Dianna Booher, my wonderful, highly talented and successful friend gave me permission to share her May 2010 Communication Tip of the Month. Dianna is the author of over 40 books, a communication and productivity expert, a dynamic keynote speaker… but more on that later.
Dianna Booher’s Communication Tip of the Month
May 2010
Influence, Don’t Just Inform
“Whether delivering a presentation to your CEO, writing a sales proposal, or soliciting a charitable donation from a celebrity, one of the biggest hindrances to success is being informative rather than persuasive. Information overwhelms us. If your listeners or readers want information, they can read tweets, blogs, online posts, or newspapers. They can hear TV and radio talk show hosts and guests spew information on every subject imaginable.
What can you bring to the table? Action. To influence, make the available information actionable for your audience. Use all five prongs of persuasion:
Word choice. Positive, specific, precise words. Nix the negative, vague words. Give people positive imperatives. Do X, Y, and Z for the results you want to see.
Rhetoric. Powerful phrasing and graceful grammar pack a powerful punch on a person’s memory. Put in the time it takes to turn a memorable phrase. Presidential campaigns can be won or lost on the power of a slogan.
Emotion. People will argue all day that they don’t make decisions based on emotion–but they do. Create feelings of pleasure, fear, safety, discomfort, pride, acceptance, rejection, or prestige, and clients and colleagues will act.
Logic. People must justify their emotional decisions with reason. So help them interpret the facts, information, and ideas available. Take a point of view. Lead others to draw conclusions. In other words, serve your entrée instead of asking diners to walk through a buffet line.
Trustworthiness. Demonstrate your integrity. People need to trust your personal values and genuineness before they’ll believe or do what you say.
Information floods the airwaves, the Internet, and our inboxes. And with that influx, influence has become rare. Yet channeled toward a goal, influence–not simply information–drives action and results.”
Great advice from a highly successful thinker, author, speaker, trainer and business woman! Why should you and I listen to and apply the advice of Dianna Booher? Here are just a few reasons:
- Dianna has published over 40 books with publishers such as Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books, Warner, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, HarperCollins, and Thomas Nelson.
- Her latest books include The Voice of Authority: 10 Communication Strategies Every Leader Needs to Know; Speak with Confidence!: Powerful Presentations That Inform, Inspire, and Persuade; E-WRITING: 21st-Century Tools for Effective Communication; Communicate with Confidence!; and Get a Life Without Sacrificing Your Career.
- Dianna has been interviewed by Good Morning America, CNN, CNBC, USA Today, the Washington Post, New York Newsday, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal and many other national radio, TV, and newspapers.
- Dianna is a high-caliber keynote speaker who captivates, motivates, and inspires audiences around the world.
- Dianna has received the highest awards in the professional speaking industry, including induction into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame®. She is a member of the prestigious Speakers Roundtable. As a result of Dianna’s work among top corporations on communication issues, Executive Excellence magazine has recognized Dianna on its list of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in America.Additionally, Successful Meetings magazine named Dianna on its list of 21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century!
- Dianna’s clients include IBM, MCI, American Airlines, ExxonMobil, Nokia, Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments, U.S. Senate, Boeing, Sabre, Verizon, U.S. Army, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, Merrill Lynch, JCPenney, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Army and Air Force Exchange, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Deloitte & Touche, Hallmark Cards, Air National Guard, Fujitsu, Maybelline, Lockheed Martin, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Air Liquide, Occidental Petroleum, and NASA, among many others. Booher Consultants has received vendor-of-the-year awards from clients such as IBM and Frito-Lay for Booher’s overall impact on the organization.
You can subscribe to Dianna’s Communication Tip of the Month (no cost) and learn more about resources available through Booher Consultants by going to http://www.booher.com/.
Influence… Don’t Just Inform! Excellent personal and professional advice for each and every one of us. And now of course, it’s up to you… and me…
