Practical Eloquence podcast

One of the world's top experts on customer loyalty and innovation shares his unique take on the nobility of service and shares stories of leaders who embody that ideal.

Fear of rejection is a major obstacle to persuasive communication, but you can overcome it with this approach drawn from my own experience and a remarkable book: Rejection Proof, by Jia Jiang.

For my very first podcast with a guest, I am honored to have a conversation with one of the top leadership speakers in the business, John Spence.

Although many of us are reluctant to directly ask for what we want, research and experience both show that those who are very clear about what they want are much more likely to get it.

Every time a buyer makes a decision, they are taking a risk. Astute salespeople know how to use the psychology of risk to increase their own chances of making a sale.

A mindset, a plan, and ten practical ideas for those who don't like self-promotion but know they need to do it.

As a leader, despite how hard you work to produce brief, clear and valuable messages, you usually need dialogue to close the deal—to  ensure that the message has had its intended effect and to make adjustments if not.

As a leader, you still have to be brief and clear in your communication, except for certain exceptions, which I discuss in this podcast.

As a leader, you have far more power to create both value and waste with your communication. This episode focuses on three ways that you can deliver more value every time you communicate.

Leaders need to be lean communicators more than anyone else, but they must also face the control paradox: they have to know when to shut up and relinquish control.

When NASA considered how to get a man to the moon, it took two years of persuasion to settle on the right approach. This fascinating story contains useful lessons for anyone trying to sell a new idea in a large organization.

Social skills may be only common sense, so why do they seem to be so uncommon today? Here's a four-step process to take your people skills to an uncommon level.

As a leader, you need empathy more than ever, but you tend to use it less and less as you rise. Here's how and why to avoid the empathy erosion trap.

As you rise in an organization, lean communication becomes even more important because your words carry so much more weight. In this podcast I talk about how to avoid the ethos trap, which tempts you into taking shortcuts and degrades your communicaiton and influence skills.

Social Intelligence, along with IQ and EQ, can be a critical factor in your ability to get things done and in the quality of your career and your life. What are the skills you must master to become a social genius?

In communication, one bad event can ruin an otherwise stellar conversation or presentation, because bad is stronger than good. Here's how to ensure that you stay on your listeners' good side.

In this podcast, I "switch sides" to warn you against unscrupulous who use persuasive communication to fool you. If you know you're smarter than average and can't be fooled, you are precisely the person who should hear this.

When people think of images for speeches and presentations, they usually think of slides. But when you can use word to get your listeners to create pictures in their own minds, you can spark more intense emotions, embed them into their memories, and impel them to act.

We all know that networking is important, but we don't do it as much or as well as we should, especially if we are introverts. In this podcast, I share some principles to make networking palatable, and to play to your strengths, especially if you are an introvert and/or technical professional.

Although common wisdom says that it takes a long time to establish trust, scientists have proven that we decide whether to trust someone almost instantaneously. IN this podcast, I distill seven lessons from psychologists, consultants, FBI experts, and con artists to help you gain trust quickly.

We all like to get along, but sometimes the only way to ensure you get everyone's best thinking is to openly court disagreement. The trick is to do it properly, and that is what I address in this podcast.

Today’s topic is creative conversations. Have you ever had a conversation with someone that just clicked? But more than that, the clicking produced a solution to a problem or a creative idea? In this podcast, I talk about what a creative conversation sounds and feels like, and how to make them more likely to happen.

The best persuasive conversations are those where the other person does most of the talking, and tells you exactly what you want them to hear. Capping of my series on using questions to persuade, I discuss ways to achieve that kind of flow, with as few questions as possible. 

Questions are one of the power tools of persuasive communication. When you combine them with stories, you have a match made in heaven. In this podcast, I discuss how to ask the right questions to get the other person to tell you the story you want them to hear.

Persuasion is about helping others, but you can only be helpful if the other person trusts you and owns the advice you give. The best way to do this is through a questioning approach called humble inquiry.

Questions are the most powerful persuasive technology we have for learning, influencing and leading, so why don't we ask enough good ones?

In which I try (probably in vain) to set the record straight about the 7% myth, the learning styles myth, and the Myers-Briggs myth.

In this episode, I extract lessons in leadership communication from Doris Kearns Goodwin's new book, Leadership in Turbulent Times.

Follow these 9 Keys to Lean Communication to consistently Add value, Briefly and Clearly.

Today's paradox is that while it's easier than ever to communicate, it's harder than ever to get the information you need, when you need it, to make the best decisions. Lean communicators solve this by applying lean techniques to the process of communication, in order to produce more value with less waste.

Humor can be your most powerful tool for getting attention and connecting with your audience, but it can also backfire on you. Follow these tips to be seriously funny.

There sometimes seems to be two tribes in business today: the numbers tribe and the words tribe. Effective persuaders are "bilingual"--they know themselves and their audience and know how to strike the right balance. 

Part 2 of my leadership communication series. Sometimes how you say it is just as important as what you say. And, contrary to what most people may think, rhetoric is not dead.

As Nitin Nohria said, "Communication is the real work of leadership." IN this podcast, I talk about the additional layer of skill you need to add to your communication toolbox and what your followers need to hear from you.

"Embrace the chase" is a quote by swimming superstar Katie Ledecky, and reading it inspired me to reflect on the mindsets that can make all the difference in work and in life.

Despite all your preparation, there is a good chance you will get hit with a question you have not planned for. In this podcast, I share 9 steps for ensuring you can think on your feet and ace this portion of any meeting or presentation.

The idea of the hero swaying a hostile audience through the force of their eloquence makes for great movies, but in real life, the most  successful persuaders do all the work beforehand to stack the deck and avoid the drama.

Over decades of training salespeople, I've met an elite few who embody professionalism in their attitudes and actions. Here's what true professionals know, care about, and do, and why it matters.

If you  follow the advice so far in this series, you will definitely be the most credible person in the room, no matter where you are. And that is a huge asset. Like any asset, Max Cred needs to be protected, maintained, and cultivated.

Deep commitment to a cause or an idea is one of the most powerful and sustainable factors of credibility because it reflects on your good character, good sense, and goodwill.

The first four factors of Max Cred: Credentials, Content, Confidence and Candor can compel credibility, but it also help to be liked by others, which you can accomplish by improving your skills (yes, skills) of caring more for others and connecting with them on a personal level.

Your engineers may be one of the greatest untapped sales assets you have, because they have access, credibility and knowledge. The big question is: will they and can they? Spoiler alert: the answer is yes, if they understand the essence of selling.

Candor is a powerful factor in credibility because it does so much for you. It checks off every one of Aristotle's tests of credibility, showing your good sense, good character, and goodwill.

Confidence is the third factor of Max Cred because others won’t believe if they don’t think you believe. In this podcast, I talk about the four levels of confidence and what you can do to project just the right amount.

Valid credentials are like putting a deposit on your listeners’ belief, but you need solid content to complete the transaction. Content is the most permanent element in credibility; it’s the solid core inside your outward image.  

Credentials are the first Max Cred factor we discuss because they start speaking for you before you open your mouth. In this podcast, I talk about what constitutes a valid credential and how to present your credentials in a way that guarantees maximum credibility.

If you’re a knowledge worker, your personal credibility is your most precious asset. It’s not your knowledge, which is worthless if others don’t believe what you say; it’s not your eloquence, if others don’t listen; it’s not your power, if others only agree grudgingly. Like any asset, you want to preserve it, grow it, and put it to work.

My fondest wish is that this podcast will change someone’s life—maybe even yours. If you’ve held yourself back from accepting speaking engagements because of nerves, it can make an immediate and obvious change to your career. That’s not a bad benefit, but the ideas I’ll talk about here will apply to just about any challenge you face in your life and even impact your physical health.

Listening is one of the most important activities of your job and your life, but you don't do it nearly as well as you should and you could. In this episode, I tell you why, and what you can do about it.

How many times have you walked out of a meeting with someone with a clear sense that everybody is on board and knows what to do, and after time passes nothing has happened? In this podcast, I cover the three principal reasons for inaction and what you can do about it.

Unless your listeners are going to decide right away, they have to remember what you said in order to act on it. I cover four principles which will ensure that what you say will stick in their minds.