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Archives for February 2008

February 18, 2008 Leave a Comment

How to Deal with Hecklers

Former President Clinton should take a few lessons from his spouse. One lesson that he needs to learn immediately is how to handle hecklers in the audience. She is very good at it. He is not. She turns a heckler’s taunts in into tumultuous applause – for her! He is lured by the heckler’s bait and turns their comments into hand-to-hand combat. She wins. He loses.

The former President always loses these arguments with hecklers. Unfortunately, his lack of discipline when it comes to dealing with hecklers and provocative statements may cost his spouse the nomination. Who wins these arguments? More importantly, who stands to lose as a result?

This morning’s headline, “Bill Spars with Obama Supporter” dominated the 24-hour news cycle. With only a few days until the next state primary elections, do you think that this was the headline that Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign wanted to see? Of course not. If nothing else, the heckler – or rather, Bill Clinton’s reaction to the heckler – took the spotlight away from Sen. Clinton’s campaign. The focus was once again back on Bill. Not on Hillary. I am sure that she and her supporters were not pleased by this.

Who won the argument? Certainly not Bill Clinton. Certainly not Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The heckler succeeded in getting what he wanted – attention! Attention on him. Attention on President Clinton’s reaction to the argument. Attention directed away from Sen. Clinton’s campaign.

Do you see how hecklers can succeed in grabbing the spotlight? Do you see how easy it is to fall into their trap? Want to find out how to avoid taking their bait?

It’s easy. Hillary Clinton can show us how. Remember the hecklers in New Hampshire who carried signs and shouted, “Iron My Shirt!”? Let’s look at how Sen. Clinton handled that situation: Continue reading “How to Deal with Hecklers” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Leadership, Main Page, Political Strategy, Public Speaking, Speeches Tagged: , , ,
February 16, 2008 1 Comment

Law of Reciprocity

`Who says that customer service is dead? It’s alive and well! I found another exceptional employee the other night – a clerk in a Barnes & Noble Bookstore in suburban San Diego, CA. Here’s the story.

I saw (part of) a terrific documentary on Television about a month ago. I really wanted to purchase a copy of the DVD if it was available. The only problem was that I couldn’t remember the name of the film. So, I had some time on my hand prior to my drive home and went looking for it at the local Barnes & Noble.

The clerk looked friendly enough and, of course, he asked if he could help me.

“Yes, I’m looking for a documentary about the musical sidemen who backed the Motown stars on their recording sessions in the 60’s and 70’s. I don’t know the title. Can you help me?” Continue reading “Law of Reciprocity” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Customer Service, Sales, Small Business Tagged: , , ,
February 14, 2008 Leave a Comment

Features vs. Benefits

“In the factory, we manufacture perfume. In the store, we sell hope.”

– Charles Revson, Founder of Revlon Cosmetics

Why are so many voters – especially younger and first-time voters – attracted to Sen. Barack Obama’s message of hope? Why does it seem that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s latest message – “I’m in the solutions business” – is not gaining traction?

Could it be something as basic as the difference between saying, “This will make your stomach feel better” versus, “Trust me, this medicine will be good for you?”

People like to buy, but they do not like to be sold! The sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer reminds us of this basic tenet in each of his best-selling books. Don’t tell us what what you have done in the past – and why it will  good for us. Entice us with a message of what our future will look like. Paint a picture of the future – our future. And help us to see how we fit into that picture. Help us to make the decision. Don’t just tell us your solution.

We will buy hope – if we can see the benefit. Our benefit. Don’t try to sell us on the basis of the quality of the ingredients you put into your perfume. Charles Revson did not build his Revlon cosmetics empire based strictly on a special combination of ingredients. Those ingredients are features – and features do not motivate us to buy. Hope is a little more difficult to see and quantify. But that is a leader’s role – to help us to see hop and to put us in the picture. And that gets the sale most of the time!

This is not a political blog. I am not writing to “put down” a candidate. Nor am I advocating for a candidate. I enjoy observing and analyzing political strategy. I like to learn from the successes and mistakes in the current presidential primaries and apply them to my business – consulting and training. I write to share my observations with my readers.

Here’s what I see so far. Perhaps you agree, perhaps you don’t. But I hope that you will at least read on: Continue reading “Features vs. Benefits” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Consulting, Main Page, Marketing, Political Strategy Tagged: , , , , , ,
February 11, 2008 Leave a Comment

Less is More

“A speech should be as long as a piece of string – long enough to wrap up the package.”

– Anonymous

Read Patrick Healy’s NY Times article, “For Clinton the Speaker, the Smaller the Better” (Click here) for insight into how the venue (where a speech is given) determines the effectiveness of both the speaker and their message.

There are books titled “It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It,“ and “It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear.” But in his article, Healy draws a sharp contrast to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s shortcomings when she speaks in front of large audiences and her remarkable success in connecting with her audience in more intimate settings. Consider:

“Big rallies are clearly not her strength,” said one senior adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for a blunt assessment of his candidate. “She’s far better at town-hall meetings, round tables, smaller venues. The challenge for her is to connect with and inspire large audiences more than she does now.”

versus

Yet in intimate settings, like her visit on Monday to the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, Mrs. Clinton comes across far more personably, listening and empathizing and on occasion showing her emotional side. Indeed, at the Yale center, where she volunteered in the early 1970s, she became teary as her old boss praised “the incomparable Hillary.”

I remember Senator Clinton’s “Listening Tour” of New York state when she first ran for Senator in 2000 – and it was a great success. Sen. Clinton is a very good listener – she shows empathy and people really feel that she cares about them and that they have been heard.

And to her credit, she has shown great improvement as a speaker in venues both big and small. However, in my opinion, she needs to improve two things: Continue reading “Less is More” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Business Practices, Leadership, Main Page, Political Strategy, Public Speaking, Speeches Tagged: , , , ,
February 10, 2008 Leave a Comment

Who Writes this Stuff?

“(President) Reagan was the most natural speaker in politics, but he was a natural because he practiced so hard. He’s the one who worked and reworked everything and practiced emphasis.”

– Peggy Noonan,’ from On Speaking Well’

Considering the number of speeches that a politician or business executive delivers each year you expect them to employ a speech writer. Full-time, part-time, or one-time only. A single writer or a staff of speech writers. Nameless, famous or infamous, speech writers can be either a pen for hire or evolve into the role of trusted adviser. The very best are able to “channel” the ideas, sentences and phrases of their client. They speak and write as one.

Do you need a speech writer? That depends upon the importance of the speech, your time constraints and your audience. Do you need to write out every speech that you deliver? Yes, if if it is important for your speech to deliver an impact and if you want to show respect for the time that your audience has invested in listening to your speech.

Sen. Barack Obama appears to have a natural gift for delivering speeches that galvanize his audience to take action. He also knows how to engage his audience while he delivers the speech – a “call and response” technique popularized by pastors such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Jesse Jackson. However, I suspect that just he employs a rigorous practice schedule much as Ronald Reagan did. He puts a great deal of emphasis on emphasizing his key words and phrases. He establishes a cadence in his speeches. The cadence propels the speech to a dramatic conclusion.

You might be surprised to learn who Sen. Obama employs as his chief speech writer. You may recognize the name – Jon Favreau – but it is not the actor / writer from the 1996 movie, Swingers. No, this Jon Favreau is a 26 year- old graduate of the College of Holly Cross. Click here to read an article on Mr. Favreau from the New York Times. Continue reading “Who Writes this Stuff?” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Main Page, Political Strategy, Public Speaking, Speeches Tagged: , , , , , , ,
February 10, 2008 1 Comment

Yes We Can! – Learn How to Give Better Presentations

What makes an effective speech? Is it the content? The context? The delivery? Or some combination of each?

Want to learn how to improve your public speaking skills? Want to pick up a few inside pointers that will really “punch up” your next presentation? Just watch television and read the newspaper. Learn to analyze politics and politicians – not the politicians themselves and not their political positions. Just study their speeches and watch their delivery.

This is the first in a series of articles that I will post on the topic of campaign speeches and presentations. I learn a lot by observing the candidates. I read the text of their key speeches and replay the video to analyze their delivery. Please share your comments with the readers. This is not a partisan blog – I am not advocating for any candidate or party. Please keep this in mind when you post a comment.

Here is a quick overview of the four remaining candidates: Continue reading “Yes We Can! – Learn How to Give Better Presentations” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Main Page, Public Speaking, Speeches Tagged: , , , , , ,
February 7, 2008 Leave a Comment

How are you known to your customers?

“The most valuable asset that any company has is its relationship with its customers. It’s not who you know; rather it is how you are known to them.”

– Theodore Levitt, Harvard Business School

I discovered this quote about 8 years ago and it has become my daily mantra. I strive to live by it’s principles.

So, this quote immediately came to mind when I heard the news that Governor Mitt Romney was suspending his campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination. How was Gov. Romney known to many voters? As a “flip-flopper”; someone who frequently changed his position on key issues.

It is one thing to change your position on an issue after receiving new information or after considerable thought and deliberation. Unfortunately, Gov. Romney seemed to change his position based up the audience that he was addressing or as a result of a recent poll that indicated that voters showed a preference for a different position.

Leaders do not listen to the latest poll results. They listen to their heart. They speak directly; not from both sides of their mouth on all sides of a core issue.

In an article on Politico.com, Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin wrote: Continue reading “How are you known to your customers?” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Business Practices, Main Page, Political Strategy, Small Business Tagged: , , , , ,
February 5, 2008 1 Comment

Learning From Political Misteps

“There are two types of people – those who com into a room and say, ‘Well here I am,’ and those who come in and say, ‘Ah, there you are.'”

– Frederick Collins

I love politics! No, not the skirmishing, nor the name-calling and not the ideology. Rather, I enjoy observing and analyzing political strategy and how politicians communicate with the electorate. There are many opportunities to learn from political successes and failures and to apply them to our own business. A case in point – the collapse of Rudolph Giuliani’s campaign for the presidency.

“America’s Mayor” – Mr. Giuliani is the type of person who walks into the room and announce, “Here I am!” His campaign relied heavily on the cult of personality. This might have worked if Mr. Giuliani were selling a new book – enough people would have come out for the entertainment factor and the chance to get close to a celebrity – they might have even bought a book!

But asking people to vote for you is a very different matter. Voters are more concerned about what you will do – for them – in the future. They do not care as much for what you did in the past – your accomplishments and your years of service enabled you to get into the race. When you are asking for their vote, they want to know your plans for the future and how they fit into your plans. They also want a candidate who walks into the room and says “Ah, there you are!” Continue reading “Learning From Political Misteps” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Business Practices, Leadership, Main Page, Marketing, Political Strategy
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