Springtime Mailbag
Steve Adubato, Ph.D.

It's time to do some spring cleaning and empty out the coach's mailbag.

Dee Fazio of Aberdeen wrote in with some tips on giving a small-group presentation. Fazio says she puts "cue cards" strategically around the room, which identify key topics. "For example, when speaking about a certain software, I have at least five things that I wanted to mention in bullets up on the wall. This also helps the audience to remember what you are speaking about because they visually see the topics." Fazio says that she also uses the audience to add new information to the material so that she can use it in future presentations. She says that by doing this, it allows you to stay away from written scripts and play to your audience.

What a great idea, Dee. In my seminars I like to write information on flip chart pages and post them up as we go. However, I am going to try your cue card approach in the near future.

Lisa Smith from Flemington wrote in response to a recent column on motivating employees. Says Smith, "The timing of your column was perfect relative to today's culture in most companies that have undergone downsizing and expense reduction and are now trying to re-energize the team." In her current position, Smith was asked to participate in an initiative to energize, motivate, engage and encourage the group to become a winning team. "We kicked off surveys and focus groups to get a pulse of the group, and the majority of the responses focused around accountability and empowerment. Do you have any ideas for building action plans in these two areas?"

Yes. First, ask participants to come up with their own personal definition of "accountability" and "empowerment." Then ask each of them to develop a concrete example or scenario that supports their description. Your goal is to make these concepts more tangible, which will then allow you and your colleagues to develop practical action plans. These action plans can then be used to produce solid results.

Harriet Diamond of Westfield recently retired as president of Diamond Associates, a consulting company she founded in 1985, and wrote in regarding a recent column on President Bush's last press conference. Says Diamond, "As I watched President Bush mismanage that conference I was incredulous not only at his lack of humility and acceptance of responsibility but also at how poorly he had been prepared. I am truly saddened by yet another blatant example of how our top executive is such a fertile model for poor communication, nonexistent team work and ineffective leadership."

Harriet, I wouldn't go as far as you go regarding teamwork and leadership, however, I still maintain that the president, or any executive with a lot of responsibility, should be more willing to acknowledge mistakes publicly and communicate directly as to what they have learned and their plans for the future. On that count, President Bush missed a huge opportunity when asked about his biggest mistake.

And speaking about communication mistakes, Richard Underhill wrote in regarding my incorrect use of grammar. Says Underhill, "In your recent column you wrote, 'you can and more importantly, you will practice…' Now, why wouldn't you just say 'more important?'…We who love English really ought to fight to preserve it in 'proper' form lest we suffer the lowest common denominator."

Point well taken. You got me on that one. My mistake. There is a great book by Strunk and White called "The Elements of Style." I have it sitting on my desk. I should probably read it again before next week's column.

Dr. Steve Adubato coaches and speaks on the subjects of communication and leadership and is the author of the book "Speak from the Heart." Write to him at The Star-Ledger, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102, visit his Web site at www.stand-deliver.com, or e-mail him at sadubato@aol.com.

Back to Star Ledger Column