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Never Bring Your Boss Only One Solution To A Problem

Whenever you're pitching your boss (or a customer or a colleague) a solution to a problem, NEVER bring them only one solution.

It sounds strange, but offering only one solution can drastically increase your frustration and stress. And it significantly damages your problem-solving and creative abilities!

Watch the video to learn how this works, and what to do instead!

 

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Posted by Mark Murphy on 13 January, 2021 no_cat, no_recent, sb_ad_30, sb_ad_5, sb_ad_9 | Read more →

3 Phrases That Great Presenters DON’T Say

 

Whenever you make a presentation, you want to use really concrete words.

Allan Paivio is the scientist who pioneered the concept of concrete words. In one of my favorite studies, Paivio analyzed peoples’ ability to remember concrete words vs. abstract words.

Concrete words have high “imagery value,” that is you can picture that to which they refer For example, words like road, bridge, clown and even picture, are all pretty concrete. But words like condition, amount, request and purpose are all pretty abstract.  

Abstract words/phrases also include "core competencies," "strategic vision," and "value added." And that's why the best presenters avoid those phrases (and others like them)!

Paivio paired concrete nouns and adjectives and tested them against paired abstract nouns and adjectives, to see which words were easier to recall.

In every case, recall was better for concrete word pairs than it was for abstract word pairs. It’s just easier to remember “happy clown” and “spittle-flecked lips” than it is “essential nutrient” or “significant result.” In fact, and this is critical, you’ll remember totally unrelated concrete word pairs way better than you’ll remember related abstract word pairs.

Across Paivio’s experiments, concrete words could be remembered as much as 2-3 times more frequently than the abstract words.

Now here’s the real kicker; almost every presenter in business suffers from abstract word disease. Let me share some of the actual abstract word pairs tested in Paivio’s study:

  • Complete set
  • Annual event
  • Useful purpose
  • Original finding
  • Critical condition
  • Reasonable request
  • Constant attention
  • Adequate amount
  • Significant result
  • Possible guess

If you’ve ever sat through a corporate presentation, I guarantee you’ve seen word pairs like this (if not these exact ones). Over and over again people deliver presentations using abstract language. Then they look around bewildered as to why nobody remembers what they said. And the reason is because they are using language that is guaranteed not to be remembered.

Think about how many times you've sat through presentations using abstract words/phrases like "core competencies," "strategic vision," and "value added." It's tough to remember what was said in those presentations because the language was so abstract!  

I’ve had the word choice conversation with a lot of CEOs. And while hundreds of them have gotten it no problem, there are thousands more that failed to achieve “significant results” on their goal-setting memos because they obtusely refused to give “constant attention” to this issue. See how easy it is to slip in that abstract language without even noticing? It’s a disease. If you want presentations that people actually remember, you had better address your abstract word disease and fast.

So the next time you’re about to give a presentation, ask yourself this question: Could the people listening to me draw a picture of what I’m saying?

 

 

Posted by Mark Murphy on 11 January, 2021 no_cat, no_recent, sb_ad_30, sb_ad_4, sb_ad_5 | Read more →

Here's How Many Hours Per Week Leaders Need To Spend With Their Employees

A study of more than 30,000 people reveals the exact amount of time that leaders need to spend with their employees in order to increase their engagement, inspiration and innovation!
Posted by Mark Murphy on 14 December, 2020 no_cat, no_recent, sb_ad_30, sb_ad_5, sb_ad_9 | Read more →

Employee Engagement Is Higher For Low Performers In 42% Of Companies

In a revolutionary study, Leadership IQ discovered that in 42% of companies, low performers had HIGHER employee engagement than star employees! This study reveals WHY high performers become disengaged and how you can increase the employee engagement scores of your best employees!
Posted by Mark Murphy on 30 November, 2020 sb_ad_30 | Read more →

Resistance To Change In Organizations Comes From These 5 Factors

Leadership IQ's research has discovered the 5 major sources of resistance to change in organizations.  Based on studies of more than 79,000 employees and leaders, you'll discover how to overcome resistance to change. For example, only 15% of employees always understand the rationale behind their leaders' strategy...
Posted by Mark Murphy on 28 November, 2020 sb_ad_30 | Read more →

Employee Engagement Is Less Dependent On Managers Than You Think

We’ve all heard that having a great manager drives employee engagement. But shocking new data from Leadership IQ reveals that employees’ Self-Engagement (i.e. their personal outlooks like optimism, resilience, proactivity, etc.) can drive employee engagement more than working for a great manager!
Posted by Mark Murphy on 28 November, 2020 sb_ad_30 | Read more →

Don't Expect Layoff Survivors to be Grateful (Survivor’s Guilt After A Downsizing)

If your company is undertaking a layoff, your surviving employees are not going to work harder out of gratitude. This Leadership IQ study discovered that 74% of surviving employees say their own productivity has declined since the layoff. This survivor's guilt impacts productivity, quality, morale and more!
Posted by Mark Murphy on 26 November, 2020 sb_ad_30 | Read more →

Why New Hires Fail

In this landmark Hiring For Attitude study, Leadership IQ discovered that 46% of newly-hired employees will fail within 18 months, while only 19% will achieve unequivocal success. And 89% of hiring failures come from having poor or incompatible attitudes, not a lack of technical skills!
Posted by Mark Murphy on 24 November, 2020 sb_ad_30 | Read more →

Are SMART Goals Dumb?

Nearly everyone has set SMART goals. But shocking new data from Leadership IQ reveals that people who set SMART Goals are less likely to love their jobs. And people who use SMART goal setting are less likely to achieve great things or maximize their full potential.
Posted by Mark Murphy on 16 November, 2020 sb_ad_30 | Read more →

The State Of Working From Home

Leadership IQ studied 3,706 employees working from home to uncover their true experiences. Among the 20+ discoveries, 49% say their mental health is better working from home (especially for Ambitious Personalities). And 39% say the creativity of their work is better WFH (especially for Optimistic Personalities).
Posted by Mark Murphy on 11 November, 2020 sb_ad_30 | Read more →