Character...

A guy drives his truck down the interstate and gets cut off by a speedy sports car.  Angered at the thought someone could be so reckless, he speeds around the sports car staring at the man as he passes and nearly misses the front bumper cutting into his lane.  To gain the upper hand he lets his foot off the accelerator to ease his truck to the speed limit ensuring the sports car obeys to the laws of the road.

The next day the guy goes in for his final interview at a prestigious company.  As he walks into the office he recognizes the man as the driver of the sports car from the night prior.  As the interviewer extends his hand he asks, "Was that you driving the truck last night"?

Presenting your brand of Cheese

Here's an article on American Management Association's website, dated 2006, titled "Communicating Vision via a Winning Presentation." Most, but not all of the article is quoted here.

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Give some thought to the nature of your audience. The easy route is to work up the presentation and assume that it will fit any of the groups you’re likely to be talking with. The trouble with this approach is that your presentation might fit well with Group A and not at all with Group B.

Make your presentation personal and fun, if appropriate. If this is a presentation to your associates, such as an all-hands meeting, or a project team booster session, weave in some personal stories about the event, organization, project or key players. One leader made the event similar to Oscar Night, with a series of “attaboy”/”attagirl” awards to team members. Poking fun at yourself is another way to connect with the group, showing that you are human, not some remote executive. On the other hand, if the purpose of the meeting is to announce a major layoff, acknowledge the seriousness of the discussion.

Have a good ‘grabber’ to open your presentation. Open with a movie clip, recorded theme song, an interesting tale of success or woe—something that suits the meeting spirit and connects to the presentation theme. Be careful about opening with a joke, especially if you’re inclined to forget the punch line (as one CEO did before a significant industry audience).

Shape the presentation to convey the theme and core messages you want to communicate. Organize your presentation into four to five segments, with clear transitions to make it easy for listeners to follow, a quality often lacking in many presentations.

Reinforce your main points with material that will hold your audience’s interest. If a customer has praised your team, this makes a good testimonial. If a key team member met a critical challenge successfully, tell your audience the story and have that person stand up to be acknowledged by his or her peers. Refer to a recent news report or cartoon that adds currency and perhaps humor. Be careful with your choice of examples.

Don’t think it’s over until it really is--be ready for audience questions and comments. This is definitely an area for preparation, rehearsal and coaching. This is especially important when speaking to audiences likely to probe for additional information, such as stockholders and members of the press. If you are addressing your team, you may have to encourage them to ask questions. If they hold back, be prepared to start discussion with some questions of your own.

A presentation can be one of your best tools for conveying important messages and inspiring your workforce to move forward to achieve your vision. But you won’t achieve either if you haven’t organized your presentation well. That’s the first step to execution of your vision.

Link to the full article here.

Happy New Year!

We saw so much happen in 2011 and I wonder if 2012 will see much of the same, or better. It is a good question to ponder as we head into this new year.

What will we each need to change or keep the same? Should it be our goal to even remain the same? I made pancakes this morning for my family. The pan was too hot and my pancakes were just a tad too brown. I had to adjust the temperature. The batter was too thick at first.  I had to thin it up with extra milk, etc. Simple analogy, of course, but little details do matter. For my family this morning -- the little details meant the difference between great pancakes or burnt pancakes.

nice little bowl of batter

do you see a face?

I do not have predictions as many other sites and blog and reviews will post. I only wish you and your family happiness, prosperity, success, and joy.

Happy New Year!

<ps: the pancakes were great!>

Don't Suck-Up; Suck-In

Don't Suck-Up; Suck-In

None of us like the office suck-up. He's the one that always tries to garner favored attention from the boss. Perhaps he takes credit for your work, or the team's work. He dresses like the boss. Flatters the boss. You get the picture.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with being that guy (or gal), it can certainly be annoying and even downright unproductive. For you.

So what can you do about it? No, nothing physical bordering violence (it is a nice image, though, right!?). It shouldn't be our goal to get rid of this guy. That would be, oh, I don't know, wrong!

My philosophy isn't to out-do anyone. I'm not much into competition in the workforce. I say, don't suck-up. Suck-in.

What does this mean?

Well, it means two things for me.

1) Physically -- suck in your stomach, my friend. Elongate your torso. Improve your posture. It makes you look confident. It doesn't take a scientist (seriously, folks, I'm not a scientist, but that would be cool) to know that if you look confident you will feel confident. Plus, your pants will fit better. I don't know about you, but I like it when my pants fit. All that holiday food...

2) Look Inside -- look in yourself to make yourself the best professional possible. Study up in your chosen field. Take extra college classes. Know your worth (Charley will go into this area pretty soon). You do not need to suck-up to your boss or colleagues to improve your lot in the office. Perhaps sucking-up is the easiest route. Perhaps it is a fun route (flirting, anyone?). But is it the correct route? Well, that's for you to decide.

Note: I do not equate being nice to people as being a suck-up. People -- be nice and polite to everyone. Everyone. Even the janitor. Because, in reality, the janitor knows more about your office and the people in it than you do. It's true.

What does Suck-In mean to you? Let me know in the comments section.

Who is this Kelly?

I have lady-parts; but don't get too excited about that. It doesn't matter.

I'm 34. A mother. A wife. And I think I'm professional (maybe...jury's out). I've worked for (and with) the department of defense (i.e., the military) since I was 18 years old. I used to be in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence Analyst. But I wasn't that good at it, so I moved on. I am now in the Administrative world.

I've had great bosses. I've had not-so-great bosses. My current boss is pretty cool. My professionalism stems mostly from common sense. I'll discuss situations I've been in and where I went right or wrong in them. I love empowering those around me. Not everything is a competition. If I think Charley would be a better fit in a more supervisory role, I'll say so. And I have. I do not think everything should be taken so seriously. Like Charley: I rarely take him seriously. Ok, I kid.

I have always found it difficult to talk about myself -- and this blog post is no different. In my spare time, I build Lego sets with my son; watch Doctor Who with my husband; and then in my spare-spare time, I read voraciously. In my oh-so-little spare-spare-spare time, I write fiction. My sister says it is good stuff, so it must be.

I have a dry sense of humor. I'm sarcastic, too. If you read something that I've written and you are unsure if I'm being serious or not, go with the one that pisses you off the least.

I hope you enjoy yourself. I would love to hear from you in the comments section.

Cheesy Introduction

Welcome all to Cheese for the Professional. This forum is dedicated to anyone entering or currently working in a professional environment where you can share personal professional experiences within the work force.

This blog is to help educate the work force on professionalism within the workplace. Let's face it, common sense is not common virtue; which is why we exist, to help mentor and guide people in dealing with the different temperaments and situations found within their places of work. With over 26 combined years of professional experience we have just enough cheese to compliment your whine.

Kelly and I will be publishing a series of things to do and not to do which will help shape your professional demeanor and to provide food for thought if you are ever found in a similar situation. We are 100% dedicated to setting you up for success while providing you with an entertaining approach to break up the monotonous daily routine.

Kelly and Charley
The Cheesy Professional Team

Do you cut the cheese?

Bodily functions aside, this blog is for the professional in all of us that need, well, just a wee bit of help. Or guidance. Or laughter. Or a taste of the mundane, but with a twist.

Do you have issues with communication or how to interact with your colleagues (or bosses)? Do you have room for improvement? Do you ever ponder upon the question: "why do others make it, but not me?"

The answer: Cheese

We are Cheese for the Professional.

We are here to guide, because we love Cheese, advice, and other normal bodily functions.

Stay tuned for the most awesome blog ever.

Kelly and Charley
The Cheesy Professional Team