Look familiar?

                   Was this you this morning?

Chances are you're feeling a little sluggish today yet your job is to sound upbeat, professional, and caring.
This is the perfect day for the Swivel and Answer and this is how it works... 

When you hear the phone ring, swivel your chair to the left, then back to center, then answer.

Next time the phone rings, swivel your chair to the right, then back to center, then answer.

Do you sense a pattern?  Keep it up.  Keep on swiveling and not only will be you able to button your pants again, you'll also sound more energetic on the phone.

At Ward Certified, we're grateful for elastic pants!

Happy Monday.

Sound available.

You are busy, but you shouldn’t sound busy.

If you slow down and don’t interrupt your caller, they will feel heard, cared for and like you better.

Wow, that’s quite a promise, you say?

But it’s true.  When you fully listen to your caller and act as if they are the most important person in your world (right now), they can feel it.

Tips:
Choose to speak at a slower pace to indicate you have time for them.  Need help?  Say this tongue twister, “Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascals ran.”  That’s the pace, and nice job with the enunciation!

Choose not to interrupt.  Snap a rubber band on your wrist as a reminder to let them finish their sentence… completely.  Resist the urge to help them along. Just listen.

You know that feeling you get when you help someone?  When they say ‘thank you’ and you know you earned it?  Ya, that feels good and these techniques will help you experience that more often.

If you've ever wanted to get yourself Ward Certified™, now is the time.  Click here to learn more.

You're making me crazy!

I’m often asked how to deal with a co-worker that drives you bonkers.

Well… You can pick your nose, you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your co-workers.  It’s a job.  Some people will annoy you.

If, on the other hand, you decide to deal with it (which by the way would make me very proud!) here’s some advice.

• Start with a positive
• Be specific
• Get their perspective

Here's what it might sound like.

"Our working relationship matters to me, we work so closely here at Awesome Co., I’d like us to get along better.  When you and I work on X, Y seems to happen.  What’s your take on it?"

The goal is to change behavior and people won't be open to change if they are feeling defensive.  This conversation builds bridges, not fences.

Another tip: If the thought of this makes you nervous, practice it on a friend - or your dog - first.

If you've ever wanted to get yourself Ward Certified™, now is the time.  Click here to learn more.

Left side, right side

Have you been doing your hourly squats?  Yes?  Excellent.

You’ve now graduated to the Elbow Tap:

• Stand with arms at sides.
• Bend and touch your right elbow to left knee as you raise your leg.
• Then stand and touch your left elbow to your right knee.
• Repeat 5 times each side.

Sit back down.  How do you feel?

Turns out, cross-lateral movements (those in which arms and legs cross over from one side of the body to the other) “unstick” the brain and energize learning.

The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side. Both sides are forced to communicate when arms and legs cross over.

Cool huh?

Thanks for the tip, Dr. Paula Berardinelli!

Have an INCREDIBLE Halloween

Apparently, there is truth to the adage 'dress for success'.  

Research shows your alertness is affected by what you wear.

One study found that people wearing a doctor’s lab coat displayed heightened attention.

When the same people then wore an identical coat but were told it was a painter’s coat, they weren't as attentive as when they wore (what they perceived to be) the doctor's coat.

The research found: “The influence of clothes thus depends on wearing them and their symbolic meaning.”  

Seems like the impact of dressing casually in the office can have some scary effects.  Read more here.

But not tomorrow....

Happy Halloween!  

If you or your team dress up, please share a picture on our FB page. 

Triple Nod

Do you deal with customers and clients in person?

If so, get to know the triple nod.

• No nodding = bored or disinterested
• Too much nodding = impatient or overly agreeable
• The Goldilocks of nodding - just right - is three, slow and deliberate nods.  That signals your customer to keep going by showing that you are listening.

BTW:  Works on internal customers too.

"I don't know"

My dunkin' donut habit/math problem from last weeks' E-Couragement inspired some conversation, so let's continue.

The moral of the DD story was to be curious vs. being right.  When we think we are right, we don't listen very well, in fact, instead of listening, we're waiting to speak. 

When we're curious we focus fully on the caller's request.

But what do you do when you don't know?   Find out.
What do you say?  "I'd be happy to look into that and get back to you by 4 pm today."

Why does that work?
- you're expressing your desire to help
- you're letting them know that you will take action
- you are managing expectations by setting a specific timeframe

And in case you are wondering, it's 3 cups of strong, black coffee a day.  Thank goodness new research shows this to be a good habit!