Mandel Communications Blog

I walked away from last month’s Association of Briefing Program Managers (ABPM) annual spring conference more convinced than ever that customer intimacy is the key to customer loyalty. Let me explain why, and also what you can do to build longer-lasting, more satisfying relationships with your customers.

Clients often ask, “What’s the best metric for measuring training?”  It can be difficult to tie communication skills training directly to cost savings or performance gains. Difficult, but not impossible. You just have to use the right metric. And, that means taking an honest look at how much of your training is going to waste.

Executives today are making or influencing more and more buying decisions (especially when it comes to technology).  Is your sales team ready to engage executives in conversations about the business challenges that keep them up at night?  This is where traditional sales training fails. Here’s how you can fix it.

It's just business - nothing personal." How often have you heard someone use that phrase to justify a decision based on the bottom line, even when that decision created pain and problems for employees or customers? It's called the "It's just business trap," and it can sabotage your organizations ability to succeed. Here's how to avoid it.

Let's face it. We're losing the ability to listen in this always-on, multi-tasking world. And, we're paying a price for it. When we fail to listen well, we miss vital info, misinterpret messages, or even damage our relationships with others. But, still, there have always been those special people who seem to have a natural gift for knowing how to make you feel heard. People like Grandma Hendrickson. Here's how she practices the gracious art of listening...and how you can, too.

I’ll be the first to admit that the proper use of acronyms can benefit listeners. First and foremost among the benefits is increased memorability. But, overusing acronyms unconsciously can be damaging and abusive to listeners. Here are 3 keys to using acronyms effectively in your communications. And, don't miss the fun and illuminating Mental Floss video on what many of our most-loved acronyms and initials really stand for.

Leadership gaps are a top business challenge today, despite strong corporate investment in leadership development. Why is that? Leadership development programs may be missing the most critical skill set of all...

Presenting on-camera can be a nerve-wracking experience. Just walking onto the video set at Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) raised my anxiety. Here are three suggestions I learned from my own experience that may help you better manage anxiety when it’s your turn to record a video.

I've seen too many people, whom I know to be engaging communicators and experts in their field, come across as stiff and unnatural on video, ultimately damaging their credibility. The secret to effectively presenting on camera lies in practicing. But...you have to practice right. Apply these three principles and your odds of credibly connecting with your viewing audience will dramatically improve.

While thrilled to record for Harvard ManageMentor®, I was equally stressed over how to make it happen. I lost a lot of sleep pondering, “How do I create content for a 3-minute video that’s both compelling and useful?” From those sleepless nights, I developed these three guidelines you can use to take the anxiety out of creating and recording short, high-quality video content.