And we’ve met her in business meetings, haven’t we?
She’s the one who has been voted most likely to say or do something unconventional. She goes against the grain.
So what can we do about Mary?
With her “quite contrary” nature, Mary reminds us that diversity of thought in meetings is invaluable. We actively seek out varying viewpoints. That way, we can get contrasting ideas that lead to remarkable solutions.
In the rhyme’s bells and shells, listen to the symphony of voices in meetings. Encourage active participation, allowing each voice to chime in and enrich the conversation.
Like Mary’s magical garden, meetings can be fertile ground for ideas to bloom. Nurture creativity, diversity, and innovation. Then watch brilliant concepts grow! 🌷
You’ll want to practice your flags, bridges, and hooks. They can help you as you present on camera or go into media interviews.
Flags, bridges, and hooks help make a media interview conversational. They also help you answer tough questions and make a stronger impact.
🚩 Flagging statements signal you’re about to say something important. Think of someone planting a flag: it captures attention.
Flag examples:
🚩 If you remember one thing: remember this… 🚩 This is the key takeaway… 🚩 It all comes down to this….
🌉 Bridging statements signal you’re about to transition into another subject. Think of crossing a bridge: you’re going from one area to another.
Bridge examples:
🌉 Let’s turn our attention to… 🌉 Another area of interest is… 🌉 Let’s look at…
🦈 Hooking statements inspire your audience to ask follow up questions. Think of dangling tempting bait that lures the interviewer into asking questions you want them to ask.
Hook examples:
🐠 That’s just one easy method to… 🐠 There’s yet another way to get even better results. 🐠 I recommend a totally new approach.
Of course, there are other examples of flagging, bridging, and hooking statements. 🦈
Be prepared. Drill your tough questions, and practice your flags, bridges, and hooks before your next media interview or online, on-camera appearance.
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Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.
🔥🔥🔥 Laura also teaches “Presenting On Camera” – a live, interactive group class for sales and training professionals who need to shift from in-person to on-camera presentations. Call to inquire about availability and rates.
How long should you wait before ending your Zoom poll?
🍿“USE THE BURNT POPCORN RULE!”🍿
What’s the Popcorn Rule?
Think about popping corn. After a few minutes of popping, you’ve got a good batch of popcorn to eat.
But you still might be thinking, “But wait. There might be a few unpopped kernels. Maybe I should wait to see if I hear any other pops…”
…but you can’t wait too long. If you do, you’ll burn the kernels that have already popped!
It’s the same deal with an online poll. When you launch one, most of the class or audience will pop off right away. You wait a few seconds, and a few more pop.
At this point, it’s time to end the poll. You can’t wait for absolutely everyone to respond — or the people who popped off right away will learn there’s no advantage to a speedy response.
Ya burned!
In short: there’s no specific limit like “33 seconds!” or “when 75% of the audience has responded!”
You need to keep an eye and ear on how your poll is popping. When the pops start to taper off, end the poll.
And that’s the 🍿POPCORN RULE!🍿
How else do you know when to stop your poll?
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Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.
🔥🔥🔥 Laura also teaches “Presenting On Camera” – a live, interactive group class for sales and training professionals who need to shift from in-person to on-camera presentations. Call to inquire about availability and rates.
You need to maintain eye contact with a reporter or interviewer during an on-camera appearance. And yet, you need to cover your main talking points. And stick to an agenda and stay on time.
And you don’t want to have wandering or shifty eyes while you’re talking on-camera! What to do, what to do? How can you look at the camera and still keep focused on your main talking points?
Try using what I call ‘THE TURKEY TAIL TECHNIQUE.”
In the Turkey Tail, you put each agenda item or main talking point on one post it note. Stick the post it notes across your laptop or monitor. Fan the post it notes out like a Turkey Tail!
That way, you can subtly and evenly glance at your agenda items without having wild or wandering eyes. You can maintain good eye contact with the camera, and still keep on top of your agenda and main talking points.
Try the Turkey Tail Technique in your next Zoom interview or Zoom meeting
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Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.
🔥🔥🔥 Laura also teaches “Presenting On Camera” – a live, interactive group class for sales and training professionals who need to shift from in-person to on-camera presentations. Call to inquire about availability and rates.
I’ve been in quite a few Zoom web meetings lately, and I’ve seen a lot of BATS IN THE CAVE, if you know what I mean.
If you don’t know what I mean by BATS IN THE CAVE — it’s when someone is using the camera on their laptop and I can look straight up their nose during the meeting.
Really, BATS IN THE CAVE is not a good look on anyone!
If you use a laptop for web meetings, I’ll give you two tips to help you get rid of that BATS IN THE CAVE look.
1. Get a stack of books. Raise your laptop up so your eyes are level with the camera.
2. Get a sticky note. Attach it to your monitor with an arrow or a smiley face, reminding you to look up and SMILE.
It’s the simple things. You can MacGyver this and still look like a polished professional.
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Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.
If you’re a LinkedIn Premium or Lynda.com member, these courses are free! If you’re not a member, you can either become a member or buy each of these classes à la carte.
