Better Insights, Better Results
“You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into.” — Ben Goldacre The Law of Influence is a powerful one. If you need to influence or be persuasive, then you need to know the Law of Influence. The Law of Influence is how people who influence without authority improve …
I’ve noticed some conversations just go a lot easier with some people, but I wasn’t sure why. Recently, a colleague pointed me to an article, Dialogue: The Power of Understanding by Dr. Ann McGee-Cooper. The article has a nice way of framing types of conversations. Some conversations are about exploring ideas, while others are about a winning argument or a winning idea. Once you know the nature of the conversation, you can adapt the conversations, adjust yourself, or avoid it altogether.
One of the most helpful frames we've found at work for focusing meetings or presentations is:
Know - What do you want them to know?
Believe - What do you want them to believe?
Do - What do you want them to do?
When you name something it’s powerful. You have a way to reference it and share it with others. Patterns are named problem and solution pairs. They are a simple way to build and share a catalog of knowledge. You can use patterns to efficiently share strategies or principles. Rather than 100 words, you can use one word. Practices are methods or techniques. They are “how” you do something. By leveraging patterns and practices, you can improve your ability to get results. Basically, it’s a way to build a mental toolbox of insight and action to draw from.
"What's their story?" ... With one cutting question, my manager exposed the fact a colleague had only one side of the story -- their own.
We make up stories every day either to explain our own actions or the actions of others. What happens when our stories limit us or hurt our relationships? For example, have you ever jumped to the wrong conclusion about somebody's actions and later regretted it? I know I have.
