*Webinar has been rescheduled to Friday 18th of May, 12.30 EDT / 5.30 GMT * You can register here.

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Presented by Talane Miedaner (F’87, G'89), Master Certified Coach, founder of LifeCoach.com and international bestselling author of Coach Yourself to Success, The Secret Laws of Attraction, and the recently released, Coach Yourself to A New Career (all McGraw-Hill).

Here are few tips that I've picked up along the way...

1. Get Your Personal and Emotional Needs Met. Before you even bother attending any events or functions, first figure out what your needs are and get them met. Why? Because we instinctively run from neediness in any form, and since all humans have personal and emotional needs you might as well find out what yours are and then get them satisfied so you aren't running around repelling the very people you want to attract. Take the free Emotional Index Quiz to get a list of your top four needs.

2. Prepare and Perfect Your Elevator Speech. Make sure it is short, punchy, memorable and benefit-based. E.g. “Hello, I'm Ted Johnson. I alleviate chronic pain. I'm a chirpopractor.” Or, “I'm Talane Miedaner. I help executives break through the glass ceiling. I'm an executive coach.”

3. Get there Early. If you are one of the first there, then newcomers will come to you. If you are late, you'll have to elbow your way into a group.

4. Go for Quality over Quantity. Over the years I've learned that if I come away from a meeting or event with one person who I really connect with, I've done well. I used to try to meet as many people as possible and collect as many cards as I could. Now I realize it is much better to walk away having had one really good conversation or making one real connection than with fifty business cards that are meaningless.

5. Be Memorable. If you do go to an event or function, you'll want to be memorable. It helps if you have a prop or a visual image that reinforces your message or business. A computer programmer might have a microchip lapel pin. If you are in a creative business, make sure you attire looks creative and helps to brand your business. If you have a chance to introduce yourself, a fun visual prop will help you stand out from the crowd.

6. Speak Clearly and Concisely. Avoid umm's and ahs's like the plague. If you have this bad habit, join your local Toastmaster's International group and practice your speaking there.

7. Ask Three Powerful Questions. We are more likely to like and remember the person who listens to us than than the person who talks. So be that person who gets others talking by asking three great open-ended questions such as: What got you started in this business or line of work? What do you enjoy most about what you do? Tell me about your favorite customers so that I can refer prospects to you.

8. Do What Works for You. There is no rule that to build a networker you have to be an extrovert and go to functions and shake hands with loads of people. Some of the most successful networkers are introverts who have built up a community of followers online through blogs or Facebook or Twitter. Use your natural strengths and abilities to create a network of people. If you like writing, start blogging about your field or business. If you like parties, host them or attend them. If you like going to business functions do that. Thanks to the internet and social media, you can easily build a powerful network from your desk.

9. Add Value at Every Interaction. People love being acknowledged so this is a simple and easy way to add value. “Your introduction was very clear. Nice to meet you. I'm....” Or offer to introduce them to other's in the room. Invite them to a free seminar that might be of interest. Give them a good resource. If you focus on being of service to those you meet, you'll avoid coming across as being pushy or desperate.

10. Follow-up Immediately. Not just on all referrals you've been given, but also on anything you said you do. Thank the person who referred you with a personal note, phone call or letter. It helps if you jot down any promises you've made on the back of the business card they gave you so you remember. Another tip. Keep your business cards in one pocket and the ones you collect in another. If you don't have time to follow-up immediately, say so. “I'll be travelling for two weeks. Is it okay if I get back to you then?” If you can't be bothered to follow-up, then don't bother going in the first place!

The key to being a natural networker is to find the groups you resonate with and join them, whether online or in person. When you are relaxed and can be yourself, you'll connect with the right people. Try too hard and you'll come across as needy, desperate or annoying.

Talane Miedaner is the international best-selling author of Coach Yourself to Success The Secret Laws of Attraction; and Coach Yourself to a New Career (all McGraw-Hill). She is also the owner and founder of LifeCoach.com. Connect with her on Facebook and on Twitter and sign up for membership with a 30 day trial for $1.

Identify your Natural Strengths. Our real abilities are so much a part of us that we often take them for granted and don’t even consider them strengths. Ask your friends, family and colleagues to help you identify your strengths for you as they may see something you don’t. Write down their answers.

Adapted from the international bestseller, Coach Yourself to Success: 101 Tips from a Personal Coach for Reaching Your Goals at Work and in Life by Talane Miedaner, founder of LifeCoach.com.

For more career tips, Coach Yourself to Success Online with Talane Miedaner. Try 30 days for $1!

Tune in to Talane's Webinar this Thursday, April 19th 12.30pm -  1.30pm EDT

Stuck in a job you no longer enjoy? Afraid to leave because of the recession? You are in good company as over 50% of the population isn't happy in their work, but that doesn't mean you can't find work you'd thoroughly enjoy. No one attracts success more than someone who is doing what he or she loves to do. The happiest people get paid for doing what they love, but don't wait to get paid before you start. In this webinar, international bestselling author and Master Life Coach, Talane Miedaner (F’87, G'89), will help you tap into the energy that is already out there, leverage your natural gifts and talents, and move effortlessly in the direction you want to go. We'll start by designing your ideal life and work from there! A Q&A component will be included.

Register for Talane's Free Webinar here.

Presented by Talane Miedaner (F’87, G'89), Master Certified Coach, founder of LifeCoach.com and international bestselling author of Coach Yourself to Success, The Secret Laws of Attraction, and the recently released, Coach Yourself to A New Career (all McGraw-Hill). One of the most widely recognized life coaches in the world, Talane has been featured in numerous magazines from Newsweek to Fortune,  and has appeared on national and international television and radio programs, including the BBC and CBS Saturday Morning. Prior to becoming a coach, Talane held a corporate position as second vice president at Chase Bank in New York City.

Who Should Take This and Why?

Anyone who is unhappy, stuck or frustrated in their current career and wants to make a change, but isn't sure what to do next. Or perhaps you feel that you haven't tapped into your full potential or that work is just too much of a struggle. This class will help you get on the right path and enable you to find fulfilment and happiness in your career.

Group Calls Dates

Wednesday, April 25; Thursday, April 26; Friday, April 27; Wednesday, May 2
8 a.m. Eastern/1 p.m. BST London
Each call will be 55 minutes in length and will be recorded.

Each of us is born with the talents to be remarkable at something...the secret is identifying those talents, then working where you can use them.

Warmest,

Talane

2) I have good questions and criteria to help me decide:
Useful questions
Is this enhancing my life or taking up space?
How many of these do I really need, could I manage just as well with less?
What’s the worst thing that could happen if I let this go ? Could I live with that?
When is the last time I used/ wore this ? Why is this? ( if it’s been longer than a year it usually goes)
Is this actually useful in my life, or could someone else have more use for it?
With uncompleted projects / hobbies I ask:  How committed am I to finishing this,  do I really need that on my to do list now?.
Useful Criteria :Is it useful, beautiful or meaningful to me?

3) I have limits on how much sentimental and meaningful stuff I keep.
I allocate each family member one large plastic box each for memories, and they need to decide what they choose to keep in that limited space.
For example I only keep one baby outfit to remember how small, cute my children were, I don’t need to keep them all. I only have a couple of their school books of their stories etc.

4) I have a wait and see box
If I am not sure about getting rid of something I put it in my wait and see box in the attic. It buys me some time but if after a year I haven’t missed or needed it out it goes.

5) I don’t do guilt or obligation with presents.
I always politely thank someone for their gift, and find something genuine to say about it, however that politeness doesn’t make me feel obliged to keep it.
If I get something that doesn’t meet my criteria of attractiveness or usefulness out it goes. I have been known to unwrap something and put it straight into the give away box in the garage without a second thought.

6) Have a focused tunnel vision and stay in one room at a time.
It is easy to get overwhelmed if you let yourself get sidetracked into other areas. To prevent this I don’t leave the area I am working in. I take cleaning materials a rubbish bag, and 4 boxes into the room I am tidying. The 4 boxes are labeled  1)give away, 2)sell, 3)sort and 4)other rooms.
The rubbish bag is for stuff that is clearly broken or useless.
The give away box and sell box are self explanatory.
The “sort box” is for things like odd socks, pieces of jigsaw puzzles or missing bits of games, or clothes that need mending etc.
The “other room box” is for things I find that belong to another child’s bedroom or another room and need to be returned there. ( Do not put away as you go , because you will get distracted)

7) I pace myself and usually only do one room a day.

I like to do one thing well and get total completion.
That way I have time to clean it afterwards, as well as  deal with the contents of the sort and other room box .
The next day you stat again in a new area with a new rubbish bag and empty boxes.
I also did the hard things like cleaning and sorting in the morning, and saved lighter tasks like sorting files, magazines and photos for later in the day when I am tired.

8 ) I focus on what I am going to get, rather than what  I have to do.
I don’t think about how much work I have only the the benefits when it is finished.
Knowing what the benefits are is energizing. I love getting cleanliness, space, order, and the convenience of finding things.

9) Recognize the difference between organizing and clutter clearing.
Organizing and de-cluttering are  separate processes. De-clutter first by  throwing out what you don’t want, then organize what’s left.

10) Make it easy to get rid of
If it is to hard to get rid of your unwanted stuff , it will put you off getting rid of things and the clutter clearing will drag on.
I personally find it easiest to give most of the stuff away to a charity shop, especially one that will collect things from your home.
I ask my teenagers to sell more valuable stuff online in places like  Trade me ( they can do this more quickly and easily than I can). I give them a share of the profits for their time and trouble.

11) Maintaining your clutter free environment
To prevent more stuff from quickly piling up I have clarity on what I really need.
Clothes: I go through my wardrobe each season and make a list of what I need. I know what colors and styles work for me, and will mix well with my existing clothes.
Appliances/ household goods: I make a list of appliances household items that will need replacing each year, then wait for a sale and then purchase whatever has the best reduction on my list.
By the end of the year I have replaced  the worn out items and bought top quality stuff at sale price.
I rarely browse in shops because then I am tempted by stuff I don’t really need.
It actually saves a lot of time and money if you have tunnel vision in shops and go directly to the item you came to buy.

12) Bottom line is that I love space and order more than I love stuff.
For me a cluttered space is a cluttered mind, and I feel rattled overwhelmed and grumpy if I am in a messy disorganized space.

• What works best for me is taking pictures of things that are going to be buried in the attic. If it is a box full of files, I make sure all the file names are visible. I have one photograph glued to the box, and one I put in a master household record keeper. It's less time-consuming than writing everything down. I have large signs on each box stating clearly what the box is about, for example, Sports Instruction, which include class notes from classes I have taken (weight training, water aerobics, Pilates, and so on) and various articles I clip out. The signs are on every side except underneath the box. I need my glasses to read, but this way I can clearly see across the garage, shed, or attic, what every box contains. I try to color code the cardboard I use to make the sign, red for Teaching French, yellow for Teaching English, blue for Taxes, and so on. All my boxes are now entirely transparent, so I give myself every visual aid I can to make the task of filing or finding things easy for me.

• In each closet, I keep a small photo album (cost:$1.00) with the pictures of the content organized at their best. When I need to reorganize because mess has settled in, I take a quick look at the album, and it energizes me.

• This is not about decluttering but I love color and I use my drab, windowless laundry room to display my beautiful scarves on rods, and color coordinated art-postcards pinned on cork bulletin boards with same color pins. It makes my laundry room look like fireworks. As I don't use the table in there, I display my colorful curios, including felt pens, candles, crafts threads, anything cheerful. In the garage, I display old posters and travel postcards, as I believe that if I keep something because I think it is pretty to look at, I have to display it somehow. All my pretty hats, all my boots are open to view. So are vases, dry flowers, family photos. In the shed, I have hung my pretty baskets on the walls.

Best wishes,

Noelle

1. Do the 5-things Dash

Walk into each room of your home with a box or garbage bag and choose five things you can throw out or donate. Choose duplicates or items that are worn out, outdated or rarely used.

2. Eliminate the Expired

Gather all your medication, vitamins, and over-the counter drugs in a bin.  While listening to music or relaxing in front of the TV, begin looking at each item’s expiry date. Have a bag nearby to toss the outdated items and take them to the drug store for safe disposal. Store current medications in a cool, dark place out of children’s reach.

3. Toss the Toiletries

Just before brushing your teeth every night or jumping in the shower in the morning, spend just 5 minutes getting rid of bath, skin and hair products that didn’t live up to their promises.  By the end of the week, you’ll have more storage space in your bathroom and easier access to the items you use regularly.

4. Clear the Counters

Remove anything you don’t use daily from your kitchen counters. Put out an attractive bowl or basket as a catch-all for items that usually end up cluttering the counters.  When the container is full, spend a few minutes going through it and either purge items or place them where they belong.  Reward your efforts by displaying a vase of fresh flowers or a pot of spring bulbs on your counters.

5. Eliminate Under-Used Utensils

While waiting for water to boil or the oven to preheat, go through your utensil drawer and eliminate items you don’t use.  Go through your kitchen ‘junk drawer’ and see what treasures you’ve forgotten about and what trash you can remove.

6. Move it Elsewhere

Each time you leave a room, get into the habit of scanning it to see which items don’t belong in the space. If any of those items go in the room you are heading towards, take them with you.  If something belongs upstairs, place it in a wicker basket you keep at the bottom of the stairs and take it to the proper room next time you go up.

7. Get the Family in Gear

Make a game out of de-cluttering by getting the whole family involved.  Give everyone a box, put on some up-beat music, set a timer and see who can discard the most items from their room. Take the donations to charity and then choose a token prize for the winner and a reward for the entire family.

8. Do the Season-Swap

Now is the time to put away the winter coats, boots and wooly hats and bring out the sun hats, rain jackets and umbrellas.  Be sure to dry-clean all items before storing, even if they look clean.  Body oils and not-yet-visible food stains attract moths. If you don’t have an extra closet, a rolling garment rack stored in the basement or spare room is ideal for winter coats during the summer.

9. Cut Clothing Clutter

Put aside about half an hour to step into your closet and pull out any winter items you didn’t wear this year, while it’s still fresh in your mind.  If you didn’t wear it this winter, you likely won’t wear it next, so let it go now rather than storing it for another year.

10. ‘Cut the Cord’ on Electronics

Attached to your electrical gadgets? Perhaps it’s time to make a clean break. As we acquire the latest and greatest gadgets, we also need to get rid of the old, obsolete ones so that electronic clutter doesn’t take over our space. Gather up all the electronics you no longer use or want and take them to a nearby recycling depot, where they will be reused or recycled safely rather than end up in landfills. Look up a no-cost drop off locations in your area.

Hellen Buttigieg

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Warmest,

Talane

1. Men don't like questions. Women do.
2. Men don't have high-pitched voices. Many women do.
3. Cultural expectations are different for men and women. Women are raised to be nice. Men to be right, which is why many men don't like asking for directions and women can't figure out what the fuss is all about!

So let's start with one simple technique that you can use right now today to improve your communcation skills with men. Stop asking questions. Instead use statements or simply give instructions. You can practice right now with your husband, mate, or children. Instead of saying, “Hi honey, how was your day?” try this, “Hi honey, tell me about your day.” Notice the subtle difference. You will not be asking a questions but instead giving an instruction. Men do really well with simple instructions, and don't be afraid to be specific.

Try this at work on male colleagues and bosses and you'll instantly get better results. When you go into your boss, avoid asking any questions and instead convert everything into a statement. Instead of saying, “What changes did you want me to make to this report?” say, “Tell me what you wanted me to change.” The moment a man hears a question, their hackles go up, unconsciously so this new style you adopt will put men at ease. It will take some practice on your part to get used to it so get your male friends to remind you every time you ask a question so you can practice converting it into a statement. Tell me... is a good starting point. Tell me what you most liked about my presentation. Instead of asking, when would be a good time to meet, say, “Let's set up a meeting for Friday at 1pm.” This makes you look more directive. Men associate questions with weakness. Instead of saying, “Can you clarify what you mean? I didn't understand. Change that to an instruction. Please explain your third point about the sales figures.

For a full 1 hour webinar packed with simple and powerful communication tips, join bestselling author of Coach Yourself to Success, Talane Miedaner, MCC, Owner of LifeCoach.com as she presents Break Through the Glass Ceiling: Communication Strategies for Women in the Workplace on Thursday 22^nd March and learn how you can easily project an image of power and strength with a few simple changes.