by Jody Bruner
It’s easy to fall into the trap of talking about the features of what you’re pitching. But readers don’t care about features; they only care about benefits. Speaking the language of benefits means you show the reader explicitly how their life will be better with your solution. Read more →
by Linda Dunlop
Hitting the glass ceiling, climbing the corporate ladder, addressing the elephant in the room. I never thought much about idioms until I started teaching Business English to international students. Read more →
by Linda Dunlop
Can introverts ace presentations? You bet we can! Case in point: Susan Cain, author of the runaway bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. As a studious introvert, Cain spent seven years in her element, quietly working on her book. Then came the hard part—selling her ideas to audiences. Read more →
by Jody Bruner
Have you noticed that everyone is telling stories lately? Google “storytelling in business,” and you’ll find marketers telling brand stories, trainers using stories to drive their points home and structure learning events, leaders telling stories to inspire and motivate, and presenters telling stories to bring dry content to life and engage their audiences. Read more →
by Brittany Moor
In a Building Your Own Brand workshop I recently facilitated, a participant told me she wanted to apply for a new role in her organization. She is currently an administrator and now wants to move into project management or marketing. She applied for roles outside her department before and was unsuccessful. Read more →
by Jody Bruner
If you’re like most people, the thought of giving a presentation is terrifying. All those eyes on you. Here are five tips that will help you get over your reluctance and learn to enjoy public speaking. Read more →
by Brittany Moor
I studied science in university, and I had to write a lot. My university experience was filled with lab reports, research papers, formal and informal scientific presentations, proposals, essay questions… the list goes on. To achieve top marks, I was taught that my writing method should mimic the scientific method: present my conclusions and recommendations at the very end of my document. When I started working in the real world, I began to realize this method didn’t work as well as I thought, and I struggled to present myself as a credible professional. Read more →
by Leigh Geraghty
Most of us understand the benefits of branding our business-it helps build recognition, credibility, customer loyalty and a competitive edge. But what about branding yourself? What is personal branding, and why is it an increasingly important area of employee development?
Personal branding is how you define and portray yourself as a person and a business professional. Your brand expresses your interests, talents, personality, and expertise. It portrays the person you are and the person you want others to see. You want to make sure that you are using a custom SEO for your brand to hone in on the target customers that you ideally need for your business, for example, if your brand was of luxury items like furniture, then you would look into seo for luxury brands and how it can help you. Read more →
by Rachel Eidan
Do you overuse the pronoun myself? If so, you’re not alone. People often use it when a simple I or me would work.
The problem is that myself tends to complicate sentences, which may be why some people are attracted to it—it sounds sophisticated and fancy. Resist the urge! Incorrectly using fancy words can make you appear snobby and ignorant, and may have a negative impact on your image and career.
Let’s make sure you never confuse me, myself and I. Here’s the lowdown on how each pronoun is used: Read more →
by Rachel Eidan
We can all be more effective communicators by using our ears more than our mouths. Be honest, how much have you ever learned listening to yourself talk?
We often think that good communicators are good speakers; however, the most powerful communicators have excellent listening skills. Of course, there are some tips of effective communication that extend beyond simply listening, although this element is absolutely crucial. Many people take the skill of listening for granted. You have ears, so you listen all the time, right? But you need to ask yourself how well you listen. Read more →