In an age of information overload where we are constantly having to compete for attention, the ability to tell stories that have an emotional and intellectual impact is a critical skill.
Think about the last meeting or presentation you attended or Ted talk you watched, what did you remember, what did you repeat?
The story! Especially if the story related to you or triggered you to reflect on your own similar experience.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get. If you ask, you may not always get what you want, but if you don’t ask, you won’t get”
You’ve probably heard it said that you won’t get what you truly desire if you’re not prepared to ask for it. But for many of us, knowing how to ask for what we want in a way that makes a positive impression – and ultimately gets us the response we’re hoping for – can be challenging.
How to OWN it to Persuade and Influence? We’re often told not to judge a book by its cover. But the truth is, that’s precisely what most of us do a lot of the time. We make judgments about the people we encounter very quickly. Therefore, it’s important to make a strong first impression. And to do that, you need to learn to own your physical space.
Own Your Style
While we may wish we could go to the office in yoga pants,
“I hate going to holiday parties,” my friend Miri complained.
“What don’t you like?” I asked.
“I’m not great at mingling, and I don’t like making small talk.”
“Anything else?”
“I get tired of telling people my life history and what I do for a living,” Miri replied.
Do you ever feel like this?
Do you ever feel so tired that you literally can’t move?
Do you ever wonder if you are experiencing a level of “burnout?”
Do you ever wish the weekend was just one more day and you still had just one more hour of sleep before you had to wake up?
A couple of months ago, I was so overwhelmed with fatigue that I decided to consult a physician.
Isn’t it fascinating that while so much goes right, our minds will still focus on the one thing that doesn’t? If you are anything like me, you chastise yourself endlessly when things don’t go perfectly.
That’s what happened to me recently, when a guest I had booked left the CNN set just just before his second interview. It turned out his phone was off, and he hadn’t seen my texts giving him his updated schedule.
When giving a presentation, one of the most important factors of success is the ability to make your audience feel like you’re genuinely connecting with them and interested in their needs. If they don’t feel like the information you’re giving them has been personalized – if it feels like a memorized speech – you’re likely to lose their interest. Instead, try to make them feel like you genuinely want your presentation to connect with them.
I recently spoke to a group of entrepreneurs on how to get people to like you, trust you, and generate new business.
Everyone had to share the experience(s) that had most impacted their lives. The directive, however, was that while stories were being shared, the listeners were not allowed to relate the story back to themselves; they had to simply listen, and then ask qualifying questions such as, “In what way?” “Tell me more?”
