Guest author Vincent Kyle Ng

There are no hard and fast rules on how to introduce two people to each other. The basic idea is to treat both people with respect and come up with a way such that they would know each other’s name and also have something to talk about so that there will not be awkward silences.

How to introduce two people to each other:

1. Give their full names

2. Add an impersonal identifying tag

Examples of such taglines include:

“This is my best friend, Peter Taylor”

“This is Peter Taylor, the partner in my law firm”

“This is my college roommate, Peter Taylor”

“The new accountant with our firm, Peter Taylor”

A complete introduction would sound like this:

“Martin, I would like you to meet my college roommate, Peter Taylor. Peter, this is Martin Williams, the partner in my law firm”.

Attaching a tagline gives these two people who have just met each other something to make small talk on. Merely introducing two people to each other is not enough. I have seen many hosts just introducing two people by name and then leaving them on their own to figure out common interests to talk about, which can be quite awkward.

You need to leave them with something to talk about, sparing them the awkward silence, and they will be thankful to you for helping them break the ice and meet a new friend.

In the case of the sample introduction above, here are the possible topics that Martin and Peter could talk about:

“Do you live in town or are you visiting?”

“What was your major in college?”

“I hear NYU was a close knit community, was that the case during your time there?”

“What made you interested to pursue law as a career?”

“How did you know Vincent (your name here)”

“Any crazy stories about Vincent (your name here) I should know about?”

If you know something that the two people have in common (both play golf, have recently travelled to Germany, love antique cars), mention it!

On the other hand, do not attach embarrassing tags such as:

“This is Peter Taylor, he used to get drunk all the time in college”

“This is Peter Taylor, he’s quite the ladies man”

These embarrassing tags, although humorous, are not appropriate for first meetings. Peter may not want you to share such personal information about himself to a complete stranger. Such information should be shared when Peter and Martin get to know each other better and are more comfortable around each other.

Now that you know how to introduce two people to each other, put this knowledge to use the next time you attend a party or a company function. You will be surprised at how grateful people will be to you for expanding their networks and in turn, they may reciprocate and expand your network so it is definitely a win-win situation.

Check out my blog to discover more groundbreaking persuasion and influence secrets to improve your life here or you could go directly to http://www.thesecretofpersuasion.com/blog Be sure to claim your free 7 part e-course when you visit. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vincent_Kyle_Ng

Author: Shirley Taylor

Take a look around your workplace. Do the leaders in your organisation write effectively and powerfully? Do good writers tend to get promoted? Do people tend to listen to good writers? Are good writers able to persuade or convince effectively? Absolutely, yes, yes, and yes again!

More and more of our work today is undertaken through writing rather than in person or on the phone. Indeed, I really wish that wasn’t true. Have you ever considered how much quicker certain issues could be resolved by picking up the phone or speaking to someone face-to-face? We all spend way too much time going through the ding-dong of emails going back and forth, when a simple phone call would have been much more effective. Anyway, I digress.

As we are writing so much more these days, we depend on our writing skills to influence, persuade, encourage, collaborate, and to lead. However, how often do you notice people talking about the importance of good writing in your day-to-day work? They don’t, right? Most people don’t really notice the quality of the writing they read – they simply react positively, negatively, or not at all. If you have ever wondered if there’s a better way to write your messages so they get better results, there is!

Here are three of the new rules for written communication:

1. If you can say it, you can write it

We connect with the world today largely through e-mail, web sites, blogs, texting, and social media. With all these channels we have only bare facts, without tone of voice, facial expressions, body language, or pauses. As we regularly use these means instead of talking, it makes sense to use writing that’s as close as possible to spoken language. When you do this, you gain yourself a great advantage – you put your personality and individuality into your message. This will help you to stand out more and make a greater connection with your reader.

2. Write for today, not yesterday

Yesterday: Please be advised that a meeting of the Annual Convention Committee will be held on 24 February (Thursday) at 9.30 am. Approximately 2 hours will be required for the meeting and you are required to attend to report on progress made since the last meeting. Kindly advise me of your availability at your soonest.

Today: I’d like to hold another meeting of the Annual Convention Committee on Tuesday 24 February from 9.30 to 11.30 am. I hope you can attend to report on the great ideas you brought up at the last meeting. Please confirm if you can join us.

Yesterday’s writing is passive and wordy, and it sounds really dull. It puts a distance between you and the reader. The way it is written also slows down understanding. Today’s writing sounds more conversational. It’s crisp, clear, transparent, and the personal context makes it more positive and interesting.

3. Make your aim to build relationships

In writing, as readers can’t see or hear you, people will judge you based on what you write and how you write it. In today’s fast-paced, communication-crazy world, it’s essential to come across as a human being. If you insist on using old fashioned or redundant jargon (Please be reminded, Kindly be advised, Please find attached herewith, above-mentioned, reference and perusal, etc) you will obscure the real meaning and will not be adding any personality of your own. Make your writing positive, stimulating and interesting, add some feeling and a personal touch. This will help people get to know the real person behind the message.

Poor writing damages reputations

Poorly written messages reflect badly on you and your organisation. Poor writing will not clarify an organisation’s products, services, values, policies and beliefs; it may even portray them negatively. As a result, business efficiency is lost, as are opportunities to connect and to build relationships with clients, colleagues and collaborators.

Good writing makes a difference

Good writing is receiving increasing recognition as an essential business skill, and it will give you a huge advantage in today’s business world. Good writing can help you work more efficiently, build credibility, improve relationships, influence other people, win more clients and achieve your goals.

So take another look around your workplace. Look objectively at the messages you receive, and at the messages you send. Are they full of yesterday’s jargon or today’s conversational expressions? Will they help to enhance your professional reputation or ruin it? Will they help to build relationships or break them?

Give yourself an edge in this very competitive world by getting to grips with effective writing now, before it’s too late!

Shirley Taylor is a popular trainer and author of many successful books on communication and business writing skills. Shirley lives in Singapore and conducts popular workshops on business writing, communication skills and e-mail writing. Visit http://www.shirleytaylortraining.com and receive five complimentary special reports in the Seven Steps to Success series. Check out Shirley’s books at http://www.stsuccessskills.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shirley_Taylor

Author: Dale Reynolds

Have you ever been at a loss to understand what someone was saying (in person or in writing) because they used unfamiliar words? Good writing skills include making sure the intended audience will comprehend your message!

What is your intention when writing an article?

• To impress people with your intelligence
• To build a loyal following of people who will read your material again

I believe many times, writers and speakers are trying to appear intelligent and be impressive. But if you are trying to get people to come back for more, it’s absolutely the wrong strategy! You must speak and write in a way that will be understood.

When speaking live, at least you can witness the “deer in the headlights” look and know that you must rephrase your message. In writing, you don’t have that luxury. You must think carefully about your message and intended audience. You don’t want to insult people by “talking down” to them, but neither do you want to be flying 1,000 feet over their heads!

I attended a meeting the other day. We always have a short presentation by a group member. The topic for the day was holding effective meetings. The speaker asked us to pair up, and discuss with our partner some bad experiences we had with meetings. Then the speaker asked a few people to share what they discussed.

My partner said the worst meetings in her opinion were “didactic.” I told her I didn’t follow, as I had never heard the word before. She repeated the word (as if that was going to help in the absence of a dictionary!) and finally explained what she meant: that meetings should be interactive, not someone lecturing. A lecture should be billed as such: lecture, class, seminar. I agreed.

When she volunteered to share our findings with the group, she used the same word. She got blank stares and again had to explain herself. I don’t know if she was trying to sound intelligent, or just thought the word was efficient, but had she been writing an article instead of speaking live…her point would have been missed and she would have alienated some of her audience.

Alienated people don’t come back!

Since I consider myself intelligent, well-read and well-educated, I did a quick survey this morning. I asked 12 people if they were familiar with the word “didactic.” Only 1 of the 12 knew the meaning. Three said they had heard it before but didn’t know the meaning. Eight had never heard it before. Granted this was a small sample, but…

Do you want to take the chance that 91% of your audience will never read more of your content, just so you can sound intelligent?

It’s the same in any field, really. I once bought an exercise DVD only to find the choreography extremely challenging. I am not talking about physical difficulty of the exercise, I am talking about being able to execute the steps the same way as the instructor. She knew it was challenging when she created it, because she added a slow-motion instructional section at the end. But even after doing that slow motion section 5 times I could not do the routine. I gave that DVD to the library and never bought her DVDs again! I agree she is very creative in her choreography, but that simply won’t appeal to the masses! The company I buy from now, uses easy-to-follow steps that are still physically challenging (but also can be made easier when needed.) They are smart enough to know that the wider the audience they appeal to, the more sales they will get!

I find that a perfect example of a great writer is Andy Andrews. His style is so engaging, I don’t want to put his books down (hint: he tells stories.) His books remind me of Aesop’s Fables: great stories with a message. These books are life-altering, and wouldn’t it be a shame if he ruined the message with big words and difficult phrases? But he doesn’t! Read them for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.

Keep your intention in mind when writing. Good writing skills include understanding your audience and speaking at their level, if your intention is to keep them coming back for more. If you want to lose them for good…try to sound as smart as possible!

Dale Reynolds http://dale-reynolds.com Success is a decision. Decide today! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dale_Reynolds