Know your audience: It’s amongst my top communications advice for business success – right up there with empathy and enthusiasm. While it sounds obvious, many businesses get it wrong or simply don’t consider their audience at all. Instead, they focus on their own wants and needs, then wonder why their business is not performing to […]

Explaining the ‘why’ in your communication can be the difference between people listening to you and following your instructions, or not. Whether it’s in the workplace, your personal life, or dealing with children, explaining the why can have immediate results.

What do you think of when I say ‘aggressive communication’? I’m guessing you jump straight to the stereotypical image of a person who yells, bullies, threatens, and intimidates others with the aim of getting their own way. But while this is the version of aggressive communication most people picture, there’s a lot more to it […]

Dear passive-aggressive person, In the words of Dr Phil, how’s that working out for you?

What do you do when you’re not happy with your meal at a restaurant (it’s cold, not what you ordered, not cooked properly), or disappointed with the service of a shop or small business?

We all know them, you may even be one of them: The people whose go-to communication style is passive-aggressive. Those who deny they’re angry; use sarcasm or a pleasant voice to disguise an aggressive overtone; give backhanded compliments; or are critical behind people’s backs, but won’t say anything to a person’s face.

A couple of weeks ago I gave blood at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Traralgon Donor Centre. As I sat back in the chair squeezing the stress ball to pump up my notoriously dodgy veins, I looked around the room and thought, ‘yep, these guys have nailed their communication’.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when dealing with conflict, or to become emotional when having difficult conversations; but while this is perfectly normal, it can impact your ability to effectively communicate your point of view.

I was recently speaking with a small business owner in the hospitality industry about using social media as a cheap and effective form of promotion in order to increase customers and profits. Their response was they don’t like Facebook. No worries, I said, don’t have a personal profile but take full advantage of it for […]

Post consistently and regularly (every couple of days, or every day if you have enough quality content). Know your audience and what they want. Post content of relevance and interest to your business and intended audience. If you don’t know what your audience wants to hear – ask! Speak to some of your customers and […]