Archive for the ‘How To’ Category


I’m not there: Five ways to check in when you’re checked out (for vacation)

Much has been written about the value of completely de-tethering yourself from the office during vacation: Look at something besides your computer screen. Recharge your (metaphorical) batteries. Reconnect with family. These are all valiant and important pursuits – but not always realistic in today’s world. As consultants, we fight a constant battle to balance our [...]

Top 5 Ways to Improve Your PowerPoint Presentation

The words “PowerPoint” and “presentation” have become almost synonymous in the business world. The software is packed with mini-tools designed to grab the audience’s attention and drive home your message. Used correctly, these tools can be a powerful message enhancer. Go overboard, and it’s just a mess. Here are the top five ways to improve [...]

End-of-year self review part 3: updating yourself

We discussed what small businesses can be doing to prepare for the coming year in Part 2 of the series. Today, we’ll get into the fun stuff: focusing on you.
Your personal “look” says a lot to clients. Whether you’re in the office every day or work at home in sweats and tee shirt, eventually, [...]

End-of-year self review part 2: preparing your small business for the New Year

We discussed basic office organization in part 1 of the series. Today, we’ll focus on the home-based office. We recommend starting with the organization discussed in part 1, as it will make your small business tasks we’ll be tackling here much, much easier.
Step 1: Review your professional materials
While we live in a primarily digital world, [...]

End-of-year self review, part 1: organizing your office life for a happy New Year

It’s the end of the year, when offices are mostly empty and the self-employed are at the movies. Whether you volunteered to stay at work “in case a client calls” or you’re just taking it easy in the home office, you have work to do. In this three part series, we’ll discuss the key tasks [...]

Forget Toastmasters, improve public speaking through podcasting!

We recently launched a podcast for our gaming blog, and it’s made a real difference in my public speaking. I joined Toastmasters years ago, and while it’s a great tool for some and definitely wins out in the social department, it never cured me of my ums and ahs.
But after three weeks of podcasting, they’re [...]

Get inside your customer’s head: It’s just like packing a lunch!

For some reason, relating the work I do to the customer’s experience of it comes naturally to me. I think it’s because I’m empathetic, which in high school made me pathetic but now, as an adult, it’s a job skill! I just instinctively look at a particular deliverable (be it a site, article or tool) and [...]

Know the code: 5 quick tips to clean up your HTML (or why WYSIWYG tools are bad!)

Though I’m a writer/editor/consultant by trade, I’ve been coding HTML since I launched my first site in the mid-’90s. Back then, you had to know the code, which was constantly evolving. I still remember how cool it was when Netscape added background images (I think it was v0.91b).
Nowadays, most people use tools that take care [...]

Planning a Client Visit, Part 3: Final Prep

You’ve refined your story, prepped your team and picked up a roll of quarters just in case parking is a problem. Now, it’s time to round up the team and head out! Here are some tips for the 24 hours preceding your visit:
1. Remind your team the day before. Send an e-mail to the team [...]

Planning a Client Visit, Part 2: Prepping Your Team

You’ve done due diligence to get to know your client. Now it’s time to help your team prepare. While technology tools are helpful in keeping everyone on track, don’t assume people pay as much attention to them as you do.
To help keep your team on track:
1. Set specific deadlines for each person. If a team [...]



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