How to Become the “No Distraction” Colleague

We live in a world of distractions, constant and loud. We are expected to be available to everyone all the time, we compete for mindshare with unlimited amounts of content and entertainment, we have a social media landscape which can turn every day into an all-day conversation with friends all over the world.

Quieting the mind, and turning off the distractions is hard. Really hard.

Everyone we speak to complains about it. Everyone sees it. And lots of people struggle with how to deal with it.

Each of us must deal in our own ways, by managing our time, limiting access, controlling the expectations of others.

But we also can HELP each other. How? It is pretty easy, actually, especially in the workplace. Because when it is your turn to lead the meeting, run the conference call, or give a presentation, you can make that time simple and easy for others. You can make it easy for them to focus on your time together by getting to the point, simplifying the message, backing it up with simple and clear slides, utilizing speaking skills that are not annoying and distracting. You can make it your goal to make the time together, simple, clear, and valuable.

You can make your time together the one time of the day when others can breathe a little easier, because they know you will make it easy for the discussion to happen, even if the topic is a tough one. Through your preparation of content, the way you structure the story, the slides you build and delivery skills you display, you can make it easy for others to engage, listen, discuss, and move on.

What a breath of fresh air you can be.

Think about that for a moment. Think about how valuable that would be to your colleagues, your organization, and your own brand. Powerful… And necessary.

Have a great day.

Does your team:
– Take too long to make decision?
– Fail to ask for what it wants or needs from you?
– Make things too complicated?
– Deliver unconvincing or disorganized presentations?
– Have new hires who are unprepared to communicate in the workplace?

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Dean Brenner

A book about change

The Latimer Group’s CEO Dean Brenner is a noted keynote speaker and author on the subject of persuasive communication. He has written three books, including Persuaded, in which he details how communication can transform organizations into highly effective, creative, transparent environments that succeed at every level.