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10 Winning Ezine Publishing Tips
1. Share your personality with your subscribers. Your subscribers are more likely to want to buy from someone they feel like they know. 2. Involve your subscribers in your ezine by asking them to send in their profiles, tips and advice, or by...
How to Walk the Floor and Talk to Customers
This may seem a strange topic to introduce. Yet, it is the most under-used skill by many retail managers, but one of the most important roles in their supervision.
1. You Are the Maitre of Your Business
Your role is take that of a maitre...
Success Tips for Small Business Owners
Running a small business requires many skills. However, to do this successfully you need to organize yourself first. Avoid procrastination - read the following and take action.
Successful Small Business Owners Look After Themselves First
...
The Fastest Way to Ruin Yourself
I don’t know many people who would admit to wanting to ruin themselves, but there are a lot of people who are doing everything they can to accomplish that very goal. They certainly don’t see it that way, but if you look at the way they live, you...
What Sells On The Internet?
For anyone contemplating starting an online business the question of the day is what to sell online. You not only need to know what to sell on the internet but you need to know what sells well.
There are many specific answers when it comes...
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Storytelling - The Great Motivator of People
Storytelling - The Great Motivator of People
In a data-driven world, facts and figures are the order of the day in sales calls, employee meetings, board rooms, and political assemblies. Traditionally, when a person is trying to convince someone else to do something they use the logic of benefits and features - long the sacred domain of anyone in sales.
And they are missing the boat.
What truly moves us as human beings, what prompts us into action, is emotion. Imagination is the conduit of emotion and well-crafted storytelling carries the imagination.
Consider this story:
You place your hand on top of your head, only to feel the sun radiate from your scalp. Sweat trickles down your back and the once ironed shirt clings to your sides. The pavement roasts your feet even through your thick-soled shoes. You've been walking for a 45 minutes, trying to find the office where you are scheduled to make a sales call. Suddenly, a swoosh of cold air swirls at your side as a young couple comes charging out of an ice cream parlor, licking swirls of raspberry and vanilla perched in a sugar cone…
I'll bet you're ready for some ice cream!
What engaged you was the reliving of a common experience. I didn't need to itemize the benefits of cooling off or list the features of ice cream and this particular store. You were drawn in by your imagination. Facts tell. Emotion sells. You imagined how you would win over the odds of heat by taking a break for ice cream.
We follow leaders who capture us by stories that draw us in and give us purpose for being part of the company. We buy products when we see or read of the human experience with that product. (Remember the Maytag Man?) And we accept the call to action if we hear a compelling story about triumph over odds. Think about the solicitation letters you get from non-profits. They are often stories of
individuals who suffered greatly until the non-profit's "product" allowed them to regain a semblance of their life.
In short, crafting compelling, honest stories that resonant core values in action is a skill worth learning by any leader, manager, sales executive, or parent.
In his best-selling book Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee, the world's best-known and most respected screenwriting lecturer, argues that stories "fulfill a profound human need to grasp the patterns of living-not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience." Or as USC leadership guru Dr. Warren Bennis states, "Man cannot live without story any more than he can live without bread."
What's the point you want to make at your next meeting? Is there a story that can be crafted to that point-not a sermon to be intoned?
Who has used your product and reported a wonderful story that came as a result of that product? Or did you even say, "Tell me a story…"
What stories are told in the coffee room about what it is like to work where you are? What contribution could you make to this story that could improve the ending?
What future do you want? Create a story about it.
Remember, people are not inspired to act by reason alone. The heart holds hands with the head.
© 2003 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved
Eileen McDargh is an author, radio commentator, organizational development consultant, acclaimed international speaker, and retreat facilitator. Eileen is the author of four books and is a frequent contributor to numerous business journals. Visit her web site www.eileenmcdargh.com or contact her toll free at 877-477-4718.
Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com
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Amazon.com Books: New & used textbooks, biographies, children's ... |
Online shopping for millions of new & used books on thousands of topics at everyday low prices. |
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Google Book Search |
Google digitizes many books from library collections. If an Old English edition, translation, or study is out of print or hard to locate, one can search for ... |
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Books - The New York Times Book Review |
Reviews, features, author interviews and book excerpts from the national daily and the Sunday book review. Registration required. |
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The Online Books Page |
Features over 10000 online books free to the public. |
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The Online Books Page |
Listing over 25000 free books on the Web - Updated December 5, 2006 ... New on online books -- Google Library revs up, and other milestones -- Latest Book ... |
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Amazon.co.uk: low prices in Electronics, Books, Music, DVDs & more |
UK branch of the online bookseller features large searchable selection of books. |
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AbeBooks: New & Used Books, Textbooks, Rare & Out of Print Books |
Abebooks - Over 80 million new, used, and rare books. |
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Guardian Unlimited Books |
Extensive site includes news and reviews, critics, authors, first chapters, Top 10s, bestsellers, talk board and games. Offers special sections by genre and ... |
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Books - Salon |
The literary section of Salon features book reviews, interviews, columnists and publishing news. |
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Globe and Mail: Book News |
Presents book reviews and columnist along with best-seller lists and Book Briefs emailed newsletter. Canada. |
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calendarlive.com - BOOKS & TALKS |
Reviews, features and event listings from the West Coast daily newspaper. |
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Book - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
A book is also a literary work or a main division of such a work. ... Books, especially heavy ones, need the support of surrounding volumes to maintain ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Books - reviews and literary news from The Times and The Sunday Times |
Book reviews, literary news, literary competitions, weblogs, book quizzes and literature features from The Times and The Sunday Times. |
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Book World - washingtonpost.com |
The Sunday book review of the national daily newspaper features criticism, columns and an online book club. |
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Internet Public Library: Books |
Books. Rather than continuing to maintain its own index of online texts, the IPL is now pleased to recommend a number of other worthwhile resources for this ... |
www.ipl.org |
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oreilly.com -- Welcome to O'Reilly Media, Inc. |
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly has been a ... |
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SF Gate: Entertainment: Books |
Chronicle reviewers pick the best books of the season for the readers on ... Jessica Mitford's children recall the woman they called Decca in a new book. ... |
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Life - Entertainment News - USATODAY.com |
The latest in entertainment news with movie, TV, book, music and theater reviews, travel tips and tools and original content from USATODAY.com - updated ... |
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