Three quick wins and a special offer

26th February 2013

The three quick wins

To improve your communication, you have to get on the right BUS:

  • Ban powerless PowerPoint
  • Use the right channel
  • Stop pointless meetings

In more detail…

Ban powerless PowerPoint. I don’t carry an umbrella when it’s sunny. That’s not what it’s designed for. It’s similar with PowerPoint. It’s great sometimes; but it’s terrible for stimulating debate, interactivity and just plain old thinking. Steve Jobs banned PowerPoint from meetings because it stifled ideas; and he was pretty successful. Unless it’s needed, leave that PowerPoint Umbrella at home.

Use the right channel. When an email is taking ages to write, it probably shouldn’t be an email. Just pick up the phone instead. When only one person speaks during a conference call, they probably should have emailed the detail upfront, and then hosted a shorter call to discuss the key points. When meetings stifle progress, discuss topics 121 first, and then meet to formalise consensus. If you want to channel things right, you have to use the right channel.

Stop pointless meetings. You know those meetings which achieve nothing? Well, stop having them. And if that feels too scary, stop them for a couple of weeks and see if it causes any problems (and then stop having them). Or, make something smaller – the number of attendees, the agenda, the time each presenter is allowed to speak, the meeting duration… anything.

All these are pretty simple to do. Which will you do first?

The special offer

My new book The Snowball Effect (communication techniques to make you unstoppable) is out now.

But please don’t buy it.

Not yet, anyway. Let me explain…

Like Tuesday Tips, The Snowball Effect has only one aim: to permanently improve how you communicate. In fact, Dragons Den’s James Caan describes it as “A toolbox of powerful techniques that will help anyone communicate more powerfully, effectively and confidently than ever before.”

So why don’t I want you to buy it?

Well, I’m officially launching it on Amazon next week. Anyone who buys it next Tuesday (5th March) will also receive some fantastic insights – for free – from ten of the UK’s top thought leaders. So, in addition to the book, you’ll get advice on such topics as: influencing others, personal branding, self-development, impactful media interviews, impressive presentations, best-practice documents, and much more.

Action point

So, please don’t buy the book… yet. (Don’t worry: I’ll remind you about the offer next week).

For now, why not get on the Communication BUS, and see how much time you can free up for yourself and others?

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