Small Business Communication Archives

Paula Lovell 08/04/2008 President of Lovell Communications How do you market your small business during a slow economy? Paula Lovell talks with Jim Blasingame about not being passive when it comes to marketing, and about how to be aggressive in getting your message out, without spending a lot of money.

Valerie Sokolosky 07/29/2008 Author of Do It Right! When you talk with your staff, do they get what you're telling them? Valerie Sokolosky talks with Jim Blasingame about three things to remember when you're trying to get your message across effectively.

Karen Cortell Reisman 07/24/2008 President of Speak For Yourself® How do you effectively communicate difficult news? Karen Cortell-Reisman talks with Jim Blasingame about four critical things to think about before delivering bad news to customers, employees, vendors, and even family.

Debra Fine 07/21/2008 Author of The Fine Art of Small Talk How do we discuss controversial issues successfully? Debra Fine talks with Jim Blasingame about how to have a conversation by asking questions first , and then stating your opinion later.

Bob Matha 07/08/2008 Co-Author of Beyond the Babble Do you ever babble? Bob Matha and Jim Blasingame talk about how to make sure you're communicating and not babbling. They offer some specific tips on how to connect more and babble less.

Bob Kustka 07/02/2008 President of Fusion Factor What are the three most important things in successful management? Bob Kustka joins Jim Blasingame with the answer, which he says is communication, communication, communication. Any questions? Listen in as these two provide some valuable communication tips and tools, like what Jim calls, "the magic question."

Beverly Inman-Ebel 06/25/2008 Author of Talk Is Not Cheap and Success Is a Decision of the Mind Sure you're talking to your customers, but what are they hearing? Beverly Inman-Ebel talks with Jim Blasingame about how to make sure your messages to customers and employees are landing with a memorable impact.

Diana McLain Smith 06/10/2008 Author of Divide or Conquer Can you turn conflict into strength? Diana McLain Smith talks with Jim Blasingame about how to think of conflict as a potentially positive situation, if it can be channeled and developed properly. They also talk about how to look at various contributions to a meeting in a three dimensional way.

Pamela Perkins 05/28/2008 Author of The Art and Science of Communication Is effective communication an art or a science? Pamela Perkins joins Jim Blasingame to explain why she thinks it's both, and offers some valuable ideas on both the art and science of good communication in our small businesses.

Beverly Inman-Ebel 04/25/2008 Author of Talk Is Not Cheap and Success Is a Decision of the Mind Could you deliver a speech, if you were asked? Beverly Inman-Ebel and Jim Blasingame provide a few perspectives and valuable tips about delivering a speech for non-professional speakers.

Rick Maurer 02/05/2008 Author of Why Don't You Want What I Want Right message, wrong messenger. Rick talks with Jim about this unfortunate combination, how it can be a problem and how to make sure your information is delivered effectively.

Karen Cortell Reisman 01/24/2008 President of Speak For Yourself® What’s the most important element in your relationship with customers? Karen talks with Jim about this element, which is what’s going on in your customer’s life – not what’s going on in your life.

Debra Fine 01/15/2008 Author of The Fine Art Of Small Talk You now know how to do small talk, but what about the big kind? Debra joins Jim to explain what you have to do when it's your turn to deliver the goods with Big Talk.

Beverly Inman-Ebel 01/07/2008 Author of Talk Is Not Cheap and Success Is a Decision of the Mind As we anticipate a slower economy, what's the best attitude for small business owners to have? Bev and Jim talk about the importance of not getting so bogged down in bad news that you can't see the opportunities that always present themselves to you, even in -- sometimes especially in -- a slower economy.

Beverly Inman-Ebel 11/07/2007 Author of Talk Is Not Cheap and Success Is a Decision of the Mind How important is a good first impression? Beverly says "very" and she talks with Jim about her recent first impression experiences in Asia and NYC.

Robert Dickman Richard Maxwell 10/31/2007 Authors of The Elements of Persuation Do you tell stories when you're expressing yourself in a conversation, or in a presentation? Bob and Max talk with Jim about the importance of storytelling and how to do it effectively.

Gail Goodman 10/24/2007 CEO, Constant Contact What's it like to go public? Gail's company just had their IPO and she begins her visit with Jim talking about that process. They go on to talk about recent research on how small businesses feel about their prospects for the holiday season.

Karen Cortell Reisman 10/04/2007 President of Speak For Yourself® The #1 phobia is not snakes or spiders, it's fear of public speaking. But it doesn't have to be that way for you, and Karen joins Jim to talk about several things you can do to make a successful presentation or speech.

Jim Loehr 09/26/2007 Author of The Power of Story What is the story you're telling yourself about your future plans? Jim L joins Jim B to explain how we talk to ourselves about our plans and how to make sure our stories are based on reality.

Phyllis Martin 07/17/2007 Author of Quips, Quotes and Savvy Sayings You know how you cringe sometimes when someone says -- or pronounces -- a word that you know is not correct? Well, Phyllis joins Jim to talk about some of those words and how to use her ideas to make sure you don't cause others to cringe.

Don Bracken 06/22/2007 Author of The Words of War Don joins Jim to talk about how our words, and the bias of the media, have impacted events all the way back to the founding of America.

John Miller 06/01/2007 Author of QBQ! The Question Behind the Question With too many hats to wear and not enough heads to put them on, small business owners must hire the right heads. John talks with Jim about what employees to look for, how to look for them and what to do with them when you get them.

Karen Cortell Reisman 05/08/2007 Communications expert and author of the new book, The Naked Truth About Giving Great Speeches How has selling changed in the 21st century? Karen talks with Jim about some of the things we need to understand in order to sell successfully these days.

Steven Gaffney 05/03/2007 President, Steven Gaffney Company and author of Honest Communication and Honesty Works! Being honest in business is a best practice that has a straight line to efficiency, productivity and long-term success, as Steven explains to Jim in this interview.

Paul Casey 05/01/2007 CEO, Casey Communications; author of Is Self-Employment for You? Are you ready to become a 21st century business owners? This is the question Paul and Jim discuss, especially with regard to businesses that were founded in the 20th century and may be having trouble making the transition. Paul also talks about his "four corners" approach to business ownership.

Debra Fine 04/18/2007 Author of The Fine Art Of Small Talk What's the best way to talk with someone you've just met? How should you present your business card? Is networking like selling? Get the answers to all of these questions, and more, as Debra talks with Jim in this interview.

Phyllis Martin 03/12/2007 Author of Quips, Quotes and Savvy Sayings Listen to Phyllis as she joins Jim to talk about the importance of using proper grammar as well as the correct words.

Renee Grant-Williams 02/19/2007 Author of Voice Power When English speaking Americans try to communicate with others who speak English as a second language, there are certain steps that should be taken, and Renee joins Jim to talk about them.

Jeanette Henderson 01/16/2007 Co-author of There's No Such Thing as Public Speaking Public speaking isn't just on a state; you do it every time you talk with your employees. And Jeanette talks with Jim about how to make sure you're putting your best foot forward every time you speak, and that you actually do speak every time you have the opportunity.

Paul Casey 01/15/2007 Author of Is Self-Employment for You? Small business ownership is not for everyone, and Paul and Jim talk about how to determine if your ready for entrepreneurship.

Karen Cortell Reisman 01/04/2007 President of Speak For Yourself Preparation is the most important part of having a successful meeting, and Karen joins Jim to talk about how to make sure your meetings come off without a hitch.

Ruth Sherman 12/27/2006 Author, Get Them to See It Your Way, Right Away The younger generations are a lot different from their seniors -- the baby boomers -- in so many ways, and Ruth talks with Jim about how the "older folks" can do a better job of communicating with the kids.

Colleen Rickenbacher 12/20/2006 Nationally known as "Ms. Behavior"; author of Be On Your Best Business Behavior Everyone needs to pay attention to how we act in professional settings, especially during the holidays, and Colleen joins Jim to talk about some of these dos and don'ts.

Debra Fine 12/18/2006 Author of The Fine Art of Small Talk The most important things for small business to know about effective communication is to shut up and listen. Debra and Jim talk about some of the best ways to accomplish this difficult skill.

Phyllis Martin 11/22/2006 Author of Quips, Quotes and Savvy Sayings There are important words small business owners and their employees should use -- and not use -- and Phyllis joins Jim to talk about some of them.

Beverly Inman-Ebel 10/18/2006 Author of Talk Is Not Cheap and Success Is a Decision of the Mind Bev and Jim talk about the different ways that women and men communicate, and why managers should understand this difference.

Paul Casey 10/09/2006 CEO, Casey Communications; author of Is Self-Employment for You? Paul and Jim talk about the proper mindsets anyone should have before starting a small business.

Colleen Rickenbacher 09/06/2006 Author of Be On Your Best Business Behavior Colleen talks with Jim about how to determine who pays for lunch and how to handle that scenario. They move on to talk about how to overcome the fear of public speaking.

Gary Hankins 09/05/2006 Author of The Power of the Pitch: Transorm Tourself Into A Persuasive Presenter Gary and Jim talk about the importance of becoming a professional presenter of your products and ideas, whether in person, in proposal or otherwise.

Beverly Inman-Ebel 08/24/2006 Author of Talk Is Not Cheap and Success Is a Decision of the Mind Bev reports on her recent trip to Egypt for a women's conference and what she learned there. She and Jim also talk about the value of improving your public speaking skills as a way of conveying your vision to employees.

Phyllis Martin 08/21/2006 Author of Quips, Quotes and Savvy Sayings Phyllis and Jim continue their series on word choices and verbal mistakes that we make.

Steven Gaffney 08/21/2006 President, Steven Gaffney Company and author of Honest Communication and Honesty Works! Steven joins Jim to talk about being honest with our customers and employees.

Steven S. Little 08/15/2006 Author of The Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth Steven talks with Jim about the important role that communication plays in growing a small business.

Karen Cortell Reisman 08/14/2006 Communications expert and speaker, and Albert Einstein's cousin Karen joins Jim to talk about what she calls the naked truth about selling, specifically how our baggage sometimes holds us back and how to get rid of it, or at least minimize it.

Debra Fine 08/10/2006 Author of The Art Of Small Talk Debra talks with Jim about her concern that telecommunications advances may actually be the end of the art of conversation. What could that mean to your relationships with customers?

Tom Rath 08/02/2006 Author of Vital Friends Tom talks with Jim about the research he's conducted on the impact friendships in the workplace have on the ultimate success of the people and the organization.