CAREER TIP: ARE YOU ANNOYING?

Just as it’s hard to tell if you have ink on your face, it’s hard to tell if you have egg on your face from saying embarrassing or irritating things during business meetings.

Brian Tannebaum, an attorney and frequent speaker on the topic of how to develop stronger business relationships, suggests you hold up the following “mirror of questions” to yourself – so you can suss out if you have annoying habits which might be getting in the way of creating better business bonds.

1. Do you go on a wee bit too much about your wee ones? Tannebaum advises: “It’s great to express you love your kids - but don't overdo the talk about how great their school is -- or their every single extra-special extra curricular activity. Not only can it be annoying, you might accidently sound like your kid’s success is the only success you have.”

2. Do you ask too many meaningless questions and talk in too many catch phrases? Tannebaum advises: “Please don't a. tell me how fast last year went by. (It was 12 months. 365 days.), or b. ask me if I'm ‘ready for 2007?’ Does it really matter? It's here, whether I'm ready or not.”

3. Do you always mention the same person/place/story – a la Groundhog Day – every time you see this person/group? Tannebaum advises: “Get some new material.”

4. Do you talk in monotonous-o-logue? Tannebaum advises: “Keep your stories short. Remember, you are in a meeting to listen -- and not just to yourself.”

5. Do you ignore your true business buddies? Tannebaum advises: “Be careful you don’t overgreet others, when your true business buddy is standing there waiting to be graced by your acknowledgement. Say hello to the friend first -- otherwise, you're a jerk. (Not really, but think of yourself that way, and you'll always do the right thing).”

6. Do you make bad calls about when to take those calls? Tannebaum asks:”Do you really need to be standing in a corner talking on your cell? Ditto on text messaging.”