Most people will tell you that communication is key to success, but how do you do it well?  Here are 5 practical ideas if you’re new to the workplace.  They’re also best practices if you’re volunteering (from a political campaign to your neighborhood PTA):

1. Have the 1′, 5′ and 10′ version.  It’s good to be passionate.  It’s not so good when you dive into the weeds about your topic and no one can follow what you’re saying.  No matter how long your presentation is supposed to be, prepare a one minute, five minute, and ten minute version. Don’t think of it as getting cut off or minimized.  Instead, be confident that you can get your message across in a clear and complete way, even if time is short.  Know how to get to “just the headlines”; fill in the color later.  By the way – that long, crowded elevator ride with your VP where you stop on every floor?  Heads up – you may have just had your annual review in those three minutes, so think on your feet.
2. Land the Plane.  Save the ability to improvise for 15 minutes about any topic for your local Toastmasters meeting. Instead, before you start talking consider, “What is the one thing I want people to know?”  Starting from the end will help if the conversation veers off track, even if it’s a positive discussion.  Know how to get back to your key point(s) and land the plane.
3. Your Mail Has Just Been Forwarded.  Have you ever received an email that demanded a response?  A tough reply may be called for, but think twice before you angrily hit “send”.  In this era, we’re all one click away from being the bad example on TMZ, Gawker or even the New York Times.  Even if things don’t get that far, do you really want your VP to read the mail where you had a tantrum?  Put that note in your Drafts folder and sleep on it.
4. You Have Not Because You Ask Not.  Is the project stuck because you don’t truly understand the next steps?  Take a few minutes to think about possible solutions.  Going into a meeting or sending an email with clear “asks” doesn’t need to be overbearing and dictatorial.  Clarify what is yours to do…and what belongs to someone else.
5. Finish.  As I mentioned in Play With the Big Kids, I’ve met a lot of fun and charismatic people.  Their presentations are usually loaded with enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, they often don’t figure out the details about how they can accomplish their goal, and their big idea ultimately falls flat.  Be different.  Be the person who sees things over the finish line. If you love your project, other people will too!

Your words matter.  This week, instill them with your unique passion, personality and intelligence!

In addition to the links below, I also highly recommend the grilled chicken with basil from Giada de Laurentiis.  The sauce can be used for a variety of meats and is also delicious on its own with a salad.  It’s so good I’ve already made it twice.

Enjoy!

Williams-Sonoma menus, including a meatless option

Epicurious – grilled sides

Vegetarian Times menus

Delish grilled seafood

Easy Summer fruit desserts

There are all kinds of big kids.  The most obvious ones have big titles.  It’s natural to want face time with high ranking people at your company.  But a word of caution: trying to get the attention of a high powered executive doesn’t mean that you’ve connected with the best person for your career.

Then there’s the kid with the big laugh.  Charismatic people with bright personalities can be a lot of fun.  Many meetings need a little lightness, but some of these kids don’t know when to quit cracking jokes.  Everything is really funny…until you miss your deadline because you’ve been goofing off.

And there are also kids with a big brain.  Intelligence is often core to success.  However, listening to someone run through the minutae of every company policy is tedious and exhausting, no matter how smart they are.

The big kids who have been most helpful to me haven’t fit simple categories.  They also weren’t the most noticeable people.  Over time, I gravitated away from the examples above and looked for big kids who aligned with my job as well as my personality.  Maybe people like this will be helpful on your professional development path, too:

• I learned how to read a contract by working for a young attorney who explained every section to me – a task that our VP, as much as she liked me, didn’t have time to do. 
• I increased my listening skills by observing him in meetings.  As the Production team walked through creative concepts, I began to understand how we could create a strong contract without squeezing all the creativity and fun out of the project.
• I improved my presentations by spending time with Sales people.  The Account Executives presented all the time, and had great tips for content and style.
• I became a better negotiator by working with a seasoned Business Development executive.  He taught me basic skills like how to create an agenda and use meeting time well.  Most importantly, he taught me how to be comfortable with silence.  When I hear someone talking endlessly, I remember the hours we spent together where he demonstrated the incredible power of knowing when to simply let words stand on their own.
• I became more thoughtful about my responses and controlling my emotions by studying teachers like Louise Hay and Florence Scovel Shinn.  They are some of the big kids of New Thought.  Their ideas didn’t fit in a traditional business paradigm, but I’ve found that what I do during off hours is as important as what happens on the job.  Bring your whole self to work.

As you begin to develop or redefine your work circle, think of the qualities you’d like to attract.  It’s a cliché but true – like attracts like.  While you’re building your set, don’t forget that people may be admiring some of your qualities. Are you kind, skilled in a particular area, or simply present with people as they speak?  You may be someone else’s style icon.  This week, be the big kid!

Don’t have a Twitter account?  Simply bookmark their feed!  If you’re on Twitter, make them part of today’s Follow Friday tweets.

Enjoy!

I trust in the process of life. Nothing in the past or present interferes with the Divine right flow of my life.

Today I am opening new doors to Life.

Share your Good with others. Kindness, love, and appreciation are the greatest gifts you can give.

Life is very simple. What I give out comes back to me. Today I choose to give love.

Things are moving me forward, I find them everywhere!

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a Tumblr with business advice from prominent women.  It’s worth a click since it’s filled with practical as well as poetic ideas. They’ve even opened it up so you can add you’re your own sign to the mix.  Just a warning – some of the posts are defensive and negative.  Breeze past the bitterness; you don’t need to take that with you.

Here are some of my favorites:

“Enjoy what you do, do what you enjoy.”

“Do more of what makes you awesome.”

“Life is about moments.  Don’t wait for them, create them.”

“To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

The one that made me laugh the loudest?  “Do you think Beyonce gChats?  Focus.”

I nodded my head in agreement with much of the advice, but one of the signs really caught my eye.  It simply said, “Don’t.”  When I read, “Don’t”, several people flashed in my mind.  Here are a couple of stories I would tell the 23 year old me:

• Don’t.  Someone should have mentioned “don’t” to the Summer intern who couldn’t get to her VP’s meeting on time.  When asked why she showed up 20 minutes late but with a Starbucks in hand, she confidently announced that she “just wasn’t a morning person.”  Unfortunately for her, the VP decided she wasn’t a full-time person, either.  At the end of the internship, she didn’t get an offer for full-time employment.
• Don’t.  This is what the women should have said after looking in the mirror before leaving for a professional event.  Skinny jeans, sky high heels and oversized hoop earrings are beautiful…when you’re clubbing.  At 8:30 in the morning, she inadvertently gave the impression she was desperately trolling for dates.
• Don’t.  The guy should have thought this before he published posts on Facebook about his weekend drinking binges.  With your nearest and dearest, some of these stories can be kind of funny.  But he forgot he was posting in front of his manager and 30 other work “friends”.  You probably won’t be surprised when I tell you he was passed over the next time prestige assignments were handed out.

As you start your week, you’ll find many moments on your job where you can practice discernment.  It’s not about waiting for a booming voice on high.  Before you act, you will hear your soul whispering, “Don’t”.

The trailer is the tip of the iceberg.  I was already a Michael Douglas fan, but this is an iconic performance for him.  Even The Hollywood Reporter says he’s “…so good you often forget you’re watching an actor rather than the famous character he’s playing.”  No wonder it debuted at Cannes.

The whole cast is tremendous and Rob Lowe as Liberace’s shady plastic surgeon steals the show.  It’s a roller coaster ride from the first frame.  Enjoy!

Do you have a similar theme?  Are you the person who naturally has the hook-up?  I love knowing these go-to people.  You casually mention you’re going on a trip and they immediately say, “Who’s taking care of your animals?  I know a fantastic kennel.”  Someone with toddlers joins the team and you’ll overhear their conversation, “I’ll call your wife with names of some babysitters.  We knew some great families when we lived on that side of town.”

These actions are more than being friendly or a good neighbor.  Sociologists will tell you that you’re exhibiting the habits of a “social connector,” a concept popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference.”  Social connectors have so many superb qualities.  If you’re looking for a new theme, a social connector may be worth emulating.

Social connectors work in a kind way with everyone from the clerk at the grocery store to the VP at the office.  It would be easy to minimize this quality as personal style, but don’t breeze past this important attribute.  In this context, style is everything.  Social connectors have an effortless nature which is the polar opposite of the grasping, chasing pace of networking.  It wouldn’t occur to them to frantically collect mounds of business cards at every event they attend.  They create authentic relationships, one step at a time.

Another hallmark of social connectors is their positive generosity.  Over and over again, you’ll provide feedback and hear responses like, “Oh – aren’t the people at that kennel great?  They’re so caring,” or “I always loved having that babysitter over.  She’s such a sweet girl!”  Conversely, have you ever run into some who keeps reminding you how much you “owe them” for using “their” referrals?  It can give you second thoughts about taking someone up on their offer.  Instead, social connectors are the personification of “paying it forward”.  They’re thrilled when everything ends on a positive note.

This week, find one or two places where you can be the social connector.  Where can you deeply listen to someone else’s conversation and connect them with just the right person?  Where can you give the shout-out?  In the beautiful words of Thich Nhat Hanh, “I vow to offer joy to one person in the morning, and to help to relieve the grief of one person in the afternoon.”

Want to get a taste of what you’ll hear?  Listen to pre-event video interviews with Louise Hay, Doreen Virtue, Dr. Wayne Dyer, and Cheryl Richardson.  And don’t forget to check out their download packages including free gifts through May 31.

I know I’ll be inspired, and I’m sure you will too.  Enjoy!

Maya hit the roof.  “What?!  How can you say that to me?  Authenticity is one of my highest priorities!  I have integrity in everything I do! That’s totally wrong!”

The Coach was taken aback.  “Oh, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean that you were inauthentic.  I mean you try to make everything all right, no matter how challenging things are.  You have a hard time admitting when you’re facing something tough – that’s why you fake it.  Why do you feel like you always have to put on a happy face?”

Maya was surprised, but she immediately understood the Coach’s feedback.  She was a little embarassed.  And then annoyed.  And ultimately humbled.  As she went through different areas of her life, she knew the Coach was right.  She also understood that it meant coming clean in places where she had put on the happy face.  This was an especially challenging task since she was in business with her family.  Over the next month, she had meeting after meeting with the family explaining the details of the business, even the ones that weren’t so pretty.

I think we all have Maya’s theme someplace in our life.  Maya was the strong, competent businesswoman to her affiliates.  In an effort to encourage them when business was down, she would gloss over financial realities which were their common concern.  At home, she was the playful little sister.  However, she felt compelled to cheer everyone up as her parents’ marriage disintegrated.  And she was the fun-loving adventurer to her friends.  Even when things didn’t go as planned, she had to reassure the rest of the group about how much fun they were having.  From the outside looking in, her life seemed to be working, but ultimately she was exhausted.

This week, take a look at your world and see where you may be putting on a happy face.  It’s a little different than being positive in the face of adversity and recognizing the cyclic nature of life. (As Joel Osteen likes to joke, “This problem didn’t come to stay, it came to pass!”)  Putting on a happy face means that you’re fearful about being honest.  You’re afraid what might happen if you faced the truth.  And you’re worried about what will happen next if you admit what’s really going on.

Be brave!  You may have some difficult moments, but working through problems when they’re small is so much better than facing a harsh reality that could have been avoided.  I’ll leave you with an affirmation from one of my favorite authors, Sandra Anne Taylor: “I expect the best, and I am equipped to deal with the rest!”

I think your sing-a-long Summertime soundtrack just arrived.  Enjoy!