How to Run a Successful Lunch Meeting

Posted by Editor on Mar 28th, 2016 in Favourite Lifestyle | 0 comments

Some of the most successful meetings in our office took place over a tasty meal at our favourite restaurant in Singapore, but dining while closing a deal comes with its own challenges. What’s the easiest food to eat as while you talk? When should you start talking shop? Even with only these concerns, preparing for a lunch meeting is stressful enough. But worry no more, we’ve got you set for success with these six tips for achieving a productive lunch meeting.

1. Look for a Perfect Location and Arrive Early

Nothing says you have everything under control like settling in your table with a drink in hand while waiting for your guest. As much as possible, arrive 15 minutes earlier to your chosen location to ensure that you’ll start your meeting on time, and to reserve a table in an area with minimal noise.

Although it’s more appropriate to meet your guest at the front of the restaurant in some circumstances, you’ll likely feel more ready to get down on business if you’re already settled on your table. Just ensure to pick a seat facing the door to keep an eye out for your guests and to make a quick note of where the restrooms are in case you need to take a brief and graceful exit.

2. Plan Your Discussions Based on Courses

Ideally, you already know what you want from this lunch meeting. Are you thinking of venturing into a new business opportunity? Are you checking up on the status of a project? Pick one or two things you want to be discussed during your meeting, and focus on perfectly executing it. Keep in mind that a restaurant lunch isn’t the place to review a list of your concerns, so focus on a few goals.

A great trick to do this is to think of your lunch meeting content happening in ‘courses’, the same way you’ll have a lunch, drink and get the tab. More concrete discussions can take place over the meal and wrapping it with some casual chit-chat is great way to end the meeting as you wait for the check.

3. Order Fork-Only Meals

Choose easy to eat foods for your meeting, and if possible, only order foods that are eaten with fork. Salads are always a good choice, as well as any combo of appetizers that come in tiny bites. You’d also want to let your guest order first, and just follow it with another order if he or she opts for two courses.

4. Jot Down Important Points

One of the trickiest parts of having a lunch meeting is handling papers or taking down notes as you eat. So do yourself a favour, and prepare a pen and notebook in a small pocket of your bag – you wouldn’t want to fish around for these items when your discussion gets interesting while you eat. You’ll also want to carry a notebook that’s a few inches tall to have enough room for your notes. If you’re bringing documents, however, then do opt for a pad folio with a zipper to keep everything organized.

5. End the Meeting With Authority

The end of a lunch meeting can be awkward if you don’t know how to properly wrap things up. If you have some concerns that needs to be cleared, discuss them while the plates are being cleared and before the check arrives. If you organized the meeting, then do the honour of paying for your meals. Close the meeting by inquiring about when you’ll next see the person, and feel free to let them depart first as you take care of the bill. You can also use this free time to jot down a few notes that you failed to write down during the meeting.

6. Follow-Up After Your Meeting

Not being in the office setting is a great way to further develop your business relationships, as well as your professional tool kit. To keep the momentum of lunch meeting going, send an email or a text message the same day to thank your guest for their time. Remember, a great follow-up is as important as the meeting itself since it gives you another opportunity to demonstrate your organization skills and professionalism.

Planning out a lunch meeting can be quite tricky, but using the aforementioned tips on your following lunch meetings will definitely ensure that you’ll achieve a positive outcome from the meeting you organized.

Understanding Anaemia

Posted by Editor on Jan 28th, 2014 in Favourite Lifestyle | 0 comments

Anaemia is one of the most common blood conditions around the world. It is a condition when your blood does not have enough haemoglobin. For your information, haemoglobin is part of the red blood cells; its primary work is to fasten the oxygen. If you have low haemoglobin, your cells will not receive enough oxygen. This is not good because the organs will not function correctly.

There are four hundred types of anaemia. There are others who have IDA (Iron Deficiency Anaemia). This is the common type and it is treatable by simply changing the diet and increasing Iron supplements. However, you should know that there are types of anaemia that can be a lifelong problem. If you want to know more, you should read this:

Causes

It was mentioned earlier that there are four hundred types of anaemia. The types of anaemia are separated into 3 groups – anaemia caused by blood loss, faulty RBC (Red Blood Cell) production and obliteration of RBC.

Symptoms

Some patients with anaemia have no apparent symptoms but there are others who may feel tiredness, shortness of breath, appearing pale always, exhaustion, palpitating heart, hair loss and Malaise (this refers to the feeling of being unwell all the time).

Diagnosis

Your physician will require you to comply a CBC (Complete Blood Count) test. Today, there is a machine that can automatically count the blood. Actually, there are six components that make up the CBC – RBC count, Hematocrit, Haemoglobin, WBC (White Blood Count), Diff Count and the Platelet Count. But only the first three will be used to diagnose anaemia.

Treatment

Anaemia can be treated depending on the type you have. For example, IDA can be treated by iron supplements and eating iron rich foods. If you have severe anaemia, you will be treated by blood transfusions. For people who are enduring pernicious anaemia, Vitamin B12 injections are required.   

You should go to the doctor if you suspect anaemia. Do not delay it.

Preparing for the Run

Posted by Editor on Nov 26th, 2013 in Favourite Lifestyle | 0 comments

If you are interested to join a marathon, or even just a fun run, you should know that there are particular things you should do in order to come prepared to the race. Among other things, you need to learn to handle shortness of breath, pacing and cramps – because only then will you surely make it to the finish line. Here are some things that you need to prepare:

1. Prepare weeks before the race. If you can make a schedule of your training, you should do it and make sure that you stick to it. Creating a schedule will help you manage your time, your body and your pace. Your schedule should not just include training time, but resting time as well as this is also crucial to conditioning your body.

2. Eat the right food. You need all the nourishment that you can get in order to have enough energy for the run. It is therefore crucial that you eat the right food and make sure that it is nourishing enough.

3. Run on a gradual but increasing pace. You should prepare at least seven weeks before your scheduled run. This is called training. You need to run on a gradual but increasing pace every day until such time that you can take 5km or 10km.

These are simple things but if you do not consider it, it might cost your life. Preparedness is very crucial especially if you are talking about 5km or 10km run. If you are a beginner, it will be helpful if you take it slow so you will not strain or stress your muscles.

Safety Measures Against H7N9

Posted by Editor on Jul 22nd, 2013 in Favourite Lifestyle | 0 comments

The influenza A virus H7N9 that recently surfaced in China and left 61 people hospitalized is a major cause of concern among doctors and health care providers in Singapore due to its potential harm. While medical experts say the virus’ incubation period has passed, we should not let our guards down.

Emergence

The first case of H7N9 was recorded on March 31 this year. It is avian influenza and thus circulates in avian or bird population, particularly poultry. There has been no cases recorded in Singapore, but our doctors remain on alert and have been so since the first case of a coronavirus in the country, which affected the vascular surgeon Alexander Chao.

Avian Influenza

Also known as “avian flu” or “bird flu”, an avian influenza is a type of flu that originates from a virus that was first adapted to birds. Certain avian flus, such as H7N9 and H1N1, have crossed over into affecting humans. These flus are particularly dangerous humans have had very little time to develop an immunity to them.

Preparations

Medical experts in Singapore coordinate with a global network of scientists and researchers who are constantly monitoring all cases of influenza and looking for treatments to them. But apart from avian influenza, doctors also warn people against more common, but similarly dangerous viruses like the dengue fever, of which there has already been close to 500 cases in the country this year.

Good News

Given that there have been new recent cases of H7N9 for the past 30 days, experts say that the virus has already receded while retaining preventive and control measures. Dr Jiang Qungwu of Fudan University, an expert in infectious diseases, says that the best measure against any types of flu is simply maintaining good personal hygiene.

2013 – A Great Year for Wine

Posted by Editor on Jul 19th, 2013 in Favourite Lifestyle | 0 comments

Sommeliers and wine connoisseurs in Singapore can expect great things to come as more vintage bottles continue to arrive to shops and restaurants. The great wines are courtesy of the harvest and production in 2011 which has been resoundingly declared as vintage by major port houses.

Celebrating 2011

While winemakers did not initially expect 2011 a great year, considering that it was a difficult growing season, its harvest became one of the best in years. Experts in the wine-making business attribute this to excellent rains at the start of the season that continued to nourish vineyards despite tough conditions during the middle of the year. This resulted in the excellent crop of wines it produced, which are slated to be released throughout this year.

Declaration of Vintage

For the past 20 years, there has only been six years that were congruously declared as vintage by the wine-making industry: 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2011. How the wines will fare is actually not known – though some winemakers already had optimistic predictions by the end 2011’s harvest – until it is tested after two years. This process started at the beginning of this year and will continue until next month. Even so, large port houses have declared better-than-expected results and promised to deliver excellent vintage wines.

Symington, Fladgate, Sogrape

Habitués of the Symington line should keep a lookout for the port’s top makes: Graham, Dow, Cockburn and Warre. For fans of Fladgate can keep a lookout for the Fonseca and Croft brands, as well as 310 cases of the Estate’s flagship line, the Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha. Meanwhile, Sogrape has already started the release of their top brands Ferreira, Offley and Sandeman. Wine sellers can expect the prices for all houses to be similar to those in 2009.