Open Ended Questions

Ask Open-Ended & Clarifying Questions

Don’t work so hard on your next presentation, client meeting, or employee conversation. Certainly come prepared. But start by asking open-ended questions to target the needs of your listener or audience. It allows for multiple responses in the listeners owns language.

Repeat back what you heard using similar words from what what expressed. Then ask “Is what I said what you meant?” and adapt your style and response to meet their expectations. It will encourage a meaningful response that targets results without judgment, instead of driving, strong-arming, or pushing your own agenda. It will also demonstrate active listening skills while avoiding projecting, fixing, or telling.

Examples of open-ended or clarifying questions:

• “What’s the most important thing you’d like to get from me, or this meeting?”
• “How would you like me to provide you with feedback or information?”
• “Describe for me how you did….”
• “Tell me a time when you demonstrated….”
• “What would it look like if… (you tried the opposite)?”
• “What if the opposite were true?”
• “How can I support you?”
• “What would success look like?”
• “What did you intend as the outcome?”
• “How much time did the project work take?”

As a Business Coach, Ken brings more than 25 years of diverse local and international experience that business, visionaries and individuals trust to help achieve amazing success. He has helped small to mid-size business, and has managed large scale organizational shifts for Fortune 500 companies.

As solopreneurs we know that leveraging our business on the Internet is a good way to diversify. I’m a fan of Google and it’s products. Recently I discovered how to add my business to Google’s Local Business Map Directory, including being able to offer coupons.

So, why would you want to list your business with Google. Here’s my business listing page for Syndicating Your Content, producer of North San Diego Business @ Large. If you are involved with AdSense you can also put your ads on your map. Here are Google’s Tips to creating a great listing.

How To Video On Creating Your Business Listing in Google’s Local Business Maps

I had the opportunity to interview Ken Foster, author of Ask and You Will Succeed. He used social media as a marketing tool when he launched the book in July.

He share some insight on asking questions that will help business owners create a business that is successful and prosperous. These are thought provoking questions, actually 1001 questions.

I thought it was a great interview with a lot of solid content. Let me know what you think by adding a comment to this post.

North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: August 14, 2009

Often when I speak to groups interested in learning more about social media and syndicating content I hear the same question time and time, “how can I possibly handle this, my email takes too long to handle….?”  I tell them, it’s about the tools……so…

Today I shared a few of the tools that will help you manage your social media a little more effectively. I spoke about Tweetdeck, Seesmic, Power Twitter (a FireFox addon), and Ping.fm. I really wish Tweetdeck and Seesmic could merge some of their cool features, like being able to send one update to both my North San Diego and Debra Simpson Twitter profiles, as well as my Facebook page.  Seesmic offers that as an option, where Tweetdeck doesn’t.

Let me know what you think. Tweetdeck or Seesmic? Share your comments, we follow!!

On Friday, July 17, 2009 I interviewed Mike Dutton, Superior Message Center, about how to create the illusion that your business is larger than it is. It’s about presenting the most professional image possible.

As much as I wish it weren’t true, as solopreneurs running our business from our homes there are certain prejudices we have to overcome.  Using some of these tools can help you gain the competitive advantage. Take a listen and let me know what you think by commenting.

On today’s episode of North San Diego Business @ Large, I’ll be interviewing Joe Moreno, CEO of adjix, a link shortening tool used by social networkers.

Joe and I attended an event put on by San Diego Venture Group yesterday to listen to Guy Kawasaki on “Using Social Media to Market Your Business.” Guy gave Joe, and adjix a ringing endorsement. I captured it on audio and wanted to share it with you.

Join me today at 3pm PT and learn more about adjix and the benefits of using adjix to shorten your links, especially for Twitter.

I had the opportunity to interview Andrew Donnelly, Mikogo, about the Skype extra, Mikogo.  Mikogo allows you to share your desktop with up to 10 other participants. There are many great features and, for those of you concerned with security, Andrew provided Mikogo’s security details in a pdf form.

Here’s the audio.

This is a tool I consider, along with Skype, essential to a service business. It makes meeting with clients, training and coaching very easy. Give it a try and let me know what you think by posting a comment.

It’s hard to miss all the national conversation about Twitter. I even saw Twitter mentioned in a television ad. It’s a powerful tool for any business, you just need to know how to maximize it’s potential.

Here are just a few sites that will help you gain the most from using Twitter. Try them out and see what works for you. This assumes by the way that you already have a Twitter account. If you don’t simply go to www.twitter.com and sign up now. It’s free and easy. Follow lots of people and they will most likely follow back. (follow me North San Diego at Twitter) Add value! Don’t just tell people what you’re doing.

If you want to meet other North San Diego Twitter users, check out the North San Diego Tweetup I’m holding on Tuesday, April 21st at O’Sullivans.

Here are my favorite Twitter applications:

http://nearbytweets.com
You can put in a city and state and find local Twitter users in your area.

http://www.twellow.com
This is a twitter search engine. It searches keywords in a person’s name and profile. So if you searched “real estate California” it would provide all users with those words in their name or profile.

http://www.tweetdeck.com
An easier interface to use twitter. Trust me, it looks daunting at first, but figure it out and it makes Twitter so much easier and more fun! There are two features I really like about Tweetdeck. One is I can group followers that I want to keep in touch with and the other is that I can easily choose to update my Facebook status along with my Twitter update.

http://search.twitter.com
This is a powerful search tool, allowing you to search trending topics on twitter. You can also monitor what people are saying about you or your business.

http://twitter.grader.com
Find out how you rank on twitter! This one adds no real value, but just kind of fun to play around on.

http://www.twitpic.com
upload pictures and post them on Twitter. This is a fantastic tool! It adds a link to your tweet that sends people to the photo.

I’ll continue to share Twitter tools and applications with you and how these tools can help you get more clients from the Internet for your business.

So, are you using Twitter, and if so why?  If not, why not?  Please add to the conversation by sharing through a comment!

Friend me….Follow me…..Digg me…..Let’s connect….

Wouldn’t it be nice to go to one place and create a “widget” for your social networks? Of course, you know I found that place….Widgetbox.

In one location you can put together a social media widget that will tell the visitors to your blog what social networks you belong to, and how to connect with you.Technorati Tags: widgets, widgetbox

On of my favorite tools when it comes to working with my clients is Skype. While Skype makes it easy for them to contact me instantly, Mikogo makes it a breeze to teach and coach clients.

Until now, Mikogo has been a windows based, or PC based, application. Not any longer, and I couldn’t be any happier. Mikogo is now cross platformed, meaning it’s available for MAC users too.

Here are some of the features from a press release Mikogo sent me (knowing I’m a fan, wonder if they have a Mikogo fan page at Facebook?? they do!):

• Screen sharing with up to 10 participants
• Switch presenter
• Participant pointer
• Pause of transmission
• Copy/paste/email meeting info
• Voice conferencing service
• Instant screen build-up

"Mikogo has already appealed greatly to the Web and business community thanks to it’s ease of use and free offering for both commercial and private use,” explains Mark Zondler, Co-Founder of Mikogo. “Now with its cross-platform functionality, we wish to serve the ever-growing Mac community by providing a simple, fast and effective solution to online meetings and Web presentations."

If you coach, or teach, like I do, you’ll find this a valuable tool in helping your clients succeed. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Skype is a great tool for any solopreneur, or small business owner. Skype is what they call a "voice over internet protocol", or voip. So, what does that mean to you as a solopreneurs?

It means that you can call skype to skype members free of charge, using your computer. There is also an instant message feature, or instant chat, which I find incredibly useful with my clients.

Because I’m online all day long, my clients find it easy to shoot me a question via Skype’s instant chat feature. I can also send and receive files and links. I hold meetings with clients through Skype.

As with so many social applications, Skype has buttons that let you share with visitors to your blogs, or websites, that you are a Skype user.

I encourage you to look at Skype and consider adding to your online tools. I think you’ll be glad you did. And, if you do…my Skype name is: northsandiegobusiness.

Let me know what you think by commenting….

Technorati Tags: Skype, VOIP