Speechworks

“That’s all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.”

― Rebecca F. Kuang

👂 Listen.

😊 Be yourself.

🤔 Consider the perspective/goals and objectives of our listeners.

I agree, EXCEPT -- we can do more then "hope" someone else understands. In fact, we must.

It's SOLELY the speaker's responsibility to:

👉 connect with listeners, and
👉 make it as easy as possible for listeners to understand intended take-aways.

💥💥 Considering the perspective/goals/objectives of our listeners proactively in preparing for a discussion is 🔑 to persuasion -- in seeking buy-in or in helping others connect-the-dots to understand our perspectives.

Negotiation lessons from a kid.... 🥁

👉 Challenge the opposing party's assumptions -- without giving away your power with an emotional reaction; ✅

👉 Ask for more than what you want -- you don't get what you don't ask for.... and every negotiation, by definition, requires both sides to concede; 😎

👉 Eye contact. Look your audience in the eye -- especially when asking for something. 👀

Enjoy!

Just Go With It clip - For The Experience - At UK & Ireland Cinemas now Danny (Adam Sandler) is a successful plastic surgeon who pretends to be unhappily married to get women. When he finally meets a girl (Brooklyn Decker) he bel...

“A speaker should approach his preparation not by what he wants to say, but by what he wants to learn.”

― Todd Stocker, Author

I see 👀 several points of wisdom in between the lines here..... 🤔

💡 Presentations are about the listeners and what they want to know -- NOT about me and what I want to say...

💡 Focusing on what I want to learn is an intentional shift in the power dynamic of the presentation - with me giving away a lot of power and control to my audience (scary!!!!!😬)

I used to do it the "natural" way, you know.... "I'm here today to talk to you about...."
..which usually led to the same yawns 😴, glazed eyes 😵 and the eventual tap tap tap of people moving on to their emails 💻....

Meaning, I lost them. They checked out.

After changing to the listener-focused approach, I can attest that it's more effective. I don't have the numbers, but the proof was in the pudding 😀. I built a successful practice with decades-long client relationships, and my clients became my best referral sources by far. 💪

Why? I build trust with them.

How?

✅ By getting to the bottom of their real concern or problem. I ask a lot of questions. Clients often came in with a plan in mind or an idea of what they think the problem is.... but, something is often off. The plans are half-baked, based on incomplete or inaccurate information.
Digging in here is crucial. By understanding my listeners' frame of reference, where they are coming from, their ultimate goals, their fears, and where/how they got the information driving their position -- I would be on a much more solid ground for re-educating and making proposals to address the REAL concerns.

✅ Embrace Pushback. Pushback is a gift. 🎁 To overcome the barriers and objections my listeners have based on their own filters and biases, I have to listen. Pushback is a window into my listeners' points of view, priorities, fears, objections and barriers. It's this deep understanding of my listeners that enable me to frame (and tailor) our services as solutions.

Regardless of the industry, clients want their problems solved quickly, efficiently and effectively. And, to make good on our promises, we need to understand our clients -- and learn as much about them as we can.

At
, Inc., we specialize in helping our clients reach their communication goals. We listen to you, tailor our coaching to meet your goals and needs and we do it in a safe and fun environment for growth.

We can proudly say that we are GREAT at what we do -- and very effective with our development workshops. We would LOVE to help you and your teams, and ask that you each out to see how we can help you increase momentum in reaching your professional and business goals.


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