The three-second trick to impress on phone calls

The three-second trick to impress on phone callsThe three-second trick to impress on phone callsHelloThanks to Adele and her world-class vocal chords, it was the greeting on everyones lips (well done, SNL) in 2015 after it debuted. The sweeping pop ballad features lyrics that sound like a one-sided phone conversation.Hello, can you hear me?Im in California dreaming about who we used to be25, broke the single-week sales record previously held by NSync for its 2000 release, No Strings Attached.Hello, can you hear me?Yep. We all can, Adele. Loud and clear.Let me ask a different question. When you make a work-related phone call, whats your move after the person says Hello?Too often, I hear people do the followingHi, is ____ there?To which the person is forced to sayCan I ask whos calling?Of course, the person needs to ask whos on the line. We never said our personenname - how would he/she ever know?Thats why, in only three seconds, you can impress people on the phone with a simple strat egy Introduce yourself right away.Its a tactic I discuss in Chapter 8 (Phone Conversations) of my new book, Wait, How Do I Write This schmelzglas?, which is available now on Amazon.Adele, start us off Hello?Hi, my name is Jane Doe from Acme Industries. Is John there?Sure, let me get John for you.Great. Thanks.See the difference? Plus, we sound much more confident if we lead with our first and last name and then ask for the person. Yes, its a subtle move and takes up one percent of the phone call. Still, a proper introduction sets the tone.More public speaking adviceWhy You Need to Hear Your Own Voice (Even Though You Dont Like to)Remember, in the business world you need to impress everyone at every turn. Lets say you call a company for a pre-arranged phone interview. The boss has five phone interviews that day. Each time, the receptionist answers and the applicant says, Hi, is Ron the boss there?Then, the secretary needs to say, Can I ask whos calling?But youyou know better. You dia l the number, sit up straight, clear your throat andHello?Hi, my name is Jane Doe, and Im calling to speak with Ron Gandry about the assistant director position.Oh, hi Jane. Yes, let me put you through to Ron.A proper introduction is a small detail, but maybe you score points with the secretary and the other four candidates dont. Maybe the boss asks the secretary which person had the best phone etiquette. Maybe you gain extra credit. Maybe it helps land the job. Ya never know.What I do know is when Hello? happens, you need to be ready. Its a little word with big opportunity.I think Adele would agree.Thiscolumnfirst appeared onDannyhRubin.com.The three-second trick to impress on phone callsHelloThanks to Adele and her world-class vocal chords, it was the greeting on everyones lips (well done, SNL) in 2015 after it debuted. The sweeping pop ballad features lyrics that sound like a one-sided phone conversation.Hello, can you hear me?Im in California dreaming about who we used to be25, broke the single-week sales record previously held by NSync for its 2000 release, No Strings Attached.Hello, can you hear me?Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreYep. We all can, Adele. Loud and clear.Let me ask a different question. When you make a work-related phone call, whats your move after the person says Hello?Too often, I hear people do the followingHi, is ____ there?To which the person is forced to sayCan I ask whos calling?Of course, the person needs to ask whos on the line. We never said our name - how would he/she ever know?Thats why, in only three seconds, you can impress people on the phone with a simple strategy Introduce yourself right away.Its a tactic I discuss in Chapter 8 (Phone Conversations) of my new book, Wait, How Do I Write This Email?, which is available now on Amazon.Adele, start us off Hello?Hi, my name is Jane Doe from Acme Industries. Is John there?Su re, let me get John for you.Great. Thanks.See the difference? Plus, we sound much more confident if we lead with our first and last name and then ask for the person. Yes, its a subtle move and takes up one percent of the phone call. Still, a proper introduction sets the tone.More public speaking adviceWhy You Need to Hear Your Own Voice (Even Though You Dont Like to)Remember, in the business world you need to impress everyone at every turn. Lets say you call a company for a pre-arranged phone interview. The boss has five phone interviews that day. Each time, the receptionist answers and the applicant says, Hi, is Ron the boss there?Then, the secretary needs to say, Can I ask whos calling?But youyou know better. You dial the number, sit up straight, clear your throat andHello?Hi, my name is Jane Doe, and Im calling to speak with Ron Gandry about the assistant director position.Oh, hi Jane. Yes, let me put you through to Ron.A proper introduction is a small detail, but maybe you score points with the secretary and the other four candidates dont. Maybe the boss asks the secretary which person had the best phone etiquette. Maybe you gain extra credit. Maybe it helps land the job. Ya never know.What I do know is when Hello? happens, you need to be ready. Its a little word with big opportunity.I think Adele would agree.Thiscolumnfirst appeared onDannyhRubin.com.

7 Suggestions for Managing Change

7 Suggestions for Managing Change7 Suggestions for Managing ChangeYouve heard it before Change is the only constant. The sentiment seems more relevant now than ever these days in the world of finance and accounting. New rules, regulations, tax codes and technology come around so often now, it probably seems like your gruppe is continuously managing change and adjusting to a new normal. Its essential for your organization to adapt quickly to keep up.But youve probably also heard another old saying Change isnt easy. When your employees must make shifts in the way they do their jobs - from the internal policies, procedures and reporting structures they follow, to responsibilities they take on, to new regulations they must observe - they can get frustrated and discouraged. And you know what that means Productivity suffers.Employee productivity can also take a big hit when theres a change in management, a Robert Half survey shows. See the infographic below. What change management strate gies can company leaders use to build high-performance finance teams who can adapt smoothly and effectively to new work realities? Yes, thats a mouthful, but read on for seven solid suggestions for managing change1. Create a culture where change is expectedIts never simple to adapt to new things. Its even harder if your employees are set in their ways, expecting their career will stay the same forever. On the other hand, if your staff understands that change is simply a part of working for your organization, theyll be more likely to accept any new processes or policies as a matter of course.So when you interview job candidates with your company culture in mind, assess their attitude toward shifts at work. Make it clear during the hiring process that everyone working for your organization will be expected to adjust to new responsibilities and processes from time to time. Then reinforce the notion in your mission and vision statements, during staff meetings, and any other regular comm unication you have with staff.2. Make sure youre readyIts always easier to adjust to new rules and regulations when youre prepared. One thing you can do to set the stage for coming change (even if you arent positive what it will be) is to leverage big data to enhance the firms organizational forecasting and planning. You can also prepare by ensuring your employees keep their hard and soft skills sharp and up-to-date with frequent training and professional development. And if havent already, begin to build strong partnerships between the finance team and functions that finance supports. All of these efforts will go a long way when your staff must adapt to change.3. Develop methodology for managing changeAdopt a consistent and defined approach to change management. Maintaining a formal approach to shifts in processes means that people know what to expect when change occurs, therefore, cutting down on the potential for chaos. Your change management method doesnt have to be rigid, howev er. In fact, it should be flexible enough for your staff to identify any issues with the transformed processes and address them as needed. If your organization has a methodology in place, be sure to use it if not, consider developing one yourself.4. Maintain open, honest, timely communicationTry to tell your employees as soon as possible about any workplace change otherwise, theres a good chance that inaccurate information will start to circulate. When you introduce the shift, clearly explain the reasons for it and what your new expectations are. Then, throughout the roll-out, make sure youre frequently updating your staff about everything thats happening. If something goes wrong, or if things are changing in a negative way, dont try to spin it as a positive. Your employees will see through it and wont trust you. Simply state the facts and acknowledge that things arent going to be great for a while. Then let your staff know that youre always available to answer questions and take su ggestions.5. Involve your staff before implementing the changeWhen you solicit your employees input on how to carry out a significant organizational shift, the actual implementation tends to go more smoothly. Provide training early on, and host online forums, conference calls and face-to-face meetings to allow your employees to ask questions and voice their concerns. Do your best to address those concerns, paying special attention to the employees whose jobs are changing the most.6. When change happens, make sure youre involvedEmployees are more likely to buy into a new procedure when they see that management is totally on board and participates in implementing it. Make sure youve assigned responsibility for guiding the new procedures to someone with experience in change management, and, if appropriate, give that person a committee of creative, decisive and collaborative people to assist with the roll-out. In addition, provide positive and motivational leadership by checking in freq uently to see how your staff is adapting to the shift. Spend extra time with the managers of staff who will feel the impact the strongest Prepare them to lead with training and coaching, and conduct frequent meetings with them to assess how things are going and make adjustments as needed.7. Be patient with your employeesEveryone adapts to change at a different pace. Some people manage the modifications and disruption in a matter of days and quickly embrace the new normal. Others, however, take a little while to get used to shifts in the workplace. As your staff is adjusting to how the change will affect them personally - whether theyre reporting to someone new or seeing a shift in their day-to-day duties - you should expect them to be less productive. Be patient and give them some time to adapt.Remember, by the time you roll out a change to your staff, youve already been thinking about it and processing it for a while. In essence, youve had a head start. Now you have to wait for y our employees to catch up. Subscribe to our newsletterWhen you subscribe to the Robert Half newsletter, youll get articles and resources to help you build and manage a winning accounting and finance team - all sent directly to your inbox. Click the button below to sign up todaySUBSCRIBE NOW

Acquiring a new habit vs. quitting an old one

Acquiring a new habit vs. quitting an old oneAcquiring a new habit vs. quitting an old oneIf we take the literal meaning, its obvious quitting a habit is infinitely more difficult than creating a new one.You see, a habit is stored in your brain in the form of a neural loop. So, the only way to quit a habit is a lobotomy, which is pretty difficult compared to the development of a new habit.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIf we consider the common meaning of the expression to quit a habit, which is stop doing something we had been doing, it gets easier.To stop your habitual activity you need a traumatic experience or you need to painstakingly rebuild your habit.The Moment ofDecisionThe traumatic experience doesnt need to be sudden and painful, like a car accident. Im sure youve heard stories of people who quit smoking because their grandchildren asked them to do so and they felt l ike they want to be here for their grandkids. It welches the moment of decision that caused them to modify their behavior for good.However, engineering both life-changing car accidents or moments of decisions is close to impossible. I mean, those smokers who quit usually had their grandkids for a few years, as well as a decades-long smoking habit.It wasnt like they didnt know the facts. Nobody had to tell them their self-destructing habit would cost them their health and potentially years of life. Nobody had to tell them that their grankids love them and would love to have them around for decades to come.They needed enlightenment to spark the decision and we cannot procure the enlightenment. Thus, its impossibly difficult.Rebuilding aHabitIf you dont experience the moment of decision, you need to rebuild your habit from scratch.The best piece of free content on this topic is on Charles Duhiggs websiteHow Habits Work?- ?Charles DuhiggIt is a load of hard thinking and hard work. The b iggest problem with this strategy is immense resistance.The older your habit is, the stronger the neural loop is in your brain. You need inhuman focus to be aware of every time a cue for the habit activates to modify your behavior. Even though you instill a new behavior, if you let your subconscious keep the reins, the old behavior activates, because it is stronger than the new routine youre trying to develop.Resistance Against a NewHabitWhen you create a new habit, you need to overcome resistance as well. Its the resistance that comes from the status quo. If you are a couch potato, its difficult and uncommon for you to move your butt and jog or go to the gym.However, this resistance is nowhere near the resistance that comes from an old habit. When you build a new habit, you create a new trigger for it and there are no conflicting messages in your brain. It is the simplewhen this happens, I do thatroutine. The whole art comes to repeating the routine long enough and often enough for your mind to recognize the pattern and save it in your brain.You can screw that up by being inconsistent which gives conflicting signals to your brain. But you dont have to fight off a decade-long custom of yours.My ExperienceI quit a few bad habits and it was almost effortless for me. I just realized they dont lead me to the better life I desired. I starved them out instead of remodeling them. In a few weeks I quit playing computer games and reading fiction in excess.That was much easier than developing some habits of mine. It took me several months to create a writing habit.On the other hand, I have some habits Ive been struggling with for years, like going to bed too late. This habit seems to be insanely hard to change.In the same period, I was able to develop dozens of daily habits. Easy peasy.SummaryQuitting an existing habit is usually much more difficult than acquiring a new one. There are some cases when its not true, but they are the exceptions, not the rule.This article f irst appeared on Medium.