A Postive Attitude: It's Contagious

A positive attitude is contagious. I understand you have probably heard that line many times before but think of it this way; how often do you feel better when you come across those who are pleasant, happy and willing to share the same feelings? How many times have you sat through an assembly, program or speech where the person speaking was positive, energetic and could transfer that energy to the crowd? Chances are, you’ve come across those who maintain a positive attitude and felt that attitude was contagious.

Being positive may not always be easy but can make the environment you are in more pleasant and enjoyable. For example, one of the reasons I enjoy going to Mavis Winkle’s Irish Pub in Twinsburg and Independence is because the people who work there are always positive and fun to be around. The servers enjoy talking to the patrons, they take time to know the people they are serving and makes the atmosphere inside the place more enjoyable. It’s apparent the positive attitude the employees have spreads to the people eating the awesome food inside the restaurants and makes for a great dining experience. The business they are in is not always easy to have a positive attitude in but the friendliness and positive feelings the employees have becomes contagious inside the restaurant.

Even though there are times in which being positive can be difficult, taking a lighter view can help get you through the process. Let’s say you are a college student and have a 20 page paper to write. Writing the 20 page paper may not be easy to do, does not sound like fun and may be boring but how you choose to handle the experience can make a difference. Instead of taking a “this will never get done” attitude, try taking an “I will get this done attitude.” Create a step-by-step plan to finish the paper in sections, set deadlines for yourself and believe in yourself that it can be done and you will do a good job. This will help you stay motivated during the process, help you feel better about yourself and give you a positive way to channel the anxiety of writing the paper. Taking a positive approach to a difficult situation is not always easy but can be done.

When thinking of taking a negative attitude towards a situation, think of the times you have come across others who weren’t pleasant or nice when they needed to be. How many times have you gone into a coffee shop, retail store, etc. and the person assisting you acted as if he or she didn’t care or didn’t want to be there? How did you feel when you walked away? What impression did that person leave? This negative attitude obviously came across and left you with a negative experience. Remember how this experience felt and ask yourself if that is the impression you want to leave one someone else.

While there may be instances in which taking a positive attitude is not easy, possessing a positive vibe can be contagious to those around you and leave a great impression.

College Students: Take Time To Socialize

During your college years, there will be moments where you will be busy with classwork, projects, and other commitments and it can be stressful. Budgeting your time is key and taking care of your schoolwork is a must. Getting bogged down can happen but taking time to socialize with others on a regular basis can help relieve some of that stress. Finding different ways to socialize with your friends can help relieve some of the stress you are feeling and help bring a bit more balance to your college experience.

Even though taking time to study and do your homework is a must, there are several different ways in which you can budget some time a week to socialize and hang out with others. Below are some suggestions:

• Get Involved With Different Campus Organizations- Whether it's Greek Life, the campus radio or television station, a community service group, etc. getting involved with the different groups on campus will help you budget your time and give you something to look forward to on a weekly basis. It will also help get you out of your dorm room or apartment and meet others
  
• Start a Weekly Event With People Who Share Common Interests- During my freshmen year at Otterbein, Sunday evening became Ultimate Frisbee night where a bunch of my friends and I would gather for a weekly frisbee game. For some of my other friends, it was a weekly get together to play Magic The Gathering, Poker, Halo or Nintendo Wii. These weekly events provided a way to relax during the week, enjoy the company of others who shared the same interests and relax. Find a way to start a weekly event such as these and it will help you socialize with people on a regular basis
  
• Take Time To Hang Out With Others When Invited and When You Can Go With Them- If a bunch of your friends are going to go to the theater to see a play and you can go, go with them! If they are going to a sporting event on campus and you can go, go with them! Taking time to enjoy these opportunities will help take you away from your stresses and help you relax a bit. It will also get you to socialize with the people you are hanging out with too!
  

The Holidays Are Coming Up Soon So Give Thanks!

It's the first weekend in November but in just a few weeks Thanksgiving will arrive and then the holiday season. The holiday season can be stressful at times for many people but opens up an opportunity to give thanks as well. It's the end of the year and it's a great time to take a few moments to send those who have helped you get through the year or have become good friends a simple thank you.

Taking time to say thank you during that time of year will mean a lot to the people you are expressing gratitude towards and below are some tips on how to give thanks:

• Send Holiday Cards - writing these cards out can be time consuming but will mean a lot to someone who receives them in the mail. Getting a holiday card during a time of year that is synonymous with celebrations can be very meaningful to a person and appreciated as well. You can simply purchase your own cards or get creative and make them yourself!
  
• Send Holiday E-Cards- for those of you who prefer to send cards electronically, this idea is for you! More and more card companies are allowing users the ability to send cards through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media. Sometimes these companies allow users to design their own cards and provides a more personal touch
• Bring in a treat for the office and co-workers to enjoy - this typically goes over pretty well and can be a nice little surprise for the people you work with. One example of this going over well was when I did an internship over a long winter break in December during my college years. As we got closer to Christmas, I was trying to figure out something to bring in for the people who I worked alongside during this internship and an idea came to me; candy canes! When I walked in the door that morning with packages of candy canes for these people, it meant a lot that someone took the time to bring these into the office for others to enjoy. It showed I cared and was a way for me to say thank you and Happy Holidays.
  

College Students: Take Time To Say Hello

"Hello, how are you doing?"

When you are in line waiting to get your food from the cafeteria, getting your coffee from the shop, or getting your books from the bookstore, how often do you take the time to ask the people working in these places that question? These people are taking time out of their day to serve you the food or provide you help with finding the right study materials but how often do you take the time to ask how they are doing?

By taking a few moments to say hello to others, it will help you stand out from the crowd. Not many people take time to say hello to people in different departments on campus so taking just a few minutes to ask how someone's day is going will help set you apart.

College campuses vary in size but there are different ways in which you can get to know more then the professors and your classmates. For example, when you go into the cafeteria to get your lunch or dinner, take a couple of minutes to see if you can strike a conversation with the person serving the food. You can ask him or her how the day is going, if a lot of people have come through or find ask a simple question to get a small conversation going. It will probably mean a lot to this person that you are taking time out of your day to get to know him or her and it will set you apart from others in a positive way.

Doing this can take a little bit of practice, however, getting to know others will not be as hard. You might be amazed how easy it is to strike up a conversation with someone with a little ice breaker and how much that person might appreciate you taking the time to do so.

During my time at Otterbein, I took time to practice this skill early on and it benefited me along the way. It meant a lot when I took time to say hello to the people working in the bookstore, the people up in the cafeteria (aka the Cardinal's Nest), the coffee shop on campus, the people working in the library, the admissions staff, the alumni relations staff and several others. Taking a few minutes to say hello to these people each day made it easier for me to have a conversation with them later on and helped me develop relationships with several different people on campus. By being friendly to these people and taking time to learn how their days were going, it made it easier for me to say hello to these people on a daily basis and become friends with them.

Whenever you are running errands on campus, don't forget that taking a few minutes to say hello to someone can help develop a relationship and make you a friendlier face on campus.

Reading: One of The Best Skills To Have

Learning is a never ending process and when it comes to building your career, taking time to read different types of material can benefit you. With different books available on various topics for a wide range of industries, taking time to read respected and well known books and articles can help benefit you and provide other insight.

Finding reading material online or in your bookstore is easy, however, trust your network on which books to select. People within your network may have insight on which articles and materials to read that are beneficial to your career growth. For example, if you are a salesman, talking to other salespeople inside your network may open up idea for sales books are recommended. If you are studying to be a teacher, talk with current teachers and ask if they have read books on different teaching methods out there for certain subjects. Finding the material is easy but take time to ask people within your network what they would recommend.

By taking time to read different materials, this could open up different opportunities, practices and theories on developing your skill set and your career. Using the sales example again, if you are a salesperson, taking time to read different sales books can help you find different methods in learning more about the customer, putting together a proposal, asking for referrals, handling objections and closing the sale. It never hurts to take time to read another viewpoint and what you learn different ways to improve your work performance an develop your career.

For many different industries, there are trade and online publications that could help you learn more about developments in your industry. Taking time to read through these can help you keep up on current events in your industry, understand what direction your line of work could be headed and develop strategies based upon the information you read. These publications are either printed on a weekly, monthly or even a daily basis and can help you keep up with current trends in your industry.

Early on, reading is one of the best skills we are taught and even as developing professionals, we can never do too much reading.

One of the Biggest Keys To Networking: Finding Information Out About the Other Person

Networking has proven to be an effective business tool and can be beneficial if done properly. Meeting people and developing these relationships can lead to a brighter future down the road. Meeting new people does take a little bit of practice and starting a conversation from scratch is not as hard as it seems. One of the biggest keys to developing a relationship from the start is taking time to listen to the other person and learning about him or her.

At networking events, it's usually easy to move around and meet several different people. Take time to maneuver around the room a bit and talk to several different types of people there. It's not always possible to know everyone but try and take time to get to know the different people who are attending the event.

When you start conversing with someone, try to avoid providing your whole life story in 30 seconds. If you enjoy your work, it is easy to get carried away on that topic and talk more about yourself instead of getting to know the other person. Talking too much about yourself can be a bit of a turnoff to someone and might bore the person you are talking to as well.

As a way to get to know the other person, start asking questions about what he or she does, hobbies, how he or she joined the organization hosting the event, etc. This way, it gets the person to open up a bit and provides you an opportunity to listen and learn more. I'm not saying to make it a game of 20 Questions and try to avoid too many yes and no questions. Take this as an opportunity to learn more about the other person and find common ground that might be there.

Networking is key but taking time to know the people you meet with is just as important!

ABBC- Always Bring Business Cards

Networking is one of the most powerful tools in business today but a surprising number of people forget to bring a valuable item when going to networking events; business cards. Even though it makes sense, there are many different networking and social events out there in which people forget to bring business cards.

These events are great opportunities to meet people but how are you supposed to be remembered if you don't have any information to leave with the people you are conversing with?

Whenever you go to a networking event, social or business-oriented function, take a fair number of business cards with you. You never know who you may run across as these events, who can be a valuable contact and the doors that can open up from these interactions so make sure you have your business cards with you. With the number of people that attend, it's best to leave the people you talk to a card with your contact information for future reference. The people you meet may end up with a lot of business cards towards the end of the night but your will be in the pile if you provide one.

If you are currently unemployed, it's understandable if you don't have a current business card, however, you can obtain business cards for this use. One of the most popular web-sites to go to for personal business cards is www.vistaprint.com, where you can design your own business cards and get a certain number of them for free. This web-site has helped a lot of different job seekers get business cards when they needed it and can provide you with the same benefits as well. Taking time to design these cards is worth the investment and having these available at a networking event can help key people you meet remember who you are.

Even though it can seem like a hassle, there are ways in which you can carry business cards efficiently and effectively. Sometimes having a case full of them in your pocket, wallet or purse makes them easy to pull out when you need it. Others will carry them in a shirt pocket for easy access and other simply keep them in a coat or pants pocket. Carrying these is easier then you think and it's always good to make sure they are accessible.

Whenever you go to a business function or networking event, remember ABBC, Always Bring Business Cards!