Just before I went on Christmas leave, I tried to set-up an out of office at one of my clients (where I have an email address). I am used to setting it up in Outlook, which is a very simple procedure. However this client is running a rather old version of GroupWise (v7).

The help file in Outlook explains how to create an out of office in exactly 49 words, while the GroupWise help file took over 500 words to completely confuse me (I never managed to get it working in the end).

My point is twofold. Firstly that GroupWise is probably the worst email system in the world. Secondly, their help file is far to confusing. It managed to confuse a very experienced computer user.  If I was confused,  I really feel sorry for the regular user. It should not take 500 words to explain such a simple task.

Ok, here is the lesson. Are you ever a GroupWise help file when you communicate? Do you give complex, confusing messages that make no sense? Or are you Outlook, providing short, effective and powerful messages?

For your reading pleasure, here are the instructions for both products (good bedtime reading).

Here is how you do it in Outlook:

Turn an Out of Office Assistant rule on or off

To turn out of office rules  on or off, on the Tools menu, click Out of Office Assistant.
In the Status box, select or clear the check box next to the rule you want to turn on or off.

Here is how you do it in groupwise version 7:

To create a vacation rule

• Click Tools > Rules > New.
• Type a name in the Rule Name box, such as Vacation Rule.
• Click the When Event Is pop-up list, then click New Item.
• Next to And Items Are, select Received. Make sure no other item source is selected.
• Do not make any selections under Item Types.
• Use Define Conditions to add specific information to your rule. The following are examples of using Define Conditions.
• If you want to set up the dates during which the rule is in effect. Click Define Conditions > click Delivered in the first drop-down list > click On or After Date in the second drop-down list > in the date field, select the date you are leaving on vacation. Click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click Delivered in the first drop-down list > click On or Before Date in the second drop-down list > in the date field, select the date you are returning from vacation > click OK.
• If you want to make sure you reply only to items that are sent specifically  to you (and not to list servers or newsgroups). Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click To in the first drop-down list > click [ ] Contains in the second drop-down list > in the next field,  type your name as it displays in the To field of a mail message.
• If you want to make sure that you do not reply to items from yourself (possible through delayed delivery). Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click From in the first pop-up list > click [x] Does Not Contain in the second drop-down list > in the next field, type your name as it displays in the From field of a mail message > click OK.
• If you want to reply to internal items only. Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click From in the first drop-down list > click [x] Does Not Contain in the second drop-down list > in the next field, type @ > click OK.
• Under Then Actions Are, click Add Action, then Reply.
• The Reply dialog box is displayed, showing Reply to Sender selected (you cannot select Reply to All). If you want your reply to include the sender’s original message, select Include Message Received From Sender. Click OK.
• Type a message, for example:
• I will be out of the office from September 3-September 10. If you need assistance during this time, please contact Martha Robbins at extension 1234.
• Click OK.
• Click Save. Verify that the rule has a check mark next to it, indicating that it is enabled, then Click Close.
• Rules that trigger a reply (such as this vacation rule) keep a record of who a reply has been sent to, and make sure that a reply is sent only once to that user.

For completeness sake, here is how Google’s Gmail does it (36 words).

1. go into Settings->General
2. then scroll down to Out of Office AutoReply
3. Fill Subject and Message

Every time you leave your office set Out of Office AutoReply on, when you’re back turn it off.

Image from Flickr

1. Advertise on company and community notice boards
2. Free announcements in local/community newspapers
3. Barter your services in exchange for free advertising
4. Word of mouth – tell all your friends
5. Business cards – never leave home without them
6. Be outrageous – do something so out of the ordinary that you get free publicity
7. Offer to write articles for local newspapers or magazines. Note that these are articles and not advertorials
8. Make contacts with complementary businesses to provide a stronger offering that helps you both
9. Be contactable make it easy for your customers to find you. Have a website, and respond to emails and phone calls
10. Follow through on your leads and customer queries

I recently reviewed the book “The Halo and the Noose“, by Dorian Haarhoff and Graham Williams. Here is an interview with Dorian in which we discuss the book, storytelling and stories in business.

Download the podcast.

If the book sounds interesting, you can order it here.

Just a quick update – Lois is being interviewed today on GHFM (Good Hope) at 12:50pm. She will be speaking on Toastmasters, communication and leadership skills.

You can listen online here.

I hope that you manage to listen.

One of the common comments that I receive from people who have attended presentation skills training, is that they are given a whole lot of rules that they should be following. In fact, it is very often a list of dos and don’ts.

For example:

Don’t

• • face away from the audience
• fill your slides with words
• hide behind the lectern
• talk to fast
• read the slides
• look at the screen
• use cliché’s
• pace across the stage

Do

• face the audience
• speak slowly and clearly
• ask you-focused questions
• use body language

But then as soon as they hear a good presentation, the speaker seems to breaks all of the rules.

I think that we are missing a couple point here. Firstly, the rules are not rules, they are guidelines. Now this is not a cheap excuse to discard everything because you don’t know any better. Ignorance of the law is no excuse! But, a guideline is there to guide you; rules are there to enforce your behaviour.

Secondly, rules are generally there for a reason. Simply put, they exist because they work! If you are an inexperienced speaker, and you are looking for some guidance, it is probably a good idea to follow the rules. They will make your presentation more effective!

However, experienced speakers constantly break the rules, but they do so with intent, and for specific effect. They do so knowingly!

Almost every time I have seen somebody break a rule without knowledge of the rule or without reason, it has backfired and resulted in a poorer presentation. However, when I have seen rules broken for specific reason, it has generally enhanced the presentation.

Go ahead and break the rules, but do so with intent!

I was recently asked by a fellow public speaking blogger, Olivia Mitchell from Speaking about Presenting what I would like to see in PowerPoint presentations this year. The answer to me is quite simple – LESS.

• Less Slides
• Less Text
• Less Complexity

Less Slides

The trend in 2008 has largely been to replace lines and lines of bullet points with pictures illustrating the points. This is great because pictures have a powerful ability to illustrate points that text never will have. Hence the large and vivid pictures commonly used on newspaper front pages.

However, pictures are only part of the solution to giving an effective presentation. I still feel that most presentation need to be simplified and to have fewer slides. Remember that if a slide does not add to your message, it probably detracts from it.

Less Complexity

If you push the capabilities of PowerPoint (esp version 2007), you can create some amazing effects and transitions. Here is a great example. However, the more effects and transitions you add to your presentations, the more complex they become, and greater the chance of you messing it up. So, unless you really know what you are doing, or you have some great designers and PowerPoint experts working with you, you might want to cut back on the complexity.

I have also seen very few transitions, effects and animations that add to a presentation.

Less Text

We still need to see less text. Far to many presentations are text heavy. Laura Bergells makes a great point about going picture crazy and replaceing every single line of text with graphics. We do need to find a balance, but I would still rather see a presentation with too many graphics than with too much text.

So, lets cut back on the slides,simplifiy the slides that we keep, and use less text. Here’s to some great PowerPoint presentations in 2009!

In some ways, public speaking has changed dramatically over the last 100 years, but in others it as barely changed at all. 

Read about 78 lessons in public speaking from 1916 that are still as relevant today as there were in 1916.

These lists are from the book Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser. It was originally published in 1916, and it is amazing how almost 100 years later, the principles hold.

DON’TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS

1. Don’t rant.
2. Don’t prate.
3. Don’t fidget.
4. Don’t flatter.
5. Don’t declaim.
6. Don’t be glib.
7. Don’t hesitate.
8. Don’t be nasal.
9. Don’t apologize.
10. Don’t dogmatize.
11. Don’t be slangy.
12. Don’t antagonize.
13. Don’t be awkward.
14. Don’t be violent.
15. Don’t be personal.
16. Don’t be “funny.”
17. Don’t attitudinize.
18. Don’t be monotonous.
19. Don’t speak rapidly.
20. Don’t sway your body.
21. Don’t be long-winded.
22. Don’t “hem” and “haw.”
23. Don’t praise yourself.
24. Don’t overgesticulate.
25. Don’t pace the platform.
26. Don’t clear your throat.
27. Don’t “point with pride.”
28. Don’t tell a long story.
29. Don’t rise on your toes.
30. Don’t distort your words.
31. Don’t stand like a statue.
32. Don’t address the ceiling.
33. Don’t speak in a high key.
34. Don’t emphasize everything.
35. Don’t drink while speaking.
36. Don’t fatigue your audience.
37. Don’t exceed your time limit.
38. Don’t talk for talking’s sake.
39. Don’t wander from your subject.
40. Don’t fumble with your clothes.
41. Don’t speak through closed teeth.
42. Don’t put your hands on your hips.
43. Don’t fail to stop when you have ended.

DOS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS

1. Be prepared.
2. Begin slowly.
3. Be modest.
4. Speak distinctly.
5. Address all your hearers.
6. Be uniformly courteous.
7. Prune your sentences.
8. Cultivate mental alertness.
9. Conceal your method.
10. Be scrupulously clear.
11. Feel sure of yourself.
12. Look your audience in the eyes.
13. Be direct.
14. Favor your deep tones.
15. Speak deliberately.
16. Get to your facts.
17. Be earnest.
18. Observe your pauses.
19. Suit the action to the word.
20. Be yourself at your best.
21. Speak fluently.
22. Use your abdominal muscles.
23. Make yourself interesting.
24. Be conversational.
25. Conciliate your opponent.
26. Rouse yourself.
27. Be logical.
28. Have your wits about you.
29. Be considerate.
30. Open your mouth.
31. Speak authoritatively.
32. Cultivate sincerity.
33. Cultivate brevity.
34. Cultivate tact.
35. End swiftly.

This list is from the book Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser. It was originally published in 1916. While many of the phrases have fallen into disuse, it is amazing how many are still being used today! What do you think we should add to the list?

1. I rise with diffidence
2. Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking
3. By a happy stroke of fate
4. It becomes my painful duty
5. In the last analysis
6. I am encouraged to go on
7. I point with pride
8. On the other hand (with gesture)
9. I hold
10. The vox populi
11. Be that as it may
12. I shall not detain you
13. As the hour is growing late
14. Believe me
15. We view with alarm
16. As I was about to tell you
17. The happiest day of my life
18. It falls to my lot
19. I can say no more
20. In the fluff and bloom
21. I can only hint
22. I can say nothing
23. I cannot find words
24. The fact is
25. To my mind
26. I cannot sufficiently do justice
27. I fear
28. All I can say is
29. I shall not inflict a speech on you
30. Far be it from me
31. Rise phoenix-like from his ashes
32. But alas!
33. What more can I say?
34. At this late period of the evening
35. It is hardly necessary to say
36. I cannot allow the opportunity to pass
37. For, mark you
38. I have already taken up too much time
39. I might talk to you for hours
40. Looking back upon my childhood
41. We can imagine the scene
42. I haven't the time nor ability
43. Ah, no, dear friends
44. One more word and I have done
45. I will now conclude
46. I really must stop
47. I have done.

I had the opportunity of seeing Ben Zander speaking last year, and it was a remarkable experience. He is a world-renowned conductor and an inspirational  speaker on Leadership and the ?Art of Possibility? (he co-authored the book ?Art of Possibility? with his partner Rozamund Zander).

Ben is speaking in Cape Town on 21 and 22nd August. The kind folks at Symphonia have offered a 25% discount to tickets for the Cape Town presentations, provided your tickets are purchased before 31 July - just mention my name for the discount. Both Lois and I have secured tickets, so we would love to see you there. I promise you, it will be worth every cent!

Ben has appeared five times as a keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

You can watch the video of Ben’s presentation at the TED conference earlier this year. This is a short 20 minute exposure to Ben’s presentation style. The 1,600 people in attendance responded with a standing ovation and called this presentation the most inspirational talk of the conference http://blog.ted.com/2008/06/benjamin_zander.php

You can download the full details of all the presentations as well as the 4 concerts in Cape Town from Symphonia’s website http://www.symphonia.net/thought_leaders.html

?Zander is a fairly frequent visitor to South Africa. Apart from an obvious affinity for the Rainbow Nation, he has also been “discovered” by corporates who bring him over to help articulate visions and share ideas on the New Age manager. Occasionally outsiders are invited. Should you happen upon the opportunity, grab it. After putting his ideas to the test, who knows how many shining eyes might soon greet you at the office??

Alec Hogg, Moneyweb website

Ben has the ability to ignite and inspire large groups of people in a 3 hour session ? he uses the power of music to galvanise people to action and a sense of possibility.

For more information about Benjamin Zander:

www.benjaminzander.com

COSTS PER PERSON (before 25% discount)

For bookings received after 1st June: R1,350 + VAT

A 10% discount applies to group bookings for more than 10 people
 
PLEASE CONTACT

Johleen van Dyk
for a registration form
(johleen@symphonia.net)

Louise van Rhyn
to enquire about special pricing for large group bookings
(louise@symphonia.net)

This is from a workshop presented by Derek Pead

What is the issue at stake – find out what the issue is (not what the issue appears to be – but the actual underlying issue)

What is your interest - understand why the issue is relevant to you and to the other party

What is your position - know where you stand regarding the issue, and where the other party stands

Knowing these three things will get you a long way towards effective negotiation.