Carrying personal calling cards appears to be a new practice for many. But, what should be on it? Should it be a simple card or contain a design? If you have a second career or hobby should the personal card reflect it?

A card also provides information so the recipient of the card has information on how to contact you. Miss Manner’s recent advice is that the simpler, the better. Design the card with the end in mind.

If you use the card for contact information only, you can choose a different color paper or ink to jazz it up. Of course, or you can never go wrong with black print and white stock. A quality appearance is important.

If the card reflects something you are promoting, it should contain information about the product or service. The bottom line is that a personal calling card should describe what you want the recipient to know about you.

Asking questions is critical to understanding any issue. In order to clarify the question, always begin with the end in mind. What is it that you want to understand? And what is the message in the answer?

Too often, another question gets asked without the questioner completely digesting the previous answer. So, a key to understanding is listening to the previous answer.

Seek to understand then to be understood.

Recently I was asked to host a webinar on Building Your Brand. Those who have hosted know it can be extremely challenging if you are accustomed to audience interaction. Most webinars will have some participation when the audience sends in questions which helps keep the energy up.
In this particular one there was a dry run which I encourage everyone to have to work out any problems. Practice also helps to develop a relationship with the person or persons responsible for your introduction and managing the technical side of the webinar.

Here are some tips to help manage a successful event as the presenter:

Do:
• Have a practice before the event to talk thru the program.
• Be sure to work out some guidelines with the folks managing the technical side.
• Time the presentation. On air time allotment is pretty unforgiving. If you run over it, folks will be cut off.
• Let the audience know how you will be answering the questions either during or after the talk.
• Answer questions with a positive spin.

Don’t
• Stop your presentation if the visuals are not working. Paint the picture in words.
• Send heavy graphics on your PowerPoint without checking with a technical person first.
• Answer questions not related to the topic. Give the audience another method to contact you with off-subject issues.
• Perform a monologue. Be sure your handouts give the audience a way to participate (quizzes work well).

These tips will help keep the audience engaged and minimize technical problems.

The tweet can be your best friend or worst enemy. In today’s 24 to 48 hour new cycle – negative things spread like wild fire. Never tweet when you are emotional and want to share a grievance. Use Twitter to promote positive thoughts. I know some of you want the world to know what you are up to. That’s ok if you always do it in a positive manner.

How many times do we neglect to just say thank you to a compliment? We instead offer reasons why we don’t deserve the nice words said about ourselves. It is not being modest or humble to bring up what went wrong. What you are doing is not respecting the giver of the compliment.

So, the next time someone pays you a compliment say thank you. Tell them how much you appreciate they noticed whether the comments were about a piece of clothing or a project you were successful at.

Just say “Thank You.”

At a recent event, you could tell the high level executives from the ones who were not by what they carried. For example, I travelled with a colleague who had a bunch of papers in her hands plus some other items. Was it too much? No, because she was able to carry it in a combination purse/briefcase. I understand the trend is small purses, but if you need to bring documents, a larger one is acceptable.

Then there was another attendee with a heavy backpack (she called it her office). Avoid that. The same for the roller bag. It makes one look like an assistant instead of a professional.

Since we were at a hotel, they could have checked their bags with the bellman and picked them up later. Remember less is more.

Carrying too many bags is too much baggage!

A key component of a true executive and leader is to be able to manage time effectively. Being constantly late and rushed projects a very poor image. It indicates a lack of organizational ability.

Stephen Covey has a program called “Focus” which provides time management skills. One major tip is to plan only 75% of your day. That leaves room for dealing with the unexpected. It is understood that as you gain additional responsibilities and more prestigious titles, that time becomes more important than money.

So, when you complete what you have prioritized for the day, and no emergencies have popped up, refrain from adding more to do’s to your day. Instead, use the extra time for strategic planning.

When you can do this consistently, you will be managing your time effectively.

Civility and being courteous is important in every aspect of our lives. Everyone is diligent most of the time. However, folks sometimes forget politeness when they are waiting in line to check out after grocery store shopping.

Here are some check-out lane do’s and don’ts:

Do:

• Remember patience
• Let someone ahead of you go first if they have one item and you have a week’s worth of groceries
• Ask questions about items prior to queuing up in the check-out lane 
• Have your credit card, check or cash handy

Don’t:

• Interrupt the cashier when they are waiting on someone else
• Check out in the 10 items or less lane when you have 15 in your cart
• Search for the 13 cents at the bottom of your purse
• Use a credit card in the cash only lane

Remember that civility is paramount, especially when you are in a rush to check out.

When you do this, in addition to doing the right thing, you will be a role model for others

Today’s job market can be grim for jobseekers. So when you are fortunate enough to receive an interview, highlight what you have done.

However, what is more important is where you want to go and why. Present a vision. Support it by describing the steps on how to get there, what you bring to it and how you will bring others there.

Passion is critical. Love what you do and use that to create the ladder to your vision.

There have been many comments about the negativity on display in the Republican race for the presidential nomination. While some commentators suggest negative advertising works, it is generally seen as a bad way to win.

Today, especially in interviews, you have to refrain from saying anything negative about a previous employer or situation. Instead, you want to speak to what you can do and what your positive qualities are.

Once you begin a negative dialog, your listeners will be wondering what negative things you will eventually say about them.