Returning Calls the Old Fashioned Way

It's so easy. It's so simple. It's so rare. I'm talking about returning phone calls by phone - voice-to-voice communication, as opposed to returning a phone call with an email or a text message.

The Elegant Exec knows that voice-to-voice wins over other all other modes, except face-to-face dialogue. Our voices convey nuance and signals that help build relationships. Texting and email certainly convey information, but not humor or empathy. Besides, email isn't nearly as efficient as a good old conversation where A leads to B and then to C.

Most people find their in-boxes brimming with information they'd rather ignore and that might include your next note. Make a phone call the next time you need to connect with someone and you'll be surprised where it might lead.

Federal City Necktie

Featuring a map of Washington, DC, this necktie is perfect for the not-so-formal office, where ties are optional. It's whimsical, but not in a childish way, and says, "I'm a professional who appreciates dressing well while maintaining my own sense of style." Available at Josh Bach, it retails for $55. Other cities available: Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, London, Paris and Rome.

Elegance Defined

Welcome to The Elegant Executive! I'm very happy you're here and I hope you'll enjoy the information, advice and suggestions put forth to make you a more elegant executive.
For this first post, I'd like to share a definition of "elegant" that I like very much:
Very choice, and hence, pleasing to good taste; characterized by grace, propriety, and refinement, and the absence of every thing offensive; freedom from blemish, and the like; graceful; tasteful and highly attractive; as, elegant manners; elegant style of composition; an elegant speaker; an elegant structure. (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.)

The information in this blog is aimed at helping professionals make better first impressions, feel more confident in networking situations, and ultimately become so at ease and self-assured, clients will be drawn to them like bees to flowers. It's worth the effort to make yourself more attractive to others. People buy from and do business with people they like, thus the line above, "the absence of every thing offensive," is what we will strive for.