Someone's got to speak up…

January 11, 2010 | Posted in Blog, Uncategorized, business networking, first impressions |

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As someone who mentors others on how to be memorable for the RIGHT reasons, I’m going to speak up on 2 touchy topics because you don’t want to be one of those who are remembered for the wrong reasons.

Touchy topic #1

Talking while other people are presenting. I see this happen all too often during business meetings, networking events and even at conferences. It is NEVER OKAY to have a full-fledged conversation in “whisper” mode while someone else is presenting. Period. Either write notes or text but don’t talk. It is SO distracting and flat out disrespectful. You don’t want to be remembered as that person who talked the entire time, do you?

Preventative measure:
just don’t do it. DO NOT DO IT. And if you are doing it and someone has the guts to ask you to not talk, please don’t scowl or talk poorly about them. Be a professional and accept that you were being so loud that someone had to say something. It’s not personal.

Touchy topic #2

This has to be the most uncomfortable thing possible for me to discuss… And that is bad breath. I bet you can think of at least 2 situations recently where you encountered dragon breath. Can you remember the person’s name? What about where you were? I can think of at least FOUR situations over the last 2 months where I had to speak with someone with horrendous breath… This can greatly affect your reputation! I’ve seen 3 of those 4 people since the first incident, 2 of them have chronic bad breath, and now I somewhat avoid them..

Preventative measure:
Always have gum or mints with you and make sure that YOU are proactive in preventing it. This is VERY important when networking!!!

If you are coffee drinker or a smoker, this ESPECIALLY applies to you.

What are some touchy situations that you’ve had to deal with? Have you ever had to address the above issues with someone? How did you do it and how did it go over?

Share and Enjoy:

Social Techs Marketing, LLC

Taryn, excellent first point. It’s always especially courteous to just simply listen.

As for the breath comment, I hope this doesn’t actually brand a person. I’ve known some people who were incredibly smart and made good use of their smarts to drive excellent results for a business, despite their hygiene. I’d recommend that a person take stock if people are gently, or not so gently, stepping away from them. Perhaps they can then ask someone, who will be honest with them, if there’s anything they should know… Thanks for sharing such excellent tips!
http://www.socialmediadudes.com/ Dennis Lynn

Taryn – you hit this one out of the park. These are not just “touchy” subjects but both are downright rude. Obviously it’s easy enough to prevent number one from happening – these are probably the same people I hear talking in a movie theater…number two might take a little proactive action but it too can be prevented with little effort. Thanks for pointing these things out – I’ll feel much better at my next networking event.
Social Techs Marketing, LLC

Taryn, excellent first point. It’s always especially courteous to just simply listen.

As for the breath comment, I hope this doesn’t actually brand a person. I’ve known some people who were incredibly smart and made good use of their smarts to drive excellent results for a business, despite their hygiene. I’d recommend that a person take stock if people are gently, or not so gently, stepping away from them. Perhaps they can then ask someone, who will be honest with them, if there’s anything they should know… Thanks for sharing such excellent tips!
http://www.socialmediadudes.com Dennis Lynn

Taryn – you hit this one out of the park. These are not just “touchy” subjects but both are downright rude. Obviously it’s easy enough to prevent number one from happening – these are probably the same people I hear talking in a movie theater…number two might take a little proactive action but it too can be prevented with little effort. Thanks for pointing these things out – I’ll feel much better at my next networking event.
http://www.salesman4hire.com Robert Minskoff

Good points. Here is mine;
No matter where you are, put you phone on vibrate!!!
There is no such thing as a cool ringtone, or one that is not completely annoying.
I dont care who is calling you and when. Odds are it is not important.
If you cant feel the vibration (a common complaint. If it is important, whoever is calling will leave a message.)
http://www.salesman4hire.com/ Robert Minskoff

Good points. Here is mine;
No matter where you are, put you phone on vibrate!!!
There is no such thing as a cool ringtone, or one that is not completely annoying.
I dont care who is calling you and when. Odds are it is not important.
If you cant feel the vibration (a common complaint. If it is important, whoever is calling will leave a message.)
http://sandrahicks.blogspot.com/ hicksgirl93

Wow! This post is straight and to the point. Very touchy indeed. However if you hadnt encountered it OFTEN, you wouldnt need to discuss it. Great reminders!
http://sandrahicks.blogspot.com hicksgirl93

Wow! This post is straight and to the point. Very touchy indeed. However if you hadnt encountered it OFTEN, you wouldnt need to discuss it. Great reminders!
leinmiller

Taryn,
An uncomfortable situation that I have come across far too many times is a fellow female professional who is dressed very unprofessionally. I don’t mean that they have to be wearing expensive clothes, but they do need to cover their tata’s and not have a skirt that rides right up when they sit down. It simply has me focused on their clothes, or lack thereof, rather than their message.
Pam
leinmiller

Taryn,
An uncomfortable situation that I have come across far too many times is a fellow female professional who is dressed very unprofessionally. I don’t mean that they have to be wearing expensive clothes, but they do need to cover their tata’s and not have a skirt that rides right up when they sit down. It simply has me focused on their clothes, or lack thereof, rather than their message.
Pam
http://www.ubervu.com/conversations/tarynp.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/someones-got-to-speak-up/ uberVU – social comments

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[...] Someone’s Got To Speak Up- Taryn P’s Blog [...]
http://twitter.com/carmenschneider Carmen

When it comes to bad breath, there’s no faking the funk.
http://twitter.com/carmenschneider Carmen

When it comes to bad breath, there’s no faking the funk.