Speak Up! Effective Communication

OnRamp: A Worthy Cause (Part 1) [E095]

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Watch Full Video Episode [https://youtu.be/2mrUHvhxsno] In this episode, I begin a two-part story about how I have been led to begin working toward a local pilot of OnRamp, a faith-based ministry that gifts reliable vehicles and ongoing support to hard-working people who need transportation to take their next step toward self-sufficiency. The how of this story matters as much as the what. A truancy letter, three bullet points, a network built over 20 years, and a vehicle giveaway in a Dallas at Golden Rule Auto Care all flowed together at the similar moments. The word of the day: Confluence. A flowing together of two or more streams. The point where separate things meet and move as one. I hope you enjoy this story, as the story is really the point of the episode, and your takeaways will have to be from anything you feel about the experiences that I'm sharing. There are so many other parts to this story coming together, I could write a book on it, but I think you’ll enjoy this two part series, and the personal lessons I share as a result of my experiences. Sincerely, Craig O'Neill OnRamp DFW: https://www.onrampdfw.org/ [https://www.onrampdfw.org/] Transportation as a Lifeline: The Hidden Power of Your Shop [THA 442]: https://remarkableresults.biz/remarkable-results-radio-podcast/a442/ [https://remarkableresults.biz/remarkable-results-radio-podcast/a442/] Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/ [https://autoflow.com/] Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/ [https://shopdogmarketing.com/] Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/ [https://callinbound.com/] Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/ [https://serviceadvisortraining.com/] Contact Information * Email Craig O'Neill: speakup@craigoneill.net * Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters [https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters] The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/ [https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/] Remarkable Results Radio Podcast [https://remarkableresults.biz/] with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/ [https://remarkableresults.biz/] Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/ [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] Business by the Numbers [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/ [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/ [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] The Weekly Blitz [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/] with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/ [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/]

Talk It Out: Using AI Voice Dictation to Work Faster and Think Clearer [E094]

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Watch Full Video Episode [https://youtu.be/6_tuJ9m5Ri4] In our episode today, I'm talking about AI voice dictation: what it is, why it feels awkward at first, and why that awkwardness is worth pushing through. I share the revelations that changed my relationship with my own output: the difference between how I type and how I actually think, the real time savings when the numbers are calculated against my actual typing speed, and what happens to my communication when the internal editor gets out of the way. I cover what makes AI dictation genuinely different from the frustrating speech-to-text you've tried before, including custom dictionaries, shortcuts, and a capture pad that finally stops you from losing your best ideas. And I look ahead at where voice interfaces are heading in the automotive service world and why getting comfortable with this now is worth your while. Word of the Day: Visceral. Felt deeply and instinctively, before the intellect has time to process. The discomfort of learning something new is visceral. So is the moment it clicks. Give it a try. I have a link in the show notes for a free trial of the tool I use, Willow Voice. Reach out and let me know how it goes, and if you've already got a dictation habit and a strategy I didn't cover, I want to hear that too. Sincerely, Craig O'Neill Get a free month of Willow Voice with my referral code: https://app.willowvoice.com?ref=95R3LJ [ https://app.willowvoice.com?ref=95R3LJ] Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/ [https://autoflow.com/] Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/ [https://shopdogmarketing.com/] Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/ [https://callinbound.com/] Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/ [https://serviceadvisortraining.com/] Contact Information * Email Craig O'Neill: speakup@craigoneill.net * Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters [https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters] The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/ [https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/] Remarkable Results Radio Podcast [https://remarkableresults.biz/] with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/ [https://remarkableresults.biz/] Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/ [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] Business by the Numbers [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/ [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/ [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] The Weekly Blitz [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/] with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/ [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/]

The Collapse of Felt Obligation [E093]

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Watch Full Video Episode [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxFaqi6uBWw] In our episode today, We explore the concept of felt obligation. The quiet, interior desire to consider others and honor the shared spaces we operate within. From a spring break airport crowd to a school uniform policy, from vintage airline travel to the automotive service drive, the through-line is the same: how we show up communicates something long before we say a word. We discuss what happens when a professional presentation becomes the norm violation, the challenge Carm Capriotto's The Rise places before the automotive service industry, and why felt obligation, unlike a dress code, cannot be mandated. It has to be wanted. Word of the Day: Dapper, we defined it alongside some etymology from Middle Dutch and Low German roots meaning strong, sturdy, bold. Strength of presence. Sincerely, Craig O’Neill Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/ [https://autoflow.com/] Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/ [https://shopdogmarketing.com/] Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/ [https://callinbound.com/] Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/ [https://serviceadvisortraining.com/] Contact Information * Email Craig O'Neill: speakup@craigoneill.net * Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters [https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters] The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/ [https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/] Remarkable Results Radio Podcast [https://remarkableresults.biz/] with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/ [https://remarkableresults.biz/] Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/ [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] Business by the Numbers [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/ [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/ [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] The Weekly Blitz [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/] with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/ [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/]

"I Would Have Written a Shorter Presentation If I Had the Time!" [E092]

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Watch Full Video Episode [https://youtu.be/JbDZ5I7dDl8] In our episode today: We are tackling one of the most underappreciated skills in presenting: the ability to shorten your material without losing your mind in the process. We open with a piece of history worth knowing. The quote "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time" is most often attributed to Mark Twain or Benjamin Franklin, and over a dozen others but its earliest verified origin belongs to the French philosopher Blaise Pascal, who wrote a version of it in 1657. The point is that some of the greatest minds in history have been making the same confession for four centuries. The struggle to be brief is real, it is universal, and you should plan on it. From there we get into four strategies for shortening a presentation: Get clear on your outcome. Your desired outcome is your editorial filter. Everything that does not serve it is a candidate for removal. Leave them hungry and have a plan to sustain them. A free, genuinely valuable resource gives your audience somewhere to go after the session ends. Lead with real value, and the line between education and promotion takes care of itself. Release the good for the essential. You may have heard the phrase "kill your darlings." The reframe here is gentler and more accurate. The content you cut is not bad, it is good. It is simply competing with something more important given your constraints. A simple fill-in-the-blank worksheet gives that content somewhere to live, and it tells your audience you thought about their experience before you walked in the room. Design for dialogue. Do not eliminate engagement to make room for content. Eliminate content to make room for engagement. If a planned moment for dialogue is not built into your presentation, you will rush over it. And with an expert audience, that conversation is often the highest-value content in the room. Word of the Day: Laconic — adjective. Using very few words to express something; brief and to the point. From the Greek Lakonikos, referring to Laconia, home of the Spartans, who were legendary for their direct, economical speech. Sincerely, Craig O'Neill Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/ [https://autoflow.com/] Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/ [https://shopdogmarketing.com/] Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/ [https://callinbound.com/] Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/ [https://serviceadvisortraining.com/] Contact Information * Email Craig O'Neill: speakup@craigoneill.net * Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters [https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters] The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/ [https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/] Remarkable Results Radio Podcast [https://remarkableresults.biz/] with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/ [https://remarkableresults.biz/] Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/ [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] Business by the Numbers [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/ [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/ [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] The Weekly Blitz [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/] with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/ [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/]

Half a Mile and Fifteen Minutes: A Lesson on Being Present with Customers [E091]

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Watch Full Video Episode [https://youtu.be/f-j1dLB89Yw] I share a story that didn't make it into my recent breakout session at a conference with one of our partners. The session was on relational advising in the age of DVI, and by the time I had trimmed a four hour course down to fit a 45 minute window, this particular story simply had to go. It was too long for the time I had, and the point it made deserved more room than I could give it. That's one of the flexibilities I love about having a podcast! It's a simple story about a walk along the Chicago Riverwalk after a wonderful dinner with my family. Half a mile. Fifteen minutes. And more context packed into that short distance than I could have anticipated. The point it leads to is one I believe deeply as it relates to the work of slowing down and connecting with your clients. Word of the Day: Gravitas The quality of having serious, weighty importance or dignity; a sense of substance that commands attention and respect. I hope you'll connect with my point from this short walk in the windy city and consider taking a little time to be present with people that you meet with daily. Sincerely, Craig O'Neill Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/ [https://autoflow.com/] Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/ [https://shopdogmarketing.com/] Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/ [https://callinbound.com/] Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/ [https://serviceadvisortraining.com/] Contact Information * Email Craig O'Neill: speakup@craigoneill.net * Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters [https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters] The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/ [https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/] Remarkable Results Radio Podcast [https://remarkableresults.biz/] with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/ [https://remarkableresults.biz/] Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/ [https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/] Business by the Numbers [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/ [https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/] The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/ [https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/] The Weekly Blitz [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/] with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/ [https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/]