Richard Maun

Author: moderncareers

  • Putting The Eyes Into Interviews

    Look down dear, I'm over here!
    Look down dear, I’m over here!

    A cheery story came my way last week when a colleague emailed to let me know that he had finally secured a full time job and was grateful for my help. I banked the stroke and being a curious fish, asked what I had done that had really made a difference. He instantly replied:

    “Well, it sounds mad, but it was Crow really. He reminded me to keep making eye contact with people and when I had a panel of three managers at my second interview it went really well.”

    Eye Contact Counts

    Oh yes, the power of the Crow. He came along to a couple of my lectures and squawked when people ignored him during their Minute to Win It*. This managed to put delegates off their stride, which was the point really, because there’s no point in talking if you don’t make eye contact; your words are mostly missing their target.

    Good eye contact has a gentle rhythm to it of 1-2-3-move 1-2-3-move, which means holding contact for three ‘beats’ and then bobbing on to the next person in the room. If there’s just the two of you then you can avoid staring by looking down as you write a note, or by looking away whilst you think, making sure to look back in order to deliver your answer with enthusiasm.

    The power of the Crow was really to provide my colleague with a strong memory that served as an anchor for positive behaviour when under pressure. I shared the stroke with Crow and he was happy. After all, it’s not everyday you help someone get a job when you’re a shaggy black bird (not a shaggy blackbird).

    So, the next time you are in a meeting, about to start an interview, or pitching your product to people, remember the Crow. You don’t want to get squawked at do you?

    Has This Raised Issues for You?

    If you know someone who needs to improve the way they make eye contact and would like to meet Crow he can be contacted through Richard by clicking here. All coaching is confidential and all workshops run the risk of being fun.

    *A Minute to Win It is a very effective way to sell yourself, or a product, or a service. There’s more information in the book Job Hunting 3.0 which will be published on 15th June. Subscribe to the blog for updates and free downloads.

  • Why Twitter Works

    Flikr Creative Commons: credited to ehnmark
    One way to be heard…or you could tweet

    I was asked this question at a recent workshop and my answer was; it’s a stroke rich environment. Simples.

    In Transactional Analysis a ‘stroke’ is defined as a unit of recognition and we all have a need for recognition as an essential human hunger (Berne, 1966). I know the term ‘stroke’ has a medical meaning, but in this context it refers to the act of recognising our self or others. Think of it like stroking a cat; if you move from head to tail you might get a little buzzy purr and a happy kitty. Go from tail to head and you can lose a finger. Cats know all about strokes!

    Twitter provides us (I like tweeting) with a chance to be heard and to be acknowledged. We don’t have to be saying anything smart, we can just be present and can have our existence validated.

    All of the smiles we get, the banter and the electronic ‘hugs’ are real and genuine strokes. People on Twitter bank them, share them and relive them as their timeline flows and people comment and laugh and cry together.

    If you’re sitting at home looking for a job, or in an office on your own, or raising children, or simply wading through the daily treacle of life, you too can have as many healthy strokes as you need.

    Twitter is for real people. It works because when you write something you are noticing yourself first and that’s a good source of strokes. It works because you can have company when you’re physically isolated (stroke deprived). It works because people hand out strokes freely and the networks of Tweeters support and encourage each other.

    There’s a big bonus too. Increasingly people are using Twitter as a source of business because people buy from people and chatting is a great way to develop relationships. I’m not talking here about the spam from multi-level marketing organisations (mlm) who can make you rich by clicking here!! (If it was that easy would I be writing this and would you be reading it?) What I mean is good old fashioned networking; talking to people, making friends, gaining trust and then doing business.

    All these strokes can be great for our health and well-being and for our bank balance too.

    And you can have all this for free. Twitter works because real people can really be present and get real, healthy strokes. Find me on Twitter at @RichardMaun and tell me what strokes you need. We can have a Twitter #strokeparty.