TheresaCaldwell.com

When You Care Enough To Add Volume

I don't know if this is done all over the U.S., but in the Washington, D.C. area I've noticed this cute little habit I call the Silent Salute.

The Silent Salute is when someone is passing you on the street or in a hallway, wherever, and they nod and mouth "Hello" or "Morning." They don't say it out loud. Just the nod and the mouthing of the word.

I remember when I first noticed the Silent Salute. Several years ago, one of my sisters and I were walking along the very busy K Street, NW near Connecticut Avenue. We were surrounded by people in varying shades of gray and navy blue who had that "I'm rushing to somewhere important" energy. My sister, who seems to notice every human quirk great and small, started chuckling when someone did it to her. She told me what happened, and I found myself noticing it everywhere!

Recently, I noticed that I give the Silent Salute. Oh no! So my First Quarter Resolution was to add volume. Stop the Silent Salute! I've been trying it for the last couple of days. It's surprisingly easy, and people seem to genuinely perk up.

That's my challenge to you. Care enough to add volume. The next time you decide to say "Hello" to someone, actually SAY it!

Maximize Your Media Exposure

One of the best experiences I had last week was being the invited speaker at the WBIS monthly meeting. I am a member of the organization, which offers substantive guidance and support -- in a great atmosphere -- to women entrepreneurs. It was an honor for WBIS CEO and Founder Sheila Dixon to ask me to give the presentation on ways members can maximize their media exposure.

After several years of experience booking guests for media interviews and events, I have narrowed down to five (5) the characteristics of the best guests. We had a good time as I shared them at the WBIS monthly luncheon. The short version of the 5 Quick Tips, as I called them, is below.

*Be available. If you want to get media exposure, expose yourself. Have a phone number, email address or website so people can find you. Once they contact you, get back to them quickly. It goes without saying that this also makes it easier for anyone who wants to do any business with you to find you. Once found, do your best to fit the interview into your schedule, or offer someone else who can do it.

*Ask about the interview structure. Be clear about whether it's for radio, television or print. Find out whether the interview can be done in-person or over the phone, live or on tape. Find out how long the interview is, and whether it has to be done "right now." If you can take at least a couple of minutes to pull your thoughts together, do it.

*"Stay Focused!" You would have had to be at the WBIS meeting for why I refer to this in this particular way. However, the bottom line is, keep your mind on what you are doing, saying and who you are saying it to during the interview. If you are doing a phone interview from home, don't do it in the chair that you curl up in to scarf down ice cream while watching movies. You may stand, but don't walk around too much. You don't want your breathing to start to sound like the rating of the interview has just gone from PG to R.

*Tell the truth, but not the whole story. This is one of my favorite phrases. Directly answer the question, but keep it simple, straight-forward. This helps you stay focused, and keeps you from babbling. Plus, the inappropriate, incorrect and goofy stuff usually happens when the interview subject is talking too much.

*Show personality and ENJOY yourself (or at least look and sound like you do). You don't have to have one of those perky personalities. But relax, use your wit and rely upon your command of the subject. Yes, you DO have command of the subjet or they would not have asked to interview you. Sometimes it's just a matter of looking at the question they pose from a different angle, but remain confident that you've got what it takes to be of service to the interviewer, the audience and your business/organization.

Don't worry. Very few people get all of these things right all of the time. But just like most things in life, do your best and trust that your best is enough. It usually is.

"You can't HANDLE the truth!"

Remember when Jack Nicholson spit that line at Tom Cruise in the 1992 movie "A Few Good Men"? I've come to believe that most of us can't handle the truth most of the time, unless someone spoon feeds it to us.

That comes to mind as I consider the major current events that are starting to mess with my ability to sleep soundly, and I can usually sleep through almost anything. The presidential race, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, increasing gun violence in D.C. and Chicago, the rising price of gas (and everything that depends on gas) and the falling value of homes. Just looking at that list sucks!

How much of this stuff could we see coming, like a train crossing the prairie in an old western film? A lot of it. But too many people who were telling us about it forgot that we can't handle the truth. And you can usually ignore those people who say their friends, family and/or colleagues give it to them straight, no chaser. Two-thirds of those people care about you so much that there will be times when they'll give you a break, or they don't notice when you're being a numbskull, or they think the way you do -- so you're all delusional at the same time.

The bottom line here is two-fold: Let's all work harder to absorb the truth when it's being told to us, then commit to acting accordingly. And when we have to tell the turth, have the spoonful of sugar handy.