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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Communicate to Influence summary
Ben Decker & Kelly Decker
How to Inspire Your Audience to Action
23 mins
Brief summary
Communicate to Influence by Ben and Kelly Decker is a practical guide for improving your communication skills. It explains how to make a positive impact by using effective messaging, body language, and delivery.
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Communicate to Influence
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Key idea 1 of 10
Communication often fails due to five common mistakes.
If you’re giving a presentation, the last thing you want to see is the audience nodding off to sleep or playing Candy Crush on their phones.
To prevent this from happening, understand the five most common mistakes people make when trying to communicate with their audience. Avoid these, and you’ll be on your way to a great presentation.
The first mistake is to place too much importance on the content and information of your presentation.
When you fall into this trap, you end up spending all your time overanalyzing every word and zero time making sure your material is presented in an interesting way.
Even if you’re talking about the cure for cancer, standing still and speaking in a monotonous voice is bound to send people nodding off into dreamland.
The second mistake is to exhibit a lack of authenticity, which causes distrust and disconnect in the audience.
Keep in mind that in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016, the losing candidate appeared more contrived and manufactured, while the winning candidate appeared genuine and down to earth.
The third mistake is to be unprepared.
Presentations aren’t the only thing for which you can prepare. Staff meetings, business lunches and office pop-ins can all be planned out in advance. In fact, you can prepare for any situation where you anticipate a chance to communicate so that your words can inspire and influence.
The fourth mistake is to lack self-awareness.
Don’t forget that the way we see ourselves doesn’t always match up with what others see. You can be all too familiar with the way you speak and believe it to be perfectly normal, while your audience will think you’re speaking way too fast. So make sure you get feedback from someone before you deliver your big message.
The fifth mistake is adhering to the status quo.
Don’t get too used to your comfort zone and forget to challenge yourself from time to time. If you hope to grow and become a better communicator, you’ll need to take some chances.
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What is Communicate to Influence about?
Communicate to Influence (2015) is a detailed guide to being an effective communicator. This covers everything from choosing the right voice to knowing how to structure and deliver your message. Gain a better understanding of the pitfalls of public speaking so that you know what to avoid, and discover some fantastic tools that will help turn your information dump into an inspiring call to action.
Best quote from Communicate to Influence
People crave emotional experiences. Logic makes us think, but a well-told story makes us feel – and emotions prompt us to action.
—Ben Decker & Kelly Decker
Who should read Communicate to Influence?
- CEOs, managers and anyone in a leadership role
- University students who want to improve their public speaking skills
- Anyone who wants to be better at pitching ideas
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