How To Network During a Pandemic – and Get Results

When the pandemic finally arrived in Vancouver in March, businesses started to close, work meetings moved to Zoom, and I was cut off from friends and family. COVID-19 became a sci fi movie roaming the streets of my real life. As an entrepreneur who relied on making connections to get business, I wondered, “How I could network during a pandemic?” And how could I do it effectively?

In my pre-pandemic life, I used to attend networking events. I went to networking breakfasts and seasonal events like a Christmas yacht party. I met people, collected business cards, and shook many hands. Of course, those activities seem appalling now. Like me, you’re probably wondering, “What was I thinking, shaking hands without carrying hand sanitizer?”

Like me, you’re probably wondering, “What was I thinking, shaking hands without carrying hand sanitizer?”

Life was different back then. As pre-pandemic shifted to pandemic, more activities moved online, and “Zoom” became a household word. You didn’t sit at a boardroom table for meetings; you sat at your kitchen table and stared at a checkerboard pattern of people in different rooms.

Over the next few months, I adjusted to wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants instead of a shirt and slacks. I got used to reaching out to the world through my computer instead of experiencing the world in person. In doing so, I found some effective ways to network online.

I’ll share with you my top three ways to network, starting with a platform that had existed before the pandemic.

In-Person or Online

A year ago, Meetup.com was a great place to meet new people and experience new places. However, in 2020, it became taboo almost overnight to try to make new friends by gathering with a bunch of strangers.

A friend of mine terminated her Meetup group. Until March, she had organized dining events to try out different cuisines and meet people who signed up for these events. I enjoyed the conversations I had with new people. But she closed her group because she felt moving it online just didn’t have the same feeling.

I didn’t know what she meant until I signed up for a Meetup event with a different Meetup group. Their event was an online “zoom party.” The title sounded fun. It wasn’t.

What Happens At Zoom Parties

This is what happened: one person talked at a time. There were between 14 to 16 people on the Zoom, and only one person could speak at a time or you would get a jumble of dialogue.

Also, if you’re interested in what the speaker has to say, then you’ll have a good time. But if you don’t know what obscure food or obscure movie she’s talking about, then you may wilt from boredom.

Unlike an in-person event, you couldn’t side bar to another conversation.

Unlike an in-person event, you couldn’t side bar to another conversation. You could listen to that one conversation on Zoom, or you could doodle, check your messages, or pick up your phone and wander around aimlessly until the topic changes.

I quickly learned a chat room of strangers talking about random things wasn’t fun at all.

More about Zoom later. Meanwhile, I was experimenting with meeting people on Facebook groups. I was ambitious enough to search through a couple dozen of these groups in search of like-minded people.

Tips For Finding Groups

It can be tedious to read through dozens of Facebook group descriptions to find the right ones to join. Some descriptions were so long and detailed that I perfected my speed-reading skills. As I searched through these groups, I kept some specific criteria in mind:

  1. Group member count. I like groups with a few thousand or more members because it increases my chances of making quality connections. Also with bigger groups, there tends to be more interactions.
  2. Number of posts per day. I’ve joined some writing groups that have one post every few hours. I look for networking opportunities, possible freelancing gigs, and interesting posts from other business owners. I avoid groups that don’t have an active membership.
  3. Group objective that’s in line with mine. This is the most important factor. I read the Facebook group description to see if their goals match mine. My favored groups have a lot of job postings, advice postings, or cross-promotional activities. In some cases, I’ve found links to useful websites or free online courses.

I’ve joined a handful of groups in a few months, made some connections, and found some freelance opportunities. I’ll continue to make connections in these groups, even if people start meeting in person again.

Networking on Zoom

Making connections online is a great way to expand your professional circle but exchanging messages doesn’t have the same human interaction as hearing a voice or seeing a live face. Although Zoom wasn’t the best platform for me to meet new people socially, I found it a powerful tool to meet people professionally.

I like networking professionally on Zoom. These events, or meetings, follow a very strict format with the purpose of increasing your opportunities to make business connections or find clients.

If you’re new to Zoom, it’s easy to become obsessed with looking at yourself and analyzing your imperfections.

Networking on Zoom is a little different than finding connections in person. In a way, it’s not natural. You’re staring at an assortment of faces and they are all staring back. If you’re new to Zoom, it’s easy to become obsessed with looking at yourself and analyzing your imperfections. Me for example, I keep wondering why my head is tilted sideways. I certainly don’t feel like I’m off kilter.

Zoom Call Tips

In that sense, it’s more relaxing to network in person. You’re just looking at the one or two people you are speaking to, and everyone else in the room isn’t even facing you. Better yet, it’s not as unnerving when you can’t see yourself talking to the person across from you. Somehow, we look better in our heads than in the mirror.

On Zoom, the good thing is everyone else is probably either self-consciously watching themselves or looking at the speaker. If you’re new to Zoom meetings, the hardest part may be the introductions, when you provide your name and occupation. Then if you aren’t talking, chances are, you’ll fade into the background.

To look good and sound good on Zoom, I have these quick tips:

  1. Have a strong internet connection. Otherwise, you will sound like you are underwater as your connection lags.
  2. Check if you’re on mute when you’re speaking. I’ve wondered why people ignored me when I was speaking. Or people watch you as your mouth silently moves.
  3. Check your lighting. I’ve vanished because the virtual background isn’t mixing well with my image.
  4. Sit in a place with minimal furnishings. If your background is busy, Zoom attendees will definitely be checking out your surroundings. I was intrigued by one attendee’s plentiful collection of wall ornaments.

Zoom business meetings are here to stay as people continue to work remotely, and businesses connect globally. I have extended my network reach beyond my city to people in other provinces and other countries. With in-person meetups, I was limited to those who could show up at a specific time and at a specific place. Zoom has opened up more possibilities.

Group Membership

I’ve joined business groups and connected with members. Having regular meeting times, agendas, and a directory of members makes it easier to build long term relationships. When you attend meetings on a regular basis, group members get to know you and what you do.

It’s a way to build trust, and trust is a powerful type of advertising.

It’s a way to build trust, and trust is a powerful type of advertising. Many members have formed business partnerships, referred business and clients to each other, or promoted a member’s business to someone they know.

In my case, a chance meeting at one event connected me with a business owner whom I am now working with for content marketing. All it takes is a one-time connection at any one of the group’s events.

Summary

It does take time to find the right group and build connections. I joined several Facebook and online Zoom groups before I found people I connected with. It’s a little like speed dating, but without a host. Eventually, if you put in the time, you get the right fit.

Human connections are important. Although we cannot meet in person like we did less than half a year ago, it is still possible to network during a pandemic and meet potential clients and business partners.

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How to Make Money in MLM… and Become Successful

Chances are, if you’ve expressed any interest in making passive income, a side income, or starting a side business, someone has asked you to join an MLM. These recruiters entice you with an opportunity to make some extra money – enough money to quit your day job. But how realistic is the expectation that you can make money in multi-level marketing (MLM)?

Before we answer that, let’s start with what MLM or network marketing is. Investopedia defines MLM as “a strategy that some direct sales companies use to encourage existing distributors to recruit new distributors.” Similar to MLM is network marketing which is another form of direct sales.

In direct sales, a product is sold direct from the manufacturer to the consumer. You won’t see these products at a physical store. You might find them online, but unlike Amazon or eBay, a distributor and their team will make a commission on what you buy. Usually, the distributor is someone you know, who gave you the link to the website.

Network marketing is like an MLM in that products are sold direct from the manufacturer to the consumer. The main difference is in how the distributor is paid. Without going into the nitty-gritty details, the quick explanation is it’s easier to make commissions in a network marketing structure than an MLM structure.

The idea behind direct sales is to keep the cost of goods down. The consumer is no longer paying for the cost of displaying or marketing the product in a physical store. Instead, the distributors look for consumers and other distributors to join their company. For example, a friend may ask you to try out their skincare line. The distributors are the ones doing the marketing.

You may have been asked to join an MLM or network marketing company because you said you wanted to make some extra money, or you wanted to start a business but you weren’t sure how to go about it. Or someone may have heard about your health issue and recommended some supplements. You may have been told that you could improve your health while making a side income.

But how much money can you really make from an MLM? Would it be enough to quit your job or pay all your monthly bills?

Here are three ways to make money from MLM, based on my own experience with the industry.

1 Love the business and the product

First of all, the key to success in MLM is to love the business (or industry) and the product you are selling. Otherwise, you will fail miserably as a distributor. I learned this lesson the hard way. In a sense, I got tricked into joining.

I’ll confess – it took a year before I decided to join a network marketing company many years ago. My friend asked about my ongoing battle with allergies and then offered products from her network marketing company as a possible solution. She also told me about the possible side income from selling supplements. At the time, I wanted to become an entrepreneur but didn’t know where to start. I was skeptical and it took a second meeting with her before I started to warm to the idea of network marketing. In hindsight, I was naïve.

They told me, if I don’t know much about business, I could become an entrepreneur with just a small investment. They said that for a few hundred dollars, I could purchase health products that I needed anyway, and that my investment could also double up as an investment to start my business! I would also be given all the business training I needed.

Those words were promising, and if you’ve been “prospected” for an MLM before, this situation will be all too familiar. If you haven’t, then be sure to read the rest of my caveats in this article before you consider joining an MLM company.

About a year after I joined, I learned my first harsh lesson about MLM: to be successful, you need to love the industry and love the product enough that you’ll live and breathe it. Let me explain what I mean.

Interest versus Passion

The network marketing company I joined was a health products company. I was interested in improving my health, but my dream was never to be in the health and wellness industry. Putting time into learning everything I could about supplements and health products wasn’t something I was passionate about.

In other words, there is a difference between being interested in something as a hobby and throwing your entire career behind it. When I prospected people, I thought they would be excited about my business because they too would see the value of making some money while getting healthy.

When you have a business you are passionate about, you tell your friends and family about it. You post pictures of yourself and your health products on social media. You write articles or post videos about what you do. Your business is part of your life, and you’re proud of it. Those are signs that your business is your love.

In my case, the only time I told friends and family what I was doing was when there was a product I thought could solve a health problem they were having. When that happened, I would tell them about my side business with the embarrassment of someone confessing they still fear the dark.

How to Avoid Self Sabotage

Somehow, I expected my uncommitted attitude would generate lots of sales, which it didn’t, and my lack of enthusiasm sabotaged my success.

I quickly learned that the first rule of success in MLM is to have a solid passion for the industry. Don’t sell skincare if you don’t want to be known as the owner of a skincare business. Don’t sell home care products if you’re not crazy about them.

Many MLMs recruit people by simply asking them if they want to make some extra money and if they want to be an entrepreneur. That’s the sneaky part. I joined the business because they asked me two questions and my answers were yes and yes.

Would you like to own your own business? Yes. Are you open to learning something new? Yes. Then they signed me up. These questions could lead you to failure because no one asks what you’d be passionate about selling.

Instead, ask yourself, are you passionate about this industry? Do you want to learn as much as you can about this industry? My answers to these questions would have been No and No. If I’d asked myself those questions, I could have signed on as a consumer and ignored the business part of the MLM company altogether… and saved myself a couple years of grief.

2 Plan to invest in the business for the long term

An MLM or networking marketing business is not something you commit a couple of random hours here and there and expect results. You need to treat it as a long-term investment, like rehearsing for a performance or building a house.

Results are NOT Magic

The problem is MLMs tell you about amazing results. No matter which company you join, they will tell you about distributors who have become high-income earners. They will share stories about distributors who moved up the ranks at a rapid pace in one year and achieved title after title, while the average distributor stays at the same rank for years.

You desire to become one of those success stories. You’ll yearn to be one of those people who worked hard to build a team fast and got a recurring income from selling MLM products. You’ll want to be one of those people who earn a six-figure income in six months.

For most people, however, their results are less glamorous. It’s a lot of work to build an MLM business. Depending on how much time you want to commit to your business, you may work your 9 to 5 job, then spend evenings and part of your weekends prospecting potential leads and trying to make sales.

Prospecting is meeting potential customers or distributors and telling them about the products you sell. You might meet them for coffee or hang out at a social event to get to know them better. For example, you might go jogging one day to start that relationship, and then talk about your business when they show an interest.

When their interest in your business is stronger, you may invite them to an event where other people from your team can make a presentation or give your prospect the chance to try your products.

The Cold, Hard Numbers

All of these activities take time. You’ll rarely make one sale after just one meeting with your prospect. On top of that, you are also attending training sessions to learn more about your products and how to build your business. You’re not likely to get rich overnight.

A study found that “44% of participants dropped out after less than one year working with an MLM.” And after five years, “a minimum of 90% of representatives leave.” In that time, they will have poured thousands of dollars into their business and gotten very little of it back.

In comparison, about 50% of small businesses (not MLM) are still in business after five years. That’s a difference of 40%! 

A closer look at the numbers for the same study reveals more grim findings. In a survey of distributors, they found that “14% made less than $5,000” and “3% made $25,000 or more.” That’s a very small percentage of distributors who can make a side income. That means very few can expect to replace their day job with their MLM business.

So if you do decide to join an MLM or network marketing company because you truly believe in their products, expect to invest many hours and years of your life in it before you make a steady flow of pocket change.

3 Invest in skills that make you money

While working on your MLM business, take the time to develop your business skills and business savvy. As mentioned above, success doesn’t come overnight. Successful entrepreneurs become masters of perseverance.

Perseverance

As an MLM distributor, you will work long hours and people will question why you would want to be a business owner instead of an employee. A job offers long-term income and stability. You know exactly what you’ll be paid when you get your pay cheque.

Entrepreneurship is the world of the unknown. You risk pouring thousands of dollars into your business and getting little in return. Or you could hit the jackpot and earn a high income from your investment in a short time. You’ll need to put up with rejection and failure before you discover what works.

Public Speaking

Most MLM distributors who are serious about building their business learn to make presentations about the products and MLM business. They learn to present one-on-one with a prospect or in front of a group during an event. Some refine their speaking skills through a group like Toastmasters.

You can also learn to elevator pitch – to tell people in thirty seconds about what it is you do. Developing your speaking skills increases your skill set and income potential, whether you are an employee, MLM distributor, or business owner.

Leadership

Strong leadership skills are the difference between being a manager and a team leader, or someone who is a team member. You don’t need to learn to be a great leader. But if you want to step up and earn a higher income, you need to become a leader.

In an MLM, you need to develop leadership skills to be able to recruit distributors to join your team and keep them on your team. If you can’t lead and mentor others, you’re a team of one, without others to share your workload.

Leadership skills are also what you need to become a manager or CEO. It’s also a skill that will lead you to a promotion or income increase.

Summary

Is it possible to make money in an MLM or network marketing business? It is, if you fully understand what you’re getting yourself into, and you have a long-term plan. Don’t expect that you’ll become a millionaire but do take the time to learn some of the valuable business skills that they will teach you when you join an MLM team. I’ve moved on from network marketing, but the business skills that I learned while I was a distributor gave me an advantage in my current business. To me, that is the biggest win.

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3 Public Speaking Skills To Capture Your Audience

Many people fear public speaking, and they have good reason to. It can be nerve racking to speak in front of strangers, and even more frightening to speak in front of a group of familiar faces. What if you make a mistake? What if you forget your lines, and everyone remembers only how bad your speech was?

The embarrassment of such a public speaking nightmare is enough to deter many people from getting up in front of others and speaking. However, strong speaking skills will increase your career options. To advance your career, here are three public speaking skills to master.

1. Meeting Briefing

This short speech is an important one to learn if you aspire to become a team leader or project lead. A few basic tips can help you deliver a successful briefing. After all, you want to look knowledgeable while connecting with your audience.

Here are 4 steps to preparing and delivering a meeting briefing that your boss and team will appreciate.

Tip 1: Know the purpose of the meeting.

What is the purpose of the meeting? Make sure you cover this point at the start of your presentation. Know how much time you have for your presentation beforehand and bring your watch or use the room clock to keep track of the time.  

Who will be at the meeting? Find out who your audience is to determine what industry jargon or technical material you should or shouldn’t use. When in doubt, use terms that your audience can easily understand.

Tip 2: State the purpose of the meeting.

In one to two sentences, state what the purpose of the briefing is. The focus of your briefing will be these one to two points. A briefing is not as formal as a speech, so only main points need to be written down. You won’t need to prepare your presentation word for word.

Tip 3: Organize your presentation.

Arrange your presentation into three parts. It should have an introduction, three or more main points, and a conclusion. The main points in this outline should have some order, such as chronological, cause and effect, or topical.

Tip 4: Summarize the main points and answer questions.

Review the main points of your presentation by stating them again. Leave enough time to answer questions from your audience.

2. A Speech for a General Audience

Giving a speech to a general audience can be more challenging. You may not know their background or what brought them to your presentation. The following tips will help you engage your audience.

Tip 1: Speak slowly and clearly.

Enunciate each of your words clearly. Sometimes linking too many words together can blur the meaning of a word or make your words harder to understand. For example, “can” and “can’t” can be hard to distinguish when spoken quickly and without emphasis in a sentence.

Speak slowly. One way to judge your speed is by the reaction of your audience. Are they paying attention? Are people nodding?

Tip 2: Avoid slang, idiomatic expressions, clichés, or words with multiple meanings.

It may be tempting to resort to clichés to explain an idea, but your audience may not understand the meaning if they are from another cultural background. For those who have heard the expression a thousand times before, it’s better to provide a fresh way to express an idea.

For example, “off the hook”, “burn the candle at both ends”, or “learn the ropes” are expressions that can be used to describe work situations, but they may have other meanings in other cultures. Some people may interpret the meaning of each word literally.

Tip 3: Watch your body language and eye contact.

Be aware of your body language. Your closeness to the audience, the podium, or edge of the stage sends a message to your listeners.

Standing with arms crossed or standing while slouching also sends a message about your confidence or openness.

Eye contact keeps you engaged with your audience. Try to appear as if you are looking for a few seconds at each person in the room to make them feel like you are speaking to them.

Sales Pitch

You don’t have to have a career in sales to master a sales pitch. This type of presentation is one of the most useful of the three because it’s handy to be able to sell an idea or product. You could be selling someone on hiring you. You could be persuading your supervisor to give you extra time off or to get a promotion. Your sales pitch can be organized in a few key steps.

Tip 1: Organize your points.

Keep in mind that it’s key to get to the point right away. To do this, you want to organize your speech in the inverted pyramid. Talk about the most important point(s) first. What is the purpose of your presentation? Keep the purpose or objective clear.

Tip 2: Have a call to action.

Follow up each point with evidence to illustrate and support your point. Ensure you have a call to action. What do you want the audience to do after hearing your speech?

Tip 3: Use visual aids to support key points in your presentation.

Visual aids can be images, posters, or slides that are large enough and positioned so each audience member can see them. It should also feel natural to work with visual aids. If you feel uncomfortable doing a slide show, for example, then find other ways to illustrate your presentation.

Tip 4: Allow time for questions and answers.

At the end of your presentation, leave enough time to answer questions. Your audience will have the chance to get clarification on what you presented. If you aren’t sure what someone is asking, have them repeat the question. For longer questions, answer them by breaking them down into smaller parts.

Summary

It’s important to be able to express your ideas through public speaking. As a confident speaker, you can persuade others, sell your idea, or present at meetings. If you’re aspiring for a leadership position at work, your ability to speak in public will influence your success. Even if public speaking is not your forte now, you can take a class or join a local Toastmasters chapter to begin improving that skill tomorrow.

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How to Become the Hero in Your Life Story

Are you the hero or the villain in your own story? Most people want to be the hero but it doesn’t always turn out that way.

Sometimes you’re the villain. You become you own worse enemy when you tell yourself you can’t do something and you won’t succeed. But how do you defy that inner voice and outperform your own expectations?

Before we answer that, let’s start with the basics. What is a hero? Wikipedia says a hero is “is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength.”

It’s easy to face a challenge we’ve conquered before. But what if our adversary is bigger than anything we’ve faced in the past? How do we outperform ourselves?

The answer to that comes from a formula I learned in writing class. It applies to real life too. It’s not just the stuff of fiction. But you might be thinking, it’s not possible to make your life turn out EXACTLY the way you want it to be!

If the secret were that powerful, that potent, then we’d all be married to a perfect spouse, or we’d be millionaires, or all the nearly extinct species of animals of the world would be saved… and so on, depending on what your vision of an ideal life is. No, that’s not what I mean by secret to success.

The secret to a successful life has three parts, which I’ll explain so that you can begin living that life.

Part 1: The Hero’s Journey – Embrace Change

Which would you rather be: a famous hero or an anonymous one? Everyone has their own preference. Maybe you don’t even want to be famous and that’s okay. But are you happy with your life the way that it is? And if you’re given a chance to change it for the better, what would you do?

Change is sometimes thrown at us. It even happens to those who want to avoid it. Unless you’ve been living in an alternate universe for the last several months, you’ve been held hostage by a pandemic. You used to have a life with a job, a home, friends, family, and a routine.

Then your life flipped upside down. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe someone close to you ended up in the hospital. You’re on a different journey, a roller coaster ride, as you try your best to keep up to date on what you can and cannot do. Face mask or no face mask? Go out and stand apart? Or Zoom meeting and hug the screen?

What will you do now? This is your chance to turn over a new leaf. You might have taken up a new hobby or exercise routine. Perhaps you’re realizing how challenging it is to be with your kids all day, seven days a week. Or maybe you’re thinking it is time for a career change. When the pandemic is over, no one said your life will pick up where you left off a few months ago.

How do you start on this next phase in your life’s journey? How do you become the hero and not the villain? Don’t be the voice of self doubt. Your doubts are you enemy. Try the following tips instead:

Key Takeaways

1. Focus on one goal.

Use the K.I.S.S. method (Keep It Simple, Survivor!). Each day decide on one thing you want to accomplish and get that done. Go for a 15-minute walk. Clean one room of your home. Learn one new thing from one YouTube video.

You may have heard of Bilbo Baggins from the novel The Hobbit. He wanted an ordinary life but getting pushed out of his comfort zone and going on many adventures turned him into a hero. He also experienced a lot of personal growth. How will your goal change you for the better?

2. Challenge yourself.

Don’t accept things as they are. If you lost your job, find another one. (That suggestion is obvious, but the hard part is staying motivated to do this.) It may even be time to look for another career that’s recession proof.

You can change your world the way it is right now. Be ready to climb a steep mountain though. Change isn’t easy.

In the The Truman Show, Truman realizes at one point that he has a pivotal choice to make: continue living the life he knows and be unhappy or venture out to the unknown to pursue his dream. What would you risk to reach your dream?

Part 2: Your Career Defines Your Journey

Your ability to attain success and achieve your dreams depends a lot on your choice of career. It becomes your identity. Think about how you describe yourself to strangers: “My name is ______. I’m a (insert job or profession here).” You might even say, “I’m married with (1? 2? 3?) kids.”

Your job is your status. Most likely it will decide your income level, what type of home you live in, and where you dine, shop, and vacation. It also influences who you meet, your friends, and your significant other.

But what if you want to change where your life is headed right now? Maybe you just graduated and you’re starting your career. How can you land your first job when thousands are losing their jobs these days?

Or maybe you’re mid-career and this pandemic has made you realize your job is vulnerable. How can you change careers without starting from the bottom of the career ladder again?

You’re the hero, the main character of this story. It means the spotlight is on you. Think of the last time you read a book and you were cheering for the hero of the tale.

Someone out there is watching you. How can you inspire them with your actions right now? Maybe your audience is your family. Your children. A friend. Your co-worker, who sees you as a mentor.

Sometimes, you can inspire a complete stranger. I remember reading a story about a young woman sharing her life story in a newspaper article. It made me wonder how I could help other people. So what can you do to reach your career goals?

Key Takeaways

1. Upgrade your skills.

You can do this the traditional way, by investing money in more courses. But now that people are spending a lot more time at home, there is also a lot that you can learn for free. For example:

2. Change careers.

Change is good. With a recession looming and current distancing regulations, people will be rethinking how they interact socially and how they do business. An article in the Financial Times says to “plan for five careers in a lifetime.” How can you re-invent yourself professionally?

Even young entrepreneurs have found a way to start a business by finding what consumers need. Some of these entrepreneurs are also millionaires, activists, authors, TEDx speakers, and product inventors before the age of 20. What need can you fulfill for others? What problem can you solve?

Part 3: You Define Your World – You Create Your Boundaries

Creating your own world may sound like the stuff of fiction. In this case, it isn’t. Like they say, how you see the world in your mind is the world you project on your reality.

If your inside voice – that voice of doubt – says you can’t do it, then the reality is you won’t. Your skills define what you’ll do and where you’ll go. So how will you see your world when you wake up tomorrow? How how can you apply these following tips to define your life?

Key Takeaways

1. Adapt to a new reality.

Your new reality can be harsh but there’s no going back. The coronavirus pandemic will forever change our landscape. Some businesses will permanently disappear. We have a new awareness of cleanliness and health that we didn’t have before.

In The Matrix, when Neo was asked to pick the blue pill or the red one, he didn’t know what would happen. He didn’t even know that his computer skills were transferrable, and that he would use them to shatter his own concept of reality. What will you change?

2. Grow stronger and build on what you have.

How can you build on your current skill set? What skills can you improve on so that you can do your current job more effectively? Do you have skills that are transferable to a new career?

Wonder Woman realized a whole new world existed outside her own when a plane disrupted her reality. She was skilled among the Amazons but almost god-like among humans. What skills do you have that make you stand out?

Summary

You may not be a super hero, but you are still the hero on your journey. Your skills and your mindset define the boundaries of your world and the path you’re headed on for your future. We are like the heroes we read about in books and watch in the movies.

Challenge yourself to complete a goal, upgrade your skills, or redefine who you are. Heroes don’t achieve great things by staying comfortable. So what is your next big step in your journey? Comment below.

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5 Soft Skills that Will Advance Your Career

Updated in 2022

How important are soft skills when it comes to advancing your career, getting a raise, or showing your employer that you deserve to take on more responsibility?

Soft skills are just as important as job-specific skills. But before we get into why or how they are vital, let’s look at why now is the right time to hone your soft skills.

Recent events during the pandemic changed the lives of millions, and many have changed careers, jobs, or where they work. The pandemic has brought much uncertainty, with people fearing the stability of their jobs and finances, especially with the escalating prices.

Forget vacations or even splurging on a new pair of shoes: now some people aren’t even sure if they can afford their groceries. So what can you do to increase your chances that you can keep your job, or get a job when a crisis like this occurs?

You can work on your job skills (your hard skills) and improve your career-related knowledge. Or you can start a side gig. Another possibility is to improve your soft skills.

Soft skills are skills that can be learned and developed but not taught. Examples of these skills are communication, dependability, and leadership. They are transferrable from job to job, and industry to industry.

Employers look at your soft skills when considering you for a job, a raise, or more responsibility. They are the bread and butter of your career mobility.

Soft Skills Give Your Career a Strong Foundation

In this pandemic, one question often asked is, “Is your job safe?” And if you’re working now, will you be working tomorrow?

If you used to commute to work, then it might have been a major adjustment to find yourself working from home. Or you might have lost your job because you used to wait on tables, or book vacations, or any of the jobs that aren’t so essential now. What do you do with your time?

If you can put in the time, work on your soft skills. Automation is replacing jobs, but artificial intelligence (AI) won’t be replacing soft skills any time soon. Developing skills such as leadership and self-motivation will give you an advantage in the workplace. Just what type of advantage will it give you? Let’s take a closer look.

1. Self Motivation

The first soft skill that could take you to the next level in your career, or lead to a pay increase, is your ability to set goals for yourself. How motivated are you?

Some people found themselves with extra time on their hands because self isolation or quarantine changed their normal routines. A survey found that the top five activities during the covid-19 outbreak were:

1. Watching TV Shows and Movies
2. Reading
3. Working Out
4. Arts and Crafts
5. Board Games

Are any of these activities on your list? If so, what have you been watching on Netflix? How long are your workout routines? Which board games have you been playing?

If you’re reading books and watching shows, you could take this time to learn a new language, learn a program (such as Word or PowerPoint), figure out how to do that home improvement project, or learn a new dance step. The possibilities are endless with all the resources available online.

Think about it. There must be some new talent you’ve been itching to learn. It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to discover a new skill. Is there something you can learn that will improve how you do something at work?

What new skill could you add to your résumé? I’ve been watching 5 to 20-minute videos to learn how to use a new computer program. It just takes a little commitment. Start with just a five-minute video to learn something… anything.

Self motivation is the key to making self improvement. Be your own boss, set your own goals, and become Version 2.0 of the new you in a month. With a new skill, you can take on new responsibilities, try out a side gig, or slowly ease your way into a new career.

Next, overcome your fears with the following soft skill.

2. Communication Skills

For many people, public speaking is a major fear, ranked up there with spiders, snakes, and haunted houses. About 25% of people are afraid of speaking in public. However, your ability to communicate clearly and speak in front of a large group is what will give you leadership and management opportunities.

Now, you might be happy where you are, working on your own and not leading a team. But being able to communicate is important too. Strong communication skills are powerful to have if you want to sell your boss on your idea or convince a prospective employer on why they should hire you.

Any speech you make, from the 30-second elevator pitch on why the team should vote for your idea, to convincing your boss to give you a raise, is about winning the listeners over and getting them to agree with you.

But what if you’re not good with words? What if they become a tangled-up mess before leaving your mouth?

Joining a Toastmasters club is a great way to work on your speaking skills. However, with covid-19, these clubs are not meeting in person anymore. They have resources on speech making and public speaking that you can still access, and work on practicing even now.

Another reason for having strong communication skills is you will have a talent that’s hard to replace. Technology is becoming more advanced, with chatbots answering customer questions and the increasing availability of self checkouts. A good communicator, however, is hard to replace. A good communicator can sell you on an idea.

According to LinkedIn, “The ability to communicate is the foundation skill of a salesperson. Many things can be outsourced or automated, but conversations can’t be.”

Strong communication skills are also necessary for leading a team. You need to be able to clearly articulate project objectives and keep communication clear to prevent mistakes.

Clear communication is also handy when you need to solve problems that arise.

3. Creativity/Problem Solving Skills

Can you think of the last time you had a peaceful, perfect, workday? I can’t. There’s usually some challenge or problem to solve because let’s face it: if life were perfect, work boredom would put you to sleep faster than the fastest drying paint.

Each day, you always have some obstacle to face. Sometimes that problem is routine, other times it’s a situation that becomes a war story in your career.

You’ve heard it before at a job interview, when they ask you, “Tell me about a time when….”

Your prospective employer wants to know about your ability to problem solve.  How do you get along with teammates if a disagreement arises? How do you resolve it?

Can you think critically and logically when making a judgment about something? This is your moment to show that you can take on responsibility.

When faced with a new challenge, will you look at it from more than one perspective? This type of creativity shows your ability to take charge and become a leader. Entrepreneurs have strong problem-solving skills and often take the initiative to find a new solution to an ongoing problem.

For example, according to Inc.om, Brit Morin, founder and CEO of Brit + Co, discovered a need in the marketplace. Young women liked her DIY projects and wanted to learn to do what she was doing. She founded her media firm that “included a community of experts in topics like beauty, fashion, food, and home to teach young women the skills they want.”

Also according to Inc.com, Katie Keating and Erica Fite co-founded their agency Fancy. They noticed a need for customers who wanted to be treated as equals. Their target audience was women… who they saw as both “colleagues and as consumers.” Their work was described as “empowering, certainly, but still fun.”

Now, you might be thinking that if you do spend time now to work on your soft skills or find a problem that you could solve while you’re at home, how will you have enough time left over to take in a movie, or have a Zoom house party (if you’re still cautious about meeting in person).

The next soft skill, time management, is crucial for helping your keep yourself organized.

4. Time Management

How can you be efficient with your time? Now that we’ve spent more time at home, it’s tempting to see what everyone else has been up to by looking out your window at the neighbors or checking social media for the latest posts from friends and family. A half hour to several hours can easily pass you by.

It’s time to take control with time management. One way to do this is to get a clock, a pen or pencil, and a piece of paper. Yes, there are a lot of planning apps out there. But there’s something more visceral and committing when you’re holding a pencil to paper.

You’re more involved when you handwrite a list of 3 major goals for the day and what you’re going to do to achieve them.

Successful businesspeople like time blocking. They block out their day in increments. Elon Musk schedules his day in five-minute increments. I find those are too short to get a decent amount of creative thinking done, so I like 30-minute increments.

Choose whatever works best for you, by time blocking how many minutes you want to allot to each task. So when you’re ready, take that pencil and start writing down what you want your schedule to be.

When you watch the clock so carefully, you become much more aware of how efficiently you’re using your time. And (quite possibly) you’re more aware of how much time you’re wasting each day on unimportant activities. Richard Branson, for example, believes in keeping meetings to the point. Meetings don’t need to drag on needlessly for hours.

He says, “One of my favorite tricks is to conduct most of my meetings standing up. I find it to be a much quicker way of getting down to business, making a decision, and sealing the deal. When given the opportunity, I often like to take things a step further–literally, with a walking meeting.”

How fast do you think you’ll get to the point when your entire meeting is done standing up? Take control of your time. Be effective!

Take advantage of this recent change in our schedules, if you can, to improve your habits. And lastly, develop your skills as a leader.

5. Leadership Skills

Leadership is the fifth soft skill on this list, but it is one of the most important. Leadership is showing initiative and taking responsibility, whether it’s for your own actions or for a team.

Strong leadership skills can motivate and inspire a team. You can keep people on track when under pressure from tight, looming deadlines. Especially when nearing the end of a long and exhausting project, your team may need your encouragement to give them that final push to get to the finish line.

As a leader, you may need to make decisions that affect the team or the project budget. How do you tell someone that they’re not doing a good job and they need to redo their work? What will you do when you realize the project is going to be over budget?

Here’s where communication skills and emotional intelligence come in handy. Emotional intelligence is about your ability to recognize your own emotions and the emotions of others.

Can you show empathy? How can you give criticism that is constructive? And can you take constructive criticism in return? All these are important to good leadership.

Strong leaders build morale and provide guidance to other members of their team. You’re also a constant learner. How can you improve yourself?

There are several resources for working on your speaking skills, such as taking courses to learn new skills (like project management), reading books, or finding yourself a mentor or mastermind group.

Is there a leader you admire? What can you learn from them? For example, Bill Gates is an inspiring business leader and philanthropist. Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration with her media presence and charity work.

The under 20 age group also has influential leaders, although they may not be world renowned yet. Tania Speaks, for example, is an entrepreneur who launched a product because of personal pain. She founded Brow Boost and “grew the business by 60% in less than half a year”. She also speaks at elementary and high schools about her journey and increases awareness of bullying.

What can you learn about leadership from the leaders around you?

Summary

Your soft skills impact your work life. They can change your responsibilities, your work advancement, and influence your social life. During the pandemic, while we grapple with changes in our lives, we can take the time to re-evaluate who we are and who we want to be when things return to “normal”.

If you’ve got the time, it’s your opportunity to work on your soft skills and make a new you.

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