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Persuasion

Can You Learn to Spell Like a Champion?

February 14, 2011

blackboard-abc Some people are naturally good spellers, while others struggle with words.

The people who go on to win championships are often naturally gifted with spelling and go on to develop and use effective strategies to take them to the next level… and they also practice a lot.

We can learn from those strategies, to make easy enhancements in our own spelling skills, and bump them up a notch or two.

Here’s the lowdown on the differences between good and weak spellers and 11 techniques to elevate your own skills.

Good speller strategies

Most good spellers confirm the spelling of their words, using a form of synaesthesia. In a nutshell, that means they’re incorporating more than one sense into the confirmation of word spellings.

carved-letters The good speller might construct some sort of mental image of how the word is constructed. Then, they will use their auditory senses to judge whether the word can be sounded out, using their choice of spelling. Lastly, they will often ask themselves whether the word feels right.

Winners of Spelling Bees put strategies into place and then spend countless hours tweaking and refining the process until they’re comfortable with a huge selection of the English language.

When doing daily activities, finding ways to use multiple senses can give you a boost to your recognition and retention skills in whatever you do.

Weak speller strategies

Poor spellers tend to use strategies that aren’t as effective. A common technique used by poor spellers is to try sounding out the word, which unfortunately, doesn’t work with many English words.

Early and repeated failure in spelling may cause the poor spellers to stop trying, and they start telling themselves that they’re just not good at spelling. Without guidance by a patient teacher or parent, this may cause them to fall even further behind.

11 Simple Spelling tips

Here’s a list of simple tips you can incorporate into your daily routine to start building your word power:

  1. Pay attention – It’s when you start paying attention to anything that you start seeing the details more clearly.
  2. Get familiar with root words – If you understand the root of the word, you’ll be able to understand it’s meaning in almost any context.
  3. Read detailed material more frequently to see new words – Facebook updates don’t count, but journals and high-level periodicals work nicely here.
  4. Write – The best way to make you think about how words are spelled. Turn off spell checker at first, and then use it when you’re done. Which words are you spelling incorrectly? typewriter
  5. Search out and use uncommon words – By incorporating words that are on the fringe of your vocabulary, it makes you more aware of the language around you. When you hear an uncommon word, look it up and read the definition. It’ll only take you 30 seconds to do.
  6. Wordsmith.org – Get a new word emailed to you daily with the definition explained.
  7. Review common rules of spelling – You might find it more interesting than you think… or maybe not.
  8. Look up a list of the 100 most misspelled words – There are a million of them out there, but most list are similar. Look for patterns.
  9. Artwiculate Twitter game – Challenges you to creatively use an uncommon word each day.
  10. Synaesthesia – Look for ways to use multiple senses to interact with the words around you.
  11. Look up and to the left – When you think of the spelling of a word, look up and to the left. It may help trigger a visual memory of when you saw the word in print.

Filed Under: Persuasion

Use Your Sense of Smell to Get an “Olfactory Advantage” in Communication

December 6, 2010

morning-coffee Do you instantly wake up when you smell coffee brewing in the morning? Is there a certain food your mother used to make that takes you back to when you were eight and sitting in her kitchen?

All of the five senses are important, but the sense of smell gives us a tremendously powerful link to past events and the emotions associated with them. You probably think of how smell plays a role in your own life, but have never given it a second thought when it comes to communicating with other people.

The secret is using smell words to deliver Olfactory Cues

Here’s an amazing communication device. If you don’t believe me, check it out and see for yourself.

When you speak to someone, try to add in smell descriptions. I call them Olfactory Cues, because that’s exactly what they do. You’re using the olfactory sense (smell) to help build a deeper connection with the person you’re speaking to.

Your goal is to find a way to slip a smell description into the conversation.

If you’re talking about skiing, you might bring up the smell of hot chocolate or the smell of the mountain pine trees. A sample phrase (if you’re talking about skiing) might be, “One of the best parts of the day, is when you pull up to the chalet and smell all the food.”

Look for olfactory cues in someone’s office

I’m a big fan of scoping out the office of a prospective client (check out my post on acing the first minute of a sales call). You can learn tremendous amounts of information about a client based on the books they read, the cleanliness of their desk, and photos hanging on the wall.

Look for a few of their hobbies or passions, and then think of smells typically associated with them. For instance, if someone has a picture of their boat, an easy olfactory cue would be something like, “Once you’re set up with Product X, you’ll be back out in the salty ocean breeze reading a book in no time.”

You don’t need to be fancy with your words. You can say ‘coffee’ and the person will remember the smell of their favourite coffee. If you try to reference something more obscure, like a no fat, extra hot, vanilla soy latte, the client will deservedly be suspicious.

Start using descriptive olfactory words

Something else to try is using different words to describe the smells around you so you don’t become repetitive. If you do change things up, remember to avoid obscure or unusual phrases, as it’ll draw attention to yourself.

I recommend going to a resource like Thesaurus.com and searching for smell related words. Look at a lot of words and then choose five to seven that you’d like to add to your general vocabulary. The key is to pick words that you can say, without sounding out of place.

Here are some sense of smell word suggestions:
  • sniff
  • waft
  • fragrance
  • scent
  • trace
  • odour

Filed Under: Persuasion

8 Somewhat Unscrupulous, but Somehow Inspiring Sales Videos

September 20, 2010

no-solicitors When I was in a slump in my job at the brokerage, my manager asked me to take home copies of the movies Boiler Room and Glengarry Glen Ross. It was mostly as a joke, but he did want to get across the fact that sales, whether good or bad, is largely a factor of the confidence you project.

Here are some videos highlighting the ‘good’ and bad of shady sales. Enjoy!

1. Boiler Room – First Sale
Every salesperson knows that rush when you make a big sale. I love this scene starring Vin Diesel. P.S. It’s not the techniques, but rather the confidence Vin shows that makes this video inspiring.  🙂

2. Glengarry Glen Ross – ABC
ABC – Always Be Closing! Great scene about an unscrupulous sales manager trying to motivate the team.  After watching it, you’ll walk around for a week saying ABC to everything. (WARNING: Filthy Language Throughout)

3. Boiler Room – Group Interview
One of the big scenes in the movie, featuring Ben Afflick. The manager asks the new recruits how badly the want the job. (WARNING: F-Bombs throughout)

4. Wall Street – Greed is Good
I know that somebody will be upset if I don’t include this clip, so here it is.

5. How to Negotiate with A Car Salesman
Good tips to consider when purchasing your next car. It tells you what to do to feel confident walking in to a dealership.

6. How to Sell A Car
It’s a preview from the movie Suckers. I haven’t seen the movie, but the clips are funny. The video flashes the names of the stars etc during the clip as it’s a promo, so just ignore that.

7. Infomercial Ladder Salesman
An instant classic. The TV salesman tries climbing on a collapsible ladder. Ladder: 1 – Man: 0

8. Boiler Room – Telemarketer
Here’s a scene from the movie Boiler Room on the fine art of telemarketing. (WARNING: 1 language slip)

Filed Under: Persuasion

Are You Losing Sales by Giving Too Much Info?

July 20, 2010

When you're speaking to clients, it's difficult to determine exactly how much information to give them on your product.

If you ask the average person how much information to give a client, they’ll probably say, “Don't give them too little but don't give them too much.” That’s useless advice.

How much information you give clients is an important factor in the overall sales process. Unfortunately the quantity of information given isn’t something considered by many salespeople.

A good rule of thumb to use for giving information to clients is that the more experienced a buyer is, the more information you can throw at them.

Knowledgeable Buyer

When dealing with a knowledgeable buyer, you can feel free to talk about more of the features of the object.

Feature: A fact about the product or service you are offering.

Most people will say, “Don't ever talk about features. You should only discuss the benefits.” I agree that in most cases, using benefits are more productive, but not always. If someone already knows the benefits a product can offer them and their company, there’s no use going over them again.

Benefit: The end result of what you get from the product. Usually refers to being wealthier, having more time, being better looking, or more successful.

An experienced buyer will compare the information you give them to their existing mental knowledge base. This means you need to show a little more expertise when describing the product and its specifications. Generally, the more experienced a buyer is, the less they want to hear benefit language like, “This will give more time to spend with your family.” It would be much more productive to list any new or improved features instead.

I know telling you to talk about features instead of benefits goes against common “Sales Wisdom”, but try it and see how it works for you.

New Buyer

On the other hand if someone is newer to the buying process or unskilled in whatever you're selling, there is the opportunity to take talk with them about the benefits. Here’s where you follow all the sales books and give them a benefit laden presentation.

The key is knowing when to cut off the information flow. Don’t fall into the trap of giving to much information or you may talk yourself out of a sale.

Giving too much extra information to an uninformed buyer makes it harder for them to come to a decision. They will probably start to consider too many possibilities.

Summary

By keeping the amount of information in line with the buyers expertise, you should find your close rate increasing. Also, don’t be scared to use features in your presentation if your client also knows what you’re talking about.

Filed Under: Persuasion

Albert Pike’s Advice on Becoming Immortal

May 5, 2010

I liked this quote so much, I just wanted to pass it along:

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us;
what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.
Albert Pike

Have a great day!

Filed Under: Persuasion

4 Steps To Effective Feedback

May 4, 2010

glossyball I read an article a few months ago where the author said that using the sandwich technique to provide feedback was ineffective. He made some valid points, but I think there is still a place in your leadership toolbox for the sandwich approach when evaluating performance.

For those who don't know, the sandwich approach is where you tell the person you’re evaluating something they’re doing well as the first point in your conversation. The second step is to tell them what you would like to have corrected. The last step provides one more piece of positive feedback, which lets them walk away on a good note.

I definitely agree that it's not good to whitewash problems, so please don’t get the wrong idea. What I don’t like is the idea of someone in a position of authority to call a subordinate into their office to berate them, make them feel like less of a person, and then kick them out of the door. The downside I've encountered when trying this approach like this is that you can easily shatter someone's confidence with an all-negative approach.  I don't think a simple "softening statement" is enough to smooth things out for the majority of the population.   

Kevin’s Framework for Effective Evaluations:

1. Positive feedback

2. Softening statement

3. Area to improve

4. Set a positive goal for moving forward

 

1. Positive Feedback

feedbackformIt's important to start with a positive feedback statement. Sometimes it's tough for an employee to come into the manager's office. They might already be thinking that it’ll be a bad conversation. A small dose of positive feedback is a great way to start off the conversation and get their attention.

2. Softening Statement

A softening statement is a link between the positive feedback and the constructive advice you’re about to share. It's really simple, but leaving it out will reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of your feedback. If you don’t add a softening statement, your listener will likely hear one of two things:

1. “You’re doing a great job, but you’re a terrible person.”

or

2. “You’re doing a great job, la la la la la, great job, la la la la, great job.

Either they will focus on the negative or completely miss the area you want them to improve. The softening statement helps give a clear distinction between the positive and constructive comments.

An example of this offering statement would be something like, “Mike I also wanted to talk to you today about something else. It might be tough to hear, but I know it’ll improve your job performance.”

3. Area to Improve

The third step in giving effective and efficient feedback is to describe the desired area improvement as specifically as possible. By being specific, the listener will be able to first understand that there is an issue and that the changes must happen. Being specific also helps them understand the expectations you have as their manager.

There's a lot of differences in opinion as to whether you should just come out and tell them bluntly, or whether you should be super nice and “encourage” them to change. As you will no doubt know from reading my posts, I think that you need to find a spot somewhere in the middle. It should be a  Goldilocks approach. Not too hard and not too soft. You should make it just right. I understand that finding the right spot for that particular person can be very challenging, but that’s one of the roles of a leader.

If you’re too harsh on someone, they may just crumble. Most people can’t take strong criticism. They believe they do good work, and hearing negative news about their performance doesn’t mesh with their vision of reality.

The absolute opposite of harsh feedback is whitewashing what you want changed. Telling someone how much you appreciate them and that you only want to bring up a teeny little issue isn’t the solution either. If you phrase it like this, they might think that they’re perfect, and not realize they're being asked to change .

Since everyone is different, it’s difficult to say how much they want the unvarnished truth, but I would say to err on the side of caution and be a little softer if you’re unsure. Don't be mean, but make sure you’re fair to them and their career.

4. Set a Positive Goal For Moving Forward

optometry The final step is to set a positive goal for moving forward. A quality of great leaders is the ability to skilfully re-direct the actions of a team member . By having you specify a new method or technique going forward, you will make your life easier and help your employee to feel a little bit more fulfilled. It won’t change their life, but if they are able to make enough small corrections over a long enough period of time, you will have helped them build a strong foundation of skills related to their work. It's doing things in small, manageable steps that makes all the difference in the world.

Filed Under: Persuasion

6 Problem Solving and Leadership Tips

May 3, 2010

I’ve compiled some great Problem Solving and Leadership Tips. Hopefully you find one you like and can implement it this week. Here’s the list:

Rodin_thinker_silhouette 1. If you have a new idea that you want to try. Ask for feedback from a few other people at your current job level first. A subordinate may feel like they have to laugh at your joke or get behind your idea, even if it's a bad idea. It's better to ask people who aren't afraid to give you the truth.

2. Consider giving your employees a Junk Drawer Day. Give them a day off from regular work, away from the hustle and bustle to get some of their long standing issues dealt with. This isn't a day for cleaning. It's a day dedicated to those problematic or thorny issues that sometimes get put on the backburner when people are busy.

3. Which things in your business are the most important? Do your employees know? They should. How else will they be able to meet your expectations. Don't make everything important because that just means that nothing is important.

4. Simple problem-solving method. Write out a problem on the top of the page. Then give the first twenty answers that come to mind.  It's about volume here. Put down more than 20 if you can. Don't judge your ideas, just write them out.  If you have the same idea twice, write it down again. The goal is to clear your head of all possible solutions. Once your mind is clear, you will either have an idea on paper or probably think of something later in the day.

5. Don't say problem, say opportunity. How you phrase information says a lot about the type of leader you are. It really does make a difference.

6. I heard this last tip from the great motivational speaker Brian Tracy. He says to get out a paper and put a line down it. On one side list all the fun things you do at work. On the other side of the line write out the hard things. Now take a close look at the list. Which side are all the things on that have the most impact on your business?  Probably the hard side.

Filed Under: Persuasion

The Power of The Slow Smile

April 20, 2010

happy ball Here’s something small you can try today that will  elevate your sales and persuasion skills.

The next time you smile at someone, smile slowly.

When you smile fast it comes across as forced and artificial, but if you slowly let the smile spread across your face, it will come across as friendly and sincere.

I think you’ll agree that one of the biggest problems with people these days is insincerity. Taking a full second or so to smile at someone won’t add any time to your day, but it’ll give your clients one more reason to remember you, and more importantly, to tell others how great you are.

I bet you’ll feel different too. When you smile, you can’t help but feel good. Give it a try!

Filed Under: Persuasion

World’s Best Work Quotes – Part 3

April 9, 2010

Our final instalment of the World’s Best Quotes. Enjoy, and have a productive weekend!

Here’s the links to the other posts in the World’s Best Work Quotes 3-part series:

Part 1 Part 2

  1. Working on computerWhen it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.
    Colleen C Barrett
  2. Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.
    Alfred A Montapert
  3. People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get.
    Frederick Douglas
  4. The person who is waiting for something to turn up might start with their shirt sleeves.
    Garth Henrichs
  5. Little by little does the trick.
    Aesop
  6. When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.
    George Bernard Shaw
  7. The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished.
    Anonymous
  8. Failure is not the worst thing in the world. The very worst is not to try.
    Anonymous
  9. I learned the value of hard work by working hard.
    Margaret M Fitzpatrick

Filed Under: Persuasion

World’s Best Work Quotes – Part 2

April 2, 2010

The second instalment of the World’s Best Work Quotes. Nine more quotes.

Here's the links to the other posts in the World’s Best Work Quotes 3-part series:

Part 1 Part 3

  1. Pen and notepadThings may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
    Abraham Lincoln
  2. All the so-called “secrets of success” will not work unless you do.
    Anonymous
  3. If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat.
    Herschel Walker
  4. Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.
    Colleen C Barrett
  5. Unless you are willing to drench yourself in your work beyond the capacity of the average man, you are just not cut out for positions at the top.
    J C Penny
  6. Men are made stronger on realization that the helping hand they need is at the end of their own arm.
    Sidney J. Phillips
  7. I do not know anyone who has gotten to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but it will get you pretty near.
    Margaret Thatcher
  8. Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
    Robert Louis Stevenson
  9. Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.
    Anonymous

Filed Under: Persuasion

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