Communications consultant Leil Lowndes points out in How to Talk to Anyone that people lose 30% of their energy when talking over the phone. This loss of energy may make you come off as a Debbie Downer, or even worse, unenthusiastic about maintaining a relation. To avoid losing this possible connection, Lowndes suggests to hike up the energy level – you may think you sound ridiculous, but really, you actually sound like how you would if it were a face-to-face conversation. Why? Well, the lack of a physical connection creates an emphasis on the need for an emotional one; so when you think about it, you’re allocating the connection made by seeing one another to an emotional level with your interest in the person.

Another great way to close the physical gap is to name drop. No, I don’t mean for you to talk about how you saw Johnny Depp at the local mall the other day. Lowndes gives the great idea of mentioning your caller’s name a couple times during your conversation. Hearing their name not only keeps their attention, but also reinforces the idea that the conversation is directed to them. That may sound silly, but think about it: there’s no eye contact, no hand gestures, and certainly no physical intimacy.  So aside from having your phone lines connected, you don’t have anything else linking you two.

Taking these two points into consideration, you are bound to increase the number of contacts you make over the phone. For more communication tips, be sure to read up more on How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes.

1. Invest in a calendar: I forgot is a horrible excuse. Everyone should have a calendar to keep track of deadlines, upcoming events, and relevant information. I forgot only gets you so far – soon your internship supervisor will just say I forgot to hire you.
2. Utilize a daily planner: Keep your thoughts organized. It’s just as important to micro-manage as it is to macro-manage. What’s sexier? I can manage multiple large scale projects and micro-manage my team members to ensure high productivity or I can follow directions.
3. Find your niche: Most importantly, learn about your working habits and when you perform at your best. Keep a notepad with you, a blackberry, or a journal to jot down your best ideas which you can organize later.
   

Take initiative and start organizing your life. Show you can manage your own schedule along with your job responsibilities. Sooner or later you will run out of hand space. I hope you have plenty of yellow-colored hand-shaped sticky notes.

How do you keep organized? Send your thoughts to ken@jointap.com. Please no hands with scribbles all over.

Yes! Why fear change? You shouldn’t. The ability to handle pressure is enticing to employers. If you aren’t able to adapt to a changing work environment, then you may need to rethink the application to sell $5 footlongs.

I’ve taken a double take while working at TAP. Sufficient just isn’t enough in todays economic down turn. Finding and keeping a job is harder than ever. Unemployment is rising, jobs are scarce and the U.S. is in a recession.

Stay current and make effective use of free time to learn how to use social networking websites, latest software, and sharpen your communication skills. Most importantly: Invest in your future – do your homework and change for the better. Make it part of your routine and daily news consumption.

Send your ideas to ken@jointap.com on how we can change for the better. Pennies accepted.