You Can Be Successful With Public Speaking

by Suzanne Doyle-Morris, PhD  (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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As someone who routinely speaks to large audiences, one of the most common questions I get from professional women concerns how to get comfortable speaking in front of groups, whether in a boardroom, at conferences or on panels. My number one piece of advice is to join your local branch of Toastmasters International.

Toastmasters is a nonprofit organization that exists to help people develop confidence in their speaking abilities. It has branches all over world and even within many large companies. In fact, the professional network, Women in Banking and Finance, has its own branch, as do many large employers. Members of Toastmasters practice speaking by giving five-minute speeches. They also learn to give feedback to one another on their improving skills—which is invaluable to members’ development as leaders.

When I started my own company, I quickly realized that I would not make a living simply from one-to-one coaching. In fact, I realized I shouldn’t make my living simply through one-to-one work, since I enjoyed working with a larger audience. However, I knew I wouldn’t be a fantastic speaker overnight and that I couldn’t just wing it every time I got up to speak. My audiences and I deserved better than that. So, while I knew I could speak adequately, I also knew adequate wasn’t enough to differentiate myself as an executive coach and speaker. I needed to get better.

I joined my local branch of Toastmasters, which enabled me to practice crafting and delivering a variety of speeches to a group of strangers who would give me supportive feedback. For my first speech, I had to give a five-minute introduction to some aspect of my life. I mistakenly thought, How hard can that be? I chose to speak about the circuitous journey that had brought me, an Australian-born American, to Cambridge.

I was overconfident and it showed—dreadfully. I told jokes that I hadn’t first road-tested for suitability. I managed to defy the laws of physics completely, by frequently drying up and running out of interesting things to say, while simultaneously going over my allocated time. That was an “achievement” I did not want to repeat.

However, that experience taught me to value more highly both my audience and their time, and to always prepare a presentation worth listening to. For any woman looking to enhance her speaking skills, I couldn’t recommend Toastmasters highly enough. I completed the initial round of 10 speeches, on topics ranging from a past French holiday to what I loved about Britain, getting better with every speech. Toastmasters enables you to become more comfortable with your speaking skills, which is a good lesson for any professional.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

Or on our website, WomensMedia you should read:

Seven Steps to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking or

Add Confidence and Credibility to Your Presentations

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here.

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How To Be An Entrepreneur Working From Home

by Sharon Michaels (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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Working from home can be a challenge. I know about home office challenges from personal experience. My office is directly off our living area, facing the kitchen and it doesn’t have a door. Talk about distractions! Every day I deal with the smells of cooking, staring at the refrigerator and watching the family grab snacks.

The good news is, I’ve learned to rise above these challenges and focus on doing business during my workday. The bad news is, it took time to discipline myself to concentrate on my business and not get distracted. It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, my husband is in the kitchen right now warming food in the microwave and feeding our dog, and there is a part of me that wants to see what he’s doing.

Let me share some tips that are working for me:

1. When I step into my office my mind shifts to business. I put on my business owner’s cap and concentrate my time and energy on doing business. It’s a deliberate and conscious decision – a mindset shift that my office is for working, not playing.

2. I surround myself with my personal and professional motivators. To my right is my current vision board, to my left is my professional mission statement, directly ahead of me is a picture of my husband, our mini-dachshund and me on one of our favorite family vacations. On my bookshelves are my favorite books, family photos and other reminders of why I’m doing what I’m doing.

3. My office is clean, inviting and organized. There are times when I have too many piles of paper on the desk or floor, but generally I’m neat. Being organized is important to me because I work better when I know where things are and can find them without getting frustrated. I straighten up before I leave the room at the end of the day because I want to start fresh and clean in the morning.

4. I have a timer on my desk. I use the timer to keep me on track because I want to use my time wisely. It’s easy to get caught up in social networking or checking email and lose track of time. I set the timer for 15 or 20 minutes and when the timer rings, I finish up that particular task and go on to the next.

5. My husband and I have “moneymaking” signs. Each sign consists of a large green dollar sign ($) placed in a picture frame. When my frame is on the edge of the desk and pointing toward the doorway, that means Do Not Disturb because I’m working on moneymaking activities.

6. I use music as a sound barrier. I have a small CD player and an iPod in my office. When I find myself getting distracted, I plug in my earphones and listen to my favorite music. I particularly enjoy the sounds of crashing waves to help my thoughts focus on writing or creating. When I need energy, I play something “jazzy” or upbeat. My music selections correspond with my tasks.

7. I’ve learned to take regular breaks. When my mind wanders or my thinking begins to get fuzzy, I get up, stretch and take quality time to rejuvenate my mind, body and spirit.

Hopefully, some of these suggestions will work in your own home office. Finding a home-based work environment that will be productive and empowering is personal and individual to each of us. If you have additional suggestions, please share them with us.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

On our website, WomensMedia you should read this:  Organizing Your Home Office or Happy Business Owners Are Successful Business Owners

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here, or SharonMichaels here.

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by Suzanne Doyle-Morris, PhD  (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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As an American woman who has spent 15 of her 35 years living and working outside the U.S., you would expect me to be a huge advocate for what working abroad can do for you career. What you might not expect (I certainly didn’t) is how useful it living and working abroad was for so many of the women I interviewed when I wrote Beyond the Boys’ Club.

For some of the women I interviewed, foreign travel and overseas job postings provided some of the best chances for profile-raising. These opportunities can be very exciting for ambitious women and are highly correlated to career growth. A willingness to travel demonstrates commitment to your employer as well as the ability to be highly adaptable in changing situations.

Getting these experiences in early, before having a partner or children, is a challenge many women take advantage of, as it allows them to “tick the boxes” when being considered for advancement later. They know it is much harder to move a family later in your career when you have other commitments. If foreign experience is something many of your senior colleagues have, it is definitely something to consider. It is better to take on those challenges early, so that a lack of overseas experience cannot be held against you later on.

To this end Zoë Ingle, of Positive Energy, the network for women in oil and gas, also recommended learning a foreign language—depending on where your industry is growing and developing.

She recalled, “I remember sitting in a meeting with four women who had very different career paths within the energy industry, and it arose that all four of

them had learned Russian, a part of the world where we now spend a great deal of time negotiating. It was not their mother tongue, but they all recognized that learning the language was one of the most important decisions they had ever made.”

She smiled about another woman she had met within the network who said to her, “You can’t describe the authority you feel when you sit down to a meeting with all Middle Eastern men to negotiate and you can speak Arabic—they know instantly you mean business.”

This issue might seem a particular concern only for women in certain industries. However, it is worth bearing in mind in any field where you can see that progression is correlated to, or even enhanced by, at least one overseas assignment. This means it can be relevant for women in consultancy, investment banking, accountancy, and science and engineering as well. Working abroad demonstrates adaptability, tolerance and in many cases an ability to think laterally that is prized by employers, even if you don’t learn another language.

For example, I will never know how much of my career has been helped by the fact that I have lived and worked in four different countries, but I suspect it has certainly made me more interesting to potential employers and clients, as well as giving me a wider range of perspectives. Plus, being an Australian-born American living in England is one way I am easily remembered—a plus for any woman looking to raise her profile.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

Or on our website, WomensMedia you should read:

Learn Your Client’s Cultural Sensitivities Before You Travel or

Leadership Skills: Boost Your Business Acumen!

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here.

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Who are you looking at?

By Stacey Hanke (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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Have you ever had a conversation with someone whose eyes darted away from you? You might have wondered if they were looking at the stain on your shirt or a hair that was out of place. You probably began to focus on where they were looking rather than what they were saying.

You’d be surprised by the number of individuals I work with who believe they have good eye contact, when in reality they don’t lock eyes with their listeners long enough to create relationships. Relationships are important in business.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here, or StaceyHanke here.

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On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Add Confidence and Credibility to Your Presentations

or this: Seven Steps to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking

It may help to listen to Speak Up: Using Public Speaking to Further Your Career—How To Promote Yourself Without Bragging
or read it here.

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Improve Your Business Communication Skills

Early in my career I had a boss who was the king of the word but. His coaching sounded something like this: “You’re a strong team player, determined and driven, BUT what we need to work on is …” and “I appreciate your willingness to stay late last night, BUT …”

Every time he complimented me, the compliment would be followed by but. As a result, I stopped listening to what he said before the but and only paid attention to what came after.

Have you ever stopped to consider how many times you use the word but? I’m not saying you can never speak this word again. However, be careful of the context in which you use it. But and however can have negative connotations. For example, suppose you are in the boardroom with your team discussing how to improve sales. A team member says, “I’m really struggling in my territory because most of my clients have cut back on their budgets.” You respond, “I understand it hasn’t been easy, BUT we have a business to run and you need to increase sales.”

Your communication skills can be improved. Listen to my other recommendations, and your business will begin soaring toward success!

Listen to today’s podcast here.

On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Communicating With Impact and Influence , or this: Be an Effective Listener!

It may help to listen to Powerful Communication For Women —How To Change “I Speak Like A Girl” to “I Know What I’m Talking About”
or read it here.

For quick updates for business women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here.

Business Networking is Important

by Sharon Michaels (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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Over the past 20-plus years, I’ve had the pleasure of starting several business networking groups. Some of these groups have proven to be more successful than others. Through trial and error, I’ve come up with a checklist of what I believe it takes to create a successful and productive networking group.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Table-Talking Your Way to Networking or Be Visible — Connect!

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here, or SharonMichaels here.

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What Does It Take To Be A Success In Business?

by Sharon Michaels (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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Between 1997 and 2006 women-owned businesses grew at nearly twice the rate of all U.S. firms. If you currently own your business or are thinking of starting a business, you may be wondering, What exactly does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?

The United States Department of Labor has something it calls the “Entrepreneurial Quotient.” It lists common characteristics that successful entrepreneurs share in common.

I will now go over each of these with you and wish you the best on your road to success!

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Ten Success Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs or The Power of Accountability

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here, or SharonMichaels here.

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For Business Women: Does your Posture Communicate Confidence?

By Stacey Hanke (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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Do you walk into a room like you belong there? Does your posture communicate confidence—or uncertainty?

Last week I attended a conference and was observing individuals as they walked into the room. The individuals who caught my attention walked into the room as if they were saying, “I’d rather be having a root canal than entering this room.” Their posture conveyed a lack of confidence and credibility. Not only did they walk with hesitation, but their seated posture communicated uncertainty.

If only we could see what others see when we enter a room, sit in a meeting, or participate in a face-to-face conversation. If you want to be taken more seriously and have more impact and influence, a powerful place to begin is with your standing and seated posture.

The challenge with communication behavior is that there is no right or wrong. Throughout this year’s podcasts, I’ll give recommendations on what I’ve found are the most effective ways to communicate with impact and influence.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Table-Talking Your Way to Networking, or this: 8 Tips for Fearless Communication in the Workplace .

It may help to listen to Gender Communication with Authority And Care —A Business Woman Can Be Careful Without Losing Her Authority
or read it here.

For quick updates for business women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here.

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Women in Business Need to Talk About Budgets

by Suzanne Doyle-Morris  (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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Today, we’re going to talk about one of the most important skills a professional woman can have—the ability to read budgets and be fluent in figures—to take her career to the next level. As we all know, in organizations money talks. Knowing how to show the amounts you save or generate for your organization is a fantastic way to raise your profile.

When I wrote Beyond the Boys’ Club, initially some of the women I interviewed said they hadn’t always seen the political value of presenting these figures in the best light, and sometimes had to learn through trial and error. Angela Mohtashemi, a director at PwC, learned that presenting her budget figures in the right way determined how much she was given to spend on an ongoing basis. It also established her credibility. She learned through developing a strong and much-needed relationship with the finance manager. She explained to me, “The first year I was here, I didn’t understand how focused they would be on the numbers and I didn’t take it seriously enough. I thought if we performed well, the numbers would take care of themselves. My team consistently achieved, but the numbers were not representative of all we had accomplished. The finance manager began to explain to me some of the basics—like why it was better to have a larger number appear in a certain box than in another box, for example—and how important it was for a department to bill small pieces of internal work as well.”

Angela continued, “Or even making simple changes as to which day we billed a client, so that the credit showed for one month and not the next. Small changes made our numbers—the same output we already had—suddenly appear much stronger. What I didn’t realize was that many of my peers were getting that type of support; I just hadn’t known to ask for it.”

The informal training also worked well for the finance team, as they had received criticism that they didn’t communicate their services well enough internally. This gave them valuable practice and helped make others aware of what they could do for specific departments. Similarly, another woman I interviewed, Mary Hensher, head of IT at Deloitte, found the need to move out of always being in the IT department, an area in which she could have become marginalized because of its distinction from the main fee-earning areas of the global firm. She knew she needed to spread her wings and build relationships in other areas. Similarly to Angela, she got the wider-ranging contacts she needed initially by presenting budgets—one of the most important things she could learn to do in an accountancy firm. She said, “If you spend all your time in the IT data centre, you are not going to get to talk to the people who are your customers. You have to put a real effort into being recognizable. I don’t walk around with a screwdriver or a spanner, because there are others who can do that, others who are fundamental to the organization. You shouldn’t have the head of IT doing that.”

Learning to present your best numbers is especially important for women who are not in direct profit-and-loss roles. Most board memberships are given to executives with direct profit-and-loss experience in operational roles. This is problematic for many women who may want to progress to board level positions but work in marketing, HR, or even finance, which are less likely to have many directors visible and reporting to the board. Many women do not know that this type of experience is a virtually unspoken prerequisite to board membership. Some women may unwittingly hinder their careers by eschewing these types of responsibilities or not directly requesting this type of experience early on in their careers.

So, make sure you get comfortable with the language of budgets and spreadsheets so you can use them to your team’s advantage.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

Or on our website, WomensMedia you should read:

Business Women Can Play in the Boys’ Club or

Budgeting: The “B” Word

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here.

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Little Miss Perfect Is Not Saving Time

by Nancy Clark (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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I like to include the latest research whenever I can so you’ll feel confident when you buck conventional wisdom. However, perfection is tough to measure. If you want the truth, you only have to ask yourself, “Am I guilty of thinking my work is not good enough because it’s not perfect?” Whenever you answer “yes,” I want to you put time above perfection on your priority list and take another look.

Sometimes that 2-page report is sufficient for the task and that 76-page rendition you could deliver would set you back in three ways.

See my advice and my tip to help business women succeed.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

Or on our website, WomensMedia you should read:

Advice to Business Women by Carol Bartz, CEO Yahoo! or

How You Can Be An Effective Listener

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here.

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