Have you ever wondered what evidence to bring to the table in your meeting?

Evidence, or forms of influence (FOI), are necessary to engage and persuade your audience. We spend a lot of time talking about the physical and vocal skillset, which are extremely important in how you show up. But FOIs are equally important. As soon as you're done making those first impressions, the evidence and knowledge we provide is what keep people coming back for more.

This month we'll talk about:

1. What we label as evidence or FOIs
2. How to consider the audience when choosing which FOIs are most effective
3. Ways to think about blending stories and data to be impactful and memorable

Skillset and knowledge are necessary to be a successful speaker!

Digital communication is all around us. In our world today, it's very hard, if not impossible, to avoid it. Whether you want to or not, you're a part of it, so we need to understand how to be effective with this medium.

We want to help your digital communication get noticed, read, and engaged with in some way. There are a few ways you can do that:

1. Consider the look of your digital communication: Does it look easy to read? Would you read it? If the answer is no, it's not ready to be shared.
2. Put your key message at the beginning: No one wants to read an entire article or email to find out the purpose at the end.
3. Determine what needs to be shared: Not every detail is important. This ties back to #1, if it's too long or detailed, chances are your reading audience will skim or skip it altogether.

This topic will be in constant movement as it continues to evolve and be used in different ways. We'll continue to talk about digital communication as more recommendations come to light.

At some point in your career, you will disagree with someone.

It probably happens quite often already. Sometimes, it's just a different opinion on an approach, and sometimes, it's a stark disagreement with what's being shared.

The size of the disagreement isn't as important as knowing how to approach these situations with professionalism, an open mind, and an appropriate way to move the conversation forward.

This month, we'll discuss two areas:

1. Responding when you disagree. How to consider the right questions to ask, ways to keep emotions in check, and focusing on the issue, not the individual.
2. Internal work to avoid disagreements hijacking your ability to listen and keep an open mind.

Everyone should be prepared for disagreements at work and have a process in place to preserve the relationships you have.