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Networking Know-How: How to Get Through to the Busiest of People
When you are job hunting, sometimes the most frustrating part is just getting your foot through the door to let the right people know that you are out there and available for work. Companies can be like members-only clubs; they tend to be a little distrustful of cold callers and most executives advise their assistants to run interference for them on the phone so they do not get stuck having a protracted conversation with someone they just aren’t interested in doing business with. The thing is that to get an interview, these people can be the very same people you need to talk to. How do you get these busy people to clear some time off in their busy schedule to speak to you?
First things first – you have to get the right attitude. If you want busy people to make time to talk to you, you have to present yourself in a way that makes them feel like you are worth the time investment. The trick here is that you have to do this by phone, and often, you have to first convince an operator or personal assistant that your call is one worth putting through to the boss. Your phone etiquette and vocal confidence will be the key here.
Consider you basic phone manners first. Instead of launching right into what you want, respond to the greeting of the person who answers the phone with a hello of your own. Animate your voice and always remember that simply saying “please” and “thank you” can go a long way. Be the kind of caller that you would want to talk to if your job was answering the phone all day. People will respond to your positive attitude with a positive attitude of their own.
Next, consider your confidence level on the phone. Do you tend to get tongue-tied and stumble over your words? That kind of delivery from you will set all the warning bells ringing on the other end of the phone, and you will find the person with whom you wish to speak always “out of the office.” Instead, work on sounding like you are confident that it is a forgone conclusion that you will get to speak that busy person you want to talk to. Be confident that what you have to say is something that is worth hearing. It may help to write out a framework of what you will say and practice a few times so you sound relaxed and composed when you make that call.
Once your attitude is right to make the call, you can then employ a few tricks of the trade for getting through to those busy people. Instead of giving away too much up front, start your call by asking if the person with whom you need to speak is in. If the answer is yes, then you can remove on potential “excuse” for not putting your call through. If your call can’t be taken at that time, skip the message. Let the PA or operator know that you will call back again. That way you have a legitimate reason to keep calling.
Of course, you might have to keep calling and calling, and that assistant might start knowing the sound of your voice. If you keep speaking to the same person, it’s time to open up with some person details. Let them know your name, why you’re calling, and if someone referred you, who that person is. Developing that personal relationship can help you get your call through to the boss.
Last but not least, don’t give up. Busy people are, well, busy, and not necessarily avoiding your call. Persistence pays off, so keep on calling until you get through.
Communication Key to a Better Work Environment Everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carole. On Christmas Eve, poor Bob Cratchit, who is working late again, spends his day working up the courage to ask his boss, Mr. Scrooge, if he can have Christmas Day off from work to spend with his family. When he finally does get up the nerve to ask, Mr. Scrooge lets forth a tirade over lazy people using Christmas as an excuse to have a day a off from work. This fictional story unfortunately rings true for a lot of people who have to work up the courage to ask for things from their employers. An employee who has to feel about their employer the way Bob Cratchit felt about Mr. Scrooge is not a very happy and productive employee. To get the most of out of your workers, you have to create a much more hospitable working environment. To create a better working environment, keeping the lines of communication open is absolutely crucial. How does communication work in your office? Do you get the impression that everyone is walking around on eggshells around you? While this kind of fear from your employees may be good for your ego in some senses, it is really bad for your business. When your employees don’t feel like they can talk to you, you will lose control over what is going on with your business. You may be the boss, but your employees are the ones who are actually on the front lines. To know what is really going on out there, you need your employees to communicate honestly with you. If they feel that you are unapproachable, they will hide problems and concerns from you, and you won’t be able to act to fix them. You can’t expect to run your business with half of the information about what is actually going on, and so your business will suffer for your “mean boss” routine. There are still other problems with creating an office environment in which your employees feel like you are unapproachable. In general, there will be a dark cloud over the office when you are around. The stress will keep employee morale low, and employees with low morale are employees with low productivity. Besides, who wants to work hard for someone they cannot approach or who doesn’t show they any respect? Shutting down those lines of communication will definitely affect your bottom line as employees “phone it in” because they don’t feel invested in making your business a success. If you want a better working environment, you have to improve the lines of communication. If there has been a communication breakdown in the past, take the time to address it with your staff. If you staff is small, talk to them each one on one, letting them know that your door is always open and that you want more regular communication with them. If you have a larger staff, schedule a meeting to address the issue. Weekly office meetings are a great way to keep communication channels open and swap ideas in the office environment. If weekly meetings are not feasible, find some way of touching base with your staff on a regular basis, either through weekly emails or a weekly newsletter. Also, you should encourage your staff to communicate with each other. Sharing information among the staff is a great way to generate fresh ideas and fresh approaches to problems. If your office is suffering from a communication problem, make nipping it in the bud a priority. The pay off will be more productive workers and a whole lot less stress. Who knew work could actually be a pleasant place to be? Copyright Music Form The Copyright Music Form is your First Step to Protecting your Work Many confuse a copyright music form with an actual copyright. The form is actually what you get from the U. S. Copyright Office when you are ready to register your copyright. It is highly recommended that everyone who writes a piece of music take the time and register their copyright. It is also important to understand that once you've either written or recorded your original music, it is actually copyrighted. In other words you do not actually need to fill out any type of copyright music form in order to have your music copyrighted. While registering is not the act of copyrighting your work it is very necessary if you plan to file suit for copyright infringement. It is also better to fill out the copyright music form they offer earlier in the life of your music rather than later as the timing of the registration of your copyright can have an impact on the actual awards you can receive should you win your lawsuit. There is also something quite satisfying about having your musical works registered with the copyright office. I can't explain the feeling as it will be different for everyone but if you've written music, you really should see for yourself. You can find the copyright music form from the U. S. Copyright Office online quite easily. There is more involved than simply filling out the paperwork in order to register your copyright. You must also pay a fee, the actual fee changes so you should make sure you are aware of what the current fee is before sending in your work. An insufficient fee can result in delays. You also must send an actual copy of the music you are registering the copyright on. Your copy may either be the written or recorded music you wish to register but must include everything you wish the registration to cover. When filling out the copyright music form it is important to provide as many accurate details as possible. While your registration is active the day your application is received you may not actually receive your certificate for several months. Really and truly, as far as government agencies go, this is one of the easier ones to deal with as far as red tape. The procedure in addition to the copyright music form is straight forward and not designed in a manner that would be too easily confusing. The copyright music form is only one step in the process of registering your music's copyright. While it is an important step if you forget the other steps there will be delays in the registration process. Read the form completely before filling it out and if you are printing your form from the computer, I highly recommend printing more than one copyright music form to insure that you have extras if you make a mistake and in order to register your future musical copyrights. Your first copyright registration will be the most nerve wracking. This makes perfect sense when you consider that trying anything new requires some degree of 'anticipation'. It is also likely to be your most thrilling. Even in this particular piece of music ends up being the worst piece you've ever written (most of our first endeavors are our worst) there is a lot to be said about the fact that you've actually taken the steps to insure your future is a great feeling. If your first piece of music sells and is someday published that is wonderful. If not, you are still ready for the next piece and have gone through the process of filling out a music copyright form before so you know what to expect. |