Dianna Booher's Blog, page 41

Popular Quotations on Persuasion—15 Favorites

I’m guessing not a week passes that you don’t need to persuade someone to do something or change something. Just this week, my persuasive communication included asking for an extension of a gift card expiration date, requesting reimbursement of a client travel expense previously denied, getting an appointment changed to a more reasonable time, and negotiating a new arrangement with a supplier.

So when needing to work out a mutually rewarding deal—or simply change someone’s mind on a social...

5 Lines Employees Hate to Hear From New Managers

Leaders want to make their mark on operations, stamp their philosophical footprint on minds, leave their legacy on hearts and in hallways. They hope their leadership will be unique, profitable, and pleasant. Understandable goals.

All too often, however, they start out with similar comments—lines that set their employees up for disappointment and disengagement rather than the intended positive pat on the back and productivity boost:

1. “Tell me if I’m wrong, but here’s what I’m thinking.” W...

Rudeness Alert: 16 Things That Show Disrespect and Damage Relationships

Is my sensor out of whack, or are people becoming less civil toward each other? It’s irritating enough when you receive the rude treatment as a customer. But when you see the following things happen among your coworkers, friends, and family members, maybe it’s time for reflection—and reminders.

1. Interrupting a face-to-face conversation to take a phone call without excusing yourself and explaining the urgency

2. Keeping a caller waiting on “hold” for an extended period (more than 20 secon...

5 Ways to Communicate With a Passive-Aggressive Person

Janet wore a smile from the nose down; her eyes bore daggers. If I offered a Friday afternoon off for having finished a big project early, she “wished” it had been last week when she and her husband were headed out of town for the football game.

When I ordered in pizza for everyone’s lunch to celebrate a staff anniversary, she had “hoped” for barbecue.

When I congratulated a three-person team on finishing a custom course our client had raved about, Janet dropped a note on my desk “just FYI...

Write a Book Review That Helps, Not Hinders—Part 2

Reading widely and writing book reviews either on your blog or at online bookstores serves your career and your colleagues well. But have you ever read a book review that was totally unhelpful?

Certainly you’ve seen some of those posted on Amazon that have never been clicked as “helpful.” Why unhelpful? Think about these review comments:

“I thought this book was going to be about X. It was about Y. I was disappointed.” (Such a comment reveals nothing about the book! It merely states that t...

Write a Book Review That Helps, Not Hinders—Part 1

Sooner or later, either passion, generosity, or selfishness will push you to review someone’s book.

Passion: You either love or hate the book so much that you must tell the world.

Generosity: You know the book’s message will help others. Or, you want to help the author sell books and understand that reviews help sell books.

Selfishness: Your review of another’s book helps your own books when you sign your reviews “author of [your book title].” Most book buyers purchase more than one title...

Perspective Leads to Negotiation and Happiness

There’s nothing like 1300 women trying to change seats quickly in a large auditorium to create a little disruption—and disgruntle more than a few. The occasion was a gathering of more than 18,000 women for a national women’s conference. Just before the conference began, the director of the conference discovered much to her dismay that they had oversold 1300 seats.

In a nutshell, that meant that when 2600 women found their places in the large auditorium, fifty percent of them would be disap...

20 Favorite Communication Quotations

A great turn of phrase grabs my attention and tickles my thoughts for hours. If you’ve read any of my books, then you know that I sprinkle them liberally with famous quotations on the topic at hand. I’ve been known to linger at a greeting-card counter for an hour or longer, looking at the sappy sentiments and gag lines, wishing I’d written them to my relatives or friends before some freelancer or staffer etched them on a card for the whole world to buy.

So it struck me that maybe some of y...

10 Ways to Write a Quality Book Quickly

For most entrepreneurs and professionals who want to establish their credibility or promote their services, the question is no longer “Should I write a book?” but “When should I write a book?”

The issue for incredibly busy people is time—not having enough of it. They assume writing a book requires 6-12 months or longer. Without a doubt, the most frequent question people ask me as an author is, “How do you find the time to write?”

They’re shocked when they hear me say that it typically take...

10 Signs Your Boss Doesn’t Like Your Work—And How to Change Things!

Natalie looked distraught as she waited at the end of the line for me to finish shaking hands with other audience members. “I know you’ve got to catch a plane, but this is almost an emergency. Can we talk?”

I followed her outside to a private area. “I’ll get right to it: I have a meeting in a few hours with my boss. And I’m wondering if I should call his hand on something. I’ve been in the job just a few months, but I don’t think he likes me. In fact, he’s started to ignore me.”

She went o...