WorkPuzzle

Recruiting and the Dignity of Work

While watching my favorite news show, 60 Minutes, last Sunday, tears came to my eyes as I witnessed a remarkable story, detailing the importance of work to our fellow humans.  

It was a story of a non-profit organization's attempt to help those who have been unemployed for more than two years, build tangible hope in finding a job, and ultimately place them with great success.  I won't go into the details of the program, but the primary take-away was the remarkable importance work plays in the general dignity of people. 

The carnage of emotional devastation discussed among the initial meetings held by a new class of the unemployed became even more profound when, as a viewer, you were led on their journey through training, internship, and finally productive work.  

The graduates of the program literally cried at the awareness of how “wonderful” it was to hear their alarm clock go off, announcing that it was their time to prepare to go to work.  

At the heels of watching this dramatic story, a friend of mine told me of his story of having just visited Madagascar as a part of an organization restoring the mangrove trees along the barren coast of their waterways (to restore the animal life), by employing villagers to replant and protect their growth.  As a result of these endeavors, the villagers are now able to buy supplies for fishing, pay off their debts, and make a living.  

One villager, who invited my friend into his hut (containing six family members) for dinner, boasted with pride that, because of his newfound “success,” he has “enough rice to last one dry season.”  He went on to say that, as a result, he is “truly content.”  

There are several lessons here with regard to recruiting, not to mention our general work life, in both of these stories.  For one, you should never fail to remember that those you interview might be carrying a great deal of emotional baggage (loss of dignity), if they’re coming to you from the pool of unemployed.  Whatever your decision regarding their suitability for your company, be mindful to treat them with respect, and not further demoralize them or treat them with contempt.  (Although...I’m sure that there are some among these ranks who don't want to do any work, and want it to just come to them—That’s a separate subject for another blog.) 

The other lesson is very clear:  We must actively look for ways to challenge those around us to never lose sight of the privilege of work.  Not everyone gets to do it.  And yet, it is an essential piece of the very fabric from which we are made.  God says that we are made in his Image.  This is the same God that created and sustains this incredible Universe.  It’s no wonder that tears come to our eyes regarding these stories of productivity.  The meaning and purpose run incredibly deep.  

How often do we become ungrateful for our work?  What impact does this tendency have on our company’s culture, or on our company’s reputation, or on our productivity?  Is there a way to keep our pulse on our team members' enjoyment and appreciation of work?     

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

The Secret To Getting Things Done

Have you ever had an idea to change something about your routine, your family life, or your organization, but never seem to find the time to get around to it?  We all do it...and probably way too often.  Why do we do it? 

Humans are creatures of habit and routine.  We typically resist change, and as a result, end up delaying action.  By the way, we are not born this way.  Kids love change; They change daily.  But for adults, all kinds of intricate central nervous system stuff (like the fight or flight reaction) start to fire when we begin to think about change, much less actually do something differently.  Add negative self talk to this, like...“It's probably a stupid idea anyway,” and it's no wonder only a very small percentage of people become innovators and culture changers. 

There are a multitude of reasons for our preference for routine and ritual over the possibility of constant change and impulsive decisions, and although this preference can be beneficial in a myriad of ways, it can also stymie our development and growth, especially in business and management.

We’ve written several articles about the Growth Mindset and Resiliency that touch on this very important topic (WorkPuzzle 1, 2, 3, 4).  Research confirms repeatedly, that physically taking action will move the ball down the field, either through discovering something new, ruling out a plan, or innovating something that builds upon something else...that eventually becomes a key difference maker. 

Here is a very short list of why we need to build in room for innovation, experimentation, and change:

1. Stagnant companies die
2. Team members are best engaged in their work somewhere between boredom and anxiety -- Managers must find the balance
3. Experimentation precedes innovation
4. Doing something may lead to mistakes, but we also learn a great deal through our mistakes. 

I’ll leave you today with this list of quotes on preferring “action” that I found on the Tom Peters blog: 

• "We have a 'strategic plan.' It's called doing things."  —Herb Kelleher

• "This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells.  You may think you're finding it when you're drawing maps and studying logs, but you have to drill."  —John Masters, Canadian oil and gas wildcatter, The Hunters

• "Can do!"  —Motto, U.S. Navy Seabees (U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalions)

• "Execution is the job of the business leader."   —Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

• "Ready. FIRE! Aim."  —H. Ross Perot (versus the far more common "Aim! Aim! Aim! ...")

• "BLAME NO ONE. EXPECT NOTHING. DO SOMETHING."  —Locker room sign
posted by NFL football coach Bill Parcells

• "Thinking is the enemy of creativity.  It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is lousy.  You simply must ... Do things."  —Ray Bradbury

• "To Be somebody or to Do something."  —John Boyd

• "Fall seven times, stand up eight."  —Japanese proverb

• "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."  —Wayne Gretzky  

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Authenticity: The Power of the Real You

It is so common in our society to tell people what we think they want to hear in an effort to get them to do what we want them to do.  I am willing to give the most talented people credit for seeing through that transparency.  It is pervasive, and I wonder...is it working?

In WorkPuzzle, we talk, almost endlessly it seems, about building relationships as part of recruiting and coaching.  I would think any good retention plan would incur some degree of value added coaching/mentoring, especially with newer agents.  Is it not in the coaching that you have the opportunity to build and maintain solid relationships with your agents?  Fundamentally, authenticity is what people take away from their experience with you.  

So, let me ask you a question:  How much does your outside reflect your inside?

Simon Sinek, a leader in inspiration and innovation, offers this as his definition of authenticity:

“Authenticity means that the way we present ourselves to the outside is a perfectly accurate representation of who we really are.  That means, the outside world should be able to guess what it would be like to work there based on their experience... This is not idealism, it's good business.  The more the inside and the outside match, the more those on the inside will invest of their own blood, sweat and tears to see the company succeed.  This makes it much easier to match the expectations a customer has with the experience they will actually get.  And when that happens, when authenticity really exists, loyalty results.”

There are two compelling dynamics in Sinek's observation:  The first can be found by reading this concept relative to your existing agents.  If they see the real you and that relationship adds value to their life, a sense of loyalty will prevail and you will be more successful in your retention strategy.  

Second, by extension, those agents in your market and new-to-business prospects, will also experience, either directly or indirectly, that same sense of “realness” and be inclined to want/choose to be immersed in your environment.  

I am not suggesting that your authentic self is the sole motivator for retention or recruiting, but I do believe it will take you a long way towards achieving a higher success rate in these two aspects of your job. 

Here's something else to consider…the trickle-down theory of authenticity.  Coaching your agents to incorporate their authentic selves in their business strategy will draw potential customers to them, and instill the same kind of loyalty that can lead to repeat business and referrals.  That one word can improve retention rates, recruiting goals, and market share…now that’s efficient!

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

To Recruit 100 or Date 25?

It has been my tenet over the past three years, as I've grown into my role with Tidemark, that we don’t "recruit" - we build relationships.  Every now and then I have a little epiphany.  For example, two years ago, while folding laundry, it occurred to me that the essence of recruiting is relationship building, and most all of the managers with whom I have worked with have a natural talent for that.  So, the question then became, “How do I promote this paradigm shift?”  Well, I had another mini-epiphany the other day...With whom do you WANT to build a connection or relationship with over time?  So, let’s "Reframe Recruiting," as Dr. Dave Mashburn would say.  Dave touched on this topic a couple of years ago, from a slightly different perspective -- I recommend reading that brief blog as well.

I have consulted with hundreds of managers on this topic.  When I ask how many agents are in a manager’s pipeline, I often get an answer that is in the hundreds.  Now that is a daunting and exhausting task!  Developing quality relationships with hundreds of people?  That explains, at least in part, why 75% of the respondents to a survey we conducted reported the part of their job about which they hear the most complaints is recruiting.  No wonder!  Imagine trying date 100 or more people at once!

It is my belief that effective recruiting comes from selecting a smaller subset of candidates and nurturing that pipeline.  As I have said in the past, most managers are excellent at building and cultivating relationships.  They are good at this aspect of their job because they enjoy it.  However, everyone has a saturation point.  I think it is safe to say that managing and keeping track of hundreds of relationships at various stages could be counter-productive.  When you sit down to the task of recruiting with this mindset, you run the risk of facing “paralysis of analysis,” and may be more inclined to find another task you rationalize as being more important.  

You are not going to win everyone over, but by narrowing your focus, you will become more engaged in the process, and more inclined to enjoy this critical component of your job, thereby engaging in it more often...and ultimately getting closer to reaching your goals.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How Do People Look For Jobs? Part 2

Earlier this week, I challenged you to spend some time learning what a person goes through when they look for a job, change companies, or investigate new career options.  By better understanding a candidate’s mindset, you’ll be more equipped to engage him or her during the recruiting dialog. 

As you spend time contemplating this topic, I thought it might be helpful to connect you with some companies that have put a lot of time and effort into growing their knowledge in this area.  To do this, we’ll take a look at a recent competition that you may have missed.   

For the last eight years, Electronic Recruiting Exchange (ERE) has sponsored their Recruiting Excellence Awards.  In essence, this organization highlights those companies that have successfully learned how to engage candidates. 

Like Super Bowl ads, some of these sites and ideas are a little over the top.  So, don’t think you have to “keep up with the Jones” regarding their methodologies.  Instead, as you look at these examples, focus on what these companies are saying about, and to, the candidates.  How are they engaging people who are considering a career change? 

And now, for the competition results (with my selection on what is most relevant for real estate companies).  The envelope please… 

1.  Best Company Career Website:   

RMS.  You may not have heard of this company, but lots of candidates know who they are.  One judge says that the RMS career website is “...hands down, one of the best sites I’ve seen.  Graphically and emotionally intelligent, not too heavy on graphic elements.  Tells the story.  Interaction.  Heads and shoulders above all of the other sites.”  

Check out their website:  http://www.rms.com/careers/ 

2.  Best Employee Brand:  

Sodexo.  This company quickly launched an enhanced employer brand aimed to be compatible with the new, consultative/solutions consumer brand.  In the 2011 fiscal year, Sodexo hired about 50 specialized and tough-to-recruit professionals within a few months. 

Doing so involved positioning the company as an expert in the energy field, which meant delving into such things as guest blog posts on websites for the energy industry, as well as having people speak at industry conferences.

Check out their website:  http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/careers/careers.asp

3.  Best Employee Referral Program

Improving Enterprises.  This is a great example of how even small companies can do great things.  Even after its recent growth (adding 50+ employees), this company has just 148 employees.

Briefly, the way its referral program works is this:  If employees refer someone, they get a point.  Points add up and are paid on a quarterly basis.  Points are considered when the software-developer distributes its profit share.  Top performers are recognized at Town Hall meetings.

It has a "Two by Tuesday" program designed, the company says, to mitigate “extremes in the ebbs and flows of recruiting.”  Every Tuesday, the company spreads the word regarding their most important openings.  People have a week to submit referrals.  There’s a race to be the one who refers the most, with daily updates provided.

The company might get 100 referrals in five days, with two or more hires made.

There’s a lot more...open houses, pizza parties, several mini-conferences on the weekends, Monday Night Football and Movie Nights...all aimed at having referred candidates show up.

Check out their website:  http://www.improvingenterprises.com/

4. Best College Recruiting Program

US Navy.  In 2011, the Navy implemented two new recruiting strategies that significantly improved the NUPOC program.  NUPOC — the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate program — involves recruiting college students and graduates with science and engineering backgrounds for five-year positions to work on nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers.   

With the first program, the Navy funded trips for 121 educators to experience a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier or submarine, visit a submarine learning facility, and interact with sailors.  The goal was for faculty to then tell their students, and other professors, about these opportunities.

Also, the Navy Recruiting Command partnered with a group called the University Engineering Alliance — formerly the Big 12 Engineering Consortium — allowing the Navy to provide keynote speakers for engineering summits, nuclear experts for classroom presentations, and otherwise work with faculty to present material in classrooms.

In the end, 242 students were hired through the NUPOC program last year, and the accepted applicant’s average GPA was up 5% to 3.43.

Check out their website:  http://www.navy.com/careers/nuclear-energy.html

5.  Best Military Recruiting Program

AT&T.  AT&T provides localized job notifications to the Transition Family/Support Centers of all branches of the military.  In 2011, AT&T participated in more than 50 traditional and virtual military career fairs.

This company's recruiters reach out to military transition offices, Army alumni programs, and elsewhere.  They created a program where veterans working at AT&T provide job search assistance to veterans applying for AT&T jobs.

Perhaps most importantly, it’s educating hiring managers and recruiters on the value of veterans, how to make heads or tails out of military jargon on resumes, and on the myths about veterans’ ability to integrate into corporations.

Check out their website:  http://att.jobs/military 

Hopefully, the work that these and other companies have done will inspire you to consider how you can better engage those who are considering a career change.  Who knows, maybe you’ll land your company on one of these "best of the best" lists in the years ahead...

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How Do People Look For Jobs?

As real estate professionals, I’m sure that most of you have put countless hours into trying to understand the process a person goes through to buy or sell a house.   

I’m sure you’ve even documented “trigger events,” such as a job relocation, a change in marital status, financial changes, etc...all of life's events that cause a person to start moving forward in the process.    

Absent a trigger event, you undoubtedly also teach the agents you manage the importance of maintaining a relationship with a large group of people who are potential buyers and sellers, who may be at different stages along the pre-sales continuum. 

As a real estate agent, it only makes sense to become an expert in what people experience in the process of buying and selling a house.  After all, it’s much of what an agent’s livelihood depends upon. 

Fast forward in your career... Now you’re a manager who is responsible for hiring new agents and retaining those who generate revenue for your office.  Let me ask you a question: 

Are you an expert in the process a person goes through to find a job, change careers, or determine when it is right time to leave a company? 

If you think about it, the mastery of this body of knowledge is much of what your livelihood depends upon!  I would encourage you to become a student of this topic.  And, as you do so, focus on sources outside the real estate industry. 

How do you find these sources?  I’ll give you some specific ideas later this week in my next WorkPuzzle posting.  But, to whet your appetite, here are a couple things I ran across this week that helped to build my knowledge on this topic: 

Job Board Research.  Last summer, the International Association of Employment Web Sites or IAEWS, conducted a benchmark study for job boards, and the results were just published last month. 

Part of this study focused on candidate behavior and found that 75% of the people who visit/use job boards and career sites are “window shoppers.”  These “window shoppers” are individuals who do not register on the job board’s site, rather, they come and go without applying to any jobs. 

What does this mean?  Well, the first lesson to be learned is that there are a lot of people who start a job search long before they are willing to make commitments and put noticeable action towards the process (ie. they are not desperate, but are starting to consider a change).  Supplemental research shows that that this talent pool tends to contain the highest quality candidates! 

The second lesson here is that huge opportunity exists for hiring managers who learn to how to coax people in this group to engage in their employment process.  The study cited that the average job board gets between three and five responses/applications from each job posting.  This metric can and should be used to measure your effectiveness at engaging candidates from this important group. 

Understanding Entrepreneurs.  You probably know intuitively that those individuals who make the best real estate agents have an entrepreneurial bent.  But, do you know how entrepreneurs (especially younger ones) think?  It seems it would be a good idea to spend some time learning about this topic if you hope to attract these types of individuals to your team. 

Well, you’re in luck!  Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, just co-authored a book on this topic.  Here is part of a summary that was recently published in 800-CEO-READ: 

“Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha’s The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career makes the point that that all humans are entrepreneurs.  At some level, each of us has the will to create and survive. 

When you start a company, you make decisions in an information-poor, time-compressed, resource-constrained environment.  There are no guarantees or safety nets, so you take on a certain amount of risk.  

In today’s work environment, the same challenges tend to characterize a traditional job -– you never know what’s going to happen next.  Information is limited.  Resources are tight.  Competition is fierce.  The world is changing.  

This means you need to be adapting all the time.  And if you fail to adapt, no one – not your employer, not the government – is going to catch you when you fall.”  

If this is what people are experiencing in the workplace, are you able help your candidates identify and articulate these fears and concerns?  If so, you’ll be much better equipped to communicate how a real estate employment opportunity may be the best option for some people.   

Later this week, we’ll take a look at a few specific companies that have figured out how to engage candidates successfully.  I think you’ll be surprised by what you'll learn.  

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why Money Isn't The Right Incentive

Our most committed readers know that we have summarized the research on "carrot and stick" management and why it doesn't work.  You've read why offering more money actually decreases innovation and motivation.  If you need a refresher on the subject, feel free to check our past articles on the subject (WorkPuzzle 1, 2, 3, 4).

Before I share additional angles on this subject, I want you to know that I don't dislike money.  In fact, I like it very much!  But obsession with money, or using it as a primary motivator has been shown to have unintended consequences that negatively impact our ability to flourish.

In an interesting research paper, Jia Liu, Dirk Smeesters and Kathleen D. Vohs illuminate another interesting fact about money.  Apparently, just introducing the idea of money can have a negative influence on cooperation.

Here is Daniel Pinks description of the research:

"The researchers carried out a sneaky experiment that had two components.  First, they asked their participants to fill out a questionnaire on a computer.  The questionnaire itself wasn’t important.  What was important was the desktop wallpaper.  For half the participants, the wallpaper showed a pattern of shells; for the other half, it showed a pattern of Euro notes and coins.  (In the parlance of social psychology, that second group was 'primed' with money.)

Next, they took the participants and another person of the same gender into a room and gave them a beverage to taste.  This is a new sports drink called Vigor, they told their subjects, and we want your opinion of it for a marketing study.

A minute later, the other person — who was actually the experimenters’ confederate — got up to leave the room, mentioning that he or she had already tasted the drink.  Some of the confederates added, 'This drink tastes really good. I just love it.'  Some said, 'This drink tastes really bad.  I just hate it.'  Some said nothing.

Then came the test:  Did the money prime make any difference in the participants’ opinions about the beverage?

Ample research, especially the extraordinary work of Robert Cialdini, has shown we’re quite susceptible to social influence.  When we hear that other folks like something, we tend to like it, too.  And that pattern held — at least for the people who saw shells in their computer background.  These folks liked the beverage more when the confederate said he or she liked it, and less when the confederate said he or she didn’t like it.

But for the subjects primed with money — again, just some background images of Euros — the response was the exact opposite.  As the researchers write:

'The confederate’s passing comments exerted a backfiring effect on evaluations of the drink among participants for whom the idea of money had been activated.  They liked it more when the confederate said that the drink was bad, and less when the confederate said the drink was good.'

What’s going on?

Liu, Smeesters, and Vohs say that money cues can operate as threats and 'produce contrarian reactions that are the opposite of the source’s intent.'  Other research has shown that being reminded of money can make people more single-minded and more apt to work harder — but also less social, less cooperative, and less likely to help others."

The authors summarize their findings with the following:

"Money has bigger effects on people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior than simply what it can do as an exchange medium or store of value.  People could behave toward money as if it is the ultimate tool, the quintessential vehicle to get what they want and need.  Yet, often people behave toward money as if it is a drug that possesses an abundance of motivational and reward properties...Mere reminders of it are enough to drastically change people’s preferences for work, play, and interpersonal relationships.”

As a manager, what impact does this information have on your philosophy of where fee splits should enter the conversation?  Yes, it's important to be fair and offer a decent reward for a job well done, but it shouldn't take center stage.  If it does, it will likely produce the opposite result from what you desire.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Towards Creativity: Why Brainstorming doesn't work and what does.

I don't normally read The New Yorker magazine, but the title of an article, "Group Think: The Brainstorming Myth," caught my attention.  I've been under, what turns out to be, the false assumption that the tenants of brainstorming for creativity and ideas were supported by research...you know, the idea that your team must meet and encourage a plethora of free flowing ideas, absent any criticism or challenge?  This common belief is based on the idea that if members of the group are scared of critique, they will prematurely inhibit themselves from sharing ideas that just might have merit.  This idea, which has been accepted as truth for several decades, turns out to have no research to back it up.

The first study of the techniques of brainstorming, performed at Yale in 1958, refuted it completely, and yet nobody paid attention.  People kept using the practice of brainstorming as if it were truth.  Most of us have been following a principle that was cooked up by Alex Osborn, a partner of the advertising agency B.B.D.O., who simply thought it was a good idea.  

The good news is that perhaps the recommendation of brainstorming and other group process recommendations has worked to increase the way companies view creativity as part of a group process.  Ben Jones, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, has quantified a trend toward viewing creativity as occurring through group process.  

There are two pieces of his conclusion that I find pretty exciting:  One, that creativity occurs within community.  There is something about developing a community of people around a central goal that cultivates and initiates creativity.

The second principle is equally compelling:  Jones discusses the work of Charlan Nemeth, "...whose studies suggest that the ineffectiveness of brainstorming stems from the very thing that Osborn thought was most important.  Debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas but, rather, stimulate them relative to every other condition.”

Did you get that?  We need to debate and critique ideas to develop them well.

This idea immediately resonated with me.  As recently as last week, I presented an idea to an individual I respected.  He challenged me on one aspect of the problem, we argued our sides, and we both went away significantly altering our view of the bigger picture.  Here's another example of healthy criticism at work...I have read that members of Led Zeppelin were legendary debaters of ideas and direction, but generally, in the end, worked through their differences to create their own brand of very popular music.  

Most banter about work-related ideas, it's been found, doesn't occur in the conference room.  Rather, the best and most innovative ideas result from casual conversations occurring between team members toward a better idea, product, or service, around the water cooler, or over coffee. 

So what does this mean for you? 

First of all, don't get complacent about change.  History is filled with extinct businesses that resisted change.  They believed that they had right answers when they probably weren't even asking the right questions.  Does anyone remember when Yahoo and MySpace were the big internet players?  And to change well, you need a deliberate culture of healthy banter about ideas with an openness to disagree and critique ideas.  Smart people will invite this, and most importantly, thrive as a result.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Improving Your Presentations

I know that many of you present material to groups as part of your job.  In working with organizations over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to attend some of those presentations. 

While some of you are master presenters, some of you struggle to provide presentations that are interesting and meaningful for your audience.  If you’ve ever had to sit through one of these presentations, you know how painful it can be. 

The large majority of real estate leaders lie somewhere in the middle, between these two extremes.  Their presentations are well done, but could use some improvement.  I’m not sure how self-aware I am, but I would guess I fall into this group. 

This is why a recent blog written by Michael Hyatt resonated with me.  Hyatt offers five simple and practical ideas to quickly tune-up your presentations:  

"1. Don’t give your presentation software center stage.  This is the biggest mistake I see speakers make.  They forget that PowerPoint or Keynote are tools designed to augment their presentation, not be their presentation.

Never forget:  You are the presenter.  Your message should be the focus.  Not your slides.  Not your props.  And not your handouts.  You are in the lead role, and you need to retain that role.

No amount of 'razzle dazzle' or slide effects can overcome a weak presentation.  If you don’t do your job, slides won’t save you.  It only makes a bad presentation worse.

2. Create a logical flow to your presentation.  Better yet, tell a story.  The absolute last thing you want to do is turn your presentation into a random assortment of bulleted lists, which is what often happens, especially when PowerPoint is involved.  There must be a flow.

Start with a good outlining or mind mapping program.  Decide if your talk is going to be a persuasive speech or an enabling one. (It should be one or the other.)

3. Make your presentation readable.  Memorize this sentence:  'If people can’t read my slides from the back of the room, my type is too small.'  Now repeat it over and over again while you create your slides.  If people are squinting during your presentation, trying to make out what’s on the slide, you’ve lost your audience.

In my experience, you must use at least 30-point type.  Obviously, it depends on the size of the room, the size of the screen, etc.  This is precisely why you can’t afford to leave this to chance.  You must test your slides and make certain they are readable.

Here are some other things to remember regarding text:

• Avoid paragraphs or long blocks of text.  If you really, really must use a paragraph, then whittle it down to the bare essentials.  Use an excerpt—a couple of sentences.  Emphasize the important words.  Put the text block by itself on a single slide.
• Use appropriate fonts.  I recommend a sans serif font for titles (e.g., Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, or—my personal favorite—Myriad Pro, etc.) and a serif font for bullets or body text (e.g., Times New Roman, Garamond, Goudy, Palatino, etc.).  Most books are typeset this way because it make them more readable.  The serifs help you recognize the characters (and thus the words) faster.  It makes the text more readable.  It’s also customary to use san serif fonts for chart labels.
• Avoid detailed reports.  If you need to include a report in your presentation, hand it out.  Don’t force people to try to read a ledger printout on a slide.  (Financial people take note!)  If you must show a report, use it as a picture and then use a “call out” to emphasize the part of the report you want people to focus on.  Better yet, just fill up a whole slide with the one number you want people to take away from the presentation.
• Avoid 'title capitalization' unless (duh!) it’s a title.  Sentence capitalization is much easier to read.  For example, 'Sales are up 100% in the southeast region' is easier than 'Sales Are Up 100% In The Southeast Region.'  This is especially true when you have numerous bullet points. 

4. Remember, less is more.  Fancy slide transitions and fly-ins get old quickly.  I strongly recommend that you keep things simple.  A basic dissolve from one slide to another is usually sufficient.

Also, have all your bullets appear at once rather than one at a time.  Avoid sound effects—they serve no other purpose than to annoy the audience and distract them from your presentation.

Finally, cut down the number of slides.  You don’t need a transcript of your speech with every point and sub-point.  Yawn!  People are only going to remember the major points anyway.

5. Distribute a handout.  I have changed my mind on this over the years.  I do not think that you should distribute a handout before you begin speaking.

If you do so, people will start reading ahead instead of listening to you.  It’s just one more distraction to keep them from focusing on your message.  It also eliminates any surprises or drama you have built into your presentation.  Instead, I tell people that, 'I will distribute a handout of the slides when I am finished with my presentation.' "  

So, here’s your homework:  Spend some time in the next couple of weeks tuning up your presentations.  Create a simple “rule sheet” with the items listed above and see how you compare, and then make improvements.  Once you’ve gone through your presentations, do the same for your agents and those whom you manage -- Many of these individuals make presentations in their roles as well.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.