In Your Corner Coaching & Consulting Services

The purpose of communication is to make information available to others in a way that makes it easy for them to receive it. Simple enough.

Why, then, do we get bombarded with PowerPoint slides that look like this?

Let’s say you hear the afternoon’s presenter say “Our first point is . . . .” Would you like to be looking at that slide?

Or would you, perhaps, prefer to have this on the screen in front of you?

We rest our case.

For more on this, see Presentation Zen’s article on the “Takahashi Method”.

“Work smarter, not harder.” We’ve all heard it.

We may have said to ourselves, “That sounds catchy.” But what does ‘working smarter’ look like?

Here are some tips for getting the most out of the time and effort you put in:

Back up the truck

Before you plunge into the next project, take a minute to step back and ask the questions that will ensure your aim isn’t off.

• What are the factors that make this the most important thing to do next? What would it take to change my mind about that?
• Are there any possible unintended effects of doing this thing this way?
• What mistake am I most likely to make in situations like this? Am I making it?

Don’t go it alone

Many work environments hold the “individual contributor” in high esteem. But the smartest individual contributors I know are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and know when to get help, advice or even set up a partnership with someone with the skills and talents they need on their team.

Use technology to your advantage

We admit, you could drown in the torrent of technological tools out there - even the free ones. But when you find the tools that fit your style, serve your purposes, and solve problems you actually have, you will want to stop people on the street to tell them what a difference they have made for you.

One of our purposes here at In Your Corner is to offer concrete means of implementing the suggestions we give. Stay tuned. More to come.

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
-Rodin

You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.
-Amy Welborn’s child’s kindergarten teacher