As a chatterbox who could and regularly does talk the hind legs off a donkey, this acronym really struck a chord with me. How chatty are you in business?

C

Cool. Just how cool are you? You can take this up any way you want. You can be trendy, hip and with it in business, always one of the first to be following the latest new happenings in the business world, quick to learn and apply them and part of that group that stays ahead as a result. Or you can be the cool, calm collected business person who doesn’t get their feathers ruffled too easily. No matter what dramas get thrown your direction you stay calm and focused and work through any problems without getting overly upset and can find solutions to most of them and know where to go for the problems you can’t solve.

H

Helpful. How helpful are you? Are you a distant boss that your employees don’t tend to bother you with issues, going instead to someone else who deals with them on your behalf? Are you the same with your customers? When people describe you does the word helpful crop up in the adjectives they use for you? If not, how can you change that? This does not mean you need to be constantly hovering to be of service to your employees, boss or customers either.

A

Authentic. Authenticity is such a hard thing to fake, yet many people to spend a lot of time and effort into trying to appear real and true so that they can close the deal. What springs to mind for me is the image of the typical sleazy car sales man, or the overly gracious waiter. The opposite of that for me was a woman in a large chain store who when she found out that the product I wanted wasn’t available in that store checked the computer to see the nearest available store and put it on hold for me for forty-eight hours. When I commented on the extra service she had provided she was genuinely surprised as for her this was normal.

T

True. Are you true to yourself? Are you in a business that you find a struggle and feel trapped because you don’t like it? If you are not being true to yourself you will find it more difficult to be true to clients that you need rather than particularly like to have. When you are in a business that you truly love doing it, that passion comes across and it is much easier to be true to your clients and yourself.

T

Topical. How do you deal with topical issues that arise within your business? Do you keep up to date with the current trends and make sure your employees do too and then inform your customers of these new issues. Or do you obstinately resist new trends, do the ostrich – bury your head in the sand and pretend or hope it isn’t happening and it will disappear soon. In business we need to keep on top of topical issues rather than ignoring them, not only to keep up to date, to maintain the go-to or expert position that we build up and to be able to answer the queries of our clients

Y

You are unique. There is no one the same as you in the rest of the world. Use that uniqueness to make your mark in business. When people come to you for business it is not only because you provide an answer to their problem it is because of you, the way they perceive you, your ability to get them to like what you have to offer and want to have it. Develop your interpersonal skills so that you can build effective rapport with anyone.

So how chatty are you? What are your thoughts on this, I’d love to know?