Featured

The Truth About Building Relationships

Walking into a room can be intimidating when you are the new face taking up space. Your communication skills are put to the test, and your nonverbal skills come to the surface. Learning to navigate your business relationships builds your network and opportunities to take your business to the next level. In your career, building relationships gets you invited into the room and a seat at the table. Your personal life ushers in supportive conversations that drive your purpose. So how exactly do you go about building lasting relationships? You must step out of your comfort zone.

Pushing past your comfort zone is scary. But you have to forge your weaknesses and take a risk at trying something new. You probably are asking, what does that mean? See,  you usually do what is comfortable and rely solely on your strengths, giving little thought to your weaknesses because you are afraid of failure. However, you are already good at what you do even when you never step out of your norm to do something different. So when adding how you communicate with people, you make room to improve your ability to pitch your skills and really showcase your abilities. This is uncomfortable at times because you are your worst critic. 

For every new skill that you acquire, you can add a booster to what you have mastered. You build your business and career resume, as well as your appeal for others desiring to work with you. Ego has to be put to the side when you are working on your personal brand that interfaces with the relationships you are building. It takes immense vulnerability to exhibit your strengths and weaknesses because seldomly do we want to expose our areas of improvement.

Share your skills and talents with the people you are most in contact with that support your vision and dreams. You already make your work look easy, and when asked about your processes, don’t be afraid to open up. People around you admire you and watch everything you do, hoping to learn something new. “Each one, teach one” is more than a cliché; it truly builds connections and opens doors that you could not have imagined. You don’t have to become a “know-it-all” or even a “yes” person, but you can lend your skills to your career and work environment that showcases what you know. 

So let’s talk about how to effectively build lasting relationships. Aside from being vulnerable, you have to also be real about who you are to avoid imposter syndrome. When you connect with authentic people, you can easily express what you need help with and work with people who encourage your growth. Superficial relationships only lead to detrimental progress. Once you have prioritized your skills, you can network with individuals who share the same core values as you. This is a necessity as you strive to live out your purpose.

Being receptive to others who don’t necessarily think like you is a healthy mix of what you know. Different perspectives sharpen your ideas and focus and help you further understand the direction you are going with your dreams. Building sincere relationships does not require everyone to always agree with what you say. Sometimes an opposing thought encourages critical thinking before final decisions are made. Having “yes” people around you is not the purpose of networking. The right relationships will motivate you to take action even when you are scared. You have a message and a story to share, so those same relationships will help people who look to you for answers.

The initial point was to say that walking into a room can be intimidating when you are the new face taking up space. Unless you are willing to open yourself up to being misunderstood, the relationships you currently have will not flourish. Sitting around and not asking questions and winging it will lead to disaster. You do not have to work alone and keep secrets to be successful. No matter how saturated a business niche is or highly competitive a career field is, someone is willing to be your “bestie” as you both climb to the top. Even in your personal life, someone is rooting for you and doing the work alongside you as you lead by example.

Getting personal with yourself and the skills you have is paralyzing. You may have high expectations of yourself, so be mindful of placing those same expectations on others. Understanding that you need people around you to stay encouraged is polarizing if you like working alone. The reality is, the right people will gravitate toward you, and discernment will guide your relationships. When mutual respect is present, navigating your business, career, and personal life becomes less stressful. The right people hear you differently, and those relationships are naturally built, not forced.

~LaTilya

Featured

The Art of Communication

Sharpen your skills interpersonally, verbally, and written.

Each time you enter a room, you employ a different skill set. Knowing which hat to don is perceptively based on the conversation in the room. Your personality is what you become most known for when networking, and interchanging your skills makes navigating your business, workspace, and everyday life simple.

Regardless of being an introvert or extrovert, the way you go about exchanging information in a face-to-face setting is verbal and nonverbal. Your body language speaks even when your mouth is not moving, and you have to be cognizant of that. It may sound elementary, but you want to effectively appeal to people’s senses when communicating because that is how you get your message across clearly. I learned a long time ago that perception is everything, and when you give off a disinterested vibe, it is easily picked up on.

Adults do not want to be chastised or spoken to like a child, so the tone of your voice is important as you convey your message to your audience. You only have one chance to make a first impression, so what you say, how you say it, and how you enter a room does matter. It is cliché to say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but that is exactly what happens when you carry out your duties and tasks that require you to collaborate with others.

If you are perceived to have a monotone approach or unorganized way to disseminate and receive information, most of what is communicated becomes lost in translation. Actively listening and speaking with clarity without ambiguity helps to facilitate effective communication.

Unfortunately, there are times you will interact with others who are ready to respond to everything you say without fully understanding the value you bring to the conversation or the discussion. For instance, when you are receiving emails in your business, work memorandums, or personal text messages, you know what to expect, but the tone is not clearly understood. As a result, what is not understood becomes dismissed, which is why attention to detail in your work as you communicate what you do is important.

So here’s how we are going to check your communication skills. First, you have to accept the fact that you will have to work with others at some point in your business or career, and the immediate feedback you receive is necessary. You may not handle criticism well if it is less than flattery, but you have to be willing to understand their experience with you from their perspective.

Whether it is face-to-face in a collaborative setting, written to outline your expectations, or even verbal in a training setting or evaluation, you have to be open and let down your need to defend yourself. How well you communicate is a part of your personal brand, and in business, career, or personal life, you want to be open to discuss or explain what is being asked of you.

Secondly, to sharpen your communication skills, you have to be willing to see the positive in the message conveyed even if you do not entirely agree. The last thing you want is to come off as combative. It is not easy to receive information you do not want to hear, but it is necessary. You run the risk of blocking out a teachable moment when you become complacent and resist change. It takes minimal effort and talent to listen which is why understanding the positives and room for improvement are critical in business, career and even in your personal life.

Last but not least, avoid entering into a co-working space thinking that you know everything. A hostile environment, misspelled word in written communication, or wrong tone of voice will alienate the people you should be communicating with. You need others’ input in your decision-making in order to critically assess the pros and cons of trends that could have a significant impact on your endeavors. Rarely can we navigate our space alone, and it takes a collective effort to get tasks done even when you prefer to work solo. 

I’m not saying that it is completely impossible to get work done by yourself—it’s just that you need interaction with people in your industry and profession to avoid biases to continue being effective. Learning how to have open and honest communication is a skill. Season your words with kindness and have an open mind as you exchange ideas and information. 

Often in your interpersonal skills, it’s not what you say but how you say it.

Featured

How You Can Launch an Online Course Almost Instantly

What if you had time in your schedule to help people learn a new skill? How would you meet their needs? Would you spend time training them? One on one or small group workshop?

In August I made more money from a single service than I have on any product since starting my venture into edupreneurship. Yes, educator plus entrepreneur to take up space in this digital age.

I didn’t think I was ready to offer such a service because so many people were already doing it. I was wrong, because I got a friendly reminder that even though other people were teaching the same things, they did not bring my approach and style to the same topic. So I went for it and it was the best decision I have ever made for my business.

At some point or another as an entrepreneur we fall into the ebook or course creation trap, but this was one I did not mind falling in to once the ball started rolling. It all started with an idea to get students more interactive as school was gearing up for the 2020-2021 academic year. The Bitmoji Classroom wave took off and so did I with the Bitmoji for Beginners workshop that I conducted.

Landing Page

Working with a business coach we looked at a calendar and developed a plan to advertise, gather registrations, and create an email series to guide the layout of the course. Using getresponse.com which was a different platform that I was used too for email marketing and creating landing pages; once the kinks were worked out, it was easy to gather registrants. You can use a very simple layout that is attractive and will capture your audience’s attention. Your audience is the the people that need the service you are providing and in my case, teachers that wanted a Bitmoji classroom but did not know were to start were my ideal customer.

As the names rolled in the welcome email was sent out and a workflow was established. You will be nervous because looking at the market, the same ideas are presented but being you is your superpower and the right people will find you.

Emails and Workflow

A very simple welcome email was created to thank the participants for signing up with a workflow for reminders set leading into the workshop. You need to tell the audience what to expect in the workshop and what you will cover.

Example of what to send: I’m Dr. Williams and I will be walking you through the basics for setting up your classroom for better student engagement during virtual learning as we return to school. I’m glad that you have taken the time to sign up for this workshop offered to educators that want fun and exciting ways to reach your students. 

Now that you’re in, here’s what you can expect:

1. Understanding add-ons for google, specifically Bitmoji

2. Step by Step guide for creating your beginner Bitmoji Classroom using Google Slides

3. Linking your bitmoji classroom to your existing technology resources

The only prerequisite to this workshop is installing/creating your personalized Bitmoji prior to the start of the workshop. You can do so by visiting https://www.bitmoji.com/

Once the foundation is set for what to expect the next step is to talk it up and promote yourself and expertise.

Promote Yourself

Everyday for the week leading into the workshop I talked to my audience on social media about what virtual learning is and what a Bitmoji classroom is not.

You should repeatedly tell your audience what to expect in your workshop and keep your energy high because that is what is going to draw people in. You have to be excited about your topic and give them snippets of your knowledge. People trust people that know what they are talking about and can address questions spot on and see the value in the service you are providing.

Be consistent with your message, and watch your enrollment numbers increase daily.

The Actual Course; Time to Teach

By now you should decide the format and platform for your class. Webinar with playback feature, Zoom, or masterclass on a social media platform.

I chose Zoom because it gave the small classroom feeling and the share screen feature was helpful in walking teachers through the step by step process to create their very own Bitmoji classroom. Teachers knew that it was a beginners workshop because they were clueless about where to start, so everyone’e technology skill level was the same.

You want to make sure you that you are clear about your offer and the flow of your course. You have the knowledge, expertise, years of experience, and skills to teach what you know. So launch a course that you believe in. Be the help that you needed when you got started. Your voice is needed.

Don’t Be Afraid to Try

Now get to work and launch the course that you have been sitting on because you have been too afraid to get started. I had 16 participants for my very first course that I literally brainstormed and created with two weeks from conception to follow through.

Listen to your audience and meet the need that they have especially if it falls into your unique skillset. There is room for everyone to be productive in business and careers that with your help can push them to the next level.

What are your thoughts about this topic? I’d love your feedback!

~LaTilya

Featured

I Wrote my First Book Because I Wanted to Read It

I can remember the spring of 2016 like it was yesterday because it was testing season. I was in my eighth year of teaching middle school. I had stalled writing my book for fear of it not being read and not knowing what to do next. I had just gotten my IRB approved for my dissertation and luckily I had worked ahead on my final report. I was waiting for feedback for my edits from my chair, so to fill the time, I started back working on My Fourth Year In Middle School: The Truth About Teaching.I took my chromebook with me everywhere throughout my building. My colleagues would ask, “What are you doing?” I’d simply reply, “I’m finishing my book.” I cringe at the rush I put on myself and at some of the typos I later found (that have been corrected) and say, “Well at least I faced that fear.”

I knew when I hit publish on Createspace (my first knowledge of #selfpublishing and KDP at the time that I couldn’t take it back. I also knew then that my book was not for everybody but it was still my experience as a new teacher to share. In turn it has been a conversation starter and my documented proof that when you face everything and rise, your personal marathon continues.

Success is not a race, so be humble with your creativity.

Read more of my story by clicking the link in my bio or visit latilyarashon.selz.com to learn how 12 years later I’m still surviving the classroom.