Clever Geek Handbook
2 December 2025

The One Minute Presenter

Recommendation

Many people are so afraid of public speaking that they would rather run blindfolded down the middle of a busy highway than make a presentation to an audience. The formal name for speechmaking anxiety, which affects three out of every four people, is glossophobia. This fear is so abject that in polls it outranks necrophobia, the fear of dying. Are you a glossophobe? If so, take heart: Presentation expert Warwick John Fahy, a member of Toastmasters International’s Hall of Fame, has the answer to your problem. He details eight steps toward becoming a more confident public speaker, including some “fearbusters” you can use to conquer your dread of making presentations. This easy-to-follow program can help anyone present fearlessly. BooksInShort recommends Fahy’s valuable advice on public speaking.

Take-Aways

  • In today’s hyperactive, multitasking world, few people truly focus. Audiences routinely tune out most speakers and presentations.
  • You can break through the clutter and engage your audiences by using eight techniques:
  • First, overcome your fears by visualizing, practicing, training, exercising and talking to other people about things not related to your presentation.
  • Second, learn about your audience members so your words will be compelling to them.
  • Third, have a firm goal and a 25-word essential message in mind. Tell a story.
  • Fourth, build rapport with your audience. Use eye contact. Cite local topics.
  • Fifth, record and listen to your voice. Build a strong vocal presence.
  • Sixth, prepare to manage interruptions with professionalism and good humor.
  • Seventh, get ready for Q&A sessions so you can handle them easily.
  • Eighth, rehearse. Put in an hour of preparation for every minute you speak in public.

Summary

No Attention

Increasingly, cable television, video games, email, the Internet, social networking, instant messaging and smart phones provide constant distraction. Amid this information overload onslaught, which includes standard print and broadcast media, people often tune out public speakers. “Digital natives,” people born after 1980, are particularly bad audience members. They’ve grown up with the Internet, which shapes how they think and process information. Their motivation is “instant gratification,” and their attention spans tend to be severely limited.

“Bring [a melon] to the top of a skyscraper building and then drop it...The resulting crush of melon on the pavement below is the average person’s attention span today: a mess. It’s fragmented. It’s in bits.”

“Poor interactions” also negatively affect attention. The majority of business communications are not interactive, so people quickly tune them out. Time pressures, language barriers and multitasking are other obstacles to audience attention. Stressed people have a hard time calming their anxiety enough to listen well. Presenters trying to secure the attention of busy, distracted, harried and unfocused audience members face a major challenge.

Too Many Presentations

Speechmakers, meanwhile, talk too much for their listeners to tolerate. According to estimates, speakers batter audiences with millions of presentations every day, many of them mind-numbingly dull. Indeed, instead of capturing their spectators’ attention and interest, such presentations quickly put them to sleep. Is it any wonder that audience members habitually zone out when someone is at the lectern?

“People are just not able to focus like they could before.”

Fortunately, you can muster numerous proven presentation techniques to enhance your message and get your audience members to sit up and pay close attention. This is true whether your listeners share your demographics or are diverse and multicultural. These techniques work even when presenting to Internet-driven digital natives, a growing part of today’s “customer base and workforce.” Modern teenagers will present an even greater challenge as tomorrow’s customers and employees. They happily watch television while they simultaneously “take a telephone call, send a text, receive a photograph, play a game, downloaded a music track, read a magazine” and “watch commercials at x6 speed.”

“Being authentic is...about finding your own speaking voice and being able to naturally and comfortably communicate back and forward with an audience.”

Follow these eight steps to make compelling presentations to anyone at any time:

1. “You, the Presenter”

To be an effective presenter, you must be unassuming and sincere. Do not let stage fright wreck your presentation. Catalog your present “speaking strengths.” Build your “authenticity” as a speaker by citing your experiences, demonstrating how much you care about the subject, and being confident and candid.

“Time is against you when you’re presenting. The old adage says you have seconds to make a strong first impression, and that still rings true.”

Use these “fearbusters” to overcome your trepidation about speaking:

  • “Work your body” – How you feel physically directly affects your speech. Treat your body well before you present. That week, get a massage or spend time at a spa. That day, go for a walk, which aids circulation, soothes the nerves and forces air into the lungs. Stay away from “tea, coffee or caffeine-based soft drinks” before you speak. To calm yourself, do a few stretches, and have a drink of water before your talk.
  • “Help a friend” – When you assist someone else, you’ll pay less attention to yourself and so you’ll feel less nervous.
  • “Get mentally prepared” – Visualizing success works for great athletes. It can work for you. Think about past triumphs and how they made you feel. Imagine winning over your audience members. Picture them applauding you. Think of a positive mantra over and over; for example, “I’m the best presenter in the world.”
  • “Deep rhythmical breathing” – The more oxygen you can draw in, the better you will feel. Add positive words if you like, such as this Vietnamese quotation, “Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile.”
  • “Find a support group” – Toastmasters International is a good one.
  • “Hire a learning coach” – To build presenting skills, work with a professional trainer.

2. “Treasure Your Audience”

The more you know about your listeners, the better you will be able to connect. Derive a demographic and psychographic portrait of the people you are addressing. Determine what they consider important, what they already understand about your topic and what questions they’d ask. Figure out the most topical angle to pursue.

“Making a good connection with your face is easy. Just smile.”

Although this demographic and psychographic information will be useful, facts and figures do not provide a whole picture of your typical spectators. To envision your audience, develop a “golden avatar” that represents its members. Ask, “Who do they like?” and “What are their needs?” Once you have developed an avatar of your audience, give it a name. Make it as personal as possible.

“The clearer you are about where you want to take the audience, the better your chance of taking them there.”

When presenting, adopt a “SWIIFY” mind-set, telling your listeners, “So what’s in it for you?” Show how your talk will help them “solve a problem, meet a need, reach a goal” or “answer a question.” Explain why this is important to them. Focus on your listeners, not on yourself.

3. “Produce Your Message”

Make sure your presentation has an exact goal, such as compelling your audience to think or feel a certain way, or to do something specific. Like someone pitching a movie idea in Hollywood, develop a “high concept” that sums up your presentation. As Steven Spielberg puts it, “If a person can tell me the idea in 25 words or less, it’s going to make a pretty good movie.” An example of a high concept for the movie Alien would be “Jaws on a spaceship.”

“Don’t make your audiences think! Do the thinking for them.”

People love stories, so always tell a believable story throughout your presentation. Give it “an opening, a body and a close,” with a simple, clear message. Make sure your audience can grasp your ideas without difficulty. Develop some key words in your presentation – concepts that deliver your message directly. Structure your presentation to highlight those critical points. “Like a good TV reporter, turn them into soundbites and slogans, which become the taglines of your message.”

4. “Create Your Connection”

You must establish rapport with your listeners to communicate effectively. However, this requires their attention. Therefore, set some ground rules during your presentation, for example, no emailing, instant messaging or telephoning. Use eye contact to build a bond. Keep your audience engaged by periodically changing the pace of your presentation. Introduce some form of interactivity every 15 or 20 minutes. Get the members of your audience on your side by referring to something relatable that is topical or local. Show your enthusiasm and energy at all times. Use appropriate body language.

5. “Deliver with Style”

Make sure your voice is as strong and vibrant as possible. The best way to monitor your vocal performance is to record and play back your presentations. Always speak with a microphone. When you make a transition to another point, amplify your speaking volume. Use the appropriate speaking pace and speed for your content. Occasionally pause during your presentation to help your audience refocus. Periodically adjust the pitch of your voice to keep listeners engaged. Emphasize certain words.

“Depending on your skills and attitude, questions can either unnerve and sidetrack or clarify and strengthen your presentation.”

Gestures also are good for emphasis, but avoid nervous motions that detract from your presentation, such as “playing with your glasses” or “adjusting your clothes.” Maintain proper posture. Use PowerPoint for clarification, but keep your slides to the minimum. Focus on your audience, not your images.

6. “Manage All Interruptions”

Interruptions undermine your presentations. The more you prepare for interruptions, the better your presentation will go. Basic rules about interruptions include: No matter what happens, maintain a sense of humor at all times. Control your ego.

“Your credibility is still on the line during the Q&A, and your ability to manage people will either enhance or erode your credibility in the eyes of the audience.”

To deliver the most effective presentations, arrive early to check everything, including microphones, projectors and so on. The best in-room temperature for an audience is around 25°C (77°F). Make sure all light switches work. Go over your presentation plan in advance with the lighting professional. Learn his or her name so you will sound professional if you ask for help, such as: “Bill, can we go to video light setting?” Be sensitive to any odors in the room. Ask for a room change if necessary. If a technical glitch occurs during your presentation, be courteous and respectful to the on-site support staff. And, on the other hand, never start your presentation over again at the request of a boss who arrives late; offer to update the boss later.

7. “Master the Q&A”

Many presenters fear question-and-answer sessions because they’re not prepared. While you cannot control the questions your audience members ask, you can anticipate most of them. Before your presentation, sketch out and practice viable responses to the most likely queries. Limit people to one question each, and use the “4As method” for each response: “Attend to the question in full. Acknowledge the questioner. Ask to clarify and check. Answer the question.” Pause briefly after each question to think carefully about your best response.

“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” (Vince Lombardi, American football coach)

If you don’t know an answer, don’t fake it. Admit you don’t know. You may need to respond to an overly complex question after the Q&A session. Handle that issue this way: “Let’s set up a time to talk about that. Can we meet afterward? Great. Thanks.”

After each response, show consideration for the questioner by saying something along the lines of “Does that make sense to you?” At the end of the Q&A session, briefly summarize your presentation’s main message.

8. “Finish on Time”

Starting and finishing on time is a sign of respect for your audience. Never go on longer than planned. Carefully organize your presentation, and accurately time your rehearsals. Always rehearse your presentation to make it as perfect as you can. Do not make the common mistake of minutely planning your content, but spending little time practicing the delivery.

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.” (Plato)

Devote 50% of your time to content development and 50% to rehearsing your presentation at least 10 to 15 times. Practice is the key to any effective presentation. Spend approximately one hour in preparation per every minute of your presentation. Thus, a 20-minute presentation requires a full 20 hours of planning, preparation and practice.

“Practice as if you are the worst. Perform as if you are the best.” (Anonymous)

Once you have perfectly memorized your material, begin to add gestures and points of emphasis to enliven your presentation. Follow these steps to help you build and rehearse your material:

  • Develop your presentation’s content first by getting it down on paper. Start with a basic outline of your primary ideas and main points.
  • Expand your ideas by saying them out loud over and over. Figure out what works well and sounds best.
  • Record how you sound. Do not sit down while you are recording. Stand as if you are speaking in front of an actual audience. It is also beneficial if you practice in front of a mirror.
  • Note how long it takes for you to say each section of your presentation. Strict time notations will help you edit your material. Include “time marks” next to each important section so you can monitor your delivery more effectively.
  • Videotape your last series of rehearsals so you can see how you come across during the presentation. Use the video to plan your emphasis points and your body language during your presentation.
  • Ask trusted individuals – work colleagues, friends and family members – to watch you perform a test run of your presentation.

About the Author

Warwick John Fahy, a business presentation coach in Asia, is the general manager of Teamswork China. In 2007, Toastmasters International inducted Fahy into its Hall of Fame. Fahy is president of the Professional Speakers Association of China, which he founded.

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The One Minute Presenter

Book The One Minute Presenter

Unique Voices Publishing,
 


2 December 2025

More Than Just Money

Recommendation

Economist and consultant Allen J. Proctor offers clear strategies for operating a modern nonprofit organization. He invites nonprofits to take a deeper, more “provocative” look at their fundamental structures and systems, and he provides specific, concrete methods for improving them. He defines crucial factors – from board development to funding – that define a nonprofit’s viability, and discusses them in short, concise chapters that challenge status quo thinking about how nonprofits should behave. His anecdotal examples and bulleted action steps explain how to implement each concept. The compact, accessible writing style and valuable checklists make this book a good solid reference or a handy quick review. Though Proctor’s subtopics sometimes seem disconnected and some issues tend to overlap across chapters, BooksInShort recommends this professional, managerial analysis of how to keep your nonprofit fiscally sound while achieving its altruistic goals.

Take-Aways

  • Money can’t guarantee a nonprofit’s viability, but, like all businesses, charities must earn a profit to survive.
  • A nonprofit must spend its money in harmony with its mission and strategic plan, while sticking to its budget.
  • The board must support open inquiry, diverse opinions and “constructive disagreement.”
  • Executive directors link the board and staff in implementing the nonprofit’s strategy.
  • Restricted monies from endowments and grants are not much help in a fiscal crisis.
  • Seek unrestricted funding that preserves managerial flexibility.
  • As government budgets drop, nonprofits become the service provider of last resort.
  • Multiyear financial planning can solidify the bond that links your “mission and the shifting needs of the community.”
  • Instead of mandating a balanced budget, strive for “structural balance,” which may mean accepting deficits during recessionary times and surpluses during cushier times.
  • Survival depends on adapting your mission, strategies and programs to your community’s evolving needs and available funding.

Summary

“The Role of the Board”

Managers of successful nonprofit organizations create and nurture effective boards of directors. They take advantage of members’ individual and group talents, availability and levels of involvement and commitment. As a nonprofit manager, you can employ a set of “best practices” to improve your board’s overall effectiveness – including establishing a clear focus, paying more attention to the future than the past and harmonizing fundraising with your overall mission. Schedule regular board meetings, and use the agenda to direct members’ discussions to strategic – not operational – concerns.

“While money is important to survival, nonprofit success is about more than just money.”

Composing a board of directors is an art. Recruit people who are passionate, committed and available. Set clear, specific expectations as you define their roles and responsibilities, tap into their individual expertise, and coordinate their talents and passions so they establish, execute and sustain an overall strategic plan. Organize meetings to promote involvement and attendance. Your board’s culture must support open inquiry, diverse opinion and “constructive disagreement.”

“The virtue of nonprofits is that they do so much with so little. The downside is that they can be particularly vulnerable to bad luck if the management and board are not obsessively vigilant in watching how cash will flow in and out.”

Your board should use its budgeting process to create a fiscal plan, as well as a financial reckoning. The budget can help you connect your goals and actions with your mission-based strategy. Divide “continuing” board activities that support routine processes from higher-level strategic concerns requiring board “initiative.” Conduct periodic reviews to ensure that your nonprofit adapts flexibly as it balances operations and mission priorities with its constituency’s changing needs. Guide your board to analyze its fundraising in light of its mission. When donors want to restrict your use of their gifts, try to limit those restraints to avoid compromising your ability to make the best use of the money. Temper your promises to donors in light of your goals.

“The Executive Director”

As the primary liaison between the board and the staff, a nonprofit’s chief administrator’s main goals are to: 1) Balance the board’s overview with the staff’s implementation and 2) Stay focused on the mission while managing daily operations. In this role, you must prevent four common organizational failures: “inadequate focus on priorities, poor execution, failure to pay critical bills on time and unanticipated cash shortages.” Be aware that typical financial reports – balance sheets, income statements and cash reconciliations – don’t give your board critical data it needs. To evaluate operational effectiveness, a board also needs several pivotal monthly reports: an outline of the director’s activities; progress reports on major projects (with costs and revenue); a list of unpaid bills and due dates; and monthly cash projections for the next several months.

“If you can’t summarize your organization’s strategy in 30 words or less, then it probably isn’t a strategy.”

The savvy director strives for equilibrium between operational responsibilities (staff management) and strategic responsibilities (with regard to the board). To manage “without micromanaging,” you must know how to develop a strategic plan and budget, achieve an engaged and effective board, improve fiscal management, plan a fundraising campaign and manage a crisis. Good strategic plans consider where the organization is, where it wants to go, and why that is the right direction. The director should be able to summarize the strategic plan in no more than 30 words. Good leaders, staffers and boards can turn such plans into a reality, but they may need to take calculated risks based on the organization’s purpose, vitality and sustainability.

“Every nonprofit has two basic duties: To provide a service that fulfills a basic need in the community, and to sustain that service through good times and bad.”

Solid governance includes managing human resources, making decisions based on a viable strategy, staying objective and realistic about resources, replacing instinct with measurement, viewing the board as a catalyst for success, and regularly investing in the nonprofit’s administrative infrastructure. Rotate your staff members into board meetings so they learn more about why the organization does what it does. Such knowledge is priceless in motivating staffers to achieve the nonprofit’s higher purposes. Employees confront the nonprofit’s faults and shortcomings daily; counterbalance that by nurturing their connection to its loftier aspirations.

“Financial Management”

A nonprofit must spend its money in harmony with its mission and strategic plan, while sticking to its budget. This requires financial transparency. Since nonprofits serve the greater good, people commonly think it’s all right for them to operate at a loss, but, like all businesses, they must be profitable to survive. While many nonprofits provide free or reduced-fee services to the needy, they must charge fees to clients who can afford them.

“As community needs vary over time, the nonprofits which are needed by the community will also vary.”

Many nonprofits can’t present themselves as fiscally stable because their accounting methods and financial statements don’t reflect their constant need for operating funds. To preserve cash flow, you must know where cash is coming from and how much your organization needs. Directors should implement policies that guarantee sufficient cash on hand and constantly assess whether upcoming situations might affect cash levels. Few nonprofits use multiyear financial planning that could “systematically and consistently...maintain a tight linkage between their mission and their community’s shifting needs.” As executive director, you must think ahead about ways to align the nonprofit’s activities to serve the community, knowing you can pursue ideas only when you have a full understanding of their financial aspects. Fiscal doubt is dangerous; if ardent supporters start believing the mission is in jeopardy, then anxiety and strained relations can erupt.

“Recent trends in the way philanthropists and governments are doing good have the potential to undermine the vitality and effectiveness – and in some cases the survival – of nonprofits.”

Large endowments and grants that provide restricted funding don’t help when an organization needs ready cash. For flexibility in a pinch, seek “current and unrestricted” funding. A seemingly rich nonprofit actually may be nearly insolvent, depending on its access to liquidity and how it establishes cash reserves. A properly implemented endowment has many benefits, but it does not guarantee a nonprofit’s financial security. Using an endowment poorly (say, to meet short-term needs) can undermine a nonprofit’s efficacy. Before establishing or adding to an endowment, understand that it won’t solve any of your current cash-flow needs. Endowments can provide either stable current spending or stable future financial reserves, but not both, and some nonprofits are not yet ready to shift their resources from the present (cash) to the future (an endowment). Solid endowment management should sustain intergenerational equity, annual stability and “real spending power in the short term.”

“At the extreme, endowment is held out as a silver bullet that will ensure the financial stability of a nonprofit. This is a dangerous misconception.”

Increasing your funding by investing in “high-return” activities that raise money but that are “low-mission” – that is, they don’t mesh perfectly with your purpose – actually can erode your viability. If your nonprofit doesn’t need the cash for several years, invest instead in “low-return” activities that don’t earn much money but which are “high-mission” (enhance your purpose). Of course, to do this you must be well funded and your board must be able to handle market fluctuations. Consider five basic short-term investments to protect your funds: “bank checking deposits,” “bank certificates of deposit,” “money market deposit accounts,” “Treasury bills” and “money market mutual funds.”

“Legal Issues”

As corporate entities, nonprofits must comply with state and federal laws, such as special accounting rules governing how they document their finances, accept and spend money, pay taxes, govern themselves and engage in political activities. In recent years, the US government has required nonprofits to become more transparent through increased reporting, including voluntary spending disclosure. Paradoxically, the added cost of the personnel to implement such compliance increases costs just when donors want to pay for programs, not overhead.

“Financial crisis can happen to any nonprofit, no matter how well-managed.”

The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) sets the parameters for managing endowment funds in three areas: diversification or concentration of investments, retention or sale of certain types of gifts, and asset allocation for large donations. This law gives nonprofits two new powers which, if used imprudently, may have harmful long-term results: the ability to withdraw from an endowment and the ability to remove donors’ restrictions on the use of their gifts. As with any freedom, the watchword is “prudence.”

“Crisis Opportunities”

Even in good economic times, well-organized, well-run nonprofits can suffer financial crises. If you get hit, preserve cash and learn the inherent lesson. To husband cash, increase your revenues and decrease your expenses, while protecting your mission. Learning the lesson is the larger challenge, for it involves gathering, absorbing and assimilating information to reassess your community’s changing needs, your mission’s viability and your nonprofit’s essential framework. In a temporary or cyclical crisis, direct your efforts at weathering the storm. Regard any crisis that stems from deeper issues endemic to your mission or organization as very serious. Salvation lies in your determined ability to set aside enough cash reserves to see you through.

“The willingness to take [calculated] risks is one of the most underappreciated attributes of real leadership.”

Hard economic times may spur individual nonprofits to consider mergers, whether by simply sharing offices, staff or gear with each other, or by consolidating into a new nonprofit. Corporate philanthropy drops during economic downturns, so donor-based nonprofits carefully must consider any changes to their giving program. Guide any proposed changes with the interrelated principles of timeliness, explicitness, authenticity, fiscal practicality and creative flexibility. Management guru Peter Drucker says the best nonprofits excel by conducting mission-based planning, and by using their boards and knowledge workers productively and efficiently.

“Challenges in Philanthropy”

Eventually every business faces an identity crisis; philanthropy is no different. As state and federal budgets have suffered cutbacks, nonprofits increasingly have become providers of last resort for crucial public services. This shift in their mission challenges charities and catapults them into more prominence. Fiscal responsibility is shifting “from all citizens to volunteer citizens, from taxpayers to the smaller set of nonprofit donors.” In a weak economy, nonprofits must show donors that philanthropy is justified and that the organization’s mission is sustainable. The challenges facing today’s nonprofits include refining donor relationships, clarifying a fundamental approach to fundraising (especially the pursuit of annual funding, endowment funding and planned giving); the dilemmas and unfair burdens placed on the nonprofit by funding restrictions; the motivations for and tax consequences of charitable contributions; and the costs and benefits of open disclosure or transparency.

“What’s Next for Nonprofits?”

The only constant in life is the certainty of change. Your nonprofit’s survival depends on its resilience and willingness to alter ongoing relationships based on how well they mesh with its evolving mission, strategies and programs. Flexibility and adaptability are vital. Trends say that successive short-term donors who match organizations’ evolving needs will replace long-term donors. Those who want to see nonprofits continue to flourish must groom younger generations, tapping into their sense of volunteerism and their commitment to social good. Nonprofits also must capitalize on technology. Having an evocative, involving website is critical, and social networking is practically de rigueur. Successful nonprofit managers discuss “openness, transparency and persuasive communication” as part of their everyday vocabulary.

“Today’s nonprofit sector...is a business that requires hard decisions, strategic governance and skilled management.”

As nonprofits struggle to reconcile their budgets, they must fit their goals to their organizational abilities. Being in “structural balance” means accepting the idea that the organization can run deficits during recessionary times and surpluses during cushier times. To improve their organization’s future viability, board members should learn how business cycles affect the nonprofit sector, how to set aside proper reserves for weathering shortfalls and how to plan in advance for a recession. Mandating a balanced budget is no longer a prudent stance.

“The successful nonprofit of the next decade will need to learn to operate in a permanent state of transition.”

The contemporary nonprofit that wants to endure will examine and adapt its programs and service methods as community needs and available finances evolve. Be realistic if you think your nonprofit is starting down the slippery path to self-destruction. Assess your situation honestly. Sticking to the old ways might be more comfortable than coping with changing realities, but if the old ways no longer serve your mission, “turn out the lights...raise a toast to an honorable past,” and change while you can still survive.

About the Author

Economist Allen J. Proctor heads a consulting firm and writes about nonprofit management for Columbus Business First.

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More Than Just Money

Book More Than Just Money

Practical and Provocative Steps to Nonprofit Success

LMM Press,
 


2 December 2025

Well Connected

Recommendation

As social networking is burgeoning, the art of building authentic, mutually beneficial relationships is dwindling. Gordon Curtis solves this dilemma with his “Right Person – Right Approach” method of networking. Identify “critical enablers” who are in a position to help you, use your contacts to get a referral and then offer something of value to entice them to your side. Curtis guarantees that his approach will enable you to achieve your business goals, whether you are looking for a job, seeking investment capital or trying to boost your sales. He cites clients’ case histories as do and don’t examples; they all enjoy life-changing success. Although BooksInShort is skeptical about Curtis’s 100% success guarantee, the book provides solid networking fundamentals for anyone attempting to become “well connected.”

Take-Aways

  • Having a big social media network does not guarantee better results.
  • The “Right Person – Right Approach” method is a focused networking process.
  • The Right Person is “knowledgeable, inclined, available, like-minded, obligated, motivated and able.”
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of your online and email communications and current networking practices.
  • Define your “macro objective,” a broad statement about what you want to accomplish.
  • Break down your macro objective into smaller elements or “micro objectives.”
  • Identify targets – the people, sources or organizations you’d like to contact.
  • Find a critical enabler, the person who can provide the information you require to wow your target.
  • Control the referral process to gain access to your target.
  • Use a “gesture of progressive reciprocity,” offering the critical enabler something of value at the onset.

Summary

“The Right Person – Right Approach Method”

To succeed in today’s competitive and demanding work environment, you must develop effective relationships with the people who can help you accomplish your goals. This is essential not only to making a sale or landing a job, but in any business endeavor. You rely on other people who are in the know to learn about the market, generate referrals, raise funds, make the right hires, find the best vendors or pursue a career move.

“The Right Person – Right Approach method is the most efficient way to advance and achieve your career and business objectives, virtually guaranteeing you a 100% success rate.”

Most people waste energy increasing the number of their LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter connections. Such undirected expansion does not produce measurable results. Instead, find the one right person who can enable you to achieve a specific objective. This is the crux of the “Right Person – Right Approach” style of networking. The right person is a “critical enabler,” someone who makes connections, and such a catalytic person exists for every possible business goal. The Right Person – Right Approach method will help you:

  • Exactly define the goals you want to achieve.
  • Discover the person who can help you achieve them.
  • Enlist that person in assisting you.

Getting Started

You may feel you are doing a fine job of networking until you face a difficult situation that needs an immediate response. Your impetus to ramp up your networking efforts might be looking for a new job, taking on additional responsibilities or seeking funding. If your current networking approach is not producing the desired results, examine your process to see where it falls short. Taking steps to revise and reinvigorate your networking methods will give you confidence and enable you to reach your goals. A large network that doesn’t help you further your agenda is not useful. Achieving your goals is the endgame, but building your network is not. Are you posting and sending out articles, links or emails to online friends and contacts? Impersonal and unsolicited communications hurt you more than they can help you. People find such communications irritants that they either erase or ignore.

Self-Assessment

As part of your networking self-assessment, consider how you behave at networking events such as professional association gatherings, conferences and the like. Are you generating bona fide leads, or simply filling your pockets with business cards? If you’re networking in a haphazard way and contaminating your contact list with unwanted communications, you’re wasting your time and minimizing your chance of success.

“If you can define what you want clearly enough, it makes it much easier to see who could help you get it.”

Once you’ve examined your current networking method, take a look at how you communicate. Review several emails you’ve sent that had a specific aim, such as asking for information, soliciting help with a job search, seeking a referral or requesting a recommendation. Unlike a blast email, effective communications are personal and targeted to the recipient. They identify what you need, and consider what the recipient needs as well. If you are vague about what you want, you won’t get it. Explain why you are making the request and give the reader a reason to respond.

The Route Less Traveled

Approaching the decision maker too early is counterproductive. Do the research, lay the groundwork and perfect your proposal or resume. In the Right Person – Right Approach method, this circuitous yet focused route is most effective. Your interim goal is to find the critical enabler. But before that, you need to clarify your request and perfect your pitch. Your first step is to seek feedback and input from your “trusted advisors.” Run ideas past people you know, respect and trust to give you an honest critique.

“The amount of time I see people wasting – as they network like crazy with little or nothing to show for it – is staggering.”

Clearly define your objectives. Don’t worry that being too specific will cause you to miss opportunities. Casting too wide a net catches the wrong fish. Narrowing your search identifies “intersections,” the sweet spot where your specific needs intersect with those of the people who have the expertise you seek. Being focused also will help you find potential customers or employers.

“Selectively engage the right people, making sure you’re not simply connected to them, but well connected.”

Define your “macro objective,” a general statement about what you want to accomplish. Use this to bring focus or “extreme clarity” to the process. Break your macro objective down into smaller elements or “micro objectives.” The Internet helped George, who provides a worthy example. His macro objective was to build his business. The first micro objective was to obtain capital, so he conducted a Google search for the keyword “investors.” This brought up thousands of options, so he narrowed his search, adding the words “New England,” “home products,” and “scale a small business.” Each word or phrase represented a micro objective. Through this kind of pointed search, he found a company that invested in his type of small business.

“Increasing the number of contacts in a virtual network tends to come at the expense of building mutually beneficial relationships with specific people.”

The four steps to defining your business goals are:

  1. Make a note of at least one important career aim.
  2. Create keywords that signify at least five “micro objectives.”
  3. Perform a web search.
  4. Hone your web targets and “refine your search.”
“Someone out there has already done this before; you just have to find them.”

The targets found by your Internet search are people, sources or organizations that you’d like to contact. Again, you don’t want to get in touch with these people directly until you’ve done your homework. Instead, identify the critical enabler who can provide you with the information you require to wow your target. This is the “right person” in the “Right Person – Right Approach” method. He or she can supply a referral, provide information and insights, and help you stand out from the crowd.

“Surprise your decision makers by showing how well you understand their needs, interests and objectives, and how well you can help them solve their problems.”

Decide what information you need to impress your target. Identify who has this knowledge. For example, Alyssa sold customer relationship management software to financial services businesses. Her targets were companies that were losing customers. She identified a consulting firm operating in her territory that would be privy to this information. Then she reviewed her contacts to see if she knew someone who could provide her with an introduction. Getting a referral from someone who knows your prospect is a pivotal step.

Elusive Referrals

Traditional referrals have several drawbacks. The referral writer may be reluctant to provide an endorsement, thus qualifying and diluting the referral. The referring party may do too much or too little, such as passing along your resume or proposal without providing enough support. To retain control of referrals take these steps:

  • Reassure the referrer that you want a referral only, not an endorsement. You’re simply seeking permission to use his or her name.
  • Use the referring party as a source for information about your target.
  • Contact your target personally rather than asking the referrer to do it for you.
“It’s not what you do that creates a negative outcome, but rather what you don’t do.”

Tony wanted to join a hedge fund after earning his master’s degree in finance. His professor, a perfect critical enabler, had a reputation for being reluctant to give students entrée to his business contacts. Tony asked his adviser if he could use her name in an email asking the professor for a meeting. At that meeting, Tony described a spreadsheet he developed to help hedge funds conduct quantitative analysis. This impressed the professor, who offered to introduce Tony to his hedge fund contacts. Tony asked if he could use the professor’s name in a letter instead, retaining control of whom to approach and when to approach them.

Willing and Able

A referral can provide access to a critical enabler. Getting that person to help you is the next step, so use a “gesture of progressive reciprocity.” Offer something of value to the critical enabler before he or she gives you help. Your quest is to ascertain the critical enabler’s needs. Explore the web, check social networking sites and question people in your network to uncover opportunities. Don’t limit your search to the work environment. Often, opportunities lie in areas outside of work, such as volunteer involvement, hobbies or particular expertise. Now, catalog your “reciprocity currency” – that is, review your resources, talents and contacts to ensure that what you have to offer fulfills the enabler’s needs. Ask the following questions to refine your quest.

  • What do you know that could help your prospect?
  • How can your prospect find new clients or business?
  • What new “markets or territories” does your client seek to penetrate?
  • What charities or volunteer endeavors does your client support?
  • “What can you do personally, based on your own background or professional experience, that would be of value to your prospect?”
“In human affairs, the straight road is often the longest distance between two points, not the shortest.”

For example, Judith identified the CEO of a company in a related field as a critical enabler. When she conducted a Google search of the company, she observed that it didn’t appear until the third or fourth page of the results. Judith had just implemented some search engine optimization techniques for her own company, and offered to share them with the CEO. He was pleased Judith had a solution to a problem that he didn’t have time to address and happily met with her.

“Avoid falling into the trap of investing too much time cultivating relationships with people just because they have knowledge and relationships you’d like to tap into.”

Aaron, who was trying to build a leadership consulting firm, was having difficulty finding something he could offer his critical enabler. When the enabler gave Aaron’s initial offer a lukewarm reception, Aaron decided to ask a few questions to see where the conversation led. The enabler mentioned that he and his wife were planning a riverboat cruise on the Seine. Aaron had taken a similar trip and was able to recommend an excellent captain for the boat charter. Learning about your enablers on a personal level will help you craft an authentic, valuable offer.

Right Person Characteristics

You’ve identified a critical enabler who has the knowledge or connections you desire. You’ve obtained a referral and offered something of value. To develop a fruitful connection, your enabler also must be “inclined, available and like-minded.” Purposefully look for people who have good communication skills, are good connectors and enjoy bringing people together. Some people network on a daily basis and may be more willing to offer assistance. People working for small companies or running their own businesses are often more likely to give you a hand.

“You can control the process of achieving a career or business objective in a win-win way [that] gives you a level of confidence that is otherwise virtually unattainable.”

Critical enablers might not have the time to make your request a priority. People who are unresponsive and hard to pin down, or who cancel or reschedule meetings, probably are not going to help you. Enablers who are available will:

  • Answer your calls immediately.
  • Return emails or voice messages within 48 hours.
  • Answer your request with a firm date and time to meet.
  • Give you a rough “time frame” for a later meeting if it's not possible to hold one with you right away.
“Never take a relationship for granted.”

When you feel an instant connection with people, it’s usually because they’re like-minded. They may share a similar background, be close in age, enjoy the same sports or hobbies, have a comparable education or possess personality traits that mesh with yours. Nurture and value these relationships. It’s nice to find a kindred spirit.

About the Author

Gordon S. Curtis is a principal of Curtis Consulting and a popular speaker.

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Well Connected

Book Well Connected

An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships

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