| |
10 Great Ways To Command Your Listener to Pay Attention
Author: Peter Murphy
These tips are a great starting point to help you to get someone to listen carefully when that other person is not paying any heed to what you are saying.
1 Speak more softly. This will cause most people to ask you to speak up!
2 Confuse your friend. Say something that does not make sense. For example, the cat drove me over because my car is getting serviced! This is a very effective way to get people to open their ears to your words.
3 Use silence by refraining from saying any more. Very often this pause in conversation is uncomfortable and demands that someone says something. Wait for your friend to speak first.
4 Appeal to his values. When you direct the conversation to something that is important to your listener what you say becomes very difficult to ignore. Let us say you are talking about cleaning the house and you want it to look spotless. Talk about how good it will feel when it is nice and clean if he values feeling comfortable and does not notice how the place looks.
5 Create urgency. Mention that you only have a few minutes to talk because you have to be somewhere else. It is now or never so listen up!
6 Ask your buddy if he can keep a secret. This ought to get his attention since we love to be privy to restricted information. Then tell him that you will reveal all after you discuss what it is you want to say.
7 Tell a joke or a humorous story. Once you have their attention and they are smiling they will be more receptive to your message.
8 Speak with massive enthusiasm and smile a lot. This wave of high energy is hard to resist even for the most reluctant audience.
9 Play with the pace of your speech by speaking way too fast or way too slow until you are asked to repeat yourself! Got him!
10 Compliment something about your companion. People love to feel admired and appreciated and if you sincerely compliment someone they will know you have good taste. If you have good taste you must be worth listening to!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Murphy is a peak performance consultant. He recently produced a Five Day Persuasion Skills Mastery ecourse. To sign up for free, just send mailto:5daypersuasion@sendfree.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, I don't necessarily mean just with your resolutions (although, if you made 'em, they can definitely be added to this list), but just in general.
The new year is a great time to tackle new projects, finish up old ones, and take care of the "general maintenance" type issues in life. Here are 10 things I recommend everyone consider tackling in the first few weeks of the new year to help get things off to a good start...
1. Get physical.
With your doctor, that is! Schedule yourself for a full physical if you haven't had one recently. --And while you're at it, schedule a check-up and cleaning with your dentist!
2. Get smart.
Contact your local college and/or free university and enroll in those classes you've been wanting to take for so long.
3. Make money, save money.
Now's the perfect time to create that family budget you've been talking about for so long. And don't forget to make SAVING some of your money part of that budget. Review your investment plan, contact a financial advisor if necessary and make sure you're doing what's best for you to grow financially.
4. Get shopping.
I know, this seems quite contradictory with #3, but it's not. But January/February is a great time of year for bargains for just about everything. This year especially! Take advantage of the savings to get the things you need.
5. Plan your vacation.
Call your travel agent, start visiting the websites, check out your work/business calendar and make plans for that vacation you keep saying you're gonna take. Put it on your schedule now and make it part of your plan for the year so you actually go this year!
6. Attack the clutter.
Face facts: the end of the year always results in clutter. We get busy with the holidays, visiting people, buying gifts, etc., stuff piles up. Grab a large kitchen trash bag and go through your house until it's filled.
Then toss it.
Repeat as necessary. Do NOT wait until spring!
7. Keep it safe.
Since you're gonna be going through your house anyway.... It's the perfect time to consider safety issues.
Toss out old/expired prescription and over-the-counter medications. Check (better yet: CHANGE) the batteries in your smoke detectors. Make sure you have fire extinquishers on every floor of your house, that they're charged and your family members know where to find them and how to use them.
Review your family emergency and disaster plans. --If you don't have any, make them!
8. Back up your hard drive.
Be honest, most of us never do this. Or, if we do, it's the occasional, every couple of years kind of activity that we do when somebody we know has a terrible computing accident. Spare yourself a lot of grief, back it up now!
9. Call or write... EVERYONE.
Sit down with your address book and contact everybody listed in it. Call them. Write them a letter. Send them a postcard. Or even a quick email just to say, "Hi!"
They'll love the attention and you'll enjoy connecting with people who are important to you.
10. Laugh.
One of the best things you can do for your health and peace of mind is to smile and laugh. Find humor in the craziness of life and enjoy each and every moment.
So laugh, laugh, laugh... and have a wonderful year!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Allen, the "Big Idea" coach, helps people discover how to improve & simplify their lives and businesses. Get more ideas each week, subscribe to his weekly ezine THE BIG IDEA, by emailing: mailto:SubscribeSGg@CoachJim.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not only does your environment reflect your consciousness, but also the flow of energy in your home and workplace determines the overall quality of your life and its outcome.
By balancing the energy in your environment, your own energy will be in harmony, and you will draw to you, people and opportunities that reflect this balance. Your environment indirectly determines the type of relationships, finances, career opportunities, etc you attract.
Because we spend so much time in our workplaces, these spaces have a huge influence in our lives. These feng shui enhancements will support you in creating prosperity and balance in your work.
1. CLEAR THE CLUTTER IN YOUR OFFICE
Clutter is anything unfinished, unused, unresolved, tolerated or disorganized. When you clear your clutter you create space for new things and your energy and creativity will increase.
Clutter is like emotional constipation - it bogs you down. Filing cabinets need to be regularly purged and desktops kept clutter free.
2. PLACE YOUR DESK IN THE ‘POWER’ POSITION
The ideal placement for your computer and desk is in a position that allows you to see the door of your office. If this is not possible, you can restore good Feng Shui by arranging a mirror that gives you a clear view of the door. A small convex mirror designed for use on car side mirrors can be purchased and stuck to the edge of your computer. cost – about .00.
3. MAKE SURE EVERYTHING AT YOUR DESK ALLOWS YOU TO BE COMFORTABLE
A good combination glare screen/radiation filter to prevent headaches and eyestrain, a comfortable chair that doesn’t squeak, comfortable keyboard and arm position, a mouse that fits your hand etc. Anything that causes you discomfort will drain your energy.
4. KEEP YOUR COMPUTER CLUTTER-FREE
How is your Inbox? If you see hundreds of emails when you open your Inbox you will feel overwhelmed. Create Folders to file emails you want to refer to. Go through your folders regularly to delete emails no longer needed. Once a week empty your Delete folder.
Is your Desktop full of shortcuts to programs from a past life? Do you have programs on your computer you never use? Computers are great clutter collectors, and like us, they work better if we keep them decluttered.
5. ENHANCE YOUR PROSPERITY CORNER
As you enter the door of your office, the far left hand corner is your Wealth and Prosperity corner. What do you have there? Clutter here will definitely be affecting your prosperity.
This would be a good place for a small tabletop fountain, a valuable item or even an affirmation. Blues, purples and reds are the colors of prosperity. Can you include these colors in something that makes you feel prosperous?
6. CREATE A NOURISHING VIEW
What do you see when you look up from your desk? If you see a brick wall, this could explain why you feel stuck! Paint the wall a color you love, hang a favorite painting or poster. Make sure what you see as you are thinking, uplifts you and nourishes your creativity.
7. CLEAN YOUR WINDOWS, DUST AND VACUUM
What do you see when you look out your window? Do you look at the world through a murky lens? Regularly cleaning your office, and emptying garbage bins daily will keep the energy fresh.
8. BUY A HEALTHY PLANT
A plant will bring life into your workspace and will also absorb toxins in the air.
9. SEPARATE YOUR WORKSPACE
If you must have your workspace in your bedroom, try to partition it off with a screen. Work and sleep are two conflicting energies and having a relaxing sleep will enhance your work time.
10. REPAIR OR REPLACE BROKEN OBJECTS
Anything that isn’t working represents a block to the flow of energy. For example, light bulbs, clocks, doors that don’t open smoothly – why risk not being at your best?
By consciously creating your environment, your environment will in turn create a quality of life to support you in reaching your potential. Feng Shui has a powerful effect in your life and you can use these enhancements to create a flow of prosperity, energy and creativity in your work life.
Copyright 2002 Vicky White. All rights reserved. mailto:Vicky@LifeDesignStrategies.com
You may publish this article free of charge in your ezine, web site, ebook or print publication so long as the copyright notice and the resource paragraph (at the end of the article) are included.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vicky White is a Feng Shui Practitioner & Life Coach who works with clients locally and internationally. Subscribe to a FREE monthly newsletter, with tips and strategies for creating environments of success, lives of passion and abundance. http://www.LifeDesignStrategies.com/Newsletter.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Driving time can be a great source of stress if you let it be, but if you are intentional, and creatively think of new ways to use the time, you’d be surprised what a difference you can make in your own life.
If you can handle multi-tasking, here are some ways to make use of your car time constructively.
1. Listen to inspirational and motivational tapes.
This is a great way to reduce the stress of driving and work on your attitude and self-talk. You could arrive at your destination quite inspired or motivated! Yesterday UI had a 5-hour drive home from a cruise. I used the time to listen to tapes I needed to hear in order to prepare for a teleclass I was presenting this coming week. Worked great.
2. Listen to your favorite tape.
This is a time when you can reward yourself and do something you enjoy. Keep your favorite tapes in the car and think of it as "my time to enjoy". Better yet, record your own tape of special favorites.
3. Meetings.
When my oldest son was in college, our conversations were often like this: How are you? Fine. What's going on? Nothin' much. I always made it a point to drive him back to Waco (from San Antonio). About 30 minutes down the road, he would open up and start talking. Car time is good for family, friends and also colleagues. It isn't face-to-face, it's a good time to ease into sensitive subjects, it creates an opportunity, and the car often has a soothing effect on people. You'll get to know another side of someone you work with.
4. Phone calls.
With the right equipment, a phone call in the car is no more distracting than a conversation. I used to have to drive all over town giving presentations and was in the car a lot. I would call my secretary and go over the day, delegate, check in and dictate letters . She would read me emails. You can return quick calls from the office, and save longer ones for the car. I have a friend who's a busy lawyer who uses car time for social chatting. You only have so many hours during the day!
5. Dictate.
A car (or plane) frees up creativity for a lot of us. (The mechanics of driving occupy the left-brain, the big analyzer-paralyzer.) I first started using a recorder when I was marketing for property management companies. I could drive around the apt. complex noting things I later turned into proposals. There are all sorts of ways you can use a recorder. Keep one with you.
6. Catch up on the news.
Radio news is quick and to the point and a good use of car time.
7. Notice marketing!
Many of us are in marketing in one way or another. If you're an entrepreneur, as I am, you must be. Sometimes I devote the car ride to "noticing". I actively look at the billboards, bus bench ads, bus ads, and signage to see what's new. I notice what radio ads grab my attention and what storefronts attract my attention. Play consumer and see what gets through the fog.
8. Eat.
Next, you're thinking, I'm going to say "shave," but no. I just don't like to take a lot of time eating most days, and a banana in the car is the same as a banana at your desk. Just a way to kill two birds with one stone. I keep bottled water, V-8, and little bags of peanuts, raisins and trail mix in my car.
9. Think.
Now that's a novel concept. Plan the rest of the day, plan a vacation, sort through some topic, ponder whether modern brain science really operates according to an outmoded 19th century model of science that has been proven invalid by quantum physics or not, or think about pleasant memories. It can be a creative time, like those ideas that pop into your head in the shower.
10. Practice relaxation and positivity.
Make it a game to scan the environment for pretty and pleasant things - people enjoying themselves, flowers, nice architecture. Too often we focus on the negative. Relax different muscles in your body at the stop lights. Give yourself some positive self-talk. Practice intentionality -- plan what attitude you intend to have when you arrive at your destination and why.
Safety first in the car!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach, offers personalized coaching for more profitability, happiness and success through emotional intelligence. It touches EVERY area of your life, so go to the source. Visit her on the web at www.susandunn.cc and mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE ezine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
