Category Archives: Communication Skills

Zoe Presenter Spotlight: David Sanford

Posted by on January 15, 2012 Comments Off
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David Sanfordby Zoe Training staff

During the past several years, David C. Sanford has answered the demand by global companies to provide insights into how to successfully understand and communicate effectively with Indian nationals. Having spent more than thirteen years living and working abroad including assignments in the UK, Taiwan, India, Iran, Italy, and Japan, he has an intimate understanding and insight into the challenges faced by those living and/or working in multicultural environments.

1. What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

The challenge of communicating with someone from a different culture. As the world has become flatter we are now all interacting more than ever with people who view things such as punctuality, the word “YES,” and building trust radically differently than we do. Whether it is the Help Desk person that we contact, the grocery store clerk or co-worker, my skill is creating communication bridges so that all can communicate more effectively. Read more »

Three Cs of Great Communication

Posted by on October 4, 2011 Comments Off
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D.J. Vanasby D.J. Vanas

The magical, mystical glue that holds teams together is trust.  With it, we see people follow their leaders through the fires of change, challenge, doubt and fear.  Without it, people won’t follow their leader to the bathroom.  But how do we build that trust and strengthen our relationships, our connections and ultimately influence how well we lead others?

Through communication.

We are all like human radio stations, transmitting information to those around us at all times.  We communicate through e-mail, texting and speaking, but also through our body language and most importantly, through the example we set with our actions.  In the end, our goal as leaders is to communicate in a way that strengthens the bond of trust and enables us to have more influence and impact with those we lead. Whether they are teammates, co-workers, fellow community member or our own families, good communication is a must. Read more »

Six “Getting Started” Tips

Posted by on August 16, 2011 Comments Off
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Julie Millerby Julie Miller

A survey was recently conducted in which over 1,000 professional people were asked what they were most bothered about when it came to writing. The overwhelming answer: Getting started and getting organized. Here are some tips to getting started and getting organized with any document you have to write:

1.     Consider your audience first and foremost. You can be a brilliant writer but if your words do not connect with the reader, you’re (or, I should say, they are…) lost. Think who is my reader and what do they need to know (rather than, what do I want to tell them)? Keep an image of your reader in your mind’s eye. How does your reader feel or think about your topic? Read more »

Zoe Presenter Spotlight: Anna Conrad

Posted by on July 17, 2011 Comments Off
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Anna Conradby Zoe Training staff

Have you ever had the feeling that what someone is saying is not what they mean? Is this just intuition, or are you noticing micro-expressions? What are you saying to people by the way you use your hands, position your body, and move your eyes? Anna Conrad, an expert in organizational effectiveness and leadership development, answers these questions and more in her highly interactive Body Language workshop, and helps participants explore the true meaning behind their words and the people with whom they communicate. Anna explains in our latest Zoe interview why this is her favorite training topic, and she also shares some important wisdom she’s gathered along the way.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

I love Body Language because this is something that everyone is interested in, and no matter who you are or what you do, this is a topic that affects every relationship and every area of your life. Read more »

Breaking the Ice

Posted by on July 11, 2011 Comments Off
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Sarah Michelby Sarah Michel

Recently a brilliant friend and colleague described to me how she felt attending a professional meeting where she didn’t know anyone sitting around her as being, “awkward and painful,” when she found herself at a loss for how to break the ice with someone she doesn’t know.  Here was someone who has so much to offer anyone lucky enough to engage in conversation with her but her reluctance to initiate interaction caused her to avoid eye contact and retreat inward and miss out on the potential network relationships sitting around her.  These are the people that keep me up at nights.

I have had a life-long fascination with people who have a natural preference for introversion and think that they’re really bad at breaking the ice and talking to people they don’t know.  These people (you know who you are) also think they’re bad at networking, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.  In my experience, they may not work the room and come away with the most business cards but the few people they do meet they will make a meaningful connection with that actually has a high chance of continuing on after the first meeting.  That is how you build a great network – one relationship at a time. Read more »

Zoe Presenter Spotlight: Traci Brown

Posted by on July 5, 2011 Comments Off
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Traci Brownby Zoe Training staff

A body language expert and teacher of unconscious persuasion skills, Traci Brown shows participants how to use her techniques in all sorts of business negotiations and in interactions with personal clients, and has even adapted the skills to talk herself out of an embarrassing number of traffic tickets. Traci shares some personal insights and words of wisdom in our latest Zoe Spotlight interview.

Words that describe your presentation style:

Engaging and laugh-out-loud funny.

What’s the most unusual way you’ve been paid to speak?

When I first started out and was just getting my feet wet, once I was paid for a speech with fireworks.  It was a nonprofit group and they didn’t have cash, so I took them and had lots of fun. Read more »

E-mail – A Pandemic?

Posted by on June 27, 2011 Comments Off
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Julie Millerby Julie Miller

E-mail has become the most important information vehicle today and its usage increases hourly eclipsing other modes of communication. Of course, therein lies the rub. Because writing-and poor business writing specifically-is now on show for all to see, the pandemic of sloppy writing is proliferating at the speed of light! And the cost? Inestimable! Irate clients, passed-over promotions, and damaged reputations are a high price to pay for not taking the cure to remedy your writing ailments. The treatment? Apply these six e-mail writing tips daily. Read more »

Wanted: Head Coach for the Broncos

Posted by on June 12, 2011 Comments Off
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Anna Conradby Anna Conrad

Imagine [insert your favorite sports team here] without a head coach. What would happen? Who would guide the team and keep them all working together towards one common goal: to win the game? The same thing is true with your team – they need a good leader who understands what it takes to be a good coach.

But what does it mean to be a good coach? It is not just yelling at everyone to move faster or pick up the ball. Coaching is a skill that combines motivation, integrity, and knowledge. Do you have what it takes to be a good coach? Read more »

Zoe Presenter Spotlight: Paul Unks

Posted by on May 9, 2011 Comments Off
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Paul Unksby Zoe Training staff

With the employment situation in flux in recent years, Paul Unks’ career management expertise has come in handy for many people who need to regain their footing by either clarifying their career objectives or identifying new career options. And because career ups and downs can be the source of so much stress, Paul is also there to help individuals understand how stress impacts our daily lives and what we can do about it to alleviate the potential negative effects. In this interview, Paul talks about the joys of teaching his favorite topics and the mutual benefits that are gained by working together with participants.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

1) Career Life Transition and Development, 2)Managing Stress and Wellness (“The Joy of Stress”) and 3) Communications and Team Building

I love teaching and facilitating workshops on these three topics.

I get a great deal of satisfaction from helping people to identify and then achieve the career position where they will be: fulfilled, very productive and successful, and in the right environment.  Career Life Development knowledge and skills are increasingly important and needed in our world today. Whether someone has been laid off through no fault of their own, if they are seeking a clearer direction and path to a more rewarding career, or if they want to further advance their career proactively in their current organization, they can benefit greatly from three key areas: Read more »

Zoe Presenter Spotlight: Sarah Michel

Posted by on April 25, 2011 Comments Off
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Sarah Michelby Zoe Training staff

Perfecting Connecting© – what Sarah Michel calls her networking strategies to promote personal and professional success – aptly describes her expertise on the art of intentional connecting. And Sarah should know the power of networking: as a cancer survivor, Sarah’s network helped save her life. And now as a speaker, she shares the lessons she learned from her inspirational journey to motivate her audiences to connect not just for the moment, but for life.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

NetWORTHing™, which is the new way to network if you want to build social capital in today’s reciprocal business climate.  I teach people how to communicate their value proposition to their network to grow their networth.  I’m all about connecting so my topics are focused on ways to improve your connection to your customers, coworkers (team building), and colleagues.  I’m a certified practitioner with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and help people discover the power in personality differences to encourage innovation, networking, creativity, and problem solving. Read more »

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