Booher BanterYour Resource for the best ideas to improve communications skills.

Standing in the airport today on the way to another keynote (story of my life today: standing in  airport lines), I overheard this one-sided conversation between salesperson and client.  How do I know he was in sales?  Read ahead for the give-away phrases:

Trite:

“Let me share with you….”   

Translate it:  “Here comes the sales pitch. Let’s stop the dialogue. I talk and you listen for the next little while.”

Better:

“Let me mention a few things that might makes sense in light of what you’ve told me:” 

Translate it:  “I’ve been listening.  Now, let me see if we have a match to your needs. If not, please stop me to add more information.”

Trite: 

“If I could reduce your cost by 25% and increase productivity by 50%, would you be interested?”

Translate it:  “Are you a moron?”

Better:

“With a little information from you about your specific operation there, I think I could suggest several ways to cut costs—maybe by as much as 25 percent, based on our results with similar clients in your industry.  May I ask you a couple of questions to see if this makes sense for you?

Trite:

“Would you agree that…”

Translate it:  “You’re on trial here.  You must give me either a yes or a yes.”

Better:

“I’ve tossed out what I think is a flexible solution. Does this sound workable to you?”

If the words just seem to roll off your tongue (like that last phrase just did), chances are the phrase is tried and trite––a real turn-off for a buyer.

Posted at 8:08am in Communication—Oral | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Ask any ten people if they know of someone who has been terminated or an organization that has been hauled into court over an email, and at least one can cite person and case.  The story usually has an unhappy ending.

Here are the no-no’s:

1.      Negative comments about upper management  (Even if “deleted,” these emails can be retrieved. Often such remarks accidentally get passed on. After four replies on an ongoing saga, someone forgets your sarcastic line buried at the bottom and forwards the email to another colleague to answer a different question.)

2.      Criticism regarding peer or staff performance issues  (Written comments cause employees to brood.  They seem more official than spoken words.)

3.      Bonuses or salary issues (If positive plans fail to materialize, the writing seems like “proof” that they are deserved.)

4.      Racial or gender slurs (Surely not in this century)

5.      Product or service liabilities  (Opponents can subpoena your emails as evidence that you were aware of problems and ignored warnings.)

6.      Competitor untruths  (See you in court.)

7.      Gossip about colleagues  (Even the most innocent “news” can strike people the wrong way.  If they want it told, they’ll tell it.)

8.      Sloppy writing  (Clear writing reflects clear thinking. The opposite is also true.  Your image may depend on daily informal email more than on formal documents.)

9.      Humor–particularly sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek  (What comes across well with proper inflection, a smile, a goofy expression, and a slap on the back frequently falls flat on the screen.)

10. Anything about your personal life you’d be embarrassed to have printed on the front page of your newspaper (Your love life, your weekend adventures, your political views. Nada. Enough said.)

So what’s left?  Work.  Ho-hum.  And I think that’s the general idea.

Posted at 3:42pm in Email Hints | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Bad news. You hear it every night on network TV from around the globe.  So is it any different when bad news involves you in your workplace?  Let’s get specific here:

According to a recent study by the International Association of Business Communicators, only 37 percent of companies actually deliver bad news in face-to-face meetings. 

How Companies Deliver Bad News

E-mail:   28%

Face-to-face meetings with supervisors:  19%

Face-to-face meetings with senior leadership:  18%

Letter or memo from company executives:  12%

Employee website:  8%

Teleconference or videoconference:  6%

Company newsletter:  4%

The worse the news, the more effort should go into telling it—face to face.  Employees should expect more from their leaders.  Fair or foul weather, leaders communicate both celebratory and critical messages. That’s what leadership is all about.

Posted at 8:20am in Communication—Written | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Words mean something. Now that might seem obvious. But how many times have you heard this comment in a meeting or even during a formal sales presentation:  “Well, I think it’s just a matter of semantics.”  Of course it is!  And therein lies the problem.  Take this whole issue now before Congress:  What to do about the illegal immigration into the country?  Listen to one politician refer to the “amnesty” issue and another contradict that “amnesty” means “forgiveness.”  Therefore, the current Senate version of the bill cannot rightfully be considered amnesty but rather “earned citizenship with punishment.”

That current dialogue is but one example of my point:  Words have meanings, and those meanings are NOT just a simple matter of semantics.  Brushing them aside with “I think we’re really saying the same thing; it’s just a matter of semantics” creates a dangerous path if you ever intend to arrive at agreement somewhere down the road.

Words carry the weight of the conversation and the crux of your point. So select them carefully.

Posted at 8:51am in Potpourri | Permalink | Add Comment » |

What a brain-trust gathered in our Booher Learning Center for the last 3 days at the Get Your Book Published event here in Dallas. At the end of the 3-day workshop, all attendees reported that they were leaving with more than 75 percent of their next book proposal ready to go to an agent—and then on to a major publisher.  Experienced authors with several books already under their belt, as well as other highly successful speakers and consultants, gathered to create an unforgettable laboratory of ideas for each other’s work.  Can’t remember when I’ve worked so hard and yet had so much fun at it!

Posted at 8:44am in Publishing Keys | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Today I begin my three-day publishing workshop for a small group of authors.  I am so excited about this event, and I am privileged to share my publishing experience with this audience of writers.  I hope to see every participant on the best-seller list, and soon.

I’ll fill you in later about how the workshop went.

Posted at 7:52am in Publishing Keys | Permalink | Add Comment » |