Body language.

Do You Want to Become an Accomplished Listener?

6. “Listen” to their body language. (To be continued.)

Look at the speaker directly.

Do You Want to Become an Accomplished Listener?

5. Look at the speaker directly. (To be continued.)

Undivided attention.

Do You Want to Become an Accomplished Listener?

4. Give your undivided attention. (To be continued.)

Listen to the total message.

Do You Want to Become an Accomplished Listener?

3. Hear not just words but listen to the total message. (To be continued.)

Give, Give, Give.

Do You Want to Become an Accomplished Listener?

2. Come to the conversation intending to give - not to get. (To be continued.)

It’s not about you!

Do You Want to Become an Accomplished Listener?

1. It’s not about you!  Put your agenda aside. (To be continued.)

Listen 2. Listen 3. Listen Part 3.

How You Can Have Effective Donor and Personal Relationships: 1. Listen  2. Listen  3. Listen

Part 3.

Let’s face it though; most of us are lousy listeners.  The fact that we have two ears and one mouth is not evidenced by how we conduct ourselves.  Good listeners don’t come at it naturally – they learn it.  Just like an accomplished musician they study, practice, study and practice. (To be continued.)

Listen 2. Listen 3. Listen Part 2.

How You Can Have Effective Donor and Personal Relationships: 1. Listen  2. Listen  3. Listen

Part 2.

People that listen to us put their agenda aside thereby giving us an assurance that they are seeking our best interest.  We tend to feel safe with them and allow ourselves to be vulnerable. (To be continued.)

1. Listen 2. Listen 3. Listen (Part 1)

How You Can Have Effective Donor and Personal Relationships: 1. Listen  2. Listen  3. Listen

Part 1.

Someone once said to me, “George, you will only have a few truly close relationships in a lifetime.”  Years later I found that what they said was true.  Think about it…what have been the several best time-tested relationships you have had?  What common thread ran through them?  I suspect you will find that an underlying element was that the other person listened to you.  (To be continued.)

How Can You Excel at Communication? (REVIEW)

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication?  (REVIEW)
  1.  Know Your Audience.
  2.  Balance What You Have to Say with What They Want to Hear.

  3.  Use Simple Language.
  4.  Choose the Right Format.
  5.  Use Storytelling.
  6.  Share Personal Antidotes and Illustrations.

  7.  Begin Strongly.
  8.  End with Emotion.

  9.  Tell them, Tell them, Tell them.

10.  Make it Memorable. 

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.) 

How Can You Excel at Communication? Make it Memorable. (Part 2)

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication?    

Make it Memorable.  (Part 2)
Other visual devices are also effective in helping us communicate.  An often repeated statistic states that: people remember 40% of what they hear and see, 30% of what they see, 20% of what they hear, and only 10% of what they read. (To be continued.)

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.) 

How Can You Excel at Communication? Make it Memorable. (Part 1)

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication?    

Make it Memorable.  (Part 1)
One of the best ways to help people remember your message is through using a word picture.  Churchill did this when he described a communist world that lay behind an “iron curtain.” Hillary Clinton speculated about a “vast, right-wing conspiracy”.  President Bush spoke of an “axis of evil”.   Word pictures are effective because they grab and direct attention and lock thoughts into our memory.  A call to action can be greatly enhanced by the creative use of a word picture. (To be continued.)

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.) 

How Can You Excel at Communication? Tell them, Tell them, Tell them. (Part 2)

How Can You Excel at Communication?    

Tell them, Tell them, Tell them. (Part 2)
Preview the message.  Summarize what you have to say and why it is important.

Present the message: Give the body or details of your message.

Recap the message: Briefly repeat your message and restate its importance.

Repetition is critical to effective communication because, even though we have two ears, we still miss a lot. (To be continued.)

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.) 

How Can You Excel at Communication? Tell them, Tell them, Tell them. (Part 1)

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication?    

Tell them, Tell them, Tell them. (Part 1)
A savvy public speaker once shared with me his formula for effective communication.  He said, “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them you told them.”  (To be continued.)

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.) 

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication? End with Emotion.

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication?    

End with Emotion.

As you close your talk or write the last paragraph speak from your heart.  Tell them why this is so important to you.  Tell them why this is the right action and why you are committed to it no matter what it takes.  Let them know how you feel, why it is worth taking the risk and how things will be better.  Your passion and emotion will motivate your audience to action.   (To be continued.)

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.) 

How Can You Excel at Communication? Begin Strongly.

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication?    

Begin Strongly.
Jump in with both feet with your first words.  It’s o.k. to appear totally sold-out to your message. Enthusiasm demands attention. Don’t worry if you appear a little fanatical.  Remember, a fanatic is only someone who believes in something a little more strongly then you do.  (To be continued.)

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.) 

How Can You Excel at Communication? Share Personal Antidotes and Illustrations.

Ronald Reagan was not always effective and persuasive. Winston Churchill fainted the first time he addressed the House of Commons.  Just like you and me these 20^th century icons had to learn how to assure that their audience received their message.

How Can You Excel at Communication?   
Share Personal Antidotes and Illustrations.

Sharing a personal antidote or illustration will engage an audience.  This can endear you to the listener because it makes you more real. The listener thinks, “He’s just like me.”

(To be continued.)

(Your most important job in life is communication.  However, most messages fail to achieve their intended objective.  People walk away from conversations, meetings dismiss and groups disperse, without being impacted by the message.  Your use of these principles will govern how well your message is received.  Follow them and achieve your desired result of - message received and understood.)