How to Wow Proven Strategies for Selling Your [Brilliant] Self in Any Situation

by Jones, Frances Cole

• ISBN13: 9780345501790
• ISBN10: 0345501799
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-03
• Publisher: Ballantine Books

Summary

"The invaluable advice in How to Wow guarantees your success in any meeting situation, from the boardroom to the breakfast table." Keith Ferrazzi, author ofNever Eat Alone In today's fast-paced world, where an elevator ride with your CEO can turn into an impromptu meeting, your lunch date can become a job interview, and your conversation at a cocktail party may be a preamble to a potential business merger, knowing how to market yourself in any situation is vital. Corporate coach Frances Cole Jones has helped numerous CEOs, celebrities, and public personalities present their best selves on camera and onstage, in boardrooms and in person; now in her new book,How to Wow, she shares her strategies for making your mark in business and in life. Every encounter, Jones believes, provides you with an opportunity to positively influence colleagues, employers, neighborseven competitors. Not only your words, but your tone of voice and your body language speak volumes. The question, however, is: Are they working together to say what you want them to, as effectively as possible? Inside, you'll learn how to leave a lasting impression with a simple introduction effectively employ the twelve most persuasive words in the English language and command the stage, boardroom, or lunch table read nonverbal responses accuratelyand shift negative ones immediately motivate your team under deadline interview fearlessly and flawlessly write the perfect pitch, resume, cover letter, or e-mail deliver speeches that bring people to their feet transform a PowerPoint presentation into a powerful success With easy-to-follow advice, amusing anecdotes, and immediately employable hints, Jones's guidelines can keep you cool (even in hot water). From asking the right questions to giving the right answers,How to Wowwill provide you with the confidence to be calm and commanding in all you do and to wow anyone anywhere anytime. From the Hardcover edition.

Author Biography

Frances Cole Jones founded Cole Media Management in 1997. From the beginning, the company’s focus has been cultivating clients’ inherent strengths to develop the powerful communication skills that will enhance their professional and personal performance. The scope of her work includes preparation for television and print interviews, IPO road shows, meetings with potential investors, and internal meetings with partners, sales staff, and in-house personnel. She also provides presentation skills seminars and speechwriting for clients. She lives in New York City.


From the Hardcover edition.

Excerpts

CHAPTER ONE

Don’t Leave Home Without Them:
The Nonnegotiable General Principles


I began presenting myself early and, if I remember correctly, somewhat reluctantly.

When my siblings and I were in the age ranges of three to six, my father would line us up in the living room before a cocktail party and make us practice shaking hands with him before the guests arrived. (The Von Trapp family had nothing on us.) I still remember him looming over me, pumping my hand up and down while saying, “Look me in the eye, look me in the eye, look me in the eye . . .”

While I may not have enjoyed those impromptu personal presentation sessions, their effect was beneficial. To this day, I have a super handshake, and definitely look people in the eye when I greet them.

As with looking someone in the eye, there are some elements to presenting yourself that are nonnegotiable. Regardless of the situation, these fundamentals are necessary in order to make a strong and lasting impression. Whether you are presenting to one or one hundred—at a lunch, on the phone, with a speech or PowerPoint presentation—they will always be beneficial. These nonnegotiable principles are presented here. If you read or do nothing else in this book, incorporating these foundational elements into your daily communication and interaction will guarantee instantaneous, positive results in how people respond to you.

Dearly Beloved Data Lovers

The following statistic, from a study done by Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus of psychology at UCLA, is among the first things I tell every client. Known as the “7%—38%—55% Rule” it states that there are three elements to any face-to-face communication: words, tone of voice, and body language, and we are influenced by these things as follows:

•7 percent of our influence comes from the words we say.

•38 percent from our tonal quality while saying it.

•55 percent by what our body is doing while we’re saying it.

What does this mean? So often we think presentation and communication are about the words we say. In fact, it’s often far more about how we say them, and what our body is doing while we are saying them.

For example, we’ve all been introduced to the person who says, “Nice to meet you” with a fishy hand, a nominal smile, and an over-our-shoulder-to-see-if-someone-more-interesting/important/ attractive-is-coming-in-the-room gaze. Contrast that with meeting someone who’s genuinely delighted to meet you.

Same words, very different message.

My goal in telling you this is to help you begin to consider the global impact of your message—to understand the importance of managing every aspect of your presentation style.

•Knowing that listeners often remember just 7 percent of the words you say will remind you to choose language that’s precise, colorful, and concise.

•Knowing that 38 percent of your impact comes from your tonal quality will reinforce the importance of having your tone match your message: be authoritative, commanding, persuasive, entertaining, etc, depending on your objective.

•Knowing that 55 percent of your impact comes from what your body is doing while you are speaking will encourage you to focus on how you can best express commitment to, and enthusiasm for, what you are saying through your facial expressions, posture, and gestures.

Breaking down your message in this way makes it much easier to figure out what you need to do to capture your listener’s attention. You can ask yourself:

•Is my language flabby?

•Do I sound happy when I’m giving good news, and genuinely sorry when I’m apologizing?

•If I were on television—and the sound was off—would someone walking by the TV know from my body la

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Excerpted from How to Wow: Proven Strategies for Selling Your [Brilliant] Self in Any Situation by Frances Cole Jones
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