Diane Craig
Free
Image and Etiquette Consultant Expert
Diane Craig Quick Facts
- Main Areas
- Image and Etiquette
- Best Sellers
- Executive Dining Etiquette CD - Your crystal and silver route to success.
- Career Focus
- Seminars for Corporations and New Teleseminar "The Look of Success"
- Affiliation
- Canadian Management Centre, Lifespeak, Trillium Gift of Life, Intriciti
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Articles by this expert
SelfGrowth articles and saved writing connected to this expert.
Article
Strengthening Your Client Relationships – and Your Muscles
How do you build strong relationships with your clients? For many, networking with clients outside the office is as important as the work done during business hours. This often takes the form of extensive dinners or late nights of eating and drinking. However, as we head into the New Year after a season of hefty holiday meals and endless Christmas cookies, dining lavishly with clients may seem unappealing. But just before the holidays I read an article in the New York Times that provided an intriguing alte ative: taking a client to the gym for networking and working out.
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Why Inappropriate Dress at Work May Send the Wrong Message
In my book, eavesdropping is snooping. It may be accepted behaviour in spy novels and British mystery programs but unless your name is Inspector Poirot, eavesdropping is a no-no.
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Sound Advice for New Recruits
Recently, it occurred to me that the sessions and workshops I deliver to corporations’ new recruits could be called Business Boot Camp. Fitness marketers have created a designation called “body boot camps” and I see an interesting parallel. My role, like that of the fitness instructors at all these body boot camps, is to encourage new recruits to look their best, to target areas that need work and perhaps most importantly, to motivate them. These recruits are the best and the brightest. They come with credentials and confidence.
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Checking In: The Etiquette of Hotel Stays
Are you vacationing this Christmas on a sunny beach or in a faraway romantic city? Or will the New Year bring business travels to out-of-town meetings or conferences? Wherever your travels take you, most likely you will choose to stay in a hotel as your accommodation. There’s nothing new about a weekend in a standard hotel – we’ve been checking in and out of them since our childhood vacations and continue to frequent them on our business trips. Even so, a reminder of the protocol for hotel visits is always beneficial when packing up to leave home.
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An Evening of Elegance: The Formal Gala
The pencil skirt and matching blazer, the pantsuit, the crisp cotton blouse: if you are a working professional, most likely you have become accustomed to dressing for business from 9 to 5 every day and have the wardrobe to prove it. But what about those occasions which merit something more than the standard office attire? There may come a time when you will have to plan for your after-hours office attire: such as an invitation to a formal evening gala.
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Minding Your PDA P’s and Q’s
New party protocols?
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Managing Internal Email Overload
We send and receive dozens of work-related emails every day. Messages – often ones that are internal communications – crowd our inboxes and our time. But how many of those incoming emails are truly necessary and important? When does the amount of spent reading and responding to colleagues’ emails become counter-productive? These questions have surfaced as companies have begun to explore new ways to improve efficiency and to relieve their employees from daily floods of redundant messages.
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Dressing up, not down: Clothing does send a message
No, I am not a clothing snob. Just because I nix flip-flops in the office and cargo shorts for Dress-dow Fridays does not mean my idea of sartorial splendour begins and ends with Savile Row.
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Staying Business-Ready in Unpredictable Weather
It’s that time of year again: crisp, bright mornings; fall foliage in a stunning palette of gold, red, and orange; the freshest picks of the fall harvest. Autumn has so much to offer – yet here in Toronto, I already felt the first pangs of longing for the recent summer when the weather turned bitter, wet and windy last week. Navigating through that harsh weather is certainly an adjustment – not to mention, a major hazard to your business attire if you have to confront rainy city streets on your way to work or a meeting!
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Article
Document Dilemma
Managing your office environment Apple Stores across North America take pride in being paperless environments. They use technology to circumvent reams of paper, with only an occasional departure from their paperless guidelines. Apple may be the exception, rather than the rule. If memory serves, it wasn’t long ago when “experts” were forecasting that offices around the world would phase out paper. Not due to environmental pressure, but because cutting edge technology would see paper as the 21st century equivalent of papyrus scrolls.
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Trend spotting - Coffee is the new lunch
Trend spotting - Coffee is the new lunch Times change. "Green is the new black." Who could have imagined that two clashing forces - the Fashion Media and Birkenstockers - would stand united by this simple phrase? Surpassing its creators' wildest dreams, "green is the new black," has brought these disparate groups together. No doubt about it, the environment is on everyone's lips and minds. But in the corporate world, there is another trend ready to make the jump from fringe to mainstream. We're not talking about a life-changing phenomenon.
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Re-branding: From stodgy to sensational
Creating the right image is a powerful tool for success. This is as true for corporations as it is for individuals. Over the last few months, I’ve been fascinated to watch as traditional retailer Talbots re-branded itself from a chain for conservative, some would say stodgy, sixty-somethings to a destination store for younger, hipper, edgier, career women. But there’s more — and this is where it gets really exciting — they are exceeding market expectations! During a recent pant promotion they sold almost 600,000 pairs in nine weeks. Talk about a sensational performance.
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SelfGrowth-published websites, downloads, and contributor profile websites connected to this expert.
Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Diane Craig
Body language and tone of voice convey 93% of our messages - not words - according to Dr. Albert Mehrabian, international expert on non-verbal communication. Surprisingly, spoken words account for only seven percent of what listeners perceive.
With this in mind, let's visit some all-too-familiar meeting situations - to check out what's really going on, and learn how to understand boardroom behaviour.
Scenario one: Attention! Attention! Attention!
Tuesday morning, time for the weekly sales meeting and Mike walks into the boardroom carrying his laptop, BlackBerry and a notebook. Ray, vp sales, begins his review with the entire team. Twenty minutes into the meeting, Mike raises his hand to speak. Ray says; "Go ahead."
Mike stands, starts to speak and after talking non-stop for five minutes, suddenly sits down. He has an anxious, uncomfortable look. Ray thanks Mike and goes back to the point he was making. The meeting adjou
s and on the way out, Mike says to Rachel; "I felt a little funny - was it something I said?"
Rachel suggests they grab a coffee.
"Mike, you're a smart guy, but you're out of touch. Right at the start of the meeting, you opened your laptop. At first, it looked like you were taking copious notes, but it was really obvious you were working on something else. Then, you picked up your BlackBerry, grabbed your notebook and started writing. You showed no interest in what Ray was saying. You were disrespectful and you insulted him two ways. You didn't pay attention and you interrupted him.
"Everyone in the room, except you, knew what was going on. When you started to speak, you talked about issues we'd already covered. Then, you went on and on about something totally unrelated.
"From the start, we were all listening and participating, but you weren't. You were acting superior - maybe because you've already achieved your sale's quota. The entire team was exasperated - Bob was shaking his head in disbelief. Didn't you see Andrew put his hand over his face? Jim kept tapping the table; Sandy was fiddling with her glasses. Then, Martin got up and started stretching. And the entire time, you kept talking and talking. Didn't you understand what they were saying?
"But Rachel, no one said a word!!!"
"Mike, their body language was saying everything.!"
Damage control #101
Mike had the common sense to realize he'd goofed, although after the fact! Meetings are an inevitable part of business life. Sometimes, they seem to dominate an entire week's agenda and leave us scrambling to return calls and reschedule our routines. It only stands to reason that some of these pushed-aside-activities may quietly slide into meetings - like checking BlackBerry and IPhone messages, or working behind a conveniently angled laptop. Everyone at meetings, including speakers, is onto these manoeuvres.
Words to the wise:
1. Stay alert and pay attention.
2. Keep your BlackBerry or IPhone in your briefcase and out of sight.
3. Park your closed laptop beside you. Focus on what's being said.
Scenario two: "Bored-room"
Thursday afte
oon, time for a marketing update, and every chair is filled. The listeners seem attentive and interested; they're following the speaker. And then, snap! Like well-rehearsed choreography, the dance of the twirling pens starts. Before long, the big body shift number has taken over from the twirling pens and the stretching begins. Then it's turn-around-time - full torso pivots - to see the back of the room. What are the listeners telling us, without ever saying a word?
This crowd is telling the speaker, "Sit down - we've heard enough." Maybe our speaker started rambling, already made his point, or has gone on too long. Doesn't matter. It's time to close. The last thing any speaker wants is a "bored-room."
Damage control #102
There's no doubt that a two-hour Oscar winner commands our attention far better than watching paint dry. Yet experts agree, measuring our actual attention span, unlike measuring the Golden Gate's span, is an imperfect science. What they do know is that the actual amount of time we
can and do stay focused is very brief, indeed.
What do we do during this "lag time"? We drift. We go to the beach, plan the evening ahead, organize ideas. And if we're attending a meeting, chances are, we're casually scanning the room. If a speaker is interesting, listeners still drift in and out, but if the speaker starts to ramble, go off-topic, or present an unpopular viewpoint, watch out!
Speaker-smart tips:
1. Audience body language sends a very clear message. Look for signals.
2. When you're holding the floor and something feels wrong, come to a close. Changing the subject won't get you back on track.
Scenario three: Finish on a high note
This time, let's visit a one-to-one meeting. Bob is making a pitch. The listener, Janice, is sitting comfortably and then slowly, she starts to move into a sprint position, eyes pinned to her watch. Body language does not lie. She has clearly run out of time. Bob swiftly winds down; "I believe I've taken enough of your time Janice; I'd like to schedule a follow-up."
Smart move. No point in droning on when Janice's mind is elsewhere.
Damage control #103
Whew! Bob got it right.
Tips for swiftly winding down:
1. When a listener tunes out, turn down the sound, and then turn it off.
2. No fast talking - avoid a high-speed race to a rehearsed "finish line."
We're all good at reading body language; sometimes we just ignore it. Try to be more aware of body language and while you're at it, get a handle on your own. A picture is worth a thousand words.