The Snowball Effect

Introduction xi SECTION A - BUILD YOUR CORE The cornerstone of successful communication 1 1 How to prepare communication that works 3 SECTION B - GET MORE DONE MORE QUICKLY How to save one month per year 15 When you want to . . . 2 Ensure people do what you want immediately 17 3 Find the time to communicate brilliantly 21 4 Impress senior audiences when you haven't much time 24 5 Ensure people remember your key messages 27 6 Quickly create presentations that work 30 7 Have better, quicker meetings and conference calls 38 8 Only attend the meetings you need to 41 9 Prepare for meetings in the right way 45 10 Ensure meetings generate actions, not just discussion topics 49 11 Run punchy, interesting and effective update meetings (or not have them) 53 12 Get a quick response to an FYI email 57 13 Empty your inbox 61 14 See how much extra time you've now got 65 SECTION C - PERSUADE MORE PEOPLE TO SAY "YES" How to convince others to do what you want 67 When you want to . . . 15 Understand what really motivates people 69 16 Say things that excite people 71 17 Align your agenda to everyone else's 74 18 Get an enthusiastic "yes" very quickly 77 19 Prove you're someone's best option 80 20 Make a sale 84 21 Write a winning proposal or sales presentation 92 22 Stand out from the crowd 99 23 Cause long-term change, not a short-term blip 103 24 Use the best communication channel to get a quick "yes" 106 25 Create titles that instantly grab people 110 26 Write eye-catching introductions 113 27 Use analogies to make your point 117 28 Structure your communications so they're more persuasive 121 29 Pass an exam 123 30 Get a job interview 129 SECTION D - ENJOY YOUR JOB MORE How to make work more fun 133 When you want to . . . 31 Ensure everyone - including you - thinks you're great 135 32 Build powerful relationships quickly 140 33 Get things right first time 145 34 Deliver interesting presentations that impress everyone 149 35 Use "word pictures" to help people remember things 153 36 Use initials to help people remember things 156 37 Use games and activities to make your point 158 38 Enjoy using PowerPoint 161 39 Create great visuals to enhance your message 165 40 Start a presentation brilliantly (when your audience is large and/or doesn't know you) 176 41 Appear polished, even if you haven't practised much 179 42 Prepare for - and deliver - an excellent Q&A session 182 43 Ensure your important initiatives succeed 185 44 Have good two-way conversations 189 45 Enjoy attending networking events 191 46 Help people read your documents quickly 196 47 Improve people's performance through observation and coaching 199 48 Improve people's performance after annual reviews 202 49 Improve people's performance when you delegate to them 205 SECTION E - ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVES How to remove your communication frustrations 209 When you want to . . . 50 Stop saying "no" too quickly 211 51 Say "no" in a way that doesn't cause you problems 214 52 Come up with good ideas, but can't think of any 217 53 Remove someone's concerns about what you're planning to do 220 54 Remove someone's final reason for saying "no" 224 55 Get good outcomes from challenging conversations 226 56 Stop procrastinating about initiating challenging conversations 233 57 Stop your messages becoming diluted 236 58 Stop diluting other people's messages 239 59 Stop hating presentations 244 60 Avoid people instantly doubting your credibility 249 61 Stop wasting your time with people who can't make decisions 252 62 Prevent avoidable disasters 256 63 Stop saying irrelevant stuff 258 64 Break the pattern of hearing useful ideas, but doing nothing with them 261 Conclusion: Build your momentum 264 Appendix: Useful communication templates 267 And for more help . . . 273 Acknowledgments 274 About Andy Bounds 276 Index 277