In a recent commentary in the newspaper The Australian, University of Cape Town (South Africa) Professor Jennifer Thomson wrote that biotechnology is needed to feed the poor and regulation and opposition to these genetically modified foods, especially in Europe, is hurting those suffering in these impoverished nations.

Professor Thomson, who is also chairwoman of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation in Kenya, was a key speaker at the Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC) in Melbourne, Australia last week. In the article, she wrote that while much of the developing world currently struggles to find enough food for its people, bureaucrats in Europe sit and determine that their countries and others should be cautious in adopting genetically modified crops until they are deemed safe. In the mean time, though, thousands, and in many cases, hundreds of thousands of people are dying from malnutrition and starvation.

She points out that if sub-Saharan Africa continues to produce crops based on its present agricultural practice, there will be a cereal shortage of nearly 90 million tons by 2025. But certainly there is enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, so how can it get to those people in need? And, how long will it take?

In the meantime, Professor Thomson states, genetically modified crops that provide increased yields are one of the ways to tackle the problem. But, how safe it the food derived from genetically modified crops? Professor Thomson points to comments from John Craig Venter, a scientist who led the team that sequenced the human genome, who has stated that no food crop has ever been tested for human safety as rigorously as genetically modified foods.

The bottom line, according to the author, is that multinational companies have little interest in improving the yields of crops in Africa, so Africans must produce these crops themselves. Professor Thomson explains that in South Africa, genetically modified crops currently being cultivated include herbicide-resistant maize and soybean, as well as insect resistant cotton and maize. She stated that each application for a commercial release is assessed by the Genetic Resource Centre of the National Department of Agriculture on a case-by-case basis.

Regarding regulations and opposition to genetically modified foods in Europe, Professor Thomson notes the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling from earlier this year, against the moratorium that the European Union (EU) had on GM crops since 1998. She wrote that Europe can no longer sit back and determine that the world should be cautious about the use of GM crops and because these countries do not want GM crops and foods, they should not prevent other nations, including those in Africa, from benefiting from the technology. She feels that by waiting and contemplating the possible dangers of genetically modified foods, bureaucrats in Europe are effectively committing Africans and those in other developing countries to years, even decades, of further starvation.

I completely agree with Professor Thomson’s assertions. As the world’s population continues to grow, biotechnology and genetically modified foods are going to be relied upon to meet these growing demands. It’s a shame that misinformation coming from those countries opposed to the technology is still sending the wrong message to the rest of the world. Biotechnology and genetically modified foods offer too many benefits to developing nations and hold such promise for the future of the world.

Some people say it’s hard to keep adware off your PC. If you use some common sense, however, it can be quite easy to tell which kinds of programs are likely to have adware and which aren’t.

The least likely programs to have adware are very technical, obscure ones – their userbases just wouldn’t stand for it. Adware is most often included in slickly-marketed programs that fulfil a common, everyday need, as these programs will be downloaded far more by non-technical users who are less likely to know about adware.

At the moment, by far the biggest sources of adware are peer-to-peer filesharing programs like Kazaa. These programs come bundled with adware in the installer, mainly because the companies distributing them are keen to have a revenue stream and aren’t too concerned about their reputation, as they generally produce no other kinds of software.

There is also a lot of software, however, that actually does very little, and is nothing more than a delivery mechanism for adware. Bonzi Buddy, Comet Cursor and Hotbar are all examples of this.

Bonzi Buddy is a fun-looking purple monkey, clearly targeted at children, that reads out ads using text-to-speech technology. Comet Cursor allows you to easily change your what your mouse pointer looks like (trivial for a program to do), and installs an ad toolbar and shortcuts to affiliates’ websites on your desktop. Most recently, Hotbar, and other programs like it, are enticing young users to install them with the promise of smileys (emoticons), and in return take over the web browser, installing toolbars, changing the default search engine, and more besides.

If you want to avoid adware, there are two simple rules to follow. First, anything that seems too good to be true probably is. Second, don’t download any free program that you see in a banner ad or a pop-up – if they’ve bought an ad, they’re planning to make money off you somehow, and it might be through adware.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) has been described as the oldest new technology! It has been around for about fifty years, its value in identifying Aircraft in flight during the Second World War was quickly realised by the British Air force. The following forty years the technology was mainly used in security applications, building access, road tolls and key fobs.

RFID is an infrastructure technology, which will have a impact on almost every business process. However RFID is still a new technology, and thus we are waiting to see where it will lead in many applications. The case for RFID is well documented within specific business scenarios, but the benefit to the consumer are still little known apart from Londoners with their Oyster cards and Parisians with their Navigo cards. However, most people have used RFID without realisation it in their key-fobs, and one or two have found this facility so convenient that their home doors are locked the same way.

What is sure however is that RF is here to stay, with major pilots and positive proofs of concept across many industries: food and drink, aerospace, libraries, government, transport, retail, pharmaceutical, healthcare, logistics, auto industry, security etc. The IT and Building Industry have an enormous opportunity here.

Because of the need to identify vital equipment quickly, the Military were naturally interested in technology that could help take the guesswork out of inventory and logistics. Wars fought in foreign lands create massive logistic problems; soldiers need bullets, food, etc when necessary, regardless of price or location. Battle readiness is key to military success.

RFID use by the US Military was identified quickly by major retailers like Wal Mart, Metro Group, Target and Tesco who felt that the ability to “see” stock in their supply chains would help eliminate delivery error, stock-outs, shrinkage, human error etc and also help in building consumer driven demand chains. Inventory cost money, and uncertainty causes stock build up by all stakeholders in the supply chain. High stock levels, or empty retail shelves simply reflect a lack of knowledge. Awareness of goods flying off the retail shelf by manufacturer is extremely useful when creating production runs. However for now retailers are focusing on the benefits of pallet and case-level tagging. Manufacturers and retailers are working very closely together to remove inefficiencies from their supply chains. This helps consumers by keeping the right stock on the shelf at competitive prices, and in America where item level prescriptions are being rolled out by a major pharmacy group (CVS Pharmacy), it will enable better management and control of drug stocks. Hence if a drug in one pharmacy is within three months of its shelf life it can be dispatched to another pharmacy where demand for that specific drug is greater. Also it will flag up any unusual drug sales or errors.

But to speak only about RFID in terms of supply chain is to miss the point. Emerging technologies: sensors, (mots or smart dust), Nanotechnology and community-wide wireless broadband, GPS, are changing the landscape for business applications and life style generally. Some argue that this is the biggest technological transformation of the 21st Century. It will transform our Cities, our work processes and our lives.

A number of RFID applications together with innovations such as EPCGlobal and standardisations around wireless spectrums are actually enabling cyberspace to interface with the real world. Concepts such as the expression “Internet of Things” will mean that every object in our physical environment can be identified and its status confirmed in real time. Soon everything that you own including your household assets will be aware that you own it! Theft is going to be difficult!

We are witnessing the rise of “Real World Awareness”, which will have massive implications for us all. This is not just about identifying a packet of frozen peas in a walk-in freezer, but enabling the freezer to tell the operator its status in real time. Does the freezer need maintenance? Are the doors shut, lights off, stock accounted for. Are there fresh raspberries in that freezer? The ability to flag potential problems, remove errors, cut costs and drive efficiency.

RFID sensors are playing a big part in airline safety. Airbus and Boeing have endorsed RFID wholeheartedly and mandated their supply chains to incorporate this technology into their product offering. If you ever glanced at the first aircraft cockpit you will see a couple of dials on the dashboard. Early pilots required the help of flight engineers, navigators and radio operator to fly. Pilots flew “by the seat of their pants”, using their skill and experience. Look now at the latest Airbus 300 series! Around 600 sensors all automatically working in harmony to insure engines and aircraft are all in good working order. Risk are constantly being reduced. Pilots alone would not be able to deal with all the complexity currently handled by wireless sensors and onboard computers.

To be able to identify a foreign object like a bird caught in an aircraft engine following a successful flight can also save massive amounts of fuel. Again, to identify a minor fracture on a rotor blade prior to a major crack can prevent a nasty accident. After every flight a full log of the aircraft engine activity is downloaded to a preventive maintenance crews who search for irregularities. This data is key to safety and efficiency in the airline industry.

These sensor innovations are also happening in Formula 1 racing. McLaren Mercedes have around 50 sensors throughout their car engine and chassis to help them improve performance. Cars racing along at 200 mph plus are giving their mechanics back at the racetrack vital data about their engines performance . Mechanics are even aware that drivers are about to change gear! This new sensor technology works well despite a very difficult environment with massive security challenges.

The British Nuclear Group is deploying Ubisense sensor solution to map and identify radiation levels and the location of each worker to increase employee safety and efficiency.

Metro Group’s Future Store Initiative in Germany is providing a glance of retailing tomorrow. Shoppers do not notice anything unusual except that each shopping trolley has a PDA which can help shoppers find products. Item level tagging is still a bit away, but the ability of the smart shelves at Metro to identify when an item is removed from the shelf is very useful for back-office staff, and the ability to identify goods about to go out of date and reduce their price helps maximise profits. Additionally there is a whole new industry of marketing and promotional ideas coming together as shoppers walk past products for sale. Replacing inventory with information is key to improved retail efficiency and enhanced client shopping experience.

Around 7000 American gas stations are enabling clients to fast fuel their vehicles by the simple wave of their RFID fob. Simply fill up and go! The fuel fobs have been so successful that their use is now been considered in fast food outlets where convenience and service are key to happy and loyal clients.

With new sensors based in houses, smart kitchens, hospitals, factories, public parks, highways and parking spaces what will this all mean to Society, to our privacy and to sorting out some of our major social and economic problems? Are we able to pull these emerging technologies together strategically for The London Olympics to show the world that Business UK is fit and ready?

China is currently building fifty smart cities with sensors embedded everywhere. Sensors to help improve traffic flow, bridge structure, water management, and improved transport networks. At micro and macro level where are the benefits for both industry and citizens. If everything is tagged (people and assets) then a building site can become a safer place to work. Project planners can insure at a glance that materials and tools are in place prior to bringing in the builders. Chemicals can flag attention if positioned with dangerous materials or incorrectly positioned. We can control Air, Water and Waste by tiny sensors, or at least remotely monitor public safety in real time. We can perhaps drive better greener strategies and energy improved housing.

Dentalab are making dental molds with radio frequency tags so that dentists can be alerted if an incorrect dental crown is offer to a client. Implicit here are enormous benefits for efficiency and safety. TrentStar, the beer keg asset management company, deploying RFID, made a fivefold decrease in beer kegs maintenance costs. Imagine if every public utility meter was self read? Would that reduce rates? What if parking meters could chat with cars to update parking charges? Singaporeans use their car tags to pay for parking and road use. Big Brother Technology can be convenient if managed without abuse. Laws are required that protect the public. Would we like to carry a tag with us everywhere which for example enabled our mobiles to be an oyster card or credit card and booted up our PC when we entered the ground entrance of our 15th floor office? Would that increase productivity for employers? What if employers paid our transport fees in recognition?

The American FDA have endorsed the use of RFID for item level prescription use. Now “Unit of Use” medicine can be automatically matched to patient at POC( point of care). The ability to insure the correct drug is dispensed to the correct patient is key. US hospitals record 7000 deaths per year on average because of medication error. In addition, 750,000 adverse medical events happen each year causing massive suffering and anxiety to citizens and caregivers. Counterfeit drugs are a major concern for everyone. How can technology remove this menace?

There are countless example of positive proof of concepts showing where Broadband, RF and smart dust-sensors can improve the way our healthcare is managed. According to most press statements, our Hospitals are in serious financial crisis. But do you know healthcare supply chains are run like businesses in the 60’s! We have eCommerce and barcode standards, which will soon give way to automatic data-capture for all inventory movement within our complex hospitals, but we are still a long way away from making emerging technology save us money in healthcare.

We have great technology, but sometimes lack wisdom. Globally Healthcare has incredible economies of scale, but with numerous Local Trusts managing from their individual perspectives we will continue to have massive complexity and inefficiency in the foreseeable future. What is required, in my opinion, is a “monopolistic committee” which can mandate some good economic principles to insure long-term patient safety and the adoption of best RFID business practice. RFID healthcare standards will enable a truly efficient medical supply chain, enabling assets, maintenance, resources and people to be better-managed and scarce resources deployed where necessary. The patient will experience a much improved,cost effective and safer service.

Technology however is not separate to Society. No technology exists outside the influence of people, culture, policy, and economics. Everyone “sees” according to their personal environment, their education, their family values etc. Increased awareness of our cultural mindset is important. We could look at this as a “prison mindset”. A self-locking mindset makes us think a certain way and thus creates our thoughts and confirms our reality. It is a cosy place to be and change is not always invited in!

A friend of a friend once phoned in a panic to request assistance because her car-key fob was flat and she was locked-out of her car. It was explained that the key could be inserted manually in the keyhole of the driver door! She could not believe this and was amazed to find a hole in the door that she had never seen in four years!

The point is our reality is driven by what we do and experience every day; we all have blind spots just like the Ice Merchants of yesteryear who never thought that fringes and freezers would arrive to destroy their business overnight. Anyone hear of innovations where tomorrow’s fridges will be running on sound waves? Goggle thermoacoustic refrigeration!

Smart Granite worktops will soon be in vogue. The granite will carry a number of transponders and a extra large embedded antenna to insure that all food items placed on the worktop will sync with all the other smart utensils, enabling everything in the kitchen to automatically communicate: washing machine, fridge, cooker, extractor, toaster, microwave, radio, lights, central heating, wall tiles, floor, all door locks etc etc. See Do Stone Smart Granite worktops at www.dostone.co.uk. Nasty bacteria on the cutting board will self clean as will the sink and recycle basket. No child in this kitchen will ever pull a boiling pot of rice upon herself. In-build safety / security will be a standard module in every smart kitchen. Energy efficiency also should save household fuel costs by 20% .

Who in your organisation / company or home are responsible for looking into the horizon to anticipate the changes and innovations coming fast forward? To be able to exploit technology we must be open to the idea of new technologies, new business processes, changing the way we work, think, and live.

People always come first and our perspective will determine how future technology will be adopted. Thus a big RFID / emerging technology debate needs to happen to insure we don’t waste this opportunity before us. I am working with Two Four Productions to bring this debate to our TV screens, so if anyone wants to get involved please do contact me.

We need to discuss the privacy issues much more, the benefits to humanity the trade off between lack of privacy and benefit. No one for sure wants to see George Orwell’s vision become reality, but ubiquitous sensor and emerging technologies have the ability if deployed correctly to make a positive contribution to our lives. And we need to appreciate that other parts of the world, hungry for success are less concerned with privacy issues and are fast exploiting these technologies.

Healthcare absorbs a lot of taxpayer’s money. Globally around 14% GDP!

There is little doubt that healthcare services are moving back to the community where it used to reside. Hospitals will be places for focused operations and all other healthcare issues will be dealt with from the home perspective. Most elderly people prefer independence and deserve dignity. But it is not always possible for relatives and friends to pop in daily to insure all is well. Imagine if your elderly Grandparents lived hundreds of miles away?

With sensors creating real world awareness, it is possible to have a traffic light system on your PC which will flag up the occasion when Mr X did not get up or make a cup of tea at 7am or any major break to the natural flow of activity in their daily lives. Any change in social interaction, for example, may indicate a change in well being, or impending illness reflected early by failure to eat. Lights automatically coming on when a elderly person visits the loo at night, for example, can help eradicate the thousand of hip operations required per year in the UK!

Smart packaging can indicate if the correct drug is taken at the correct hour and help people to better manage their medication. No one will believe in ten years time that mobile phones were used for voice only. In Sweden, Norway and Denmark RFID mobile phone are becoming an essential tool for the automatic capture of critical medical data in the community. Thus an internal sensor implant could forward key data via your mobile to your doctor. However, improved national security safeguards are essential.

Sensors in doctor’s surgical gloves can help prevent accidents or assist a surgical procedure. Most operations are carried out in a standard way and the use of sensor networks can reflect the current state of an operation, assist with options, issue reminders, alert other professionals etc. Risk and error can be reduced. Work on this is currently being done at the Danish Centre of Pervasive Healthcare and Intel Research Seattle. This may lead the way to fast track medical training and open up better on-line training to less wealthy nations.

Again in Healthcare the ability of all hospital staff to be aware of impending operations, surgical and post-operational equipment and identify people and assets quickly is a massive daily task. Time searching for people and assets within hospitals is enormous. Decontamination needs to insure that the correct equipment is at the correct theatre and in fit condition for smooth operational delivery. The reality is that Admissions do not talk with Theatre who do not speak with Decontamination, and cancellation of an operation at around £20K a go is not an infrequent occurrence. No wonder, some Healthcare Organisations has been described as a family of hostile relatives! Against this background stock is hard to identify and some hospitals phone their suppliers to ascertain how much business was initiated the previous month! eCommerce has been around for ages with platforms like UK HealthLogistics ready to deliver value. Surely a modern supermarket approach here to supply chains efficiency is required. Who in EU Healthcare are authorised to mandate this wisdom? Once this simple decision is mandated who is ready to deliver the first connected hospital? It will not happen overnight, but problems like hospital cash flow, supply chain efficiency, MRSA, adverse medical events (with their massive liability payouts) may be greatly reduced by sensors and emerging technologies.

Soon we will have free community-wide broadband. Sweden last month gave free broadband access to all their citizens, with speeds 100 times faster than that available to us in the UK. Recently Milton Keynes followed suit, and The City of London promised free business broadband to everyone within the Square Mile. This emerging infrastructure is important as we start to realise that Broadband is not just a tool for Internet access and free VOIP, but an essential infrastructure for real world awareness.

From an IT perspective one of the most salient facts of these emerging technologies will be the massive amount of additional digital data to collect and the need for new hardware, software and robust standard networks to collectively make it all work.

A whole new infrastructure will be necessary to capture, control, provide consistency, and context to massive amounts of new data flowing faster. Global standards and interoptability of systems and data will be necessary. Again EPCGlobal, Gen2 Tags, improved Readers etc., are making great headway here.

However, we may need to rethink the way we teach our engineering, medical, in fact all students. Ten years ago it was sufficient to teach a civil engineering student about programming in addition to their core subjects. But now with massive technological change and real world awareness how do we insure our professionals are up to speed in the multiplicity of knowledge required to make strategic policy decisions.

We are at the dawn of integrating convergent technologies, and if we get it right we can offer future global cities some great solutions. Emerging environmental problems may be solved by emerging technologies. Let’s just do it!

IVR is short for Interactive Voice Response, an automated system that uses a touch response telephone to direct your call. You will have one of these if you have multiple departments with lots of incoming calls.

60% of callers put on a silent on-hold hang up within 40 seconds and callers put on-hold with information and music will stay about 3 minutes longer.

55% of communication is lost over the phone (body language), leaving us with 38% through tone of voice and just 7% through words.

As you can see from the statistics, giving the wrong message in the wrong tone could actually damage your sales and your reputation.

Many companies spend time and money on their visual branding (logo and leaflets) but neglect their telephone audio. "Your sonic branding is as important as your visual branding!"

This article looks at some of the common mistakes made with IVR and on-hold marketing. It also outlines some good techniques to use.

You Rang!

It is best to have just a few options on your telephone system. People lose interest quickly so listing every department is not always a good idea. Think about it from the customers' point of view, what will they be calling your company for? To buy products? Information? To make a complaint?

It is recommended that you keep it to 3 or 4 salient options max if you can. If you think that you need 7 or 8 options, be ruthless; cut it down to the 3 or 4 relevant points. You can always have the 4th option to cover all other enquires.

Remember, the purpose of telephone options is to get the potential client through to the most relevant operator as quickly as possible. Failing that, you need to get them to remain on hold until you are able to deal with their call.

"Thank you for calling ABC, for sales please press 1 - for product information press 2 - for all other enquiries press 3."

Make it simple and friendly and always use a professional voice-over. People relate to it better and psychologically, it is more accepted and expected by the caller. Your company will sound established and efficient and will instantly inspire confidence. You can always tell when a member of the office records the IVR options, you know, the one with the best telephone voice!

Think about the type of voice-over you want to use... What image do you want your company to portray in the mind of the listener? What is your target market?

Using a voice-over style that will connect with your caller is important. You don't want a mature corporate voice if your company is aimed at 18-25 year olds, and likewise, you don't want a young radio type voice if your are a firm of lawyers.

On-hold Now

Being on hold can be annoying, however, you can entertain and use this time to educate your caller. A silent on-hold is extremely cold and callers hang up much sooner than when they have something to occupy them.

Music

Music can alleviate boredom, however, make sure your music is properly licensed for use on a telephone system otherwise you could face a copyright infringement charge.

Also, do select the music carefully. Not everybody has your taste in music...for example, a banging hip-hop track may alienate some of your callers. It is usually best to go for music that is easy on the ear or relaxing. Original music is a good choice for telephone use as the caller has no preconceptions about the piece - they just accept it as music.

As with the voice, it is also advisable to pick music that is relevant to the company image you want to portray. It is acceptable for a nightclub to use a pumping dance track, but clearly this would be wrong for an accountant's office.

It is good practice to thank the caller for holding, but do not do it every 5 seconds! Many on hold systems work on a continuous loop. I suggest having your ‘thank you' message at the beginning and in the middle of the loop. Intervals of 20-30 seconds don't disrupt the music too much but remind your caller that you care.

Entertain, educate and sell!

Don't waste the opportunity you have when a caller is on hold. You have a captive audience. You have a great opportunity to keep them occupied and educate them about your services.

It is best not to blatantly advertise, or to cram as many ads in as possible. A more subtle approach is far less intrusive and more appreciated by the caller. On-hold marketing should use voice and music combined. They are both important elements so let any adverts breath; make sure there is music on either side of them to break things up.

When it comes to writing a telephone advert, make it short and to the point. I am not and advertising expert, however, making it engaging and entertaining can really count.

Simple stuff can work best i.e.

"Thank you for holding, did you know ABC limited sells more widgets in the UK than any other company, and can price match any quote."

"This Autumn we have great savings on widgets, ask your operator for details".

You get the idea, short sentences, no hard sell and let people hear the music before and after the voice, this is when they will take in and process the information.

I have written this article based on my experience of putting telephone audio packages together for clients and have much experience in this area. I have a limited knowledge about hardware but I advise that you always test any newly installed audio.

Phone your company as a client to check that it all works. Is the volume right? Is it clear? Are there anomalies in the system that causes delays or the first split second to be cut off? There is nothing worst than hearing your perfectly produced audio file being butchered by incorrectly configured hardware. Your callers will notice it but say nothing about it. Not to you anyway!

Knowing how to effectively communicate is essential for any person to become successful in sales. The purpose of communication is to get your message across to your prospects in the best way possible. Good communication takes skill, since messages can often become misinterpreted by one or more of the parties involved. When this happens it causes unnecessary confusion and moves you further away from connecting to your prospect.

Your communication is successful only when both the sender and the receiver perceive it in the same way. By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you convey do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communication breakdown. This breakdown can cause you to lose trust and belief in your prospect.

To communicate effectively, you must clearly understand what your core message is, and how your prospect will perceive your message.

Communication breakdown can pop up at every stage of the sale, causing you to lose out on many sales opportunities. Therefore, to become a more effective communicator and get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of communication breakdown at each stage of the process with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communication.

Stage #1: To establish yourself as a master sales communicator you must first establish credibility with your prospect. This involves displaying knowledge of the subject, your prospect and the context in which your message is delivered.

Stage #2: Consider the message itself. Written, oral and nonverbal communications all are affected by your tone, your individual communication style of communication, what you leave in and what you leave out of the conversation. How you communicate both verbally and in writing is very important to how your prospect perceives your point of view. What you want your message to do is to motivate and inspire your prospects into taking action and buying from you.

Stage #3: Consider how best to communicate with your prospect. You may choose to communicate verbally in person, by telephone, email, letters, greeting cards, etc.

Stage #4: Keep in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message prompts in your prospect. Keep in mind too, that your prospect also enters into the conversation with his or her own communication style. Their communication will include new ideas, feelings and emotions that will undoubtedly influence how they understand and relate to your message, and also how they respond. To be a master sales communicator, you must consider these possible responses before delivering your message. This will allow you to be prepared and ready to respond with the appropriate communication skills.

Stage #5: Your prospect will provide you with personal feedback, verbal and nonverbal reactions to your communicated message. To deliver your message effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist in each of these stages of the communication process. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains incorrect information about your products or services, you can expect to be misunderstood. Also, the use of ineffective body language that confuses the message or shows your lack of confidence will also allow you to disconnect with your prospect.

Don’t offer too much information too soon. When in doubt, less is oftentimes more. Remember to listen more and communicate less verbally when you begin a conversation with a new prospect. Be respectful of your prospect’s time, and keep their interests and concerns in the forefront.

Once you understand how these five stages work and start to implement them into your sale’s message, you will soon discover your communication skills improving.

Mastering Your Persuasion Power

You persuade by mastering the art and the skill of effective communication. Your ability to communicate effectively regardless of the message will help you to exceed your sales goals time and time again.

Communication and persuasion are the same from the point that you cannot communicate with another person without, at the same time, influencing that person. Rapport is a natural function of communication that is brought about by honoring the person with whom you are communicating. Your goal should be to find out what your prospect wants and/or needs. Then discover how you can help your prospect reach their goal and/or solve their problem.

When selling a product, targeting people who are already interested in that product makes sense. There is no resistance, only feedback. Communicating effectively is not about being in control, but rather about being able to recognize what you are, in fact, eliciting with your communication, and having the flexibility to adjust accordingly.

A master sales communicator is someone who chooses to influence his or her prospects ethical and respectful communication, versus an ineffective sales communicator who tries to influence his or her prospect out of manipulation and fear.

When you set out to get an outcome that is strictly a win/lose model, or if you choose to abandon any future possible consequences for your communication, you are opening the door for eventual failure. By accepting to master the art of effective sales communication, you are doing more to build long-lasting customer relations. You will also maximize your opportunity to offer clear, effective, meaningful communication that is based on a positive outcome. You will soon discover how your own master communication skills will powerfully and impact-fully become unforgettable in your customer’s minds.

Why focus on these skills today?
Because if you don’t someone else will. And your financial future will quickly be affected.

The process of interpersonal communication is monumental. Yet, it is simply one of the most natural acts on this planet. If you build a useful model, then you will not have to worry about whether you are doing it right … because you will see it pay off quickly with increased sales.

Begin using your communication as a means of increasing your sales, and pay close attention to the response you are getting. Are you achieving and exceeding your goals?

Check the response to your outcome, or at least to where you are in getting that outcome. Then, adjust your output. Test and test again until you have it mastered.

If you take what you already know how to do, and you reorganize that information while putting together your sale’s system, you will find yourself using them automatically in the context they are then designed to be used in, and in the order they need to be used. You will then become a powerful and effective persuader.

The most effective business skills I have ever developed have been in the area of communication. It really doesn't matter what you sell or what industry in which you work. If you cannot impact or affect the people you want, or need to affect, the level of success you will be able to generate will also be affected.

How to Effectively Influence Prospects
You can influence another person's reactions or choices, but your prospect has the choice of whether or not to respond to you and how to respond to you. Refusing to control yourself and trying to control others is a waste of time.

When you try to control what you cannot, you lose control of yourself. Your sense of power, part of your self-esteem, depends upon your satisfaction with your own sales performance. And if you are trying to control someone else, you begin to think of what they do as part of your own performance. Trying to control someone during a sales presentation is like stepping outside of boundaries or borders between countries. There are also boundaries and borders between people. To communicate effectively, these boundaries should not be crossed.

To achieve the ultimate satisfaction with your sales performance, it depends upon divorcing the value of your action from the results. You can only do what you can do -- there are other factors outside yourself and your control that influence the outcome, including the behavior of other people. This is part of taking personal responsibility for your actions. You are completely responsible for what you do, think or feel, and for whom you are. But you are not responsible for the outside factors of your prospects.

Often type A’s and/or aggressive salespeople are more likely to try to control the behavior of their prospects. Often when losing a sale they can become frustrated, angry and hostile from trying to control the behavior of others or trying to control other things that are not within their power. Since I fit into this category, I personally have had to learn this the hard way. Control simply means choice. Self-control is of emotions, thoughts, body and behavior. When you control your emotions rather than eliminate your emotions in selling, you choose more positive and effective responses.

Emotions have a direct and immediate impact upon your communication. You control your emotions through your thoughts and behaviors, which in turn, affects how your message comes across to others. By controlling your thoughts you are able to choose when to think, what to think about, how to think about it and to not think about something.

Controlling your communication behavior means being able to choose everything you say within the limitations of time, place and conditions.

The salesperson that realizes that they are the only one in control of how they act upon their own choices becomes very powerful. Self-control, power and influence all affect how you communicate. The salesperson that understands this is most influential upon others. The self-controlled salesperson is admired and sought-after as a leader.

Although an influential salesperson can connect with more prospects, they can also intimidate people who are insecure. Continue to discover the difference between control and influence, and you have the keys to mastering the art of communication. As you do, you will improve the range and intensity of your influence and the probability of boosting your sales confidence and exceeding your goals!

When is a door not a door? When it's ajar of course...

In my Communication seminars I often enjoy asking a seemingly bizarre question which brilliantly illustrates the point that words absolutely do not mean the same thing to everyone. (and that meaning is separate and distinct from words...but that's another article for another day)

I ask everyone to place their feet on the ground, their hands in their laps. I suggest they take a nice long slow breath and concentrate on the first thing that pops into their heads when I say the next word.

I wait a beat or two, and then say a simple word like ‘Cow' or ‘dog' or ‘horse.

What is obvious at one level is interesting at another. Most people think of the animal I mention (however from time to time I get some interesting interpretations of ‘cow') and each participant has a full visual, auditory and kinesthetic representation of the thing mentioned. What is crucial to notice is each of their pictures, sounds and feelings associated with the word are completely individual and unique.

No dog, cat or cow has ever been described in the same way. Even when I had a couple in the course who had a cat, they each had a different internal experience when the word ‘cat' was mentioned.

What is fascinating is that the participants can't describe the thing very well but when I ask questions (is it near or far? Black and white or colour? Moving or still? In focus or fuzzy? Etc) they know the answers immediately.

Each person in the world has a unique vocabulary which is based generally on the common vocabulary that each of us shares and specifically on the individual experiences each of us has had.

When two people are communicating, there are often 3 (or more) distinct vocabularies at work. Each person has their deep unconscious understanding of word meanings, and for the purposes of communicating quickly and effectively, there is a surface or accepted meaning. So each of us has our own experience vocabulary and we guess at a common vocabulary based on our assessment of the other person's life experience, status, position, income etc.

In other words we can agree that when talking about a horse, the subject is a four legged animal that some people ride on the back of. (I'm already in murky territory: some people could be offended by the riding bit). Specifically however what would be happening internally for each communicator would be wholly dependent on his or her own history with horses.

The lesson here is to know your audience. It's easy to say, "You know - just like Bill Clinton.", but depending on the audience and what the context is, the message sent may not resemble the one received.

To avoid communication trouble in the workplace or anywhere else for that matter let this serve as a reminder to understand that our understanding of words may not be the same as everyone else, and if we aren't getting our message across, it is incumbent upon the communicator to take responsibility for his or her communication.

The meaning of communication is the response you get. The meaning is therefore determined by the receiver, and their response leaves clues as to if the intended message sent was the one actually received, and how to adjust the next communication so it more closely resembles what the message we wanted to get across in the first place. When we find the doors of communication closed, by changing our understandings and methods, and trying again, we might find the next time they more resemble something entirely different.

Maybe it's because I'm a grandma and a writer, but I have been giving lots of thought to the things we say to loved ones, friends, neighbors, and strangers. Life truths are often hidden amidst ordinary words like "hello," "goodbye," and "take care." We need to train ourselves to listen for these truths.

Years ago, when I learned the Air Force was sending my husband to Vietnam, I went out and found a part-time teaching job at a local church school. It was just enough work - two mornings a week - to keep my mind busy. As the year progressed I was increasingly grateful for my job.

Our daughters, then ages four and two, missed their father terribly, so terribly that our older daughter scratched the back of her legs until the skin was raw. She also started talking to herself. I couldn't make out what she was saying because she would stop talking when I was near by.

If you are a parent you know a two-year-old is a handful and our younger daughter was no exception. I lost a lot of weight chasing after our girls, teaching part-time, and being a single parent. Though I fixed healthy meals and ate lots of food, my weight dropped to 96 pounds, a dangerous weight for someone who is 5 feet 5 1/2 inches tall.

Other events made it an "interesting" year. When I was leaving a parking lot I accidentally baked into a post and put an expensive dent in our car. Houston was hit by a hurricane and several severe storms. I caught the Asian flu and was in bed for a week. Thanks to the kindness of neighbors and a school custodian, I made it through the year.

As I prepared to leave school one day the custodian came into the room to sweep the floor. He knew my husband was in Vietnam. "How are you doing?" he asked.

I thought a moment before I answered him. "Some days I don't think I'm going to make it," I answered honestly.

He stopped sweeping and looked me in the eyes. I can't conjure up his face now, but I can still see his left hand holding the broom handle and his right arm resting on the top. In his rich Southern drawl he said, "Ms. Hodgson, you're gonna make it 'cause you gotta make it."

Since we had that conversation I have thought of his comment many times. Nobody is immune from the troubles of life and I have assured myself, countless times, that I would make it, for there was no other choice. The custodian was 10 or more years older than I and he is probably gone by now. Since I never thanked him for the comfort he gave me I thank him publicly here.

I wish I could tell him that his kindness became my example. Think about what you say in a day. Are you really listening? Do you offer a laugh, a hug, a word of comfort when needed? Your casual conversation may change someone's life. I know, because one conversation changed mine.

An RFID, or radio frequency identification, is a rather new technological development. An RFID system uses transponders to store and remotely retrieve stored data. Currently, RFID is used everywhere, from animal tracking to container tracking. From credit cards to library cards we see the usage of RFID. Some RFID applications can remove human intervention completely. RFID promises to directly connect logistic systems to the physical products, and provide automatic identification.

Generally, the RFID system has tags, tag readers, servers and application software. The tags are mobile devices with a digital memory chip and unique identification code which transmits the data, which is then read by the tag reader. Further processing is done by the application software. RFID can track locations with millimeter accuracy. Animal identification is done with low-frequency RFID tags, while high-frequency RFID tags are used in libraries or baggage tracking.

RFID tags are going to replace UPC or EAN barcodes. The introduction of RFID technology helps track the product and customer’s use patterns even after purchase. P&G tags a small number of cases and pallets of their products as a part of trial with Wal-mart stores. UHF RFID tags are commonly used for truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards. The company is focusing on making the supply chain management more efficient. The Federal trade commission held a forum to begin the dialogue on RFID, its usage and benefits and potential concerns. There are privacy concerns based on the fact that companies will collect data about consumers without their knowledge, and then misuse the data.

1) Cancel your telephone system maintenance agreement – Telephone system maintenance agreements range anywhere from 10 to 20% of the purchase price of the whole phone system. In other words you are paying for a new system in 5 to 10 years and only actually getting a small fraction of the system equipment replaced. I recommend buying a couple telephones, handle cords and line cords to replace items yourself.

From my experience, the only business I see that has a need for a maintenance agreement is a Not for Profit Organization. This is because the usually have to keep to a fixed budget. But even in this case, the Not for Profit Organization could add to there stock of backup common equipment, and build a cash account. This cash account can be used to pay for service calls when needed.

2) Learn how to troubleshoot basic telephone set problems – When you encounter a problem that is only occurring on one telephone you have an opportunity to save a considerable amount of money. When a problem occurs on an individual telephone it can be in a possibility of six items. The good news is you can easy fix four of them by simple replacement.

a) Find a test phone - The first step in determining if the problem can be corrected by replacement is to find a working telephone of the identical type to be used as a test telephone. The test phone can be a backup phone you keep in storage, or an existing telephone of the same type that is currently in use. If you used an existing phone as a test phone remove the line cord from its wall port. Remember this port location because when you are done testing you will replace this connection.

b) Swap the phones – Remove the line cord of the broken telephone from the wall port. Insert the line cord of the test phone into the broken phones wall port. If the problem is solved this means that the problem is in one of the 4 replaceable items. If the problem is not solved this means the problem is either in the cable, the telephone system hardware, or in the programming. For the scope of this training you should contact your service provider.

c) Determine which item to replace – If the problem is solve be replacing the phone completely you should now narrow down what the problem is by one by one testing each of the following items with items from the test phone until the problem is solved. Once the issue is solved it indicates that the item you swapped out is the bad component and should be replaced

1) Line cord – The line cord is the cord connected from the base of the telephone to the wall outlet.

2) Handle cord – The handle cord is the “coily” cord connected from the base of the telephone to the handset.

3) Handset – The handset is the equipment that you pickup, hang up, speak into and listen to. The handset is connected to the handle cord.

4) Telephone base - The telephone base is the equipment with the keypad.

The order listed above is a good order to test in. It is recommended that after you test each item that does not the problem, the original should be swapped back to the broken phone before proceeding to the next test.

3) Buy Online – Buying online can save you anywhere from 30 to 60% off of retail prices on equipment. Additionally if you call a service to fix a telephone and you need a $2 line cord replaced it could cost you $102 total after the technician replaces the cord for you. The biggest concern in buying online is finding a company you can trust. Name, address, and telephone number published is a minimum, additional credentials such as industry awards, certifications and trade organization affiliations are very helpful

Your telephone is your lifeline. It’s how you communicate with your customers or clients. Without it your business couldn’t continue. It rests on your desk and has worked flawlessly for years. It never gives you any problems. You may not even remember the last time you had to have it serviced. You depended on it. Are these statements true with you and your business?

Consider this: If your system hasn’t kept pace with the latest software, your business lifeline is at risk. The flawlessly working telephone system you count on will fail and you could be left with no communications into or out of your business.

Everything will eventually wear out. Entropy is the natural state of all things including your telephone system. When it does, will your service provider be able to repair it? Will replacement parts be available? Will your service provider be able to obtain manufacturer support for the system? These are questions that all businesses have to ask themselves and the service provider maintaining their system.

Examples of Potential Disasters

Company A has been using telephone system from a major manufacturer for 8 years. Except for some minor moves and changes the system hasn’t had to have any service for almost 2 years. Then one Monday morning, everyone arrives at their desk to find they have no dial tone. A frantic call goes out to the service provider and a technician shows up at your door within the hour. The technician believes he has found the failed component and replaces it. But the system still doesn’t return to service. He places a call to the manufacture for tech support but is told that level of software is no longer supported and he can’t be helped. Now your technician is just guessing as to what to do ore replace next. Meanwhile, more time passes as the business looses money.

Company B has been using their telephone system for 10 years. This system hasn’t so much as had a hiccup since the day it was installed. It’s not one of the Big Four in telephone manufactures (Mitel, Nortel, Avaya, Cisco), but it meets their needs and works well. Then one day a storm passes though, lightning crashes outside, the power blinks out and come back on but the phones never do. The manager digs through her Rolodex for the phone number of the company that installed it only to find it is no longer in business. A quick check on the Internet finds another local vendor for that manufacturer but is told that product has been discontinued for 5 years and they don’t service it. They’d be happy to sell you the latest version but lead-time even for an emergency installation is one week.

These are not unrealistic examples what can happen. As a matter of fact, they are not even uncommon. So does this mean you have to buy the latest technology every year? No. But it does mean you should at least keep up with the latest supported software.

Every manufacture is going to End of Life (EOL) obsolete systems and software eventually. It’s too expensive to try staff and maintain inventories for systems that are no longer being sold. However, often a manufacture will discontinue support only for older software levels but, technically speaking, the hardware is supported. The manufacturer will often support the hardware IF the system is running supported software. The key to providing support is the software level. It ensures your hardware is supported.

Most PBX and Key System manufactures have special programs and incentives to help you keep your software current. Keeping current benefits you in several ways such as:

Guaranteeing Support to your service company should they need it.

Ensuring that replacement hardware is available.

Keeps you in touch with your telephone system vendor so you’ll be more aware of their manufacturer relationship.

Gives you access to the features and benefits of the latest trends and innovations in business telephone services.

Consider the last time you talked to your telephone system vendor about your current software level. If it’s been over a year, you should call your sales rep to have them review your situation. If your current software level is manufactured EOL or is about to be EOL, you should seriously consider upgrading. The risk of not doing so could mean substantial financial losses to your business.

According to Peter Drucker in his article "The Transnational Economy" written back in 1987, "To maintain a leadership position in any one developed country, a business-whether large or small-increasingly has to attain and hold leadership positions in all developed markets worldwide. It has to be able to do research, to design, to develop, to engineer and to manufacture in any part of the developed world, and to export from any developed country to any other. It has to go transnational." But is going international as simple as it sounds in this passage, or business leaders and executives need to consider another usually unforeseen barrier commonly referred to as "the effective communication principle?"

Companies in developed countries such as the United States must engage in international business transactions or lose an important competitive advantage. Such firms have not only found tremendous commercial opportunities a thousand or ten thousand miles from their plants, but they have also found cooperative partnerships because of a community of interest. Community of interest is in fact the common ground upon which a business relationship can be based and later flourish. If a firm in Japan, for example, finds an American company with expertise in marketing and handling its products in foreign markets, then a community of interest has been found and remains to be exploited to the advantage of both. But how is that possible and on which factors does it depend upon?

Although the answer is rather complex, undoubtedly one factor is that the worldwide level of technology has greatly advanced easing the process of communicating among people located in different countries. Their ability to share information almost instantly has turned the globe to resemble a village, and as a village its citizens can communicate with one another quickly and easily with the use of various technology-based methods. But then again how come and the message is not received in the manner intended when sent by the messenger? The answer is simple: worldwide we share the much of the same information and technology, but no the same culture. Our family, recreational, financial and other values are different, as these values spring from diverse experiences, expectations and habits. Even if the language used to communicate is the same, the cultural differences between states are evident and a message can be distorted or at least not understood as one intended.

Technological advances in the last 100 to 200 years have spread and been adopted and refined worldwide. But cultures based on thousands of years of development are slow to change. For many, they should not change, as these cultural differences among societies and nations give individual identity to each group. In fact, this persistence diversity in the thinking of human beings has made this world an exciting place to be in. But at the same time it has also created barriers that constitute a major challenge for communicators. Even with the advancement in the transition of information, when words and actions are not understood in the same way because of differences, communication can suffer. This is a key factor for people to remember when dealing with different cultures or employed in different countries from that of their origin. Verbal or nonverbal communication can have different meanings to different people and thus careful consideration and examination of the others' environment can ensure a better delivery of a message and overall a much more successful communication process.

By the terms of the dictionary, a satellite is an object which revolves around another object. For example, the Moon is a satellite of the Earth, and the Earth is one of the Sun. The phenomenon interested mankind to investigate more on this idea and experiment on man-made satellite en-circling the Earth. It was thought that if such a satellite was put in the space, communication could be set up from one part of the world to the other. A communication satellite orbits around the earth and in effect is an artificial satellite, stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunication. These satellites use the geosynchronous orbits, Molniya orbits or low polar Earth orbits.

A geosynchronous orbit is essentially a geocentric orbit, which takes the same time as the Earth to complete one orbit. If this satellite could be seen from ground, it would seem that the satellite is stationary and not moving at all. Satellites in such orbits are useful for telecommunication applications. Satellites in Molniya orbit have a highly elliptical, set at an angle, taking 12 hours to make a complete the orbit. A satellite in a low polar Earth orbit passes right above both the poles, inclined at a certain angle relative to the equator.

How are the objects kept in orbit?

Since man have been able to lift his head towards the sky, he has looked up at the sky and wondered how that Sun is held up high above there, and why does not the Moon fall on us. It has only been about 300 years now, that we have developed the scientific reason as to the things we were wondering about in the past. It was in the late 17th century that Sir Isaac Newton put forth this fundamental law. The first law says that, every object of matter in this universe attracts another, with a force, which is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two. Therefore, with the larger mass having greater power to attract, this attraction gets weaker as the distance between the two objects are increased.

Newton's law of gravity means that the Sun pulls the Earth and the other entire planet in this universe, and the Earth also pulling on the Sun. Since both are quite large masses, the force of attraction must be large. The question comes, if the Sun is pulling all other planets, why don't the planets fall on the Sun?

The explanation to this is, that the planets are moving sideways too at a great velocity. Therefore, taking the example of the Earth, by the time the Earth has fallen the 93,000,000 miles to the Sun, it has moved 93,000,000 miles sideways, far enough to miss the Sun. Likewise, by the time the Moon has fallen 240,000 miles to the Earth, it has moved 240,000 miles sideways, missing the Earth. This process is repeated continually and the Earth orbits the Sun and the Moon the earth, in a never-ending way. If any planet stops moving sideways and finds itself closer to the Sun, it will fall quickly without missing the Sun. This sideways movement, called the "angular velocity" prevents the Earth in falling into the Sun. The same is true for all planets en-circling the Sun. The Moon would fall on to Earth if it had not had that angular velocity.

If the gravity of the Earth were to be turned off, the Earth would leave its circular trajectory and travel straight with a high velocity, reaching 50 billion miles out from the Sun in a century's time. Hence, it is the gravitational forces of both the Sun and the Earth, that holds the Earth in a orbit around the Sun. The orbiting Earth may be compared to a piece of stone tied to a string, which is swung in a circle holding the string at one end. If you were to let go of the string, the stone, tied at the other end of the string, will fly off at a straight trajectory, just as Earth would do, if the gravity were to be turned off. This force is termed as the 'Centrifugal force.'

There can be a question about the time required to complete one orbit. Does that depend upon the distance at which the object is orbiting? After years of experiments, it was found out, that the greater the distance, the more time it takes to complete one orbit. This was deduced from the formula, that the time taken, is directly proportional to the distance of the object around which it is orbiting. Thus, the planet which is at a larger distance from the Sun, takes longer to complete one orbit. This time taken to complete one orbit is termed as 'orbital period.'

Artificial Satellites

Looking at the first law of Newton, it was understood that in principle it should be possible to put up a man-made satellite in the sky, which would orbit the Earth. As has been seen, this satellite would need a sideways velocity, like the earth, so that it does not fall back on Earth. If such a satellite is put up in the sky at a distance of 4,000 miles, it will have an orbital period of approximately 90 minutes. To miss falling on to the Earth, this satellite would have to have a sideways velocity of 17,000 miles per hour.

Let us consider firing of a cannon ball. If the firing is quite weak, the cannon ball describes a parabolic path and lands up few hundred yards away. If we bring a heavier cannon ball, and try and shoot it a bit further with greater force, the ball describes a parabolic path to the earth’s surface and lands up a few hundred miles away. This time the cannon ball goes over the Earth's curvature to describe its path. If now, the a super-heavy cannon ball is shot very forcefully to land a few thousand miles away, the ball would travel much further than what it would if the Earth was flat. Clearly it can be deduced that the Earth's curvature had some effect on the distance that this cannon ball traveled. Imagine that the velocity of this cannon ball is 5 miles per second, i.e., 17,000 miles per hour. As it falls to the Earth, it misses the Earth's surface and the Earth's gravitational force makes the ball continuously change its course in its the fall to the Earth. Thus this cannon ball starts orbiting the Earth. Till the concept of rocket came in, such velocity was unthinkable and putting up a satellite in the sky remained a dream. Eventually the technology evolved and the first artificial satellite 'Sputnik,' was launched by the Russians in 1957. This satellite was not much more than a basket ball and had a radio transmitter on board. It made 'Beep. Beep. Beep’ sounds and would appear and disappear, again to re-appear in 90 minutes time.

A few years before the Americans put John Glen into the orbit, on-board an artificial satellite, the Russians had already launched Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. All these satellites were launched at the same altitude, give or take a few hundred miles, and both had the orbital time of 90 minutes. If these satellites were launched higher, for example at a height of 22,300 miles, the orbital time would have been orbiting the Earth every 24 hours. The skill required to launch the artificial satellites, so as to achieve a geosynchronous orbit, did not happen till 1963. This required the satellite to be launched at a much higher altitude.

When you, look back to the dawn of space travel, the landing on the Moon by Apollo in 1969, seemed to be a giant step forward in space travel. Since that time, weather forecasting has technologically improved with geostationary meteorological satellites, sending the pictures that we see on television everyday. The television broadcast has taken a leap with these satellites, where live telecasts are being beamed from one side of the world to the other. The satellite aided voice communication has had a remarkable effect in getting help in a remote area, where other communication is not available, delivering the highest speech quality with reliability.

With globalisation, factories and offices have come up in the remote part of the world. These locations are often in those parts where modern communication network does not exist. Despite this, business needs to go on and communication is vital. Satellite communication has virtually brought these places quite close, bringing the communication network virtually to any location around the world. This has been done without the need of an infrastructure of wireless network, fiber optics, or even copper cabling.