Many of us become Toastmasters because we want to improve our spoken English. Most of us, of course, would also want to improve our public speaking and communication skills through a friendly and supportive environment created by the educational programs in Toastmasters. My personal experience for the past 3 years as a Toastmaster is that we not only improve our verbal communication skills, we also enhance our emotional Intelligence (EQ) through Toastmasters…

Selection Interview has been one of the most commonly used methods by which job candidates are evaluated. Most interviews are conducted by the hiring managers, and often preceded by an initial HR orchestrated screening process. While HR persons are usually more familiar with the interviewing process and methodology, most hiring decisions are based on the results of the interviews conducted by the hiring managers, who may not have the necessary experience, know-how, and skills required to conduct an effective selection interview.

This short article is therefore intended for managers who have not received any formal training in the conduct of selection interview. In the following, I will highlight the principles behind and techniques used in the selection interview, and I hope, as a result, you would be able to avoid the mistakes often made in the interviews. This reading is by no means a substitute for a full blown “Behavior-Based Interviews” training, which I believe should be made mandatory for any people who need to conduct selection interviews as part of their job…

If used properly and systematically, coaching can be an extremely powerful tool and process to enhance employee performance, in organizations large and small. While it is unthinkable for a professional athlete not to have a coach, most employees today are expected to pursue their career aspirations without the benefit of coaching. Having said that, coaching is now experimented and used in a number of organizations that treat it as an effective way to enhance work performance, improve employee satisfaction, and create a supportive working environment…

Most of us like to have many good things in life. Being rich, having much possession, a good home, etc. are but some of the “haves” that we would like to possess in our life. Yet, many of us fail to attain what we want in life for one reason or another. Over-focused on the “haves” seems to be a main reason why we fail. We have a tendency to dwell on what we want to have and fail to go beyond that. Vision without action is day-dreaming at its best. But conversely, action without a clear vision is also a waste of time and life.

So what is a sensible approach to plan our own development? There are 4 steps to follow…

Every one of us encounters different problems and difficulties in life. What is your perspective towards them? A prerequisite for great living is the ability to take the perspective or reality tunnel that works best or most fluidly with the situation. To do this, you have to realize that nothing possesses a single and fixed definition. What creates the shape, borders and meaning of a thing is only your perspective. We will provide you some ways to shift your perspective…

3 Steps to Create “Career Best” Experience via Job Assignment

Among the 3 elements of the famous Communication Triangle, I am almost always told by my communication workshop participants that “Ask” is the toughest of them all. Of course, as they get into the workshop, they would realize that all of them could be equally challenging when they begin to practice the true meaning behind those simple words: “Listen to Reflect”, “Tell”, and “Ask”. For now, let’s focus on “Ask” since it’s seen as the most challenging one to do in communication.

The Barriers for Effective Questions for Others
There are several reasons, I have learned over the years, why the participants would feel that asking questions for others is not such an easy thing to do, especially in the work place…

Book: “Smarter Selling” by Keith Dugdale & David Lambert. Chinese version translated by Dr. Helen Chen, Philip Lai, and Duan Yani

Everyone sells. Some people sell ideas, some sell services and some sell products. Whatever you sell, this book will help you do it better, and feel better about doing it.

The old-fashioned hard sell doesn’t cut it any more. People want to buy, not be sold to and this demands new skills and techniques of the 21st century salesperson. In Smarter Selling, learn what works and what doesn’t in today’s competitive sales environment. Find out how to develop trusting relationships and genuine rapport with your clients and customers and learn how to scope out and meet their needs, so that you can do successful business with them, year in, year out. Discover how to be the person your buyer calls when they need someone.

Smarter Selling turns the traditional sales pitch on its head and shows you how putting your customer’s needs first will pay dividends for your sales success. The next generation of successful sales strategies will revolve around consultative relationships. You need to start building yours now. Through their unique ‘I Owe U’ framework, Keith Dugdale and David Lambert show you how.

Their accessible, practical and thoroughly tested methods will help you to build trust with your buyer; to understand what they need and want; and to give it to them, in a way that is helping them rather than selling to them. ‘I Owe U’ is at the leading edge of the next generation of sales strategies and moves consultative selling to a new dimension. This effective new method is presented as a series of easy-to-learn tools that will help you drive your sales relationships towards sustainable, trusted partnerships…