The Snowball Effect– Communication Techniques to Make You Unstoppable

Introduction xi
<p>SECTION A BUILD YOUR CORE</p>
<p>The cornerstone of successful communication 1</p>
<p>1 How to prepare communication that works 3</p>
<p>SECTION B GET MORE DONE MORE QUICKLY</p>
<p>How to save one month per year 15</p>
<p>When you want to . . .</p>
<p>2 Ensure people do what you want immediately 17</p>
<p>3 Find the time to communicate brilliantly 21</p>
<p>4 Impress senior audiences when you haven t much time 24</p>
<p>5 Ensure people remember your key messages 27</p>
<p>6 Quickly create presentations that work 30</p>
<p>7 Have better, quicker meetings and conference calls 38</p>
<p>8 Only attend the meetings you need to 41</p>
<p>9 Prepare for meetings in the right way 45</p>
<p>10 Ensure meetings generate actions, not just discussion topics 49</p>
<p>11 Run punchy, interesting and effective update meetings (or not have them) 53</p>
<p>12 Get a quick response to an FYI email 57</p>
<p>13 Empty your inbox 61</p>
<p>14 See how much extra time you ve now got 65</p>
<p>SECTION C PERSUADE MORE PEOPLE TO SAY YES </p>
<p>How to convince others to do what you want 67</p>
<p>When you want to . . .</p>
<p>15 Understand what really motivates people 69</p>
<p>16 Say things that excite people 71</p>
<p>17 Align your agenda to everyone else s 74</p>
<p>18 Get an enthusiastic yes very quickly 77</p>
<p>19 Prove you re someone s best option 80</p>
<p>20 Make a sale 84</p>
<p>21 Write a winning proposal or sales presentation 92</p>
<p>22 Stand out from the crowd 99</p>
<p>23 Cause long–term change, not a short–term blip 103</p>
<p>24 Use the best communication channel to get a quick yes 106</p>
<p>25 Create titles that instantly grab people 110</p>
<p>26 Write eye–catching introductions 113</p>
<p>27 Use analogies to make your point 117</p>
<p>28 Structure your communications so they re more persuasive 121</p>
<p>29 Pass an exam 123</p>
<p>30 Get a job interview 129</p>
<p>SECTION D ENJOY YOUR JOB MORE</p>
<p>How to make work more fun 133</p>
<p>When you want to . . .</p>
<p>31 Ensure everyone including you thinks you re great 135</p>
<p>32 Build powerful relationships quickly 140</p>
<p>33 Get things right first time 145</p>
<p>34 Deliver interesting presentations that impress everyone 149</p>
<p>35 Use word pictures to help people remember things 153</p>
<p>36 Use initials to help people remember things 156</p>
<p>37 Use games and activities to make your point 158</p>
<p>38 Enjoy using PowerPoint 161</p>
<p>39 Create great visuals to enhance your message 165</p>
<p>40 Start a presentation brilliantly (when your audience is large and/or doesn t know you) 176</p>
<p>41 Appear polished, even if you haven t practised much 179</p>
<p>42 Prepare for and deliver an excellent Q&amp;A session 182</p>
<p>43 Ensure your important initiatives succeed 185</p>
<p>44 Have good two–way conversations 189</p>
<p>45 Enjoy attending networking events 191</p>
<p>46 Help people read your documents quickly 196</p>
<p>47 Improve people s performance through observation and coaching 199</p>
<p>48 Improve people s performance after annual reviews 202</p>
<p>49 Improve people s performance when you delegate to them 205</p>
<p>SECTION E ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVES</p>
<p>How to remove your communication frustrations 209</p>
<p>When you want to . . .</p>
<p>50 Stop saying no too quickly 211</p>
<p>51 Say no in a way that doesn t cause you problems 214</p>
<p>52 Come up with good ideas, but can t think of any 217</p>
<p>53 Remove someone s concerns about what you re planning to do 220</p>
<p>54 Remove someone s final reason for saying no 224</p>
<p>55 Get good outcomes from challenging conversations 226</p>
<p>56 Stop procrastinating about initiating challenging conversations 233</p>
<p>57 Stop your messages becoming diluted 236</p>
<p>58 Stop diluting other people s messages 239</p>
<p>59 Stop hating presentations 244</p>
<p>60 Avoid people instantly doubting your credibility 249</p>
<p>61 Stop wasting your time with people who can t make decisions 252</p>
<p>62 Prevent avoidable disasters 256</p>
<p>63 Stop saying irrelevant stuff 258</p>
<p>64 Break the pattern of hearing useful ideas, but doing nothing with them 261</p>
<p>Conclusion: Build your momentum 264</p>
<p>Appendix: Useful communication templates 267</p>
<p>And for more help . . . 273</p>
<p>Acknowledgments 274</p>
<p>About Andy Bounds 276</p>
<p>Index 277</p>