Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to gift trap your work. Do a
Speaker 1: good job on the substance of your work, of course,
Speaker 1: but also pay attention to how you are presenting it.
Speaker 1: Often the latter is the difference between the recipient being
Speaker 1: satisfied or delighted. I am sure you can recall times
Speaker 1: when someone presented their work in a way that was
Speaker 1: particularly thoughtful. Maybe it's a mechanic who, after working on
Speaker 1: your car, make sure that the radio station and mirrors
Speaker 1: are just as you left them. The driver's seat is
Speaker 1: adjusted so that you can reach the pedals, perhaps even
Speaker 1: backed the car into the parking place so you can
Speaker 1: just hop in and drive away. Of course, you primarily
Speaker 1: care whether the mechanic fixed the issue in question, and
Speaker 1: it certainly wouldn't be a big deal to adjust the
Speaker 1: seat or to back out the car. But not having
Speaker 1: to do those things makes you feel cared for your car.
Speaker 1: Mechanic has gift wrapped his work. The same sort of
Speaker 1: care is appreciated from knowledge workers too. Maybe it's a
Speaker 1: colleague who emails you several questions that are numbered for
Speaker 1: ease of responding, or the person who sends you a
Speaker 1: document that could be sent as is, but he also
Speaker 1: uses comment bubbles to highlight and make notes about sections
Speaker 1: that you might want to handle differently. That is so
Speaker 1: much more convenient than getting a separate, lengthy email about
Speaker 1: potential changes. By contrast, I am sure we have all
Speaker 1: also received work, even really good work that has combersome
Speaker 1: to process. You kind of have to grit your teeth
Speaker 1: to get through it. Who wants that? When there is
Speaker 1: another option, When we put ourselves in the shoes of
Speaker 1: those who will receive our work, we can present it
Speaker 1: in ways that will be convenient and welcome. Just like
Speaker 1: pretty wrapping paper and bows make a gift feel special,
Speaker 1: a thoughtfully presented piece of work, we'll make the recipient
Speaker 1: appreciate it more. Now, the best wrapping paper depends on
Speaker 1: the recipient, but here are a few universal guidelines. First,
Speaker 1: make sure you have fulfilled the expectation without extraneous information.
Speaker 1: If your boss asks for a list of potential speakers
Speaker 1: for an upcoming event, provide a list of recommendations with
Speaker 1: notes about why each person might be good and links
Speaker 1: to their easily accessible bios because you have checked those links,
Speaker 1: of course, or pasted in a very short version of each.
Speaker 1: This isn't the time to talk about changing the venue,
Speaker 1: or about how last year's gift bags or about how
Speaker 1: last year's gift bags were underwhelming. You also want to
Speaker 1: be clear on what you're delivering in any action required.
Speaker 1: This can often be handled in an email subject line,
Speaker 1: for instance, agenda for Friday's meeting for your review by
Speaker 1: Thursday a m. If any information is contained elsewhere, like
Speaker 1: a shared drive, be sure to say what that is
Speaker 1: and how to get it. And this is something that
Speaker 1: is often ignored but does matter. Make sure you are
Speaker 1: presenting your work at a time the recipient will appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Everyone wants to get what they asked for before the
Speaker 1: hard deadline for receiving it. Beyond that, though, it's a
Speaker 1: nice touch to avoid delivering something at four pm. If
Speaker 1: everyone leaves the office US at five pm. If you
Speaker 1: know the person is going on vacation, all the better
Speaker 1: reason to get it in before departure. Regardless of the specifics,
Speaker 1: putting some thought into how you present your work allows
Speaker 1: your good work to shine. People don't get caught up
Speaker 1: in retrieving lost information or wondering where things are or
Speaker 1: not knowing what's required. You might feel a little sheepish
Speaker 1: going to a fancy birthday party and presenting a gift
Speaker 1: with Christmas wrapping paper that is half falling off. I mean, yes,
Speaker 1: it's the thought that counts. But part of thinking of
Speaker 1: another person is thinking about how they might be delighted.
Speaker 1: Gift wrapping can help with that, and gift wrapping our
Speaker 1: work is just as important. In the meantime. This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's b the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.