Say, Listen! with Serah Delaini

Serah Delaini
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This is a podcast to help people get things done and get along better at work with crisp, effective communication. Hear author and speaker Serah Delaini share tips and interviews on topics from writing, meetings, and presenting reports, to knowing when and how to have a difficult conversation. Our dream is to transform the state of professional communication around the world! If you'd like to contact us, email info@saylisten.net. Or, get a two-week free trial to join our community about the same topics: Loud and Clear, at https://loud-and-clear.mn.co.

Episodes

  1. 12/21/2021

    A for Audience Focus in Communications

    This week on Say, Listen!, we'll go over Audience Focus, the first "A" in our five-step PARLA process of Pay Attention, Audience, Rhythm, Listen, and Adjust. When you focus on the audience first, you take time to think about who is receiving your communication, and attempt to understand their perspective as you create the material. I'm talking about email, chat, presentations, videos, posts, and in-person conversations and meetings. Let's go over some tips and frameworks I've found that you can use to keep your audience engaged and interested in what you're saying. Send in your questions to serah@saylisten.net, and visit me at the Loud and Clear community where we can discuss this in more depth: https://loud-and-clear.mn.co. Links mentioned in this episode: Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore, http://www.crossingthechasmbymoore.com/ Maslow's hierarchy: https://www.praxisframework.org/en/library/maslow Illinois Graduate College Communication Skills articles: https://grad.illinois.edu/careers/communication-identifying-audience-focus Presentation Training Institute: https://www.presentationtraininginstitute.com/how-to-focus-on-your-audience-2/ How to keep your audience focused on your presentation: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/how-to-keep-your-audience-focused-on-your-presentation/ Risk Management for Marketing & Communications: https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Risk-Management-for-Marketing-Communications/1464914294 https://www.udemy.com/ https://www.coursera.org/ Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

    12 min

  2. 11/30/2021

    Communication with Volunteers with guest Bart Gibson

    In this episode, Serah discusses communication in a volunteer setting with Bart Gibson, Volunteer Coordinator for the Mystic Moon community. Bart has been a member of his community for about 10 years. Now the group has enough volunteer help to organize service projects and put on large special events that benefit hundreds of people. To make this happen, Bart recommends first understanding the abilities and time constraints that each potential volunteer has. Truly listening to their intentions and helping to overcome any barriers they face goes a long way toward helping them contribute to the best of their abilities. Second, develop a core group of reliable volunteers and plan around their schedules to make sure things are well-attended. Another principle of great community organization is to clarify roles and responsibilities whenever there is confusion or overlap. When people start to wonder who is doing what, it's hard to get things done in a timely fashion. Setting standards for the community in advance helps to resolve any conflicts that might come up. Bart says it's easier to bring these up before there's any issues, but anytime is better than not at all. For these and other insights, listen to the full interview with Bart Gibson, Volunteer Coordinator with Mystic Moon. Reach Bart at http://www.mysticmoonevents.com/. Resources Five volunteer coordination tips: https://www.volunteerhub.com/blog/5-volunteer-coordination-tips-nonprofits/ How to recruit and manage volunteers effectively: https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/academy/how-to-recruit-and-manage-volunteers-effectively/ Ways to motivate and engage your nonprofit's volunteers: https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/motivate-and-engage-your-nonprofits-volunteers/ Seven ways to keep volunteers coming back: https://blog.mobileserve.com/7-ways-to-keep-volunteers-coming-back This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

    29 min

  3. 11/09/2021

    Accessibility

    This week on Say, Listen!, we cover the variety of abilities that your audiences have, whether it's vision, hearing, health, mental health, or other aspects of life. How can you keep accessibility in mind for people who have different ways of interacting with information and your organization? Send me your questions and comments at [info@saylisten.net](mailto: info@saylisten.net). Links mentioned in this episode: Free website checkers: https://www.webaccessibility.com/ and https://allyable.net/ Inclusive design resources: https://digital.gov/resources/introduction-accessibility/ Game designer group https://accessible.games https://www.justice.gov/crt/software-accessibility-checklist Tips for handling invisible disabilities in the workplace: https://hiring.monster.com/employer-resources/workforce-management/diversity-in-the-workplace/workplace-disability/ https://www.respectability.org and Resources - Respect Ability https://www.i4sdi.org/special-events-page axe DevTools browser extension - https://www.deque.com/axe/ https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/

    19 min

  4. 10/26/2021

    Punctuation 101

    This week on Say, Listen!, we cover apostrophes, commas, forward slashes, colons, semicolons, and terminal punctuation. As an editor, I see lots of missing punctuation, and there are some common things people do or don't do with these marks that I'd like to bring up here to prevent you from continuing to make these mistakes. Send me any questions you have to info@saylisten.net! Links mentioned in this episode: Join the FREE Loud and Clear Community! (https://loud-and-clear.mn.co/) The Definition and Basic Rules of Punctuation (thoughtco.com) The Elements of Style, Strunk and White (https://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf) The Associated Press Style Book (https://www.apstylebook.com/) Chicago Manual of Style (https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/) This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

    19 min

  5. 10/12/2021

    How to get teams unstuck and performing better with guest Tara Paton of Red Blaze Solutions

    This week on Say, Listen!, we cover communication at work with Tara Paton, founder of Red Blaze Solutions. Topics discussed: Red Blaze gets teams unstuck and performing better by digging into team dynamics. Clues might include how they handle mistakes, or how they handle violations of norms, like someone always being late to meetings. Tara's special word or phrase about communication at work was taught to her by her mother. When Tara faced problems at school, her mother would listen carefully and then ask, "What are you going to do about it?" Tara recommends the following steps to address the inevitable bumps in team communication: Express yourself Vent if needed Then look for solutions and things you personally can do Tara says that it is important to make sure everyone is solving the same problem before jumping to solutions. She facilitates team workshops and will often use a technique she calls the "sailboat exercise." It involves each person on the team doing some solo writing about what is moving the group forward, "wind in our sails," and what are the "anchors holding us back." She recommends doing this before coming together as a group to discuss the ideas for improvement. "Don’t brainstorm, brain write," says Tara. Links mentioned in this episode: Reach Tara Paton, principal consultant at Red Blaze Solutions, at www.redblazesolutions.com. Try out the Loud and Clear community to learn more and share insights on communication: https://loud-and-clear.mn.co/ This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

    30 min

  6. 09/28/2021

    Repetition

    This week on Say, Listen!, we cover repetition. Let’s talk about avoiding duplication in your communication at work. Links mentioned in this episode: Join the Loud and Clear Community! https://loud-and-clear.mn.co/ Pro Writing Aid, https://prowritingaid.com/ Ginger Software, https://www.gingersoftware.com/ White Smoke, https://www.whitesmoke.com/ The Elements of Style, Strunk and White, https://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf An Introduction to Punctuation, Nordquist, Richard, ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/punctuation-definition-1691702 Formal writing tips: http://www.learnenglish-online.com/writing/formalwriting.html This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

    12 min

  7. 09/15/2021

    Introduction

    This week on Say, Listen!, I'll introduce myself and then I'll explain what you'll get out of being a Listener, and what you can give back to the Say, Listen! community. In this podcast, we'll cover the quirks of English and best practices about written and spoken communication at work. Over the past 15 years, I've been a communications consultant to high-tech companies like Expedia, F5, and Microsoft, as well as individuals and small business owners. I've noticed patterns in communication that might not always get us the results we want, as fast as we need. My guests and I will tell you stories from personal experience about how using the wrong communication techniques can block productivity and progress at work, and what to try instead. We're going to put the most common challenges I've seen into the spotlight so you can learn from them and go further, faster. Links mentioned in this episode: Pete Seeger, "English is Crazy," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lCO4vBjneE The Elements of Style, Strunk and White, https://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf An Introduction to Punctuation, Nordquist, Richard, ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/punctuation-definition-1691702 Formal writing tips: http://www.learnenglish-online.com/writing/formalwriting.html Collin's Online Dictionaries, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/browse/ Confusable words quiz: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/quiz/elt/confusables Difference between words: https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/browse/english-usage/w/what-is-the-difference-between-ward-and-wards Thesaurus: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/browse/english-thesaurus/ Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), with style guides, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/ This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

    11 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

This is a podcast to help people get things done and get along better at work with crisp, effective communication. Hear author and speaker Serah Delaini share tips and interviews on topics from writing, meetings, and presenting reports, to knowing when and how to have a difficult conversation. Our dream is to transform the state of professional communication around the world! If you'd like to contact us, email info@saylisten.net. Or, get a two-week free trial to join our community about the same topics: Loud and Clear, at https://loud-and-clear.mn.co.

Information