What is "the top" anyway? According to society, "top" has a significant amount of import as evidenced by the following expressions: top-quality, top-rated, top-dollar, top-grade, top-of-the-line, and of course, top dog. It is relatively safe to assume then that we are a culture that places a premium on having "top" anything. That having been said, the impetus for this article is to present 10 Terrific Tips to Talk Your Way to the Top, wherever that may be for you.

When we communicate, most people make the assumption that this simply involves the act of talking; say what you need to say and that’s it. Communication however, is really about the speaker-listener interaction and when viewed as such, leaves the assumption of "simply talking,” in the dust. In fact, each time we choose to communicate we should ideally focus on the needs and expectations of the listener(s). The goal becomes: How can I say what I want to communicate in a way that will be easily understood and have the desired effect?

While there are multiple approaches to attain this goal, the following 10 tips will serve as a practical guide to talk your way to the top, or your personal best:

1. Ensure that you speak with sufficient volume. The soft-spoken individual as well as the speaker with the boisterous voice will not have a positive effect on the listener.

2. Ensure that you speak at an appropriate rate of speech by factoring in the complexity of your message. A speaker who is either too rapid or tediously slow, will lose the listener’s attention.

3. Ensure that you fully pronounce your words using effective articulation. When you omit sounds or mispronounce words, you may confuse your listener.

4. Ensure that you use variation in your vocal pitch, making your intonation more dynamic. When your voice lacks highs and lows, the listener may not be able to discern the key parts of your message.

5. Ensure that your nonverbal communication matches your verbal communication. So if you are conveying a positive message, you want a pleasant and upbeat expression on your face. It is also beneficial to utilize good posture when you speak, as this will assist you in projecting your voice.

6. Ensure that you practice active listening skills. Be aware of the temptation to interrupt and judge others. Do your best to allow others to finish their thoughts, and resist the urge to formulate your response while others are speaking. When it is your turn to speak, attempt to paraphrase the other person’s input. This will help determine if you have an accurate understanding of what was said. Try asking questions to learn more about a subject.

7. Ensure that you strive to build your vocabulary, as this will assist you in your speaking, listening, and writing skills. Jot down unfamiliar spoken and written words you come across, and try to decipher their meaning from the context. Always refer to a dictionary to verify the meaning as well as the pronunciation of a word with which you are uncertain, before attempting to use it. Aim for variety in your choice of words and be prepared to offer examples when necessary.

8. Ensure that you use correct grammar when speaking and writing. Avoid common mistakes in pronoun usage (e.g. Incorrectly saying "Please feel free to contact John or myself." vs. "Please feel free to contact John or me." or "between you and I" vs. "between you and me"). Be aware of subject/verb agreement (e.g. Incorrectly saying "each of them are coming to the party." vs. "each of them is coming to the party.").

9. Ensure that you determine what your goal is for a particular interaction and choose the appropriate style. If you need to establish leadership and a position of control, use more directing statements vs. questions, take the lead in initiating topics, substantiate your thoughts based on facts and experience, be comfortable disagreeing, and speak concisely with confidence. If however, you are new to a situation or choosing a position of neutrality, you would respond more than direct, ask more questions, present statements with a qualifier (e.g."I know this may sound naive."), avoid direct disagreement, and build on what others say to maintain a conversation.

10. Ensure that you periodically evaluate your communication style. There are several options for doing this including the following: occasionally audiotape or videotape yourself speaking, listen to your voicemail message, observe how others react to you when you speak, and also observe the speaking styles of others in your environment and compare how the reactions they receive may differ from reactions that you receive.

An unfortunate but nonetheless harsh reality is that the art of communication is on its way toward becoming extinct, perhaps due to the advent of technological advances. Regardless of how sophisticated our culture becomes with computers, PDAs and the like, the only proven method of being at the "top of your game" is to master the tips of talking. It’s never too late to be your own personal "top banana.”

**For further information on this topic, contact Dale Klein (Corporate Communication & Speech Specialist; www.speech-matters.com, dale@speech-matters.com).

Dale Klein is a Corporate Communication & Speech Specialist and is the owner of SPEECH MATTERS. As an expert in helping others communicate, Dale’s clients hire her when they want to have an impact on their listeners. Dale makes a difference for people who want to improve their public speaking, interviewing, networking, presentation style and interpersonal communication.

With at least 60% of job-seekers finding employment through networking, it’s no wonder that people are turning to their colleagues and acquaintances for advice and help in finding employment. The old adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know” rings true when it comes to sources of labor in today’s economy.

The Traditionalists

In the recent past (and even today for some unbending traditionalists), if you were unemployed you would focus on perfecting your resume, scour through the classifieds, or spend $5K getting help from an employment firm only to end up with outdated job leads and generic career advice ? but still no job.

While these tactics are still important to employ as part of an overall job hunt, it seems like a lot of work and energy (never mind monetary resources we don’t have) when you consider the 60% of people who are finding jobs via referrals and relationships they’ve built.

Dinosaurs can Change

But even old Traditionalists can learn new tricks. Take my close colleague, J.M., for example ? an experienced traditionalist and professional in the insurance agency who is just now ’succumbing’ to e-mail technology and implementing it in his daily interactions with customers. Some people are slow to adopt new technology. J.M. is slower. So when I told him I was launching ViralCommerce.com (a social networking tool for professionals) and explained it helps people to create new contacts and build their network via their existing contacts, I fully expected him to turn and run. Instead, he replied (via e-mail) "Give me a demo sometime. You never know. Dinosaurs can change. "

And he’s right. People change? but only when the old way isn’t working anymore. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. No one wants to be insane.

Enter the Social Network

Social networks provide a fresh avenue for professionals to make new contacts without the time expenditure incurred attending mixers or scheduling lunches. Based upon the six degrees of separation theory, whereby you and anyone you could want to meet are separated by a maximum of six people/connections, social networks have become an extremely helpful resource tool for job hunters and employers alike.

Unlike sites built on classified ads, social networks like ViralCommerce.com promote traditional networking, building relationships by e-mail and interviews. Instead of hunting for a specific job, members of the network look to reach out and expand their network ? in turn expanding their job opportunities. Often, building connections with other members results in accessing top jobs that aren’t published in classifieds or traditional job postings.

The concept behind using social networks to find a job is easy: The more connections you make within the network, the more friends-of-a-friend you can meet, and the better your chances of finding an employer or key contact who can make an introduction resulting in employment for you.

Networking Online

Why do it all online? Why not take the concept and just apply it to your own existing inner circle? The answer: Diversity. Chances are, the people who are already in your network probably feel the same way you do about pretty much everything. You probably agree on most matters and likely have a large number of similar contacts. And those contacts that you don’t already know, you probably weren’t even aware your colleagues knew. They didn’t think to introduce you because the obvious synergy between you wasn’t obvious to them.

Using a social network like ViralCommerce.com gives you access to your colleague’s contacts without them having to determine who you would or wouldn’t benefit from knowing. You can search through contacts and request an introduction with ease. In addition, because most social networks aren’t limited by demographics the diversity is incredible. Take ViralCommerce.com for instance, where you can request a connection with the Chaplain of the Oakland Raiders, a Norwegian Software Programmer, a Sales Professional representing Usana Health Sciences, or a Professional Recruiter from Illinois.

Mixing it Up

Of course, it’s recommended that you use online tools to complement, not replace, traditional efforts. Networks aren’t an instant fix. It takes time to build relationships, but once they’ve been established the pay off is great. Think of it as a whole new set of contacts and opportunities, or perhaps the tool that might just help you land your ideal job. After all, it’s not what you know ? it’s who you know.

About the Author:

Sherry Schuller is President of Viral Commerce, Inc. and Zabbo Communications. She is the founder of the Conference on Strategic Growth for Businesses and Entrepreneurs, co-author of 222 Ways to Entrepreneurial Success, and has assisted many organizations with strategic planning, branding, marketing, advertising design, training, and application development. She was previously an Internet Specialist for IBM’s leading North American distributor, Business Partner Solutions (now Avnet), and an independent consultant for various firms, including PRIMEDIA, Inc., the leading provider of targeted content and integrated marketing solutions in consumer and business-to-business sectors.

THE RISK

No doubt you’ve heard of the increasingly popular "raw food" and "whole food" diets. Why are people so interested in eating raw food or whole food? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body.

Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked and refined foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow an excessive amount of nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

In both instances, the result is obesity. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body converts the excess glucose into fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive tract, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body converts the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.

Chemical additives in processed foods make the situation worse. These chemicals confuse the appetite mechanism that tells us when we’ve had enough to eat. Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle. The body will either identify these foods as allergens and then store them safely away from the organs as fat, or the remnants of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste.

THE DAMAGE

Acid waste that is not converted into fat remains in the bloodstream, where it sticks to the blood vessel walls and blocks the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients headed for the body’s cells. The body’s metabolism becomes sluggish, and the result is weight gain and obesity.

If the metabolism continues to grow sluggish, all of the body’s organs are potentially affected. Degenerative disease sets in. Cells die, acid continues to accumulate, and the cycle repeats on a more damaging scale.

The accumulation of acid in the digestive tract makes digestion increasingly inefficient. When that happens, even healthy foods can become acidic and the food allergies will become more prevalent. Undigested food allergens will continue to be deposited in fat cells, leading to greater obesity. Because acidity disrupts the body’s chemistry, the hormones needed to convert fat into fuel also fail to function properly, so the obesity persists no matter how healthy your diet becomes.

THE BENEFITS OF A BALANCED pH

To stop this vicious circle in its tracks, you need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize the acid already accumulated in your body. You also need nutrients that will help restore your body’s hormonal balance. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods in the right sequence can help.

It’s also important to restore your enzyme balance so that your digestive system will work properly again. Proper digestion means that you will crave less food, accumulate less acid waste, convert less of your food intake into fat cells, and create additional digestive enzymes.

To set this positive spiral in motion, you need to identify and eliminate the foods that cause acid elevation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production. This will help restore the pH balance in your digestive system and will make a significant contribution to your overall health.

If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself you need to take a proactive approach. Don’t expect to feed your body processed foods, not exercise, then pop a pill and be all better? it just doesn’t work that way. If you want to bring your body into pH balance then you need a complete approach. A great place to start is the Immersion Kit, you can learn more by going to http://www.pH-health.com