Effective Storytelling Includes These Seven Elements

According to Kristi Hedges, author of the book, The Power of Presence, a good story includes these seven elements:

Has a clear moral or purpose.
Has a personal connection to the storyteller and/or the audience.
Includes common reference points the audience can understand.
Involves detailed characters and imagery.
Reveals conflict, vulnerability, or achievement others can relate to.
Has pacing (a beginning, ending, and a segue back to the topic).
Serves to strategically underscore your intention (it's not randomly told).

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Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

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Best New Leadership Book Of 2024

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How To Use Bold Moves To Build Your Career

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In Nick Sonnenberg’s book, Come Up For Air , you’ll learn about his CPR Business Efficiency Framework , which stands for: C ommunication P lanning R esources This framework focuses on eliminating the pain points most teams experience by optimizing these three operation areas foundational to every organization. “In my book, I show you the tools that will boost efficiency in all three of these domains and I provide you with a detailed blueprint for the most effective ways to use them,” explains Sonnenberg. He further shares that some sections of the book may be more applicable to managers, and some may be more applicable to individual contributors. “However, it is still integral that both roles understand all of the concepts within the CPR Framework as each one benefits the team as a whole,” says Sonnenberg. As you read the book, you’ll learn what Sonnenberg has learned through years of building a leading efficiency consulting business – that the primary reason why so many teams

The Seven Dimensions Of Career Development

Seventy percent of U.S. employees report being at least somewhat likely to leave their current employer for another with a reputation for investing in employee learning and development, according to a Harris Polls study and as called out in the new book, Promotions Are So Yesterday: Redefine Career Development. Help Employees Thrive , by Julie Winkle Giulioni . “Career development, growth, and learning are among the top reasons employees accept, remain in, and/or leave a role,” states Winkle Gioulioni. And, “if you take nothing else from my book, I hope it’s this: The time-honored tradition of defining career development in terms of promotions, moves, or title changes is dead,” adds Winkle Giulioni. Therefore, she recommends leaders consider that there are seven other dimensions that can be developed through one’s career . “And when employees take off their blinders and become aware of the other viable and valuable ways they can grow, my research suggests that the promotion clim

How To Create A High Performing Team

According to Ron Ricci and Carl Wiese , authors of the book, The Collaboration Imperative , high-performing teams have the following characteristics : People have solid and deep trust in each other and in the team's purpose--they feel free to express feelings and ideas. Everybody is working toward the same goals. Team members are clear on how to work together and how to accomplish tasks. Everyone understands both team and individual performance goals and knows what is expected. Team members actively diffuse tension and friction in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The team engages in extensive discussion, and everyone gets a chance to contribute--even the introverts. Disagreement is viewed as a good thing and conflicts are managed. Criticism is constructive and is oriented toward problem solving and removing obstacles. The team makes decisions when there is natural agreement--in the cases where agreement is elusive, a decision is made by the team lead or executive sponsor,

Flashback: Best New Leadership Book Of 2014

Flashback to this post from early 2015 : After reading nearly 40 books about leadership released this year, my pick for the very best leadership book for 2014 is, The Front-Line Leader: Building a High-Performance Organization from the Ground Up , by Chris Van Gorder . This book is my top choice because it : Covers the issues most important to today's workplace leaders Provides "real-world" and practical everyday steps you can take Gives you specific techniques and tactics Tells powerful, life-experience stories Capsulizes "Take Action" to do’s for you at the end of each chapter Reveals how to create a culture of accountability that creates a high-performing organization with a competitive advantage And, most important, because the entire premise of the book is: People come first! Today, Van Gorder is the President and CEO at Scripps Health , one of America’s foremost health systems with 14,000 employees and 2,600 affiliated physicians. He has presided

How To Play Bigger And Be A Category King In Business

"The most exciting companies create. They give us new ways of living, thinking, or doing business, many times solving a problem we didn't know we had -- or a problem we didn't pay attention to because we never thought there was another way," explain the four authors of the dynamic new book, Play Bigger . They add that, "the most exciting companies sell us different. They introduce the world to a new category of product or service." And, they become category kings . Examples of category kings are Amazon, Salesforce, Uber and IKEA. Play Bigger is all about the strategy that builds category kings. And, to be a category king you need to be good at category design : Category design is the discipline of creating and developing a new market category, and conditioning the market so it will demand your solution and crown your company as its king. Category design is the opposite of "build it and they will come." Key traits of category design

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

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