Professional Development
Communicating for successMost people would rather die than give a speech. It's an old line, but unfortunately it's still very true. "People have this overwhelming fear when it comes to communications," entrepreneur Ric Phillips says. ROGER PIERCE |
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 [ 2007-01-10 ] |
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Phillips is a professional Communications Coach (www.CommunicationCoach.ca), who works with clients to improve their verbal, vocal and visual communications skills.
Since 2002, he's conducted workshops and one-on-one sessions with his clients, who range from corporations to students to new Canadians.
"Teaching, training and coaching people to better communicate suits my background and personality," Phillips says, "because I'm really passionate about helping people to achieve success in their careers or everyday life."
Phillips tailors his training to individual client needs. "For instance, a client may want to focus on eliminating a foreign accent or reducing speaking shyness," he explains. "Some clients want to build their business presentation skills or improve their overall personal image," he adds.
Studies show that strong communications skills contribute the most to career success, especially for entrepreneurs. "A business owner must be able to effectively communicate his or her ideas and vision to many people," Phillips says.
While he's an expert communications coach, Phillips was smart enough to surround himself with other experts to help him build his business. "I've got some very smart small business coaches around me who helped me to manage other areas of self-employment, such as taxation, marketing and legal issues," he says.
Phillips says entrepreneurship is all about learning. "You learn something new every day, whether it's from others or from your own successes or mistakes. That's why it's so important to get advice from people you respect, so you can constantly improve."
His advice to other startups is to work hard developing a good product or service. "If you've got a super offering, you won't be so stressed because sales will come easier," Phillips says. "Plus, you'll smile more often and sleep easier at night knowing you are really helping people with what you're doing."
Do you have you a bad boss?