Editorial

Communication, Negotiation, and Persuasive Skills for Entrepreneurs and Start-ups in the 21st Century

Published

2 months ago

March 15, 2024

Daniel Onimisi Ford

Communication, Negotiation, and Persuasive Skills for Entrepreneurs and Start-ups in the 21st Century.

By Promise Emmanuel

For the purpose of clarity, I would love to break down the concepts of Communication, Negotiation, and Persuasion from the outset, before underscoring their various relevances to business people in the 21st century, beginning with one of the greatest gifts God ever availed to man, Communication.

You see, the concept of Communication has been a human identity from time immemorial. Whether you’re a professional or not, being able to communicate effectively is one of the most important life skills to learn. Funny enough, some people mistake effective communication to be the ability to use high sounding vocabulary and phonetical delivery. However, effective communication is more about transferring information to produce greater understanding.

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Succeeding in your business or startup requires good communication skills. You need to know what you want and how you are going to attain it. Being an excellent communicator can help propel your career.

The 4 basic Communication Skills are Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing skills. Whilst Speaking and Writing are productive skills, Listening and Reading are regarded to be receptive skills.

So whether it is done vocally (through verbal exchanges), through written media (books, websites, and magazines), visually (using graphs, charts, and maps) or non-verbally (body language, gestures, etc), good communication skills are the foundation on which you build other Negotiation and persuasive skills since their goals are to influence potential customers to think or act in a certain way.
Communication, Negotiation, and Persuasive Skills for Entrepreneurs and Start-ups in the 21st Century.
For the want of time, permit to jointly talk about Persuasion and Negotiation as they have been used interchangeably by successful brands and business ventures.

Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people with the aim of reaching a consensus. Effective negotiation tactics are important for both parties to know in order for their side to win or to create a win-win situation for both parties. The outcome of the negotiation may benefit one of the parties involved or provide benefits to all parties in the negotiation. As business people, while our our core values are centered on customer satisfaction, we also exist primarily to make profits which make the idea of Negotiation very important.

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We have various Forms of Negotiation

Distributive negotiation

The Distributive negotiation is also referred to as hard-bargaining negotiation. It explains the gains made by one party are at the expense of the other party. It often occurs between parties who have no past relationship. An example of a distributive negotiation is a negotiation for the price of your product without prior contact.

Integrative negotiation

An integrative negotiation is a merit-based negotiation that aims to create a win-win situation between you and your potential customer. Integrative negotiation requires a high degree of trust and the need to achieve mutual gains. One of the means of achieving mutual gains is by trading one favor for another.

Integrated negotiation

Integrated negotiation was first identified and labeled by Peter Johnson, an international negotiator and author of the book, “Negotiating with Giants”. It maximizes value in a negotiation by linking it to other negotiations and decisions related to both parties.

Bad faith in Negotiations occurs where parties pretend to negotiate but ultimately have no intention of compromising on their demands. Bad faith negotiations often happen in politics where a political party pretends to negotiate but has no intention to compromise or reach an agreement.

Common Negotiation and Persuasive Tactics

Make the first offer

Many people are reluctant to go first in a negotiation, for fear that their bid may be too low or too high. However, making the first offer may actually give you the upper hand since you quote a price that is close to your target price. The first number sets the stage around which the subsequent negotiations revolve.

Predict and prepare a strong response

Know your target price and walk-away price
The target price is the price you are hoping for. The walk-away price is a price that is utterly unacceptable. It pays to have both a target price and walk-away price in mind prior to starting negotiations.

In contrast, If you go into a negotiation without clear notions of what you want, and let the other party start the bidding, you are immediately in a disadvantaged position.

Create the illusion of control

Creating an illusion of control can give you an advantage in negotiations. This is done by being in control of the Negotiation process and dictating it’s tune without being rude or ambitious.

For Persuasion on the other hand

Persuasion skills are an important tool for employees in every industry. The ability to influence others, present effective arguments and prompt others to act is a valuable asset that can be beneficial in a range of workplaces.

Know your goals before you start speaking

Always make sure that you’ve thought about the goal of what you want to say as well as how you plan on getting there. That way, you’ll speak clearer and with more confidence in what you’re saying. Not only that, but since you know what you want to say and the main point you want to make, you can focus on reading your potential customer and preparing for any of their questions or responses.

Understand your audience and their needs

Addressing the wants and needs of your customer as regards your product or service comes first and foremost when trying to achieve effective persuasive communication.

Work on cultivating relationships

The first step in persuading more effectively is improving your people skills. Focus on building trust and rapport with your coworkers, clients and friends. Even if you never have to use your persuasive skills on these particular people, strengthening your relationships with them will help you practice your interpersonal and emotional intelligence skills. You can also seek out opportunities to build new professional relationships and widen your network.

Build your confidence

If you are trying to persuade someone else to change their beliefs or commit to a task, you will need to show utter confidence in your own arguments. If you struggle to make eye contact or express yourself clearly, your listener will find it difficult to trust your argument. Practice your persuasive speeches in advance and eliminate nonverbal signals that make you seem nervous.

Employ Emotional intelligence

Another important persuasive skill involves noticing and interpreting your listener’s emotions. Emotional intelligence is a learned skill that allows you to understand what others are feeling and respond appropriately. Study their moods to know when they are happy or sad as this will give you perspectives on the Persuasion process.

Daniel Goleman, author of the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence explains that effective communication includes reading the “emotional currents” among your audience and fine-tuning your message accordingly.

When I launched my idea to introduce Krcabs and Integrated Services, it was, amongst other things, about an age-long goal of fixing a societal problem affecting effective movement of people and properties in the City of Lokoja and it environs.

I sought to to gather a team of experts with practical knowledge of Communication, Negotiation and Persuasive Skills, people who understand the demands of the 21st century business environment and people skills that involve interaction, collaboration, and managing others.

There are skills that enable people to be flexible and adaptable in different roles or in different fields, those that involve processing information and managing people more than manipulating equipment. The skills have been grouped into three main areas:

Learning and innovation skills: critical thinking and problem solving, communications and collaboration, creativity and innovation

Digital literacy skills: information literacy, media literacy, Information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy. Using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc, wisely.

Career and life skills: flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural interaction, productivity and accountability

The 21st Century skills are

Critical thinking

Creativity

Collaboration

Communication

Information literacy

Media literacy

Technology literacy

Flexibility

Leadership

Initiative

Productivity

Social skills

These skills are intended to help start-ups and entrepreneurs keep up with the lightning-pace of today’s modern markets.

In summary, the 21st century offers wide range of opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs, but with these opportunities comes threats that require discipline, Commitment and dedication to make your mark and record mouthwatering profits.

As American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn would say: “Effective Communication is about 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.”

Editorial

Ebira Native Medicine – 5 Ebira Herbs For Fertility

Published

2 months ago

March 18, 2024

Daniel Onimisi Ford

How Ebira Herbs Help to Increase Fertility?</strong

Ebira Herbs For Fertility act as supplements to a healthy diet to help boost your body’s regular functioning. Some Ebira herbs help detoxify the body, others work to modulate the immune system (which could falsely identify a foetus as an external threat and prevent pregnancy), and more others help to stimulate the endocrine system which regulates hormone production (fertility is largely dependent on sex hormones).

Top Ebira Fertility Herbs to Get Pregnant

Here are some special Ebira herbs that have been studied and used to aid in conception and bringing a pregnancy to term healthily.

Ebira Herbs For Fertility, Make these changes to your diet to boost your fertility.

Inorder To add flavour to your diet, add these spices and Ebira herbs to satisfy your cravings and enhance your fertility level.

Table of Contents

List of Ebira Herbs For Fertility

Cinnamon

WHAT CAN CINNAMON DO?
Cinnamon can help with proper ovarian functioning and effective in fighting infertility. It also helps in the treatment of PCOS, one of the main causes of infertility.

How to Use Cinnamon:
Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder to a cup of hot water.
Drink it once daily for some months.

Try and Include cinnamon in your diet by sprinkling cinnamon powder on your cereal, oatmeal, and yogurt.

Garlic

WHAT CAN GARLIC DO?
The pungent smell of garlic should prevent you from being a parent. You can simply add garlic into all your diet for some weeks and wait for the good news. Try chew 2 or more garlic cloves followed by a glass of milk every morning.

Nutmeg and Sugar

WHAT CAN NUTMEG AND SUGAR DO?
Nutmeg and Sugar is another well known and tested a home remedy for treating female infertility in Ebira land. It is one of the best home remedies for female sterility.

How to Use Nutmeg and Sugar:

Try and Take 3gm nutmeg powder and 3gm sugar.

Mix both powders well and store in an airtight container
Mix with one cup of cow’s milk and drink every day during your menstruation cycles.

Well Start drinking from the first day and continue till your period ends.

Chilli powder

WHAT CAN CHILL POWDER DO?
Chili powder contains sufficient amount of vitamin A which fulfils one’s daily intake.
And it contributes to the maintenance of eyesight and takes care of bones, teeth, skin, internal membranes and reproductive systems.

Try and Add some spice to your soups and stews this festive season and boost your chances of conceiving.

Turmeric Powder

WHAT CAN TURMERIC POWDER DO?

Turmeric is also a powerful antioxidant that has the ability to help the body fight free radicals, which hinders tissue degeneration and inhibits pro-inflammatory molecules.

Some Research shows that turmeric has medicinal benefits for treating inflammatory conditions of the joints, muscles and nerves, autoimmune inflammation, autoimmune fertility health conditions and may be helpful for those dealing with fertility health conditions like uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts and premenstrual pain.

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Editorial

You made a mark – Tinubu hails Yahaya Bello

Published

2 months ago

March 18, 2024

Daniel Onimisi Ford

…says his faith is solid, commendable

Former Governor of Lagos state and flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress at the forthcoming 2023 presidential election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hailed a co-competitor and governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello for making a mark at the just concluded primaries.

He made this known on Friday when the party’s flag bearer visited Governor Bello at the GYB’s presidential campaign office in Abuja in the company of other state governors and other dignitaries.

Asiwaju Tinubu noted that the Governor, alongside the campaign team, were resolved and resolute adding that the Bello was able to mobilise the consciousness of the youth and the women in the country to his support.

He added that the faith with which the governor ventured into the competition was highly commendable.

“Great things were done during the convention, many of us lined up knowing that only one person, assisted by a Vice President would eventually emerge as the party’s flag bearer”, he stated

Governor Bello who read His letter of Felicitation and congratulations to Asiwaju before the presentation stated that all activities leading to the selection of the party presidential flag bearer have ended on the day of the primary. While donating the Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation Secretariat to Asiwaju, Bello said he will lead the youths, women and people living with special needs to ensure Asiwaju’s victory at the polls.

ONOGWU Muhammed
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor
10/6/2022

Education

How to register for your PVC online in 5 simple steps

Published

2 months ago

March 18, 2024

Daniel Onimisi Ford

Nigeria’s general elections begin on February 25, 2023. Since the 2019 elections, about 20 million Nigerians have turned 18 and are now eligible to vote. While every Nigerian citizen has the right to vote, logistical obstacles can prevent them from exercising it. One of the most important steps in the voting process can be taken right now, though, and that’s obtaining a Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

Voters must present a PVC issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Election Day in order to participate in the voting process. In previous elections, PVC registration was an arduous process that required people to queue for days. Now, any Nigerian citizen with access to the internet can register a PVC by themselves online as INEC has launched an online portal for this purpose. Other than registering for a new PVC, voters can also use the site to transfer their cards to a different state or request a card to be reissued.

The online PVC registration, which started in June 2021, has a deadline of June 30, 2022. As of May 12, 2022; more than 16 million people have registered. However, INEC chairman Mahmud Yakubu revealed in April that around 45% of these registrations were declared invalid due to incomplete data and wrong or multiple registrations. In some regions, the chairman added, that percentage was as high as 60%.

To ensure a validated registration, follow the 5 simple steps below to register for your PVC online.

PVC registration online

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Step 1: Visit the INEC website

The first step on how to register your PVC online is to go to the INEC registration portal and select “Get Started”. You will be taken to a new page with a list of services. Click on “New Voter Pre-registration”. Note: This option is only for people who have never registered their PVC before. There are other options on the site if your card is lost, or if you want to buy update your information for a new card.

Before we proceed further, know that you can only register once. Wait for confirmation after submitting your application, and do not make any attempt to register again after that-otherwise, you risk invalidating your registration, because signing up multiple times is considered a crime.

Step 2: Create a portal account or login

Before proceeding to the registration form, you will be required to sign in to your portal account or create one. Fill in your name, email address, phone number, and create a password, then click “Submit”. It is important to only use an email address you have access to, as you will receive an email instantly to verify your account. If you can’t find the email, it might have gone to your spam folder.

In your email app, you should find mail from INEC CVR Portal. Open it and click on the link contained in it to return to the sign-in page you encountered earlier. This time, click on “Log In” and enter your email and the password you just created. After that, you will be directed to a Declaration page that wants to confirm that all information you will provide is accurate. Ensure to click on “Yes” before proceeding.

Step 3: Register

After the Declaration page, you will be taken to the main registration form. The information required for the form is as follows:

Biodata: name, date of birth, gender, occupation, address, NIN, and nationality.

Additional information: level of education, disability, maiden name.

Residence: country of residence, state of residence, LGA or city of residence.

Birth information: country of birth, state of birth, LGA or city of birth.

Origin information: country of origin, state of origin, LGA or city of residence, place of origin (town or village)

Polling unit: This is information about the state, local government and area you want to vote in.

At the bottom of the page, you will find space for supporting documents like your national identity card or passport. Although this step is not mandatory, it facilitates the verification process by making it easy to confirm your identity. It also enables INEC to link your profile on their database to other databases.

After you have this, click “Save and Continue”, and you’ll be led to a fresh page with confirmation that your application has successfully been updated. If you do not get this confirmation, click on the three black lines in the top right corner of your screen to view your application status.

Step 4: Upload Photographs

Next, you will be required to upload two clear close-up photographs of your face: one with a neutral expression, and the other with you smiling. To upload your photos, click “Choose File” and you will be taken to your camera. As soon as you take each selfie, click “Use Photo”, and it will be automatically resized and uploaded. Make sure the photos are clear and well-lit. You’re now ready for the next step.

Step 5: Schedule an appointment

Now that you know how to register for your PVC online, the final step is how to schedule a convenient appointment date to get your biometric data collected. Biometrics are unique physical characteristics you have like height and fingerprints. On this page, you will get a form with a list of options showing the closest places where you can get your biometrics done. These options are obtained from the address you entered when filling out your biodata. There are 811 centres dedicated to biometrics capturing nationwide, with even more being created. You can find a list of every center listed by state here.

There is also a list of available times for your biometrics on the portal. Select the one most convenient for you. Biometrics take about 30 minutes to be completed and the officials are punctual. In the event that you miss the date or time for your appointment, you can always reschedule through the INEC portal. Once you’ve selected a date and time, you can then submit your application.

Now you’re on your way to becoming an eligible voter. After your biometrics appointment, you will receive a temporary voters’ card (TVC)-proof that you completed the voting process. Keep it in a safe place. When the PVC is ready, you will be contacted by INEC to pick it up at the same center you had your biometrics done. This can take anywhere between 1 to 3 months.

Note: You must present your TVC in order to receive the PVC. If your TVC is missing, you can reprint it from the online portal. All you need to do is enter your log in details in order to access your form.