Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Do people like you? Do they really, really like you? Even if you're not a movie star, you still have to hone your personal magnetism. As an BIZ Experiences, you're your company's best spokesperson. But what if your charisma is lacking a bit?
In psychologist Andrew DuBrin's view, the solution is obvious: Build up your charisma muscles. "It's not easy to do," acknowledges the author of Personal Magnetism: Discover Your Own Charisma and Learn to Charm, Inspire, and Influence Others (Amacom), "but I think everyone can work toward becoming more charismatic."
How so? Start with the basics: Smile more readily, improve your handshake and appearance, and err on the side of optimism. If low self-confidence plagues you, says DuBrin, develop expertise that helps counteract those negative feelings. "If you do something well, people tend to attribute charismatic-like qualities to you," explains DuBrin.
It doesn't hurt to have a sense of humor, too. "When you're in a meeting," suggests DuBrin, "observe what other people do that makes people laugh."
Openness to and consideration of others is also critical, says DuBrin. "Sup-pose a customer gives you a big order," he says. "Instead of just sending an invoice, include a card saying, `It's a pleasure doing business with you.' This helps build strong relationships."
Playing Detective
Focus groups get smarter.
Imagine trying to get a group of teenage consumers to speakfreely and honestly about--gulp--acne. Impossible? Not for Boulder,Colorado's Qualitative Research Centre (QRC), which gotadolescents to face their fears.
As QRC--a leader in creative development research--demonstrates,focus groups (or, as QRC calls them, "consumerwork-shops") are be-coming much more innovative. "Thewhole idea is to get people working together to dig deeper anddeeper to find things that actually matter," says QRC'sco-founder Arnie Jacobson.
To that end, QRC often gets workshop participants to do"reporting" assignments. During the aforementioned acnestudy, for instance, people were asked to photograph their medicinecabinets as well as draft self-portraits on spotted and spot-freedays. "What they created," says Jacobson, "was veryrevealing."
Asked to reveal the rationale behind this new breed of consumerworkshop, Jacobson stresses the importance of connecting withconsumers as human beings. "If you ask some-body a question,there's this odd presumption that their answer is actuallytrue--or that they care about what they're saying," hesays. "That's pretty ridiculous."
Which is why there's so much interest in getting respondentsto do collages, compile time capsules--and, yes, even take picturesof their medicine cabinets. "This gets [respondents] thinkingabout things on their own terms rather than under the pressure of[being in] a facility with a moderator and peers," saysJacobson. Seems focus groups are really breaking out.
Looking Good
New tricks for an old trade show booth
You never get a second chance for your exhibit booth to make afirst impression. At any event, you want to put your best footforward visually. But how can you pull off such a feat when yourbudget doesn't exactly reach Fortune 500 proportions?
That's the question Ambler, Pennsylvania's IncentiveMedia LLC hopes to answer with its line of Sample Stations, whichstart at less than $200. Sample Stations (above right) arefull-sized, graphic-emblazoned booths that fold neatly intobriefcase-like cases. "Basically, anybody can carry it,"says co-owner Andrew Borislow. "Stick it in your trunk, and[you can] show up anywhere to put on a promotion."
Dismissing the notion of just throwing a tablecloth over thenearest table, Borislow argues in favor of more stylish booths:"It's pretty easy to justify the expense of the SampleStation vs. what a small business may already be using."
Contact Sources
Incentive Media LLC, (800) 646-4332, fax:(215) 628-2306
Qualitative Research Centre, (303) 473-0848,http://www.qrconline.com
