Vanya Wryter Consulting Services
Business operations, learning and development, and content creation.
International Women’s Day celebrates the economic, social, political, and cultural achievements of women. This day has been observed as early in history as 1909. It’s a day that is celebrated in many countries around the world.
In recognition of the achievements of women in business and women who are entrepreneurs, I’m resharing this blog about why women should be entrepreneurs. Happy reading!
How important is customer service to you? Is customer service more important when you dine at a restaurant, or more important when you subscribe to an internet service? Customer expectations for good service directly affect how much satisfaction they get from the services they seek.
Some industries have really high customer satisfaction levels. Restaurants and breweries have high rankings. Other industries have low customer service satisfaction levels, such as gas stations and internet service providers.
Take a look at these findings that rate customer satisfaction levels by industry.
Do you agree with the findings? Are there industries in which you have a higher expectation for good customer service?
Let’s make lasting impressions because you’re easy to remember and hard to forget. Whether it’s a social situation, a job interview, or a business situation, you want people to speak with you because they like you and you created a strong initial impression. To help you achieve that goal, here are five ways to get people to remember you.
After you meet someone new, say their name during your conversation as soon as possible. Repeat their name at the end, closing with, “It was nice meeting you, (name).” People like to be remembered, and if you make an effort to remember this person, they are more likely to remember you as well.
When someone gives you something, you feel obligated to give them something in return. This is the Law of Reciprocity. You see this often when you go shopping. A staff member gives out free food samples, increasing the chances that the shopper will reciprocate by buying an item from the store. Similarly, when you open the door for someone, buy a co-worker a coffee, or share useful information (like telling someone about a 2-for-1 deal you heard about), that person will view you more positively.
One way to get people to remember you is to be vulnerable. When you make mistakes, others see you as more human and relatable. When you meet someone for the first time, share a quick anecdote about an embarrassing moment. For example, share how you ate the spicy green wasabi because you thought it was mint ice cream. People like people they can relate to.
People remember stories. If you have a name that is difficult to remember, an anecdote about your name makes it easier to recall. Something catchy is as simple as an adjective + name: smart Sam or adventurous Alex. Then they will remember your name and something about your personality.
People associate you with what you say. If you complain a lot about the news, the weather, or other people, you may be perceived as negative. If you compliment others and speak positively about people, places, and events, others will associate you with this optimism. Make positive energy your brand, and that is what people will remember about you.
Sometimes our first interaction with someone is brief. To create a lasting impact, try one of these five techniques to make yourself more memorable. As the saying goes, you have one chance to make a lasting impression.
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We’re updating a previously published blog about self-care during quarantine and the pandemic. Now, with rising prices and inflation, self-care is just as important. All around us, we are facing the rising costs of everything, from food to household items, and big-ticket items that are further out of reach, such as vacations and housing. You deserve a break from the everyday stresses of life to relax and de-stress. You need some self-care by personality type.
Why self-care by personality type? Some people by nature feel that taking a break is a sign of laziness, while others are concerned about how their self-care impacts the people around them. To figure out which self-care routine is best for you, let’s look at which personality type you are, then what type of self-care is best for you.
The self-driven hard worker runs on never-ending, rechargeable batteries. They will forget to eat while they pursue a goal for the day and wave off sleep to get a head start on their next goal. These people are leader types who like to get straight to the point in a conversation because they don’t have time to waste while they pursue their next achievement.
The high achiever enjoys the finer things in life, desiring a lifestyle of luxury and wealth as an ultimate goal. They are also drawn to successful people and want to be like the successful people they admire. If they are on vacation or playing a game or sport, they tend to be competitive and need to set an objective for the activity. They can be extremely focused.
Taking a moment for self-care is most challenging for the self-driven, high achiever. They will ask questions such as, “How does watching this movie help me reach my goals?” Or, “If I take a walk now, I could get some fresh air and use that time to brainstorm what I need to do for my project! What a great use of time!”
Unfortunately, these hard workers could burn out and suffer from health and relationship problems. They need to take a much-needed break to eat a proper meal and spend time with friends or family. Having a little fun will not result in disaster or an episode of laziness, which is difficult for them to accept.
The humanitarian puts friends and family first. Their objectives in life and career revolve around what they can do for the people they care about and humankind in general. They tend to be shy, quiet, risk-averse introverts.
They will work harder if it means their paycheck will cover the cost of hockey practice and uniforms for their child, or ensure that their parents have a nicer place to live. They will gladly contribute funds or their time for a cause, such as rescuing a stray dog. They tend to be selfless.
Self-care can be a challenge for these humanitarians. They are so focused on giving and caring for others that they sacrifice their own time, well-being, or finances for another person. They need to try to put themselves first occasionally to avoid burnout.
Instead of taking on more housework, for example, they should take the day off themselves and not feel guilty about it. Even if family members don’t show appreciation for what a humanitarian does, these selfless types can give themselves a well-deserved time off.
Logical and systematic describes people with this personality type. They tend to overanalyze and are critical of many aspects of their lives. Unlike the high achiever or enthusiast, who will take risks, the analyst needs to know all the facts up front before making a decision.
They love details and keep meticulous records. They can be very tidy and organized and they feel safest when they can anticipate their future. If you want to know the pros and cons of a big decision, the analyst can advise you.
Detail-oriented analysts will take the time to pamper themselves or take a vacation if they know that everything is under control and carefully planned out. They will take the night off after planning out their day for tomorrow. They will try out a new spa treatment or yoga class if they have researched it first for health benefits, pricing, and activities.
You can count on the analyst to thoroughly research your vacation destination, to plan out activities, schedules, and prices. It may intimidate them a bit at first but encourage an analyst to leap into something new without knowing what they are getting into. Ask them to join you for a night about town and tell them your destination will be a pleasant surprise. A little adventure can be fun!
The big-picture enthusiast is highly social and loves being around people. They are the life of the party and the team member whom coworkers consider most amicable. However, they are sloppy with details and struggle to stay focused, especially if a task isn’t fun. Their biggest motivator is fun. Suggest something exciting and they will enthusiastically jump in and try it out, often without weighing the consequences.
Enthusiasts enjoy life, but they too need time for self-care. They need to set goals and check in to make sure that these goals are achieved. Did they reach their income goal for the month? Did they complete all the steps to get some important paperwork started? Otherwise, their disorganization and lack of focus could result in stress or disaster down the road.
Self-care includes checking in and making sure they’ve done all the steps needed if they want to buy a house. Or if they want to get from their current job to their ultimate career goal. Self-care includes having serious conversations with their significant other and asking if the relationship is healthy or if there are issues they need to deal with.
Taking the time to ground themselves in these less exciting aspects of life is important. Otherwise, enthusiasts may find themselves missing out on important deadlines or stressed out and dealing with the aftermath of bad decisions because they didn’t do enough research. Enjoying life is good, but everything needs balance.
No one is exactly 100 percent one of these personality types. You could be predominately one of these types when you’re working and another when you aren’t. You could be a combination of any of these types, like a combination of multiple flavors. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each type will help you focus on what you can do for your well-being.
What self-care will you work on this week?
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Writing is as important as speaking in the workplace. Whether you compose emails, write direct messages, draft reports, or compose speeches for presentations, clear writing can convey your ideas and avoid confusion. Many don’t find it easy to write well. School doesn’t prepare you to write clear and concise emails and messages for work. As a result, you may find yourself talking on the phone to clarify confusing messages to coworkers. To improve your writing skills for work, try the following tips.
Composing an email to ask for a favor or inform a team member they need to do a better job takes tact and a careful selection of words. If you’re wordy or too blunt when you write, start a collection of writing samples that you can refer to for specific writing situations.
Read blogs and books that teach you how to write the type of writing you want to improve on. Keep samples of these types of writing on file so you can copy the structure and wording the next time you need to compose a similar piece of writing.
Too busy to learn how to write better? Learn as you go. If you find a fantastic piece of writing in your email box, put a star on it to use as a template for a future email. These writing samples can come from sites you subscribe to, your coworkers’ emails, or your clients’ emails. Your examples can be as simple as some sentences or phrases that others use that you would like to include to improve your writing.
Writing often and getting feedback sounds like school. Writing is the same as exercise – you need to do it often to improve your confidence and see improvement.
Ask to write the first draft of a report or important email. The first draft is the hardest. You need to organize your ideas and decide what to say. Then ask a coworker to review and provide constructive feedback before you ask your supervisor to do the final approval before sending the report or email to a client.
Asking for feedback is especially important for critical emails. Maybe your ideas aren’t coming across as clearly as you thought. Your coworker could suggest alternate wording, or suggest another idea you can include.
To improve your writing speed, set a timer or time to complete your task. If you procrastinate or experience writer’s block when you have to write something that isn’t a routine work task, setting a completion time can reduce time spent procrastinating.
A solid understanding of good grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling is important for good writing. You can improve by studying grammar books and taking writing courses on writing style and word choice.
If you don’t have time to study grammar (or consider studying grammar as boring), you have plenty of resources to help. Your word processing program has grammar and punctuation checker features, and a thesaurus to suggest writing tips to you.
Take note of the writing suggestions that your writing tools are suggesting to you. Make it a goal to avoid making the same spelling and grammar mistakes the next time you write.
Writing is a crucial skill that can impact job advancement, salary, and career choices. Even a simple direct message at work can convey an important message. To improve your writing skills, study and collect writing samples that you can use as templates. Ask for feedback from coworkers and use editing tools to check your writing. These small steps you can apply daily can improve the quality of your writing over time.
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Vanya Wryter Consulting Services