Networking Articles

Business » Communication » Networking | By Clare Evans @ Wednesday, 22nd February 2006 @ 6:36 PM

Listening is one of the most effective communication skills we can learn. For it to be really effective we must learn to 'actively' listen. Normal everyday listening allows us think about what's being said, form a response, offer a solution or advice or just be waiting for them to stop talking so we can say jump in with our own opinion or perspective. However, listening is about more than what's being said. What are the words being used? What is the tone of v... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Tuesday, 21st February 2006 @ 3:26 PM

Here are six tips for improving your communication style: 1. Knowing how to improve communication skills will come easier once you become aware of your own communication style. Each person has a unique way of communicating. Listen to your own speech. What sorts of words do you use? Which sort of body language and what tone of voice are you using? Now, think of someone who, in your opinion, is a good communicator. Compare your style to theirs. You’ve just taken an important... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Monday, 20th February 2006 @ 7:48 PM

"I don't let my mouth say nothin' my head can't stand." Louis Armstrong Since the 1970’s, learning how to communicate better has had a lot to do with understanding body language. Julius Fast wrote a book entitled, Body Language in 1970. He talked about a new science called Kinesics. It opened the way to more studies and books on the subjects. Today, the term Body Language is very common and understood as an important element of communication. In f... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Sunday, 19th February 2006 @ 2:57 AM

You can improve communication skills with the man or woman in your life, once you understand the differences in how the genders communicate. 1. Men and women talk in different places. If you want to improve your communication skills you’ll want to understand the differences in style. Men will do most of their talking in public. Often, that means at their workplace. Since women talk to promote intimacy, most female conversations will take place in a private setting, at hom... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Friday, 17th February 2006 @ 6:31 PM

Do you have the people skill needed to handle difficult people? Best selling author, Peter Urs Bender has come up with four basic personality types. Based on the fact that you really can’t understand someone who’s being difficult, until you can see the world through his or her eyes, here are the four basic types: 1. The Analytical person: Give this person details, statistics and a stack of ‘how-to’ books. This person wants exact numbers and answers. Usually introverted; in a prob... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Thursday, 16th February 2006 @ 10:21 AM

Does the thought of talking to people make you break out in hives or break out in song? Some of us are coping with issues that make it harder for us to communicate. For instance, if you have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) it can be hard to focus on a conversation. Even those who are hard of hearing will find these tips helpful when communicating. 1. Ask questions to keep your mind engaged in the conversation. Do so with an enquiring yet friendly tone. 2. Take notes. When... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Wednesday, 15th February 2006 @ 5:42 PM

"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway If everyone would just develop this one communication skill, most communication problems would disappear. If you are honest with yourself, the last time you got into a misunderstanding with someone, it was because you weren’t really listening to what they said. Active listening is a communication skill that is easy to learn and valuable in all areas of li... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Tuesday, 14th February 2006 @ 5:35 PM

Dale Carnegie famously pointed out that you can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Although Dale Carnegie died in 1955, his work in personal development lives on. His classic book, How to Win Friends and Influence People was first published in 1937 and is considered the grandfather of all ‘people skill’ books since then. Because of his great understanding of human nature,... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Monday, 13th February 2006 @ 4:21 PM

A conversation between two people can be like a tennis game. The back-and-forth conversation is like two players hitting the ball over the net. Someone serves up a new idea from time to time. How’s your conversational tennis? Do you have problems when it’s your turn to serve the ball? An easy way to serve up the next idea is to ask questions to keep a conversation going. Say you are starting a new match with someone you’ve never played with before. You might want to start with a ... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Friday, 10th February 2006 @ 6:57 AM

If you feel like you don’t know how to talk to people of the opposite sex, you might be onto something! Men and women definitely have different ways of communicating. Learning how the other half uses language will help to improve your communication with the opposite sex. And if you’re still not convinced, there is even a term that is specific to the different languages of the sexes. The term is genderlect. Suzette Haden Elgin coined the term in her book, Genderspeak. Her book tal... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Peter Murphy @ Thursday, 9th February 2006 @ 8:06 AM

Just as most of us weren’t born with a silver spoon in our mouth, we weren’t born knowing how to make conversation. Making conversation is more of an art. Like any art, practice leads to mastery. 1. You can never go wrong with being a good listener. This doesn’t mean you should just sit there like a lump on a log, like my mother used to say. You need to be an active listener. People love to talk about themselves, so listening to them is a good way to let them have a captive audie... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Stephen Labuda @ Friday, 3rd February 2006 @ 6:26 PM

If you are involved in sales, fundraising or just an active networker, you have probably tried a variety of tools to manage your contact list and remind yourself to stay in touch with all of the prospects and people you meet. This tickler file is designed to be an inexpensive, effective, tool that can be used by salespeople in a variety of different types of organizations. This tickler file uses inexpensive index cards and a simple file box. You will need the following items to create you... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Stephen Labuda @ Friday, 3rd February 2006 @ 6:01 PM

BNI (Business Networking International) coined the phrase “giver's gain”, which basically means that if you give referrals, leads or resources the recipients will want to repay you somehow. The problem is that as your network grows, it will become increasingly difficult to give referrals to everyone in your network. This is somewhat counterintuitive because most people would think that as they add contacts to their network it will be easier to refer the new members of your network t... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Brian Baldwin @ Friday, 3rd February 2006 @ 4:03 PM

Today we’re going to look at an easy way to grow your business. This is so easy; you’ll probably be surprised at how well it works and it’s so easy that I tend to think of it as a game. You’ll need business cards and belief that it will work. Here’s how I play the game. When I get up each morning and when I’m out running errands, I set an intention to meet at least one person that I need to meet. I usually say to myself while driving to the store that I intend to meet at least one p... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Mark Meshulam @ Wednesday, 1st February 2006 @ 2:53 AM

Every time you open your browser, it automatically opens to a particular web page. You can change this page so that you see what you want to see when your browser opens. In future articles I will show you how to easily make a "Resource Website" for your company which can be hosted on your own computer or on your network, and which can provide valuable current information to your employees. The value of setting a browser home page to this resource site, is that your co-worke... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Jeff Flow @ Thursday, 26th January 2006 @ 1:23 AM

Forums on the Internet are online communities where people can discuss many different topics ranging from cooking to Christianity. This article will help you build your Internet business, using the power of Internet forums. Forums will increase traffic to your website, will help you interact with experts in your field, and will help you get a great education. Discussions are conducted by posting notes to the forum. Each discussion is called a thread. Some forums have just a few threads an... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Robin Chandler @ Tuesday, 24th January 2006 @ 3:07 AM

There is no right way, nor is there only one way to influence others. Everything, but everything, is a factor when influencing people. And we are, all of us, influenced by people, places, events and situations at all times. Sometimes we are affected more or less by these things, but we are continually being influenced by what happens around us. So what about the specifics in the workplace? Your job requires you to influence people just about all of the time. It may take the ... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Brian Baldwin @

When someone asks, “What do you do for a living?” How do you answer? Do you say, “I work for XYZ Company and have a home based business.” Or do you say “I work from home?” and leave out the day job part or something similar? Or even worse, you fail to mention your home based business at all? If you’re new to Network Marketing/MLM; I’m betting you say you work for XYZ Company and my network marketing company or you fail to mention your business at all. It’s a tough habit to break. I kn... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By Jay Moncliff @

Many firms today are looking to cut costs wherever they can. Annual meetings, trainings, product launches, employee meetings and other similar corporate events are traditionally expensive propositions. Web conferencing services can reduce the costs of these meetings and gatherings drastically. A web conference allows groups of individuals in different locations to have online meetings and discussions via the world wide web. Large corporations, small businesses, families and educational... more...

Business » Communication » Networking | By J D Moore @

Do you go to networking events to promote your business or make new contacts? Do you ever get frustrated when you take a couple hours out of your day to go to an event, but don't make meaningful connections? Here's a step by step strategy that has helped me make great business connections: 1. At the event make sure to meet as many people as possible. Have a short but meaningful conversation with each person you meet there. The goal is not to get a sale, the goal is to get key in... more...