ACET, Inc. Blog

ACET’s blog has discussed the importance of networking and professional development in the past, but today we’d like to look at what comes next, once a person has established networking relationships. How do you determine if your network is working for you? Are you getting as much value as you can from your networking efforts?

Beckstrom’s Law: Assessing costs and benefits

In 2009, Bill Gates reported to a New Delhi business forum that he’d quit Facebook. Why? Because the number of friend requests that he had been receiving was overwhelming. For him, having as many networking contacts as possible was actually a detracting factor, which may seem to contradict common sense: if it’s all about who you know, then you should know as many people as possible, right? This contradiction can be seen through Beckstrom’s Law. Originally applied to economics, it states that a network’s value is equal to the benefits minus the costs of using or interacting with it. For Bill Gates, the potential benefits of interacting with Facebook users were outweighed by the hassles.

Consider how this plays out with your own networking efforts. Is your network is so large, spread out, or unwieldy as to make maintaining it more time consuming than rewarding? Take the time to reassess these relationships and how you engage them.

Metcalfe’s Law: Maximizing connection potential

If you were to describe your relationships with your professional network, would it look more like a wheel or a spider’s web? That is, are you alone interacting with each of your contacts, or are your contacts also interacting with each other? Creating a spider’s web of contacts strengthens the network as a whole because it gives each of your contacts access to the same minds and talents that you have, and it encourages more people to join in and add their knowledge and expertise. Metcalfe’s Law, originally formulated for the telecommunications industry, states that the value of a network is based on how many people can potentially be connected to all of the others in the network.

Without even acknowledging a need for it, two people in your professional network right now may benefit from meeting each other. Some have addressed the need for these connections by starting professional groups to read and discuss papers or collaborate on projects, or by joining advisory boards to share their expertise with others. Consider making introductions through casual, small group meetings like coffee or lunches.

The Band of Brothers: Fostering a culture of support

Value isn’t just about human assets and what they have to offer. A network is also about concern and care for each of its members. Networks, like groups of friends, form because there is some shared similarity of experience or purpose among its members, and there is value in being able to discuss your fears and disappointments with people who uniquely understand what you are going through. Being able to talk about the emotions engendered by your work with your professional contacts can help you brainstorm solutions, build trust, and stave off burnout. A supportive network can help its members to overcome their respective difficulties.

These are just some factors that inspired us. How do you assess your professional network?

ACET Staff

Business coaches and educators alike agree that listening is a crucial, yet critically under-practiced skill. We can all benefit from becoming more attentive and receptive listeners. True listening is difficult, and it can be hard to break old habits, but the result is better relationships with the people around you. Good listening can help you to be a better supervisor, colleague, or friend. Here are some things to consider in creating better listening habits.

Allow others to complete their thoughts. Listening first begins with emptying our heads of what we want to say and allowing others to express themselves, allowing for pauses between ideas, before speaking. When we interrupt others, we send the message that what we have to say is more important and more valuable than that of the people talking.

Be an empathetic listener. Listening is something that is not just done with the ears, but with the eyes (watching body language) and with the heart (what emotions do you sense?). In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey explains that highly effective people “seek first to understand.” Covey refers to this practice as “empathetic listening.”

Practice. Developing creative responses and stronger listening skills takes time and can be awkward at first, but the reward is a better understanding of the people around you and stronger relationships everywhere.

How do you practice listening? What sorts of things do you do to be a better listener? Let us know in the comments.

Mary

You don’t need to search very hard to find writing on the Internet that extols the importance of thank you notes, but frequently it is limited to the realms of job interviews and gift giving. Handwritten tokens of thanks can be appropriate for events great and small that go beyond these. Everyone appreciates receiving mail with a personal touch, and it has a permanence that e-mail and telephone calls do not. Consider writing these people thank you notes during the evaluation process:

The Volunteer Stakeholder: Send thank you notes to community members who attend advisory group sessions or other individuals who volunteer their time and expertise to assist with evaluation efforts.

The Administrative Assistant: Send thank you notes to administrative staff whose hands touch the evaluation as it progresses (e.g., those distribute surveys, make copies, and package data to be sent back to the evaluator).

The Colleague: Send thank you notes to your colleagues who generously offer advice. It can be quick and easy to reach out to a colleague during an evaluation via e-mail for advice about a difficult project, but less easy to remember that person’s contribution after all is said and done.

Evaluators, who are some other people that you remember in your thank you notes?

Mary

Being an effective writer is an important skill for an evaluator. It takes time and practice. One of my favorite books on effective writing was written by Morris, Fitz-Gibbon, and Freeman, titled “How to Communicate Evaluation Findings.” Only 92 pages long, this book is indispensable at helping evaluators to communicate findings in a succinct way and is full of creative examples and advice. Here’s one of my favorite parts, regarding the choice of the right form for communicating findings to a given audience (page 31):

You are eager, perhaps, to show the audience the clarity and brilliant complexity of the evaluation plan, the quick-thinking administrative maneuvers that saved the evaluation from disaster, or the mathematical genius so obviously guiding the analyses. DO NOT DO IT! You will bore the audience to death and render the findings indigestible.

This excerpt sums up for me the beauty and the utility of this book, understanding those things that evaluators value in reports, and reminding us that they aren’t the same things that stakeholders and other audience groups value.

Stella

Networking is one of the most important professional skills that people can utilize today to build relationships and business, and if done well, can yield mutual benefits that last a lifetime. Likewise, too many networkers could be accused of giving the “milk” away for free, thus making the sale of the “cow” meaningless. If your networking produces too many short-lived interactions and not enough lasting ones, take a look at these tips for maintaining networking contacts with an eye toward the long term.

Keep in touch. Keeping in touch with people that you wish to develop as networking contacts on a regular basis is very important. Immediately following the initial contact, start with an email to thank your contact for their time. Don’t stop there, however. Make a point of checking in with this person again, should no immediate plans for one-on-one conversation surface, after a set period of time. Rather than limiting all contact to email, do this by phone, if possible. Regular contact, both online and off, needs to be maintained to remain in the minds of your contacts. Taking time to express your thanks for your contacts’ time and attention is not only socially polite but also functions as another point of contact.

Be ready to help. It has been said that networking has more to do with what you can do for others than what others can do for you. One way to practice this with a professional contact is by passing along an interesting article or news of note that you may come across. This not only shows that you are thinking about them, but also about what is important to them in their work. When you communicate with your contacts, ask the question, “How can I help you?” and don’t worry about who helps who more. Concerned about giving too much of yourself? Consider your advice to be free, but anything that requires your unique expertise to be worth charging for.

Take note. Starting with the initial conversation and exchange of business cards, networking contacts are sending out a steady stream of information about their lives. Asking questions and taking notes about these interactions can both enrich your own personal searches for information or business as well as your ability to remain relevant to your contact. An expressed frustration about dry cleaners or joy over a child’s progress in school can be as much of a call to action as a casual musing about a potential future project, if only to show that you listen and care (“So, how is your son doing in school?”).

Provide introductions. When you meet people in a variety of spaces, you invariably begin to see commonalities between them. Introducing people, whether on the basis of their shared work or a mutual interest in a TV show, can help strengthen your network and your image in your contacts’ minds as a valuable source of helpful connections. Be sure to ask first (“I know someone who is involved in X. Can I introduce you to them?”) and then leave it up to them to decide where to take the relationship next. The next person to receive an important introduction might be you.

Share parts of yourself with others. You don’t have to turn your LinkedIn account into a public diary! Consider simple, upbeat personal updates like life change announcements or updates about long-term projects (“I’m 20,000 words into my novel!”) to stay in your contacts’ minds. Holiday greetings can also be a fun way to reach out and stay in touch.

Good networking, like training a bonsai or cultivating vegetables, is about many regular activities performed periodically over time. Likewise, it is not about a massive single overture or making a big score that may only impress and produce results for the short term.

There are many facets of networking and I pulled just a couple of pages about them from the Internet. What networking tips have brought you success?

Mary

Email is such an important part of business communications that everyone can afford to be more effective at writing them. If you are frustrated with lack of responses to your emails, these tips may help.

Be brief. Everyone is busy; many people struggle to respond to the unending tide of emails that break upon their inboxes day after day. The better that your entire message fits into the preview window of your preferred email application, the better chance you have of receiving a response. Get to the point as quickly as you can.

Give your readers clear, actionable tasks. Probably without even realizing it, one of my coworkers has trained me on this. If you are writing your email because you need the reader to take action in some way – by completing a task or answering a question, for example – make sure that it is obvious in the body of the email.

Spelling, grammar, and clarity still matter. It is very easy to dash off emails quickly and have critical information be lost in the process due to grammar and spelling issues. Take a moment to read what you’ve written in an email to make sure that your intentions are clear, even for internal emails.

Utilize your subject line. Titling emails with single words like “Meeting” or “Today” is vague and often not effective. At ACET, we employ a specific method of titling emails that details exactly what aspect of internal or client business is being addressed within, including dates and times. “Client Meeting Today at 12:30” and “Focus Group Script Due 10-25-12” are far more descriptive and let readers know just what to expect in the body of the message.

Be an email role model. The easiest way to start receiving better email responses is by responding in a brief, informative, timely manner to the emails that you receive right now.

I pulled these ideas from a couple of sources, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have any tips of your own for better email writing, we’d love to hear them in the comments.

Mary

Recently, John Gargani shared a list of 5 words that evaluators use that can be misleading in reports. John’s blog inspired us to identify “pet peeves” we have found in evaluation work. Here’s our own list:

“Problem”

The use of the word “problem” in itself can elicit negative responses and put people on the defensive. When people are defensive, it can be difficult to engage in open dialogue and creative problem solving. Instead of using the word “problem,” Stella recommends using creative solutions to frame the issue to facilitate discussion. For example, Stella suggests using the word “challenge,” as in, “Participants identified some challenges in receiving quality health care…”

“Larger Population”

Joseph highlighted the overuse of questions about a “larger population,” as in, “how do our results compare to the larger population?” In general, evaluation results are obtained from a specific population within a specific context. Even results from “larger populations” are obtained from specific, albeit larger, populations within a specific context (e.g., Minnesotan 3rd through 8th grade students), and not from some generic “larger population.” In order to make valid comparisons, it’s important that evaluators always classify both their population of interest (e.g., South Minneapolis teens, between the ages of 13 and 17, from households with incomes of $25K or less) and the comparison group (e.g., a sample of Minneapolis teens from households with a variety of income levels). As often as possible, evaluators should not use generic “larger populations,” but should be as specific as possible about their comparison groups to enhance the validity and accuracy of their comparisons.

Describing the “Other” Category

Dan pointed out that, when analyzing qualitative data, there might be 5 common themes, but also an “other” theme for comments from a small number of people. When summarizing the results of the qualitative analysis it is important to talk about all of the themes, including describing what “other” indicates. Without describing what “other” indicates, the reader may have no idea as to what the writer is referring and may have to guess what “other” indicates. It is important that evaluators be as clear as possible when writing to ensure that the reader has a clear understanding of the data.

Pronouns

Kirsten’s pet peeve is overuse or abuse of pronouns. Pronoun overuse can detract from the clarity of writing and the overall readability of the document. From a grammatical standpoint, a pronoun always refers to the last used noun; if the last used noun isn’t what the writer intends to refer to, then a pronoun is inappropriate and the writing will not be as clear as the writer intended.

As a rule of thumb, Kirsten alternates noun-pronoun-noun-pronoun. She acknowledges that her method doesn’t always produce highly engaging prose, but it is clear!

Do you have any writing “pet peeves”? If so, please share in the comments below!

ACET Staff

Although there are multiple ways to summarize evaluation findings, I wanted to share three valuable pointers that ACET has found to write good evaluation summaries.

1. Don’t start a sentence with an actual number (e.g., “50 respondents said…”). Instead, restate this as “A total of 50 respondents…” or at a minimum spell out 50 if starting a sentence with a number is critical. This is the correct method per APA style and it helps to reduce confusion for readers.

2. Avoid the use of the word “it” to describe an action or a finding (e.g., “It was described as…”). Be as specific as possible so that the “it” being discussed at any given point is clearly delineated (e.g., “Participants described the program as…”).

3. Reserve the use of “I” or “we” to describe the process used in analyzing data (e.g., “I reviewed all the quotes and highlighted the corresponding themes…”). Instead, restructure the sentence as “All quotes were reviewed and corresponding themes highlighted,” for example. This makes for a more professional tone, and keeps the focus of the evaluation summary where it belongs, on what is being evaluated.

Stella

As another school semester comes to an end, the staff at ACET wanted to review some tips for combating public speaking nervousness. Compiled from multiple sources, here are five of our favorites:

Know your audience. In your preparations, make sure that you understand what your audience requires of your speech structurally (for example, 15 minutes plus a question and answer period, or a self-introduction followed by 10 minutes) and their knowledge level (that is, how much of your topic needs explanation). Before you are to give your remarks, take the time to meet with some of the people who will be in your audience. This will strengthen their bond to you, increasing their interest in what you have to say.

Work from an outline, rather than writing down or memorizing an entire speech. Sure, people can and do give speeches that involve reading or speaking directly from a pre-written statement but, at best, this approach can feel unnatural and, at worse, it can distance or cut you off from the people with whom you are trying to communicate. Note your key points and use them as signposts to expand from naturally. This will in turn make your delivery more natural. If you happen to miss or skip a point along the way, that’s okay.

Give your speech a personal touch. You’ve likely heard the saying, “it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” Just as it’s good to be cognizant of the structure of your presentation, it’s also important to choose the best tone or mood for your audience. Sharing a related story can help to establish a connection with your audience, helping them to become more engaged, and help you make an easy segue between introducing yourself and your data.

Practice, Practice, Practice. Whether you record your voice, speak in front of a video camera, or rehearse for family, friends, or coworkers, you can gain a lot of strength and confidence from just practicing your remarks and then sitting down with the recording or your audience to review. No matter the format you choose, practicing can help you to refine your abilities.

Relax. Know that it is very natural and human to be nervous when addressing a large group of people, but you can use the jitters that you feel to propel yourself to excellence. Remember to breathe as you speak, and allow yourself to be comfortable with brief silences as you do so, as it can help you combat the use of fillers (“um”, “ah”, “you know”, etc.). Cold liquids are said to constrict the vocal chords, so consider sipping on lukewarm water or hot tea before you speak, and save the caffeine for later.

With these tips and some careful preparation, public speaking does not have to be a daunting experience.

Information was sourced from Forbes, Psychology Today, Monster, Entrenpreneur, timesunion.com, and the University of Leicester for this article.

Mary

Have you ever been asked to attend a meeting and you were unclear about the meeting purpose? What about a meeting or conference call with more people than the subject or time could accommodate? How about a meeting that was called at the last minute and was not well planned? Or one in which the technology would not function?

Often, it’s easy to spot what makes a ‘bad’ meeting, but what makes a ‘good’ meeting is often more difficult to determine. A substantial part of a good meeting occurs behind the scenes with the facilitator’s pre-meeting preparation. When facilitators’ take the time to carefully prepare, the meeting is usually smoother, more productive, and less stressful for everyone involved. So what should a facilitator focus on during preparation? In my experience, and review of articles on conducting successful meetings, I have found that to conduct the most effective meeting the facilitator should:

• Have a clear objective for the meeting. Meet for a purpose, not just “because you can” or “think you should.”
• Have an agenda for the meeting. Know what goals or objectives you would like to achieve and share that information ahead of time with the meeting participants.
• Be mindful of the number of participants you invite when feedback is required. With too many people, it is difficult for all participants to share their thoughts and for decisions to be made. Although many contextual factors (amount of necessary feedback, interpersonal relationships, time allocation, etc.) will contribute to how many people you should invite, some of the literature has suggested that no more than 12 people make for a good environment for everyone to be heard.
• Send electronic copies of meeting documents to members beforehand. This will allow all participants to adequately prepare themselves for the meeting and to contribute to achieving the meeting’s goals.
• Give everyone enough time to prepare for the meeting. For a meeting that lasts at least one-hour, anticipate 3-5 business days for preparation.
• Ensure technology is working appropriately. Test the technology prior to the meeting to make certain it will work the way you want.

If you are interested in successful meeting facilitation and would like to learn more, try these websites:

• http://www.arma.org/bookstore/files/Francisco.pdf
• http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/RunningMeetings.htm
• http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/conducting-effective-business-meetings.html

Are there any keys or strategies you have found particularly effective? If so, please share!

Dan