to keep focused and allows me to understand what I need to do to help my clients. I think this list could be useful for you, too. Print it off—and use it daily. It will really help you get down to the nitty-gritty of what is important.
Build a Relationship of Mutual Trust
The foundation of any coaching relationship is rooted in your day-to-day relationship with your client. Without some degree of trust, conducting an effective coaching meeting is impossible. Try to make sure the relationship is one of working together, rather than working apart.
Open the Meeting and Take Control
In opening a coaching meeting, it’s important for you to clarify, in a nonevaluative, non-accusatory way, the specific reason the meeting was arranged. The key to this step is to restate — in a friendly, non-judgmental manner — the meeting purpose that was first set when the appointment was scheduled.
Find Common Ground and Agreement
Probably the most critical step in the coaching meeting process is getting your client to agree verbally that a performance issue exists. Overlooking or avoiding the performance issue because you assume the person understands its significance is a typical mistake of coaches. To persuade a client that a performance issue exists, a coach must be able to define the nature of the issue and get the client to recognize the consequences of not changing his or her behavior. To do this, you must specify the behavior and clarify the consequences.
Explore All the Alternatives
Try to explore ways the issue can be improved or corrected by encouraging the client to identify alternative solutions. Avoid jumping in with your own alternatives, unless the client is unable to think of any. Push for specific alternatives and not generalizations. Your goal in this step is not to choose an alternative, which is the next step, but to maximize the number of choices for the client to consider and to discuss their advantages and disadvantages.
Look for Commitment and Action
The next step is to help the client choose an alternative. Don’t make the choice for the client. To accomplish this step, the coach must be sure to get a verbal commitment from the client regarding what action will be taken and when it will be taken. Be sure to support the client’s choice and always offer praise.
Make Sure You Handle Those Ever-Present Excuses
Client excuses may occur at any point during the coaching meeting. To handle excuses, rephrase the point by taking a comment or statement that was perceived by the client to be blaming or accusatory and recast it as an encouragement for the client to examine his or her behavior. Respond empathically to show support for the clients’ situation and communicate an understanding of both the content and feeling of the client’s comment.
Provide Crucial Feedback
Effective coaches understand the value and importance of giving continual performance feedback to their people, both positive and corrective.
YOUR VISION TORCH Series Achieve Your Dreams, Ignite Your Vision, & Re-engineer Your Life Purpose
Sometimes, even the best public speakers or performers find themselves in the worst possible position. They find themselves failing in front of an expectant audience. This blog post is all about the disasters that can befall a public speaker. Let’s hope these things never happen to you.
Losing Your Mind
At some point in time, you’re going to have a senior moment. It happens to everyone. As our lives move faster and faster, it’s normal that our brains will occasionally get left behind. What do you do? The answer is: Wait. It will seem like forever to you, but it will be only a few seconds in real time. So wait it out. The words will come to you. Your brain will catch up with your mouth. Just give it time. Sometimes you just need to be calm, kick back, and smile.
Unhappily Being Heckled
This happens more often than you might think. Some people really enjoy making themselves heard. The natural instinct is to avoid a heckler because the whole experience is unpleasant. But fight the instinct on this one and do the counter-intuitive thing—stand up to the heckler.
Bad, Bad Technology
If you use technology, it will crash. Seriously. At some point, it will crash. The answer is to have a version of your presentation ready to go – always – that doesn’t depend on technology. Be prepared to tell good stories without those colorful slides. Have a Plan B!
Greedy Speakers
Just as you have a non-tech version of your talk ready to go, you should also have a short version ready to go for the inevitable time when the speaker before you simply won’t stop talking. That allows you to look like a hero for getting the agenda back on track. In extraordinary circumstances, you can take your time out of the next part of the agenda, but get the conference organizer both to agree to it and announce it. Otherwise, it’s your fault, and everyone will hate you for keeping them from their lunch. Don’t continue the greedy behavior of the speaker in front of you—change direction and win.
Audience Expectations
Sometimes, you will find yourself in front of an audience smaller than you expected. Be warm and thank them all for coming—then dive in with all your might. If you get a bigger crowd than you expected, try to get people seated as comfortably as possible and then keep eye contact with as many people as you can. If you are faced with a lot of noise—don’t worry—wait until they quiet down and start with a smile.
YOUR VISION TORCH Series Achieve Your Dreams, Ignite Your Vision, & Re-engineer Your Life Purpose
To be a true entrepreneur, you have to keep yourself ahead of the trends, and that’s part of what our Warrior Wednesday is about. We want to inspire you to achieve the very best you can, and we want to give you many of the tools that you will need to get there. This week, I’d like for us to continue looking at #hashtags. In recent years, the #hashtag has become important to marketers at every stage. Some of the biggest companies in the world have used #hashtags to the greatest effect on #Twitter.
Let’s see how they did it…
#TweetFromTheSeat—Charmin
Just to prove that even a mundane company like Charmin can compete—we are going to start this list with one of their most successful campaigns. This is a prime example of a company really getting to grips with their product—and it was surprising to see such innovation from a toilet paper manufacturer like Charmin. The tissue company broke out of its ‘boring’ niche with the campaign #TweetFromTheSeat, which had people use that hashtag when they were, well… most likely to use it.
#PutACanOnIt—Red Bull
Recently popular drink company Red Bull came away with the prestigious “Best Use of a Hashtag” Shorty Award with its #PutACanOnIt campaign. Though the hashtag was created by Red Bull, it was inspired by a photo the company found on Twitter wherein the photographer is seen holding a Red Bull can above a Mini Cooper to make it look as though it was a trademarked Red Bull car.
#OreoHorrorStories—Oreo
Oreo, a company notorious for a fantastic social media presence, really outdid itself when it created one of the most fun Halloween hashtags of all time. The cookie company created quick, Oreo-themed parodies of popular horror films. This campaign helped the company maintain their position with today’s buyers.
#ShareaCoke—Coca Cola
Coca Cola has had some seriously amazing marketing initiatives over the years. From the classic “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”—all the way through to the Twitter age. One of the best examples of their advertising genius in the modern world is the unique way they rigged their vending machines to interact with customers.
YOUR VISION TORCH Series Achieve Your Dreams, Ignite Your Vision, & Re-engineer Your Life Purpose
To be a true entrepreneur, you have to keep yourself ahead of the trends, and that’s part of what our Warrior Wednesday is about. We want to inspire you to achieve the very best you can, and we want to give you many of the tools that you will need to get there. This week, I’d like to look at one of the most puzzling aspects of modern business. Hashtags. If you are thinking about setting up your own business, building your own brand and succeeding where others have failed, you will need to master this very important cataloguing tool.
Let’s take a closer look at why hashtags are important and what they do…
Business and Marketing
Many major brands now have Twitter accounts, and some choose to create hashtags to promote specific events or campaigns. If you want to use Twitter as part of your business strategy, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Consolidate your tweets: Choose a specific account that will represent your brand or business. Set up a business account, or designate one employee to tweet on behalf of the company. That way, users can find all of your tweets in one place.
Use relevant hashtags: See which hashtags other businesses in your field are using. If you’re promoting cheap airfare, you will want to use hashtags like #CheapTravel and #FlightDeals so users will find you when they search for those keywords.
Follow trends: See what hashtags are trending and make use of them — if they are relevant to your business. Using a popular hashtag that has nothing to do with your brand (for example, including #MileyCyrus in a tweet about cheap airfare) makes you look like a spammer and will hurt your credibility.
Create your own hashtag: If you want to create a special hashtag for an event or campaign, select one that hasn’t been used before and remind everyone to use it in related tweets. Be sure to include the hashtag in any promotional materials. Make it informative but short — for example, Mashable uses #MashReads to talk about writers who visit their HQ.
Generate buzz: Creating a contest, raffle or promotion is a great way to get Twitter talking about your brand. Users will be more likely to retweet your hashtags if they know they might win a prize by doing so. For instance, if you’re promoting a new confectionery shop called Candy Land, get Twitter buzzing by offering free treats to users who tweet #CandyLandPromo.
Remember, your hashtag’s visibility will depend on your privacy settings. If your Twitter account is private, only those authorized to see your tweets will have access to your hashtags. If you are using hashtags to increase your brand’s exposure, make sure your tweets are set to Public.
Twitter has a helpful list of best practices for using hashtags, but here are three key tips for all users:
Be specific: If you’re using a hashtag to join a conversation, make sure the hashtag is specific and relevant to your topic. If you’re talking about Obama’s healthcare plan, use #Obamacare instead of simply #Obama. A vague or generic hashtag like #health or #opinion isn’t effective, either.
Keep it simple: Hashtags, like links, look like spam if they are used too often. Three hashtags should be the maximum on Twitter and Facebook, but you can get away with more hashtags on Instagram and Vine. And don’t hashtag the same word twice (“#Gravity is a great movie! Everybody go see #Gravity”). It’s #redundant.
Give context: A tweet that contains only hashtags is not only confusing — it’s boring. If your tweet simply reads “#happy,” your followers will have no idea what you’re talking about. Similarly, if you tweet “#BreakingBad is #awesome,” you’re not really adding much to the conversation.
YOUR VISION TORCH Series Achieve Your Dreams, Ignite Your Vision, & Re-engineer Your Life Purpose
“Let it all go and just look to achieve… look be at peace with yourself, make your warrior Wednesday the best day of your week!”
Living in the modern world isn’t easy. Your whole life may feel like it is exploding around you on a daily basis. The constant demands on your time, energy and finances can be more than you can bear. Obstacles, roadblocks, arguments, problems and people are all things that lead to stress. This week, I want to talk about ways to relieve yourself of these everyday stresses that will stop you from achieving your dreams. Kick back, forget about the world and its problems, and indulge in the things you love.
Become Addicted to Reading
Picking up a book allows you to get away — without even leaving your room. Take this time to learn about any topic you wish, including whatever it is that’s causing your current stress. You can gain insight, advice and peace of mind by reading. If you need some good suggestions, check out this list.
Write Off Your Stress
Writing is something that many of us don’t do on a daily basis anymore. Yet many people believe that it’s one of the most powerful exercises to success. Experts believe that writing can help you better understand any dilemma or situation. Why don’t you pick up a diary and start jotting down your problems? You may find that the answers come to you easier with the problem on paper.
Exercise Yourself to Health
You’ve probably been told this a thousand times. Exercise is a good way to relieve stress. You can literally lose yourself in something so consuming. Time can fly when you are at the gym. From working moms to billionaires, the gym has been a proven stress reliever for everyone.
Relaxation and Meditation
One of the most amazing ways to destress is to meditate. You can remove yourself from everything going on around you and truly relax. Meditation has been proven to help remove stress, focus your mind and to help you see clearly. Give it a try!
Dump Technology
Every single person on this planet seems to be obsessed with their email, Facebook, Twitter, and the internet. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to really relieve yourself from stress until you remove technology from the equation. Try to switch off all the devices and spend some time in the real world, away from problems, clients and all the other things that stress you out. You’ll find yourself unwinding soon after unplugging!
YOUR VISION TORCH Series Achieve Your Dreams, Ignite Your Vision, & Re-engineer Your Life Purpose
“Do more, see more, feel more, achieve more… make Wednesday YOUR day for achievement!”
Have you ever wondered about the people who seem to zoom through their day and achieve everything they started out wanting to achieve? Have you ever wondered how they do it? I’m sure each of us knows someone who can get much more done in a day than we believe possible. The super filer, the busy typist, the amazing salesman. What gives those people such drive?
It really comes down to the need to meet goals. Some people have an inbuilt need to achieve everything straight away. But there are ways for you to also help yourself make more from your days. This week, we will be talking about increasing productivity during our days, so our evenings can be less stressful.
Make Notes
The most successful people in the world always carry a notepad in their pockets to make notes. Many of us use our computers or phones and make notes on the diaries we have there. But this doesn’t seem to cut it for many people—it’s better to write it down and refer to something that is real—a piece of paper.
Time Management
Those who are super achievers know that time is a finite thing. On a daily basis, we only have so much time to do things. That’s why it’s important for us to make the most from our time. Try timing your activities, multi-tasking or combining tasks. This will help you cut down on the time you are spending on an activity and will cut the number of things you have to do.
Relax…
Even during the most stressful day, successful people find the time to wind down. Even in the office, you can spare a few moments every day to take your mind off work, meditate for a few minutes or read the news. Relaxation is part of what makes us successful. We have to know when to turn on the standby button.
Colleagues Can Be Fun
Try to be as social as possible. The more social you are at work, the more you feel like part of the team. Try interacting with as many people as you possibly can—and make friends. Working with friends is much better than working with people you hardly know.
Wake Up, Gotta Get Out of Bed
What can really set back our days is being late for work. Once you are late for work, you can expect your day to become sluggish. Try heading to bed earlier, waking up earlier, watching the news, having a relaxing breakfast and then heading to work. There’s no reason to rush anything in your life—take it at its own pace!
YOUR VISION TORCH Series Achieve Your Dreams, Ignite Your Vision, & Re-engineer Your Life Purpose
“Knowing that you are thriving, achieving, loving and lasting is what keeps me going!
Have you ever wondered why some people prosper, and some just never seem to make their goals reality? I think everyone has, but the truth is that it really doesn’t matter. Some of us have an easy road to success—and others have to work at it. But all success should be celebrated and congratulated because the success of one human being means that our success is just as achievable.
Think for a second about the people you meet in your everyday life. Don’t you sometimes meet negative folk who just seem to tear others down? What do you think makes them so unhappy? Is their own lack of self-achievement really that painful? Then sometimes you meet people who are vibrant, happy, optimistic and open to achievement. How different can two groups of people be? Very different. But the question is: Who are you?
Are you the negative hater of achievement, or are you the happy-go-lucky, lover of life? One of these paths will lead you to your goals. The other will destroy your dreams and make you a slave to misery. Maybe today is the day to choose which way you are going to go.
Love…
A super-successful person loves people. He/she can spend hours around people and can overlook the problems that people put in their way. Love is such a jaded word today—but a truly successful person loves everyone.
Desire
What do you truly want from life? That’s the biggest question you can ask yourself. What do you desire? How can you make that desire a reality? How can the way you treat others better your life? How can helping others reach their desired goal in life help yourself? These are questions to ponder on your way through life. Will helping others help you? A large percentage of successful people would say that it will.
Forget Everything You Know
Sometimes the pre-programming we all have makes us angry, disappointed, jaded. Sometimes we just need to forget all that we know and relearn how to live, love and work. Sometimes all it takes is a casual reminder to yourself to forget the old ways—learn the new ways. Embrace positivity.
Life Is Always Fun
Every single day, we all go through changes, problems and journeys that change the way we look at the world around us. Sometimes all we need to realize is that the world we live in is controlled by us. We control and experience every single kind of situation. Have you ever considered trying to just spend your day marvelling at the things that go on around you? Try it—you will be amazed.
Forget Worry
Worry is the root of all evil. Worrying about losing your job, losing your house, losing your wife, losing your husband. Worry is all the things that hold us back. Try to forget all of the things that make you upset, tired or that drain your energy. Try to focus on all of the good that happens every single day. Because every single day something good DOES happen to you! You can bet your life on it.
YOUR VISION TORCH Series Achieve Your Dreams, Ignite Your Vision, & Re-engineer Your Life Purpose
“The rhythm of life beats every single day… can’t you just feel it?”
Have you ever had a day where things just seem to work so well you can’t believe your luck? That’s the rhythm of life, and that rhythm is beating every single day—it’s just that on certain days it beats louder—and clearer—than on others. When it’s at its loudest, it will propel you through your day and allow you to meet objectives with ease.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could feed off the rhythm of life every single day? Can you imagine how unstoppable you would be? You would be like a human cannonball shooting through your days, making achievement after achievement count, and having the world hanging from your every word. The way many people tap into this rhythm is through meditation. So this week, I am going to share a meditation with you that may very well help you tap into that magic rhythm.
Choose your mantra
A mantra is a word or phrase that you silently repeat to yourself during meditation. The purpose of the mantra is to give you something to put your attention on other than your thoughts. You may use any phrase you like.
Find a comfortable place to sit
It’s best to find a quiet location where you won’t be disturbed. There is no need to sit cross-legged on the floor unless that is comfortable for you. You can sit on a chair or sofa or on the floor with your back against a wall. You may support yourself with cushions, pillows or blankets. The goal is to sit as upright as possible while still remaining comfortable.
Close your eyes
Once your eyes are closed, you can begin your meditation. Simply start by taking some deep breaths. Try taking a few “cleansing breaths” by inhaling slowly through your nose and then exhaling out your mouth. After a few cleansing breaths, continue to breathe at a normal, relaxed pace through your nose with your lips closed.
Slipping into your meditation
Allow yourself to slip into your meditation by repeating your mantra silently to yourself without moving your tongue or lips. The repetition of your mantra is always relaxed. The mantra does not need to correlate with the breath, though some people prefer to do so. As your meditation continues, allow the breath to fall away into its own rhythm. The repetition of your mantra should be next to effortless. Sometimes it is helpful to imagine that rather than repeating the mantra to yourself, you are actually listening to it being whispered in your ear.
No need to clear your mind
You will inevitably find that you drift away from the mantra. It is human nature for the mind to wander. Just allow your mind to go wherever it wishes, and find the rhythm of life. The further you get into your meditation, the more ideas will spring out at you; and as the ideas flow, you will hopefully start to feel rejuvenated and excited about the future.
“Just reach out and make someone’s day a better day…”
In our daily lives, it seldom dawns on us that there are other people all around us. How often have you stopped and thought about the person working at the deli counter, or driving the bus, or buying that coffee? What do you know about them? Nothing? That’s more than likely the case. But what if you extended yourself and made friends with that person? How would they feel if you took it upon yourself to walk over and say “hello?” How much effort did that take? It takes hardly any effort, but it may change the whole direction of that person’s day. Now imagine if you could change the day of every single person you ran into? Imagine if you could make everyone happy. Wouldn’t that be something? You can. All it takes is reaching out and making friends wherever you go, and making friends without wanting anything in return. A selfless friendship.
Hello Is All You Need Say
Okay, so sometimes you don’t know what to say to people. We’ve all been there. Sometimes I don’t know what to say to people. I’ve found that just a simple “hello,” “hi,” or “how are you?” makes all the difference when breaking the ice. Try it out… just turn to that person standing over there and say hello!
Some People Aren’t Friendly… and That’s Okay!
Occasionally, you are going to find that people just aren’t interested in being friendly. That’s okay, too. Extend yourself, and if they don’t want to reach out and grab your extended hand—then don’t force them. Just smile and move on. You’ve made your point.
It’s About You
Making friends, and the ability to make friends, is all about you. It’s all a skill that you are learning. Being able to make friends easily means that you will have crucial social skills—skills that you can apply to anything you want to do. Whenever we interact with other people, we are learning. Every single person we meet reacts in a different way—speak to enough people, and soon you will be able to read body language.
There’s Something Wrong…
When someone looks upset, many people don’t want to get involved. People just don’t want to be part of the problem or even the solution. I disagree with this. I think it’s crucial for us to try and help people we feel are in distress. There’s no harm in asking what’s wrong, and there’s no harm in trying to help someone along their way in life.
Be Gentle
Try to consider every single new conversation to be as fluffy as a cloud. Don’t just beat your way into a conversation and push that powerful personality of yours. Be gentle, and be concise. Let people know that you are a listener. A listener is never in need of friends because everyone wants to be his or her friend.
“Do more, see more, feel more, achieve more… make Wednesday YOUR day for achievement!”