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Articles from Ed Sykes | Selfgrowth.com
- Presentation skills: Ten Quick Public Speaking Tips for Outstanding Presentations - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2011 from Ed SykesIt’s that time again…the monthly meeting. You break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. Whether you present to your managers or your employees you are saying to yourself: What if I mess up? What if I repeat myself? What if the audience doesn’t like what I say? What if I ...
Views: 1108(2 votes) - Presentation Skills: How to Prepare an Outstanding Presentation in Thirty Minutes or Less (Seven Secrets to Giving the Impromptu Speech) - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2011 from Ed SykesIt's 2 p.m. and your manager walks up to you with that look on his face. He announces that the company president wants you to give a presentation to him concerning the high profile project you have been working on…and he wants the presentation to start in thirty minutes. Now you have a look on ...
Views: 897 - Motivation Tools: Have You Appreciated Someone Today? One Powerful Secret for Team Motivation - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2011 from Ed SykesI invested some time with Mother recently and drove her to the hospital to visit with her sick sister-in-law, my aunt. While I was standing in the doorway, a nurse came by and introduced herself as Ruth and said “hello” to us and said “hello” to my aunt. This put a smile on my aunt’s face. The ...
Views: 810 - Success Techniques: Connect the Dots! Your Roadmap for Success - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2011 from Ed SykesRecently, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, gave a commencement address to the graduating class at Stanford University. He talked about creating passion, life and death, and “connecting the dots.” The dots were events in his life, many challenging and many ...
Views: 788 - Eight Customer Service Secrets to “Jumpstarting” Your Customer Service During Challenging Times! - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2011 from Ed SykesOutstanding customer service is the key to creating a successful organization during any economic time… but especially during challenging economic times. It’s amazing how most organizations will invest millions, if not billions, of dollars on new computer systems, new displays, new phone ...
Views: 666 - Customer Service Skills: Check Yourself for Outstanding Customer Service - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2011 from Ed SykesRecently, a business associate, Mike, mentioned that he was doing a show at a local university and stopped by the faculty dining hall to get lunch. He said that, while waiting on line, the service was poor. The line moved slowly, the counterperson was disinterested in what she was doing…and it ...
Views: 788 - How to Give an Acceptance Speech: Seven Presentation Secrets Learned from the Academy Awards - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Ed SykesAcademy Awards come and go, but one thing is a constant: bad acceptance speeches. You may never win an Academy Award, but you may be asked to give an acceptance speech for an accomplishment in your business, your career, your community, or your organization. Sometimes your acceptance speech ...
Views: 1242 - Presentation Skills: Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat" Will Help You Get Your Presentation Points Across! (Yes you can, here is the Three Step Plan) - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Ed SykesI was recently coaching an engineer who wanted to improve his speaking skills. After videotaping him, we discussed his strong points and then his areas of improvement. Then we got to the area of vocal variety. Vocal variety is the quality of your speech that hold your audience. It is the ...
Views: 945 - Stress Management: Five Ways to Reduce Environmental Stress - Part One - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Ed SykesLife is stressful enough without allowing the physical environment - air quality, lighting, noise, and other controllable factors - to intensify day-to-day stress. Especially in the Fall and Winter is where you experience less daylight and more mood swings. The great thing about ...
Views: 864 - Seven Secrets for Creating Outrageous Success in Your Life! - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Ed SykesBy now you may have heard the ultimate success story: the “man with the golden voice.” Ted Williams, a homeless man had a very special talent: he has the beautiful voice of a radio announcer and voiceover professional. Yet, he fell on hard times, took drugs and alcohol, lost his job and ...
Views: 793(1 vote) - Customer Service Starts with a Can Do Attitude: Five Secrets to Winning, Creating Repeat Customers - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Ed SykesLet me share with you the following customer service story on how you can outperform your competition and win customers every day. On our road trips to New Jersey to facilitate a motivation program for a client, Joy and I make it a habit to order food from a particular fast food restaurant. ...
Views: 1144 - Career Advice: Four Secrets to Creating Successful Job Opportunities - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Ed SykesSoon after I graduated from college, I moved to New York City to find fame and fortune. I was in a great relationship, found a great job working in Manhattan and I was feeling on top of the world. I was going places! But then it happened. My girlfriend broke up with me and the company let ...
Views: 758 - Five Stress Management Secrets for Challenging Times: How to Use Stress for Your Career Success - by Submitted on Oct 23, 2009 from Ed SykesThe way we handle stress is always a factor in our success in challenging times. Unmanaged, stress can hold us back from being successful Once managed, stress propels us to new levels of success. When you learn how to manage stress, you benefit in the following ways: * Improved health ...
Views: 910(2 votes) - Are You Singing Your Song of Success? Five Secrets to Following Your Dreams and Achieving More Success in Your Life - by Submitted on Oct 23, 2009 from Ed SykesRecently, Susan Boyle, an unemployed forty-seven year old single woman from the small village of Blackburn, Scotland decided to compete in the television program, “Britain’s Got Talent.” She did not look like the typical “star quality” contestant. So, when she first walked out on the stage, ...
Views: 1142(4 votes) - Leadership Starts with Tough Decisions: Five Leadership Skills for Outstanding Team Building - by Submitted on Oct 29, 2009 from Ed SykesLeadership starts with tough decisions. Let me share with you my recent leadership challenge and the leadership secrets you can use in any team building situation for great leadership results. I have the honor and pleasure of volunteering for many groups and causes. In many situations, I am ...
Views: 825(3 votes) - Five Powerful Customer Service Secrets to Growing Your Business During Challenging Times - by Submitted on Oct 23, 2009 from Ed SykesWe are all faced with challenges during these changing economic times. How we overcome them and what leadership we provide will make the difference between success and failure. The secret weapon for being successful during this changing time is customer service. Outstanding customer service ...
Views: 1121(1 vote) - Ten Presentation Skills Secrets to Outselling the Competition - by Submitted on Oct 23, 2009 from Ed SykesUsually, you have one opportunity to present your organization’s ideas, products, and/or services to the audience. You work on the account for months and the presentation is your big moment. You speak to an under enthusiastic, yet polite audience; they thank you for your presentation and say ...
Views: 1292(4 votes) - Change Management: Seven Change Management Secrets to Creating a Winning Culture of Change - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2009 from Ed SykesChange is occurring all around us everyday. Most changes are small and go unnoticed by us. Think about your daily ride to work and notice what changes are taking place over the course of a week: possible changes in traffic patterns, new stores opening, weather patterns, etc. Each day we ...
Views: 971(5 votes) - How to Recession Proof Your Job: Ten Job Secrets for Career Success! - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2009 from Ed SykesEconomic times constantly change and organizations adapt to these changes. For you to find career success, you must be pro-active about your job. What are the career secrets of those who soar to the top in their careers no matter what the economic environment is in the world? The ...
Views: 684 - Career Advice: Five Career Advice Secrets for Being the Perfect Employee Everyone Wants on Their Team – Part 2 - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2009 from Ed SykesThe following are five career advice secrets for being the perfect, motivated employee that everyone wants on their team, putting your career on the fast track, and creating great relationship with management: 1. Be Enthusiastic Be known as an employee who has a great attitude and is ...
Views: 729 - Five Secrets to Becoming the Perfect Employee That Everyone Wants – Part One - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2009 from Ed SykesWith ever increasing deadlines, decreasing resources, and changing workplaces, sometimes it can be challenging to be a good employee, much less a perfect employee. The employee who can rise above the everyday problems and embrace challenges will be the person that every employer wants. The ...
Views: 849 - Career Advice: Three Secrets to Telling Your Story for Career and Life Success - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2009 from Ed SykesWhen was the last time you received a job promotion? You are doing a great job at work but everyone else seems to get the promotion you want. You may even start making excuses as to why you are not getting the career promotions you deserve. Well, I ask you the following question: Did you ...
Views: 903(5 votes) - Jump Start Your Employee Motivation: 10 Secrets to Empower Your Team - by Submitted on Nov 25, 2008 from Ed SykesOne of the important keys to employee motivation is to empower your employees to be successful. An empowered employee leads to the following benefits: * Increased creativity * Increased productivity * Increased teamwork and motivation * Increased initiative * Increased ownership of work * ...
Views: 1053 - Leadership Starts with Tough Decisions: Five Leadership Skills for Outstanding Team Building - by Submitted on Nov 25, 2008 from Ed SykesLeadership starts with tough decisions. Let me share with you my recent leadership challenge and the leadership secrets you can use in any team building situation for great leadership results. I have the honor and pleasure of volunteering for many groups and causes. In many situations, I am ...
Views: 943 - Five Secrets to Creating a “Goal” Medal Life – Part II - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2007 from Ed SykesRecently, Joy and I had the pleasure of speaking at a conference of Educational Office Professionals in Baltimore, MD. The other speakers included Ms. Deborah Phelps, mother of six-time gold medalist in the 2004 Summer Olympics swimmer Michael Phelps, and Agatha von Trapp, the 91-year-old ...
Views: 788 - Bad Customer Service Is Not So Funny: Five Secrets to Giving Outstanding Customer Service - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2007 from Ed SykesThe following story tells how a customer experience went from funny to sad in less than 24 hours, and five secrets to creating an outstanding customer experience. Recently, Joy and I were invited to go to a local comedy club. It was one of those clubs where you eat dinner while listening to ...
Views: 918 - How to Set Boundaries and Say No (How to Achieve More Success in Half the Time) - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2007 from Ed SykesWe are constantly bombarded daily with requests for our time. While helping others can be very rewarding, at the same time we can feel distraught about constantly obligating ourselves to others while not fulfilling our own needs. We can feel distressed about constant commitments to do things ...
Views: 847 - You Mean I Need to Promote Myself to Get a Promotion? 5 Promotion Secrets to Get the Job You Want - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2007 from Ed SykesTime and time again I hear the following from students in my career advancement workshops: “My work speaks for itself…I shouldn’t have to tell anyone about my skills.” “Why did they hire from the outside, I am already doing what’s required of that position?” “Why did they get the job, I have ...
Views: 842 - Outstanding Presentations Start in the Mind: Five Presentation Skills Secrets for Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2007 from Ed SykesPublic speaking presents such a challenge for many people. In the Book of Lists, public speaking anxiety and making a presentation constitute the number one fear; the fear of dying is number two. Like the old saying goes, “People would rather be in the grave than make a ...
Views: 724 - Motivation Techniques 10 Action Steps to Motivate Yourself to Great Accomplishments - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2007 from Ed SykesLet me ask you this question, "Are you motivated to achieve great accomplishments in your life?" The following are ten action steps you can apply today to achieve more success in in your life: 1. Positive Affirmations Our subconscious mind is a wonderful tool for success or failure. It will ...
Views: 981 - Leadership Techniques: Seven Secrets to Being the Leader Everyone Wants to Follow - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2007 from Ed SykesIn this changing, challenging, and competitive workplace, we can’t overestimate the importance of good management. Good managers will consistently motivate you to perform at higher levels of productivity. Bad managers will drive you crazy and eventually out of the organization. Managers ...
Views: 862 - Five Steps to Creating a "Goal" Medal Life - Part I - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2007 from Ed SykesOlympics come and go. As always, it is an exciting event with its dramatic twists and turns, exhilarations, surprises, and disappointments as these great athletes performed at their peak in front of millions, if not billions, of fans for the glory of representing their country and possibly ...
Views: 839 - Coaching: How to Succeed in Half the Time Using a Personal Coach - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2007 from Ed SykesI love watching the top sports individuals and teams; especially, the ones who consistently year in and year out maintain the highest level of excellence. What is the common factor of these successful individuals and teams? Great coaching! Great coaches analyze the talent they presently have ...
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