Save our office parties

I saw a rather sad news item on the news last week. It is summarised below.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8326009.stm

Basically 1 in 5 businesses report they are cancelling the annual office party for their employees. What this is going to do for morale, one can only guess.
One of my friends is in marketing at a major retail company. She has been told her departmental jolly - which normally has a budget of £40K for 200 people is being scrapped this year. Apparently, her bosses are still having their jolly. I suggested she asks if in-house catering could be arranged and a donation of 1/2 bottle of wine per guest. At least there would be some recognition for employees and their hard work.

It is so important to reward people; to recognise the work they are doing, and by cancelling this 'treat' - which might be the only treat staff are given, causes resentment and anger. Management need everyone on their side at this difficult time. Even if it means going down to the local pub and a round of drinks being bought, or a bottle of wine being opened in the office with a bowl of crisps - it is recognition of your team.

So please business owners - and I count myself in this category: don't cancel the party!

Teachers' using amplification in the classroom

I came across the following article at the weekend which stirred a great deal of concern from myself as a vocal coach that works with teachers.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220963/Teachers-turn-pop-headsets-save-voices.html

Here is my response:

In response to the Daily Mail article regarding teachers being amplified in classrooms to put less vocal strain on their voices, Executive Voice – vocal and communications training, has the following response.

Executive Voice appreciates that occasionally, the acoustics of a room make it very challenging for a teacher to be heard. Also, if there is a child in a class who has hearing difficulties, vocal enhancement can aide the child in hearing the teacher.

However, Executive Voice has a number of concerns regarding the amplification of teachers in the classroom.

• It is cited that 1 in 5 teachers loses their voice each term; this is due, in the main to mis-use of the voice, through over use; incorrect production of the voice resulting in vocal damage and vocal tiredness. Whilst amplification puts less strain on the voice, if the voice is not being used healthily in the first place, the damage to the voice will still continue.
• One of the most important communication skills students should learn is ‘listening’. Executive Voice is concerned that by amplifying teachers’ voices, pupils are not learning this skill and the sound will be another ‘noise’ in the classroom to listen to. Students should be learning to concentrate; not be distracted by other things (other pupils; mobile phones; fidgeting etc).
• Unless teachers are properly trained to set sound levels that are most appropriate for the space, there will be issues of noise disturbing other classrooms – unless there is adequate sound proofing in every room. Sounds from other classrooms will be more distracting for students trying to concentrate on their own work.
• By increasing the volume of the teacher’s voice in a classroom, it only adds to the overall volume of the classroom sound. Students are so used to living in ‘noisy’ environments: with TVs or music always in the background. The additional sound of a loud teacher’s voice will be an additional distraction and make the working environment still more noisy.
• Students are largely influenced by TV and the behaviour of favourite characters on TV programmes. Executive Voice has noticed how more students and young people imitate the communication style of ‘Soap operas’ where everyone shouts at each other rather than calmly discusses issues and resolves disagreements in this way. Executive Voice believes that by amplifying the voices of teachers, students will not experience the varied volume, character and nuances of a natural voice, since sound enhancement largely neutralises the characteristics of a natural voice unless a very skilled sound engineer is at hand.
• Executive Voice believes that the large sums of money being used by schools to purchase amplification equipment would be better spent training teachers to use their voices healthily. In PGCE courses, one hour’s training is given to the entire student course. More vocal and communication training during the teacher training and INSET for qualified teachers would be far more beneficial to the profession.

For interviews: comments and more information, please contact Susan Heaton Wright on 0844 576 3015. susan@executivevoice.co.uk http://www.executivevoice.co.uk

Successful leaders and how they communicate

Recently I heard a 'horror story' from Planet Opera. The director: the current flavour of the month in the theatre world, had refused to speak to the leading lady after two days rehearsal, because she was 'undirectable'. The singer concerned was performing a notoriously challenging role; would not be able to physically sing it if she cavorted around the stage as he no doubt wanted; she also spoke English as a second language and was having difficulty understanding him. The director only thought of his ego; not 'How can I change my communication style to develop a rapport with this team member.' He could have taken the time; allocated a translator; tried to get to know her; valued her talents etc. But no. The singer sang magnificently; the production was a disaster with the director and his production team being booed off the stage.

I too was the recipient of boorish communication from a self appointed 'leader' for an event. On meeting me, he considered me to be the lowest of the low and talked over me; trying to under mind my expertise and position. I pulled him up on this because the event was missing out on using my experience and expertise due to his egotistical stance. What I was bringing to the event appeared to be disregarded by his insecurities and unless I had intervened the event would have missed out on my knowledge.

Teams bring together people with a range of skills, expertise and experience. As a leader, it is your responsibility and role to find out what the individuals' strengths are and how they can be used positively for a project. It is also your role to assess if any outside expertise will be required to run a project. Finally, as a leader you have to change your communication style to ensure you are developing a rapport with each individual in the team; ignoring a team member or talking over them is not leadership: it is egotistical, childish behaviour and you will achieve the very poorest results.

Musclehelp Foundation Fundraising event on 13th October, 2009

NSN Productions Limited are delighted to be involved in the above fundraising event for MuscleHelp which provides experiences for sufferers of Muscular Dystrophy. This is on 13th October and includes:

The evening will include some wonderful entertainment from the stunning Bella Donnas with the highlight being our auction. To whet your appetite, we have some fantastic lots, including:

- a pole vaulting session with an Olympic legend
- an exclusive full-on tour of the McLaren Technology Centre
- an offer from The Romantic Tenor to sing at your next private dinner party
- an invitation by Radio 5 Live Sports Week presenter Garry Richardson to the BBC Television Centre to see the show being recorded
- a spectacular weekend break at the exclusive Rome Cavalieri from The Waldorf Astoria Collection
- and, wait for it …
- a signed strip from the Spurs football team!

Please contact http://www.musclehelp.com for more details.

smiling boosts your confidence official!

I picked up this article in the dreaded Daily Mail a couple of weeks ago. Here it is:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1213604/A-simple-smile-takes-boost-womans-confidence.html

So it's official: if you smile, you feel better. This is based on research on women: interestingly enough, why not on men.... For the sake of argument, let's
focus on men AND women. Smiling is a powerful communication tool. It takes less effort to smile than it does to frown! A true smile, where you are using your eyes as well as the mouth, creates a positive response from other people. I occasionally challenge myself to smile to everyone I interact with, and the world is a calmer, happier place!
Finally, the voice is more uplifting; happy and confident when you smile. On the telephone, remember to smile because your voice is more engaging.
Smiling costs nothing, but is an extremely powerful communication tool - verbally and non-verbally. Try it and see the difference.
For more information on Executive Voice go to http://www.executivevoice.co.uk

Five ways to communicate well when the chips are down in the office - podcast (phoneboo)

"Five ways to communicate well when the chips are down in the office" by executivevoice on audioboo.fm

Shared via AddThis

How to cope with office politics

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times published the following article. IT was in the Women's section of the paper which is interesting.
How to cope with office politics - Times Online

There was also a questionnaire.
Take the office-politician test - Times Online

The interesting point about this article was that it was 'encouraging' people to forget their morals whilst fighting for their job. Now, I know more than most about daggers in the back having been an opera singer. One story that's true, is that I was up for 2 roles over a year with a small professional company: not one that has ACE funding! Dates were discussed and the feedback I had after the audition and subsequent phone calls with admin and the director was very positive. Then everything went quiet.... A very inferior (in my opinion) singer was cast for both roles although they weren't suitable for her. A few years later, I was on a tour and a member of the company's board was singing. I'd forgotten the disappointment but he revealed the real story of the casting: the other singer threatened everything from cutting up the director's clothes, to leaving threatening messages on answerphones. What clinched it for her was when she threatened to take her life - she even staged a mock suicide (over the phone) to get her way. Of course no one has any respect for her (and didn't then) but she got her way. This article would encourage immoral shenanigans like this in order to keep your job.

So: getting back to the article; many people, particularly women were encouraged to 'keep your head down' and work hard. This is particularly a trait of women (at school they should be good) and people of my parents' generation who had a job for life. Yet the questionnaire would consider you to be 'naive' and up for losing your job in the next cull. The opposite "The loser" who basically throws their toys out of the pram every time something goes wrong also gets the red card.

Interestingly our opera 'friend' would be a Machiavellian: a trait that can keep your job, whilst 'star player' also wins on the job keeping stake. The premise of this article is that you have to forget your upbringing and morals to keep your job. You need to point the finger at others when things go wrong and blow your own trumpet when things go right.

We can all cite examples of people taking credit for work you or others have done; we also see examples of people putting the boot in on The Apprentice. The trouble is that if one isn't careful, they could reach the top - think Mandelson...

I'm not a work psychologist, but the message I have here is - keep sending positive messages - verbally/by email/actions etc of your work. If you can't stand someone and have to work with them, openly discuss it so that you can come to a working agreement and be more focused on the project. Be visible - working - bringing in good news stories - being there - available. Keep your head up; shoulders down. Even if you're worried about your job, don't give the impression you are.
Lastly: have at least 2 'good news' stories that you can discuss with anyone you bump into at work each week. You can always spin a neutral story. Focus on yourself: your team and the work you are involved in.

Good luck. More information from http://www.executivevoice.co.uk