Dianna Booher's Blog, page 42

The ONE Question Managers Must Answer—Correctly

As a manager, your hear questions every day. Some serious; some trivial. “What do you hear about the merger plans?” “Is our budget being cut?” “Can we get an extension on the deadline?” “Are we going to have to work over the weekend?”

But the ONE question that you have to answer correctly every time is this: “What are you working on?”

And it’s particularly critical that you get the answer right when responding to your boss. Your reputation can also suffer when you blow that question with p...

10 Ways to Get Your Point Across Persuasively

Most people have their mind made up about everything—politics, social issues, business decisions. Just ask them. Very few people will invite you to persuade them to do anything. So if you’re going to get someone to change their behavior, their actions, or their mind, you’ll need to do it intentionally. Consider these ten tips:

Listen: Great negotiators distinguish themselves with their ability to listen well. Having both people walk away satisfied with a deal often depends on how well one...

Don’t Let These 5 Confusing Words Spoil Your Image

Tom’s an articulate physician, totally able to speak his mind and express a strong point of view. But when he repeatedly says “between you and I,” that grammatical error has the same effect as a big splotch of mustard on the front of his suit and tie.

Words matter—particularly, the wrong ones. Or the right ones used in the wrong way.

Emails. Contracts. Proposals. Slides. Social media posts. Speeches. Press releases. Website copy. Product copy. Sales letters. You probably write more than yo...

10 Ways Leaders Use Fear in Public Speaking

You’ve read about the survey that reports people fear speaking in public more than death, along with all the advice about how to overcome nervousness. But if you’re a leader, a healthy dose of fear can be a good thing. In fact, if fear doesn’t propel you to a top performance, you may hit rock bottom in your career.

Speaking before clients, peers, or the public is a high-stakes proposition in the age of MTV, Instagram, and live Twitter feeds from your audience members out to the world. Aud...

The Top 5 Business Writing Mistakes

With fewer and fewer of us talking and more and more of us writing, it pays to write well and fast. Here’s how to avoid some common mistakes as you move from face-to-face and phone conversation to almost exclusively written communication.

1. Starting Too Early: I admire people who get a “jump” on tasks and settle down to a project before a deadline looms. But let’s back up and define writing as more than putting words on the screen or paper. In fact, the toughest part of writing is thinkin...

Communicate Your Backstory to Connect

My husband and I met on an escalator, going in opposite directions. He said, “Hey, Texas, wait for me at the bottom. Startled at the confidently commanding voice, I stepped off at the escalator and waited for him.

“How did you know I was from Texas?” He pointed to my conference badge in the shape of our home state. We chatted for a few moments, and he accompanied me to the session where I was speaking.

A year later, we did some training for his company. Two years later when his company was...

Does Your Body Language Create Trust?

The latest corporate scandal, a politician’s illicit affair, or the professional athlete’s arrest—all give us a good deal of practice in identifying the body language of denial and deception:

Averting eye contact (except in some countries, where this is a sign of respect for one’s elders)
Touching the mouth or nose (lying)
A forced smile with no eye involvement (insincere)
Feet pointed away from the person asking questions (as if trying to escape the scene)
Arms folded (defensiveness)

But n...

Does Your Writing Reveal Secrets About Your Leadership Style?

Keith, the president of a Fortune 500 company, called with an intriguing assignment—one that I’ve never been asked to repeat anywhere else, but one with fascinating results that I’ll never forget.

The Assignment

He wanted to know how much I could determine about someone’s leadership style from their writing. “I don’t know; I’ve never had occasion to test my theories,” I told him, quite reluctant to take on what already sounded like an oddball way to lose a good client. He listened to my ex...

Take a Walk for a Difficult Talk

Walking loosens the tongue. Think back to your childhood. Do you remember any long walks with grandparents, aunts, or uncles when you bonded as you bounded through the neighborhood or countryside?

Or about those long, romantic walks with your first love when you poured out your deepest secrets and highest hopes for the future? Or how about those strolls through the hallways at school with your best friend, sharing what you were going to do on the weekend?

Walking and talking go together li...

Leader, Go Take a Hike—Seriously!

Walking loosens the tongue. Think back to your childhood. Do you remember any long walks with grandparents, aunts, or uncles when you bonded as you bounded through the neighborhood or countryside?

Or about those long, romantic walks with your first love when you poured out your deepest secrets and highest hopes for the future? Or how about those strolls through the hallways at school with your best friend, sharing what you were going to do on the weekend?

Walking and talking go together li...