Communication Archives - Page 4 of 6

Beware: 5 Social Media Mistakes When Job Hunting

by sincera | Dec 22, 2015 | Career, Communication, Infographics, Job Offers, Managing Yourself, Office Etiquette, World of Work

Did you know that 92% of recruiters and companies are using social media to search for or vet candidates for jobs? Social Media is a gold mine for recruiters. Online networks are chock-full of precious data, both personal and professional. And recruiters are digging deep to uncover more about job hunting candidates. (Source: Jobvite 2015 recruiter nation Survey)

Social Media has truly become a powerful tool in the process of recruitment. If you are job hunting (and even if you are not), you should be very careful about what you put out there, because EVERYTHING you ‘update’, ‘post’, ‘tweet’ or ‘Instagram’, is likely to be held for or against you when you are job hunting. Do an online search on yourself first and see what comes up. Do you want potential employers to see this information about you? Is your online presence a credible and reassuring one? Here are the five social media mistakes when job hunting, you definitely should be wary of:

1. Inappropriate Photographs

Curate your online profiles carefully for any inappropriate photographs that would not leave a positive impression for your potential employer. For example, you don’t want overly explicit photographs of the crazy bachelor’s party your friend recently had! Be sure to check the tags as well – a lot of times, you may not have uploaded photographs, but if your friends have tagged you on them, they will still show up on your profile. Tone down on the selfies too.

2. Dissing your old employer or colleagues in public

A strict no-no, and is also extremely unprofessional. Remember that it is a small world and ending things on a bad note can have consequences you didn’t even think of then. Besides, ranting away to glory in a public forum (and God forbid, with spelling and grammatical mistakes galore) reflects very poorly upon you, and your future or potential employer would definitely take a judgement call based on this one factor.

3. Bragging about illegal activity

Remember that you are not in high school anymore, and it is no longer ‘wicked’ to do this stuff. Speaking of ‘stuff’, it is completely unacceptable to put up information regarding your personal habits which are also borderline or completely illegal. No employer would ever let such information pass unnoticed, and with that, you can kiss your dream job goodbye.

4. Very frequent/very few updates

A constant social media presence would definitely bring to your potential employer’s mind “He/she is 24*7 on Facebook, Twitter, even at 12.30 pm on a weekday. Is he/she easily distracted? Will he/she able to focus on his/her work?”, and there goes your chance. Similarly, in today’s world, being completely absent on social media reflects a general lack of interest in current affairs and networking. Strike a balance between too much and too little time and presence on social media.

5. Not controlling/limiting privacy

When the likes of Zuckerberg and Hoffman have created options where we can control what we want to show to the world, and who we want to show it to, why not use it? Since you can’t really filter everything, you may consider restricting your privacy options to only your friends or people you can trust. Here is a great post that tells you exactly how to clean up your online profiles on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and more. But we would still ask you to cleanse whatever you can (and don’t forget to go back in time to delete/filter inappropriate postings – that trip to Goa/Las Vegas where your friends captured your “zombie” time? Hide for sure!). Because it does make an impression, and will probably have made the first impression before you even make it to the interview!

The presence and reach of social media in our lives – personal and professional, has become quite overwhelming, and increasingly so in the world of work. Being aware and conscious of how much and what you put out there, and what counts as social media mistakes when job hunting, will always work in your favor, regardless of whether or not you are job hunting actively.

Bonus Infographic: In case you need more motivation to proactively manage your social media presence to succeed in your job hunt, we have the facts and figures here from Jobvite on why Social Media matters:

5 Ways to Build and Improve Your Vocabulary

by sincera | Dec 17, 2015 | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Content Writing, Managing Yourself, World of Work, Writing

Knowing how to harness the power of words for your benefit can make for a much smoother career path – be it in interviews, meetings, emails, presentations, conversations and more. If you can express yourself clearly, you have a huge advantage over most. Having a good vocabulary is crucial for written as well as spoken communication. It benefits you not just professionally but also personally. Working on your vocabulary helps you articulate yourself in a specific and precise manner, and is one of the most underrated skills. In fact, the researcher Johnson O’Connor conducted a study over 20 years, and showed that

“No matter which area he looked at, and no matter how he analyzed the data: a person’s vocabulary level is the best single predictor of occupational success.”

Read on to find out about the five simple practices which will help build and improve your vocabulary.

Improve your Vocabulary by Reading

This is one habit that will boost your vocabulary like nothing else can. Set aside at least thirty minutes of your day for some mindful reading. Read business magazines or online business journals, reading newspapers daily is a must – at least the editorials, and of course, if you enjoy fiction, nothing like it. But remember that it is not enough to just read and know the story, the whole point is to build your word power, so when you come across a word and do not know what it means, be sure to look it up. Keep a pocket dictionary handy or an online dictionary on your bookmarks menu. We would also suggest noting it down on a sticky note and putting it somewhere you can see it every day, until it becomes a part of your vocabulary!

Improve your Vocabulary by Playing

Yes, building a vocabulary can be a rather fun thing to do. Make crosswords and word games an obsession and before you know it, you will have gained fabulous language skills. It can be hard in the beginning, but the key is to keep practicing. Most newspapers have a word games section that you can try. There are several mobile apps you can play in which you can also choose to start from a basic level and move up gradually. Our favourites are Wordament, Words Words Words and Text Twist. You can also check out the FreeRice.com website which donates 10 grains of rice through the World Food program for every answer that you get right in their vocabulary quiz.

Improve your Vocabulary One Word A Day

Yes, one of the secrets to a powerful vocabulary – learn one word at a time, everyday. Subscribe to “word of the day” emails. Don’t just sign up for it, make sure you read the emails every day and don’t end up marking them as spam. While it may take you only a few minutes to read it, the benefits will truly be long-term. You can use this link to sign up for one of these programs – Wordsmith.org or Word Of The Day

Improve your Vocabulary by Listening

You might have noticed by now, the amount of stress we lay on this one point in all our communication related posts. Listening intently and carefully is a great way to improve your vocabulary and communication. If you like the way the speaker is speaking, make a note of what you like. When you listen carefully, you will also come across new words and will learn the context in which to use them. If you write the word down and use it immediately in a sentence, your brain will remember the word better. It is also very important to listen to someone who does not seem to be making a lot of sense while speaking, because that is a lesson on the mistakes you have to avoid yourself.

Improve your Vocabulary by Writing

Even though this may sound tedious, it will take you a long way in improving your vocabulary. Writing helps you form coherent sentences and is a true measure of reflecting how your vocabulary has improved. It need not be tedious, all you need to do is maintain a journal and write as little as half a page a day, even about simple things like how your day was! This habit can be really helpful if you pursue it in a disciplined and persistent manner. We can assure you that two weeks into keeping a journal, you will really start enjoying it! Start today!

Remember that practice makes for perfect. You may follow all of the above advice, however, if you don’t put into use what you learn, it doesn’t matter how hard you have been working. Incorporate into your daily vocabulary the words you have been learning. Express yourself regardless of the anxiety that you may fumble and make mistakes. Make mistakes and then learn from them, and slowly with practice, you will be perfect!

5 Simple Life Hacks to Help You Write Better

by sincera | Dec 9, 2015 | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Content Writing, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Productivity, Writing

Being a writer is a full time job. You are not on vacation even when you are on vacation because you are constantly thinking about what to write next! Being creative 24*7 is quite a challenge and a very difficult one to live up to. We, at Oorja Biz Ops have been brainstorming about changes we can bring about in our daily life, to help refuel the creativity. Here are five hacks that will work for you to write better (they certainly did, for us !):

Write Better Hack #1 – Start your day early

Being an early riser has a lot more advantages than you think. This is the best way to give your day a head start. Schedule the first 45 minutes of your day to write five hundred words of anything you can think about. With consistent practice you will see your writing skills improve significantly in just a matter of weeks. Accomplishing a task right at the beginning of the day is also a great confident booster and keeps you pumped up all through the day.

Write Better Hack #2 – Replace the caffeine

Did we hear a collective gasp? We know what coffee means to writers. For many, it can be impossible to start a day without a cup. However, it is a proven fact that a regular dose of caffeine is not a very healthy thing for your body. Caffeine also causes anxiety and restlessness which may not be what you need when you are already on the edge due to work stress. Try and replace caffeine with healthier options like green tea or even regular tea or some other healthy beverage. Might be worth it to give it a shot and notice the difference!

Write Better Hack #3 – Find ‘me time’

Gifting yourself some time is the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and the best hack to trigger your writing creativity. Set aside about 45 minutes of your day, every day, to recharge your soul simply by indulging yourself. Cook, bake, garden, sing, dance, paint – whatever helps you connect with your inner self and makes you happy. Finding ‘me time’ can be a tall order given the lifestyles we lead. This problem may be solved by going back to what we said about waking up early. That way, you will have more time than you usually do. Even if it’s just an hour earlier, it still gives you some space to fit ‘me time’ into your otherwise cramped day.

Write Better Hack #4 – Read Often, Read More

Read as much as, or more than you write. Reading helps recharge your intellectual resources and keeps those brainy ideas flowing. Reading fires your imagination – the stuff writers are made of. As Stephen King wrote in “On Writing”:

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut. . . .

It’s hard for me to believe that people who read very little (or not at all in some cases) should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written, but I know it’s true. If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me he/she wanted to become a writer but didn’t have time to read, I could buy myself a pretty good steak dinner. Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

Just like a balanced diet is essential for a healthy body, balanced reading is crucial for a healthy mind and will make you think in different directions. Make sure your reading list consists of a mixed dose of current affairs, fiction and non-fiction. What you read, reflects in what and how you write.

Write Better Hack #5 – Be Honest with Yourself

While it is crucial to have expectations from oneself, at the same time, it is important to have goals which are practical and achievable. Setting long term targets on a high-on-red-bull day, probably isn’t a good idea. What we mean is, enthusiasm is vital, however, a lot of times we tend to become over enthusiastic with our goals and go on over drive trying to achieve them. Being honest with yourself about what you can and cannot achieve in a given period of time does not mean tardiness, it means being practical. But then, a little pressure now and then does help to shoo the devil called Procrastination away!

And finally, after putting our neck on the line, we leave you with the words from our idol and mentor, Seth Godin :

The biggest takeaway for anyone seeking to write is this: don’t go looking for the way other authors do their work. You won’t find many who are consistent enough to copy, and there are enough variations in approach that it’s obvious that it’s not like hitting home runs or swinging a golf club. There isn’t a standard approach, there’s only what works for you (and what doesn’t).

We hope you enjoyed our post. We would love to hear from you on what you do to help you write more and write better!

5 Huge Body Language Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Chances At Work

by sincera | Dec 7, 2015 | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Managing Yourself, Office Etiquette, World of Work

The importance of effective body language in our professional lives cannot be stressed enough. Whether you are at a job interview or are giving a speech or an important presentation at your workplace, if your body language is positive and effective, more than half your job is done. Remember that body language came before speech and 80% of the message that you “get” or “give” in a conversation is read through non-verbal communication and not the actual words. We have written about the tips for effectively employing this powerful tool at work, and now we give you the biggest body language mistakes that you need to watch out for and avoid at work:

Body Language Mistakes #1 – Avoiding Eye Contact:

When you avoid eye contact, it reflects your lack of confidence. Maintaining a steady eye contact with your audience helps build a rapport, and makes you appear less shifty. Remember to take breaks in between maintaining eye contact, lest you appear to be staring. Looking at someone constantly, for an extended period of time could be interpreted as aggressive, but mostly it would be interpreted as creepy!

Body Language Mistakes #2 – A Weak Handshake:

Handshakes are tricky things and need to be ‘just right’, not too weak, and not too firm. A weak handshake indicates lack of authority and confidence, while an overly firm handshake would come across as aggressive. The best handshakes are described as brief, yet ‘firm’. Also, maintaining eye contact while shaking hands is a must.

Body Language Mistakes #3 – Exaggerated Gestures:

Exaggerated gestures are a sign of you having failed at effective verbal articulation. Be in control of your gestures, avoid being too forceful and gesticulating too often. It takes away from the real weight of the matter and is extremely distracting for the onlooker(s).

Body Language Mistakes #4 – Bad Posture:

While it is important to feel comfortable, it is more important to not get so comfortable that you appear lazy, nonchalant and uninterested. When seated, avoid slouching which makes you look lazy or leaning forward which makes you look aggressive. Sit as upright as possible, with your hands on your lap. When standing, maintain a comfortable posture while drawing the complete possible length of your height, but at the same time taking care to not appear stiff.

Body Language Mistakes #5 – Fidgeting:

Constantly fidgeting or fixing your hair/clothes, et al., makes you appear as though you are anxious, nervous, overly self-conscious or distracted. The nervous energy would definitely be visible to the onlooker(s) and succeed in doing the very opposite of what you intended to, distract them instead of holding their attention.

Being aware and conscious of your body language, and working on it is an effort worth making. Be it your professional, or personal life, your body language is something that will always create a lasting impression. It reflects your maturity, professionalism and confidence and speaks a great deal about how you carry yourself. After all, it is the language you speak with, without even speaking a word. Like Peter Guber says,

“Language is a more recent technology. Your body language, your eyes, your energy will come through to your audience before you even start speaking.”

What do you think ? What are the other big body language blunders that we consciously or unconsciously make ? We would love to hear back from you.

And here is a bonus : We came across this powerful Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy, a renowned social psychologist.who shows how “power posing” – standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success. Check out the high power and low power poses that she demonstrates in the video as well. She shows us that we can actually fake it to become it (yes, no kidding!). Bravo, Amy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc

Body Language and its Importance – Make it Work for you at Work

by sincera | Nov 30, 2015 | Career, Communication, Managing Yourself, Office Etiquette, World of Work

Whoever said the only way to speak and communicate is through words? Even when you don’t speak a single word, your body language often conveys everything you want to say, sometimes even more than what you would want to say. What exactly is body language? All non-verbal communication made consciously or sub consciously. All leadership gurus and soft skill trainers would swear by the importance of proper body language. But why is body language so important after all?

Body Language plays a crucial role in communication – It can either complement your speech, or be a complete distraction to what you are saying, hence reduce considerably the effectiveness of your communication. It is a proven fact that 7 % of what we want to express is communicated through the words we use, 38% from the tone we use and 55 % comes from our body language. Hence, how effective our communication is depends heavily on how effective our body language is.

Body Language can earn you friends, or enemies – Your body language can help you be approachable or it can earn you unwanted attention. While you may not even be aware of certain flaws in your body language and may be doing it at a subconscious level, it is always best to try and be conscious and make an effort of checking yourself when you feel you could communicate better.

Signs of Positive Body Language:

Smiling (Discretion necessary here depending on the seriousness of interaction :))
Eye contact
A perfect handshake – not the death grip, not flaccid either
Affirmative movements like nodding head when required and reaffirming smiles.
Using hands – Use your hands to help emphasize your words, but don’t use them to the extent of it appearing as though you are dancing!
Slow and clear speech
Your posture reflects your confidence or lack of it – How you carry yourself, whether your posture is straight and upright or bent and slouched determine whether you are confident and interested or disinterested. Leaning forward slightly implies interest, a willingness to comprehend
Slowly nodding – Shows a positive interest / comprehension / validation.

Signs of Negative Body Language

Tapping fingers – Agitated, anxious, bored, calculating.
Resting your palm on your chin – Critical, cynical and negativity towards the receiver.
Nose-rubbing or nose-touching when giving a verbal response – A sign of doubt, dishonesty.
Rubbing around ears when giving a verbal response – Performed while winging an answer, commonly associated with ‘I don’t know’ type response.
Rubbing the back of your head or neck – May suggest a disinterest in the conversation.
Staring blankly at the floor – May suggest a disinterest in the conversation.
Rapidly nodding your head – May display impatience / eagerness to add something to the conversation.
Rubbing your collar – Nervousness.
Biting your fingernails – Nervousness.

Our body language is mostly governed by our subconscious mind. A great way to find out how exactly our body language is, is by filming ourselves. Self-assessment is one of the most constructive forms of assessment. Though, one needs to be oneself and not alert towards the presence of the camera. The best way to be perfect, as we always say, is by practicing!

Decoding body language through non-verbal cues is also the best way to understand what the person in front of you is actually trying to communicate. Here is a helpful infographic by blogger/illustrator Yumi Sakugawa that gives some very useful body language tips.

5 Simple Practices to Help You Achieve Mastery Over Communication Skills

by sincera | Nov 26, 2015 | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Managing Yourself, World of Work

We are living in the Communication Age and communication skills can be the make or break factor for your professional success. The ability to articulate oneself clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing, is of utmost importance, no matter what job you have or industry you work in. It is an art and like every other art, you need considerable and consistent practice to achieve mastery over communication skills. As Brian Tracy said,

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”

Here are five simple everyday practices that will bring a noticeable difference to your communication skills and help you achieve mastery over communication skills.

Make eye-contact while speaking:

One of the most important things about effective communication is to make eye contact while addressing someone, or a group. We all have been in the situation where we’ve mentally screamed at the person addressing us by going “hello, my eyes are here!” or been the other person who finds it much easier to speak when looking at an inanimate object (because that’s less intimidating). I remember, in my school, we were all taught to stare at the wall while speaking so that we don’t get nervous. Now I know why it was one of the worst things I learnt. But, like they say, it is never too late to unlearn and re-learn. When you maintain eye-contact with the person you are addressing, he/she feels like you are not only being attentive, but are also interested and right there with them, and not drifting off.
Remember the name(s) and mention it:

Remember the name of the person you are talking to, and end the conversation by mentioning it. For example, “Alright Philip, it was great talking to you”, or in the middle of your conversation, “so Philip, what do you think about this?” When you refer to them by their name, instead of using generic statements, it does make an impact and the person being addressed understands you were attentive, which is crucial.
Avoid using ‘fillers’ at all cost:

All of us tend to use syllables which may range from among the following – “umm”, “like”, “so…”, “uh”, “actually”, when we find ourselves running out of words. Even when we have plenty to say, we end up using these fillers, because we tend to get nervous. Be conscious to avoid using fillers, and the only way you get good at it is by practice!
Listening is the key:

Do not listen with an intention to retort but with the intent to understand. When you listen and analyze carefully what the other person is saying, you will be able to coherently form logical and rational sentences in your head while responding, instead of simply jumping to conclusions just so that you can make your point and have the last word.
Be precise and specific:

Do not beat around the bush. A great way to avoid that is to follow the “BRIEF” acronym, for both, written and verbal communication. BRIEF stands for – Background, Reason, Information, End and Follow up. This will ensure you are clear and concise, while communicated exactly what needs to be communicated, and doing so effectively.

Practice does make for perfect. Remember these 5 tips and try to implement them whenever you get an opportunity, even when you aren’t at work. Do not shy away from conversation, express yourself regardless of the fear that you may fumble and also read a lot, especially newspapers, or at the very least the editorials of newspapers. Read some of our other posts on achieving mastery over communication skills. Good communication skills – spoken or written can open doors you never even thought existed. So go ahead, outshine the competition. Get the edge. That is some food for thought 🙂

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