IN corporate life one learns very quickly that it is the 'little things' that count towards improving our performance and making our lives that much easier during those eight hours that we are forced to rub shoulders with our cubicle mates. For sure a fatter pay cheque is what we all hope for but I think it is safe to say we have all kissed that dream goodbye especially in the last few years since the recession reared its terribly ugly head.

We have finally come round to accept that the reality of our meagre-salaried lives is that we have to rely on the other things to make us happy or to help us improve our current situation. Fortunately the area of communication offers up a whole list of things that will make the medicine of corporate life 'go down' even if not in the most delightful way. All of these tips appeared in the High performance issue of Canadian Business Magazine (June 14, 2010) and although they seem insignificant, if put into practice, can mean the difference between a so-so, hum-drum work life and one in which you and I sizzle.

In the area of career advancement we are advised to learn how to make an elevator pitch. For the uninitiated, the elevator pitch is that one opportune moment — when you find yourself by chance sharing for that which every savvy business person lives. The elevator pitch is also helpful for the 'wanna-be employed' hoping to finally score a foot in the door of 'Any Good Company Ltd'. What is it? Imagine the elevator doors slowly opening to reveal that one single person who can make the supreme difference in your life. You have a million words to say to persuade him to hire you or to invest in your project. The problem is that you have less than a minute, the time that the elevator travels between floors, to be at your eloquent best. The article advises: "Brevity is key. More than two minutes is too long. The pitch must answer at least three crucial questions: What's the idea? Who cares? And why are you the person to do it?' Most of us might not hit the mark of presenting a powerful pitch as we will fumble clumsily with 'ahhms' and 'eerrrs' trying to compose ourselves from the shock of our lucky chance encounter. Never despair, consistent practice will prepare us to make that perfect elevator pitch to the right person. Hey, it might just catapult us into a better job with co-workers whose crazy quotient is less than our current ones.

If you are one of the lucky few whose company frees the chains anchoring you to your desk and allows you (on their dime) to mingle with other human beings not in your work family then you need to learn how to successfully schmooze at a conference. This is another high performance area that just might move you from point D on the totem pole to point A in your field. First of all, do some homework and find out who will be attending the conference. Go on the greatest snooping device known to man, the Internet, and more specifically, Google, LinkedIn or any other social networking website, and learn about the persons you would want to meet at this gathering. In this day and age, there is a feather-thin line between creative 'research' and stalking, so please inform yourself about local laws so that you are not arrested for violating persons' personal space and so become a major headline in the evening newspaper. At the conference, the advice, "Ask questions — don't blather on about yourself", are the truest words of guidance ever written. I get that we who inhabit this little rock believe we are God's greatest gift to the world, however, we Jamaicans have a distinct penchant to prattle on and on and on about ourselves. Sadly, I am at great pains to say that the more testosterone we have the more highly skilled we are in this dubious area. Another piece of recommendation given is not to carry food or drinks with you when you are working the room. Many of my colleagues will beg to differ here as they will say that food and the drinks are the reasons that they work the room.

Where name calling is concerned Barbara Cartland's Etiquette handbook, which is quoted, notes that: "It is an old cliche that familiarity breeds contempt, but it is very true about work relationships. The office where everyone uses Christian names is frequently an inefficient office, even a discontented one." A company's corporate culture usually dictates how each member of staff addresses each other and mayhem does not necessarily erupt when the Christian name calling protocol is used. My philosophy is for a company to find what works for its employees, use it and overtly seek to inform any new employee about this specific area of their corporate culture. There is nothing more distressing than to see a new staff member at a lower level get on chummy first-name basis with management, only to discover the unacceptability of the action.

These are but a few of the communication tidbits offered. For sure we can make our work life rewarding if we reach for the small gems that lie just within our reach.

Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson, (MBA, ABC) is a Business Communications Consultant with ROCommunications Jamaica, specialising in business communications and financial publications. She can be contacted at: yvonne@rocommunications.com. Visit her website at www.rocommunications.com and post your comments.

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