How to Engage Anyone....

In business you will have to engage and charm anyone and everyone. You have to know how to speak with people. You have to get employees to follow your vision. The media to pick-up your idea. You have to sell clients your concept or products. There is a lot of work to be done in the person-to-personal intercommunications realm. So, how do you do this effectively? 3 simple steps.

1. Treat others as they want to be treated. Don’t treat everyone nicely or how YOU want to be treated, treat them how they want to be treated. If someone hates candy, why send a box of candy to all of your clients during a holiday season? Be personal. Call people by name, remember minor details and use them.

2. Say goodbye to your smartphone for two days straight. Yes, two days. Why? It will help you focus on people. When you do this, you will see exactly what I mean. After you do this, and you see the positive results, you will be able to tuck that phone away during meetings and other important events. Showing up is important and you can’t fully do this – or engage anyone- if your head is engaged with your own phone as the primary distraction.

3. Know the difference between a fact and an opinion and use this properly. Don’t talk about people using opinions and don’t talk about business without incorporating facts. Only offer your opinion when you feel it will help someone and never say anything negative about anyone to anyone. It will come back and bite you. Be factual and helpful, not a gossip or a know-it-all.

Until Monday,

Twyla Garrett

Natural Disasters Defined

What qualifies as a natural disaster?Many of you know what a disaster is. But, do you really know what qualifies as an actual disaster? Disasters include everything from terrorist attacks to traffic accidents, floods to fires. The key to navigating a disaster (with as little loss possible) is to be prepared. Being prepared means having a plan in place for your home, family, business (employment), and your pets.

I know this seems to be common sense, but in a time of crisis simple things can become overlooked.
For pets make sure you have proper identification and that the animal is actually wearing it! Invest in good transport kennels before a disaster hits. Keep a stock pile for extra food and gallons of clean water.

If your pets take medication, keep a spare prescription in an emergency kit. If you have a diabetic pet make sure to discuss a pre-disaster plan with your vet at the next appointment.

Never ever evacuate a home or business and leave a pet behind. If you are told to evacuate, leave early and take the animals with you, even if you think you'll be gone just a few hours. It is a good idea to Google in a list of hotels that take animals in your area and two hours outside of your area. Jot down the phone numbers and put them in your wallet. Even if you put the numbers in your phone, keep a copy in your wallet because the disaster could interrupt cell phone service.

Until tomorrow,
Twyla Garrett

SWamFest October 2014

I'm so grateful to have been invited to speak at SWamFest this year! SWaMfest10 features engaging workshops and networking opportunities, enabling SWaM businesses to interact with representatives from VASCUPP institutions, prime contractors, corporations and other SWaM businesses. VASCUPP is committed to helping Virginia’s SWaM businesses remain strong, vibrant and successful while connecting them to our Purchasing Power!

You can register here to either attend or sponsor: http://www.swamfest.com/event-info/