Success Blog

It’s not just what ‘you’ say, it is also what your body says that interviewers listen to. It is your body language at the interview that will clinch that job. An applicant whose candidature appears exemplary on paper fails to clear the first round of interview. Wondering what went wrong? It was weak body language. Throughout the interview he appeared sullen and gloomy, kept fidgeting with his hair and responded to questions with some mumblings which were unclear, vague and barely audible. He came across as a person lacking both confidence and interest in the job. Having excellent credentials is not enough; it needs to be balanced with appropriate body language. The first impression is critical in seeking jobs. Almost 55 per cent of this first impression depends on the visual impact- your body language plays a key role.

MORE THEN WORD

It lets the interviewer know much about you, more then you chose to tell them. All your actions-be it the way you walk, talk or sit under observation. They take cues even from the way you make an entry into the room! So watch out! Keep your head straight, look ahead, keep your shoulders back, and maintain a confidence posture. Greet the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake-this gives the impression of a warm, friendly and enthusiastic person. When you sit, remember to keep your back reasonably upright. Keep your back against the back of chair. Appear comfortable, not uptight but at the same time, not too relaxed or casual. Do not slouch or hang sideways. Do not sit at the edge of the chair as it signals that you are under stress.

PAY ATTENTION

To show your interest you could lean forward or tilt your head slightly. Occasionally nod your head to support or emphasise your words. When the interviewer is speaking, a nod of the head also conveys that you are attentive. Maintain eye contact with the interviewer as it is an excellent way of conveying your interest in the job. It also helps you to judge the interviewer’s reaction to what you saying. If the eyes seem puzzled, expand on your answers. If they seem to wander, then cut the answer short and move on! Looking downwards or else where makes you appear disinterested and insincere. In case of a panel interview, it is best to face to face the person who has posed the question as you answer. Do glance at the others as well from time to time to get a buy-in from all.

HANDS AND FEET

Though moderate hand movements are completely acceptable, there are times when you actually do not know what to do with your hands. In such situations, it is the better to let your hands rest on your lap or on the armrest of your chair. Avoid crossing your arms as it portrays you to be defensive. Avoid inadvertent movements like shuffling with your feet, rocking your legs, kicking against the leg of the table, drumming with your fingers, clicking with a pen, fidgeting your hair, face or dress and constantly shifting in your chair as it can be very irritating and also sends a message of being nervous, conscious and less confident. A brilliantly prepared interview delivered in an interesting voice will fall well short of the mark if companied by negative, intrusive or hostile body language. Being aware of the impact you create with your non-verbal presentation is half the battle won. So go out there and win it all!!

- Published in Bangalore Mirror

The answer to this depends on how well you manage your negotiations. Negotiations assume various colours (and volumes) depending on the environment - the parliament, the PM’s office or the boardroom. We are focusing on the last here, for the art of negotiations is fundamental to business life. Learn effective negotiations in seven steps:

Avoid the word “Negotiate”

Sounds strange but it works. You are prone to meet angry, skeptical people at the negotiating table with set criteria on their minds. The word “negotiate” sounds like concede in the beginning and they begin feeling they on the loosing game already. Resistance to change their mind or moods will slow downthe process and the word “negotiate” can trigger that resistance. Instead, you can choose positive phrases like “let us agree”, “lets’s work things out”, and “you will be interested in this”. Such statements will make people more amenable to listening to your proposal.

Write Your Objectives Before Meeting

Identify which of you goals are you willing to be flexible on, as well as the ones non negotiable. Figure out the least amount you are willing to take in the negotiation. When you are clear on what you want and what you intend to secure, it ensures a no - nonsense conversation. Also, only when you are prepared with noteswill you sound meaningful throuhout the discussion. Amd yes, nothing is like your own scribbles. Don’t depend on your phone.

RESEARCH OBSTACLES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Negotiation is rooted from the want to eliminate lack on both sides of the table. When you negotiate, you are actually ‘moving towards’ and looking for a solution to your problems or in the process of suggesting ways to improve your current standing. This is where research helps. Your homework will make your predict any potential objections that might arise.

GET ALL THE CARDS TO THE TABLE

This one’s for those who’re overly diplomatic and tend to keep the ‘best for later’. Yes, ‘showing’ all your cards will be foolhardiness, but getting them to the meeting won’t harm right? Your open mind will avoid going around the point and get all parties to do the same. You would easily ignore boredom, negatively and drifting off the point by presenting good concrete starting points. All of these factors can adversely impact negotiation process and lead to a less-than-favourable result. You will have a solid foundation from which to proceed towards a win-win situation.

COMFORT IS THE KEY ELEMENT

At all times of the negotiation, make sure a certain level of comfort is maintained for both/all sides. No one should feel they’re being pushed into the losing side of the deal. Because from here on, objectivity will disappear and your leverage will go out the window with it.If cooperation is what you desire, you must put yourself into the other person’s shoes so that when concessions are necessary, they are made to the benefit off all. Keep the others interested by citing the benefits that they can get from agreeing to your proposal.

PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT SUCCESS

Adopt a ‘we can make things happen’ attitude and body language. Demonstrate how you can make the plan work together. Convince them to put a viable plan in place that takes into account both sides’ needs. Tell them that you know somebody who used a similar strategy with great results.

DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW THE GOLDEN RULE

Though this tip is listed last, it should be present throughout. You will want to treat others professionally, because that is the way you want them to treat you. Be responsive. At the beginning, you can even give them a small gift, something small which expresses your willingness to work with them. Serve snacks or even meals throughout the process and break the ice before sitting down to business by engaging them in a bit of talk about their hobbies, interests or even family and common friends. Treat them like business friends than competitors.

Originally published in the “Bangalore Mirror”.

Typically we do not care much about bills like telephone, mobile, internet, water etc and many a times we cross the pay by date. This way we end up paying extra as penalty. From my personal experience I can tell you that paying bills on time pays by not only saving money but also giving you peace of mind. Few times I have missed the pay by date for my internet bill and had to shell extra(around Rs 40). It also puts pressure when you miss such dates and sometimes you may have to pay for two months together if you keep procastinating. Lastly, you can get your connection disconnected if you keep delaying for being a lazy ball.

In this age of internet where most of the utility bills are available for payment over the internet, you need not go anywhere or stand in queue. So why being late? I have taken a resolve of paying the bill immediately once I receive the bill now on. I think it pays and saves you time and peace by making a habit of doing it now. It can be extended little bit by making to do it on the time you deceide. Keep in mind that money saved is money earned.

Those who do not have access to internet do not worry, as most companies are comming up with 24 hours payment facilities. Also, many banks and establishments also accept bills now a days. So plan your time. Let your bills just ask for the service you used and not additional stress.

Everyone wants to be on the right side of boss, but sometimes unknowingly do things which play spoil sports. Here I will represent a few tips which kept in mind may help. The tips are as follows in the form of rules:

Rule#1. The Boss is always right.

Rule#2. If the boss is wrong, refer rule 1.

Rule#3. Spot the Do It All Boss: The all important rule - spot the boss whose blessings matter. He may be your immediate head, the president himself or even a colleague who is slated to be the next big thing.

Rule#4. Press The Right Buttons: It simply refers to being friendly with people who matter (your immediate boss) and a little bit more friendly with those who matter to them(your boss’s bosses). Sounds easy right? but not that easy. You have to foresee a promotion, the CEO’s visit, the boss’s fiery mood and act accordingly.

Rule#5. Get The Timming Right: You may have a lot to say and do to get rid of the devil who hampers your success, but you have to open your mouth at the right time. You have to be perfectly aware of when your boss is Mr Do-it-all and when he’s losing his grip over the world. The moment that happens, you either go for the kill or switch loyalties. Today’s corporate world is a jungle raj - if you don’t go for the kill, someone else will. Timing also couts in delivering the complements and giving gifts for maximum effect.

Rule#6. Go For The Kill: Going for the kill refers to taking initiative to climb the ladder, even if someone falls as a result. For example, you may have a heavy heart if your promotion will result in your best friends ouster. But if it means a step towards being the protege go for the kill. Having the best of your boss’s blesings is certainly more rewarding than being a best friend. You may lose all your close mates by the time you reach the top of the ladde, but when you are staying in a multi crore mansion with luxuary cars parked outside, who will not liked to be your friend?

Rule#7. Patience Is A Post-Dated Cheque - and it wont bounce, if you have shown perseverance all this time. All the above rules would only work if you are in the same profession when you started your modus operandi. Because being the protege of the all powerful boss us like attaining nirvana. All your smart moves, powerful politics, wild card entries … will go useless if you give up midway or switch professions whimisically.

Note: An extract from “The Bangalore Mirror”

Beauty is appreciated everywhere and is emotionally attached to all people. So if there is something which can enhance beauty and make one look good is most welcome. This creates a huge market for beauty products. For the promotion of beauty products a trend started as public appreciation of beauty be it though media or other sources. Lets take the example of beauty pageants. Since the inception of Miss World in 1951 and before 1990 there were not many occasions where an Asian or African received the title. The lone Indian in that era was Rita Faria. Since the 1990 looks like these beauty pageants got commercialised and started to play to wishes of giant beauty product companies who want to tap the emgerging economies of asian countries like India, China and to an extent African countries. Zhang Zilin, the current miss world from China is anything but average and if she is described as the most beautiful women in the world then beauty needs to be redefined. Btw, let me clarify, I dont have anything against China or emerging economies. I am just trying to reason what brings these average so called beauties to Miss World.

In terms of time in India, IST stands for Indian Standard Time. But this has almost become a legend these days, as IST is being used in other sense also. I often get to hear IST being added after time details in verbal discussions reminding the other party that it is “Indian Standard Time” and not to expect dead punctuality. Now lets get back to “service” which I want to talk about. You take service of almost all companies in India and most of the you might been promised some time deadline and broken with ease. If you get back to them, you are told “I understand your problem and given a excuse.” Here, I will give you an example I faced with my filter “Pure It” purchased from Hindustan Liver(HLL) in the beginning of this year. Few days back the handle of the tap broken and I have called the Pure IT helpline and requested to replace the tap. They took my order for a new tap(Rs 70) and told that it will be replaced with 2 days. The rep told I will be called on my mobile before the repair guy visits. On the second day I waited till around 4.30 pm in the afternoon and the decided to call the helpline again to remind them again. I was told by one of their rep that he will remind the concerned department and by issue will be taken care of. But nothing happened. The 3rd day was Sunday. So I called on Monday around noon and wanted to know the status of my request. On this the rep told all of their executives are busy and they will not be able to commit any time. Now is this not funny and I feel like asking “If you cannot commit, then what is the company’s commitment to customer service. ” I tried to reason with her, that water is very essential thing and since it the only source of my filtration, if you delay it cause be inconvinience. Also, if you can give any approximate idea, then at least I can get a can of water from outside. But nothing works! Today the 5th day and 5.30pm I have not received any call from them. People in the water business should know that they are dealing in an essential service and should be pro active. So the questions arises, is expecting timely service in India is asking for too much?

Few months back CNN-IBN ran a short informative show on budding businessmen who may need to procure cash and sometimes quickly. As we all know cash is the backbone of all startups and without financing there is no startup. Today I found the tips on their site. So thought of sharing with you. To check them, please click here. However, first keep in mind that - Nothing comes free, and then choose the option most suitable to you. Do not fall into traps of banks and financing institutions telling discounts and free etc etc. Look for hidden costs, processing fee and extra.

Moissanite is a new jewellery item in the market in comparision with established players like gold, diamond etc. However, it is already giving tough competetion to diamond. No it is not trying to replace diamond(I doubt if it ever can) but its affordability and affinity to diamond is a big hit. Moissanite was discovered way back in 1893 in Arizona, US by by French Nobel Prize-winner, Dr. Henri Moissan, the jewel was later named in his honor. Since it is found in very small quantity, it is being prepared in the lab. To learn more about Moissanite, click here.

It is a quality product and not a replication of diamond. Hollywood celebs and big personalities use this. However, its news that people pass way using Moissanite as Diamond. But the biggest bet for you is that it cost just 1/10th of what diamond might cost and at the same time do not look any different from diamond. It is said to even passed a authentic diamond test. So if name does not matter much for you and you are looking to have your diamond, visit: http://www.moissanite.in

They have a very good collection and deliver free anywhere in India within 7 days of realisation of payments. Seems like women’s best friend diamond has competetion now.

Luxuary yacht is rare in India. Though our “King of good times” Vijay Mallya do own a few yacths I believe. However, now you can enjoy the luxuary of a yacth without owning one. Yes, that too in India. Club Privada, has come with a unique timeshare scheme which offers members luxurious boating lifestyle through their gold and platinium membership cards. I know it is going to be expensive but they have a scheme where you along with your few friends can take a membership and the travel time will be shared among you guys. You can even book for a night out in the high seas. An awesome thing to experience in India. Looks like you need to contact them directly for the membership fees. Club Privada is located in Mumbai. Check more by visting their website:

http://www.clubprivada.com/