The BOLD Empathy Project

We're all salespeople, whether we sell for a living or just need to gain buy-in from others on a decision or other matter. We're either good at it, or we're not. And if we are, we find our success grows significantly.

While there are many ways to misdirect a conversation and see a sale go sideways, today we're sharing three common missteps we all make at times in our sales efforts so we can be aware of and avoid them. And not to leave you hanging, you'll also discover three remedies to these frequent blunders you can begin using today to help your conversations be more productive!

When we metaphorically pull empathy out of our bag of tricks to use when we perceive someone's need for an empathetic ear, we are viewing it as a silo. Seeing empathy in this way (and attempting to exercise genuine empathy by this method) will never allow us to be as effective at truly empathizing as when we engage in a pursuit of living in a state of empathy.

There is a natural way to consistently interact from a position of empathy, benefitting everyone around us at work, home, and in our communities.

What we say has a bigger impact on others than we think. This is true for better or for worse. We can unwittingly harm others with careless words. We also have the opportunity to build people when our focus and mindset are properly directed.

In this episode, hear a few thought-provoking scenarios that just might get you thinking differently about what you say. You'll also discover a simple action you can take to avoid inflicting negative impact with your words. Let's ERADICATE Conflict and ACCELERATE Connection by engaging our words to create positive impact on others!

Some people use the concept of empathy to manipulate and control others. People who have our best interest at heart will never ask us to give in to their demands in terms of our behavior, beliefs, or other core attributes in the name of proving our love for them or our position as an empathetic party.

Discover some of the warning signs of this form of emotional abuse along with a few things we can do to help would-be victims and stifle perpetrators.

#manipulation #abuse #empathy

Feedback can be useful. When we pre-package our questions and overlay our pre-programmed filters on responses, however, we can end up with skewed results that do not reflect the views of our audience, whether that’s an individual or a group.

Learning how to identify key points in feedback and discover deeper realities by drilling down is key to making feedback more useful--and one of the applications of the BOLD Empathy framework. Our audience feels heard and validated. We obtain more meaningful feedback and insights. Therefore, our actions based on the feedback we’ve received more closely align with our audience’s desired outcome.

When we assume we know what our audiences (family, business associates, friends) want without sufficient insight, we run the risk of attempting to deliver the wrong experiences.

In the ‘70s I witnessed an amazing event that caused a buying frenzy as great as any I’ve seen. Thinking he had an even better idea, the creator of this event made some adjustments and made a second run at bettering his initial success.

The outcome of this second event holds five (at least) important lessons we can all take hold of and apply TODAY to make sure we’re meeting the specific desired outcomes of everyone we serve in our personal and professional pursuits.

#marketresearch  #customerservice  #empathy

All of us want to have the “right” answers, the “right” views, the “right” way of doing things. In this episode, discover how a high-pressure situation led to a key decision in Bryan’s journey: “I want peace more than I want to be proven right!”

No, this doesn’t mean you have to give in to everyone else’s agendas. And yes, you can have peace AND get “your way.”

This mindset shift can lead to better answers, stronger relationships, and synergistic situations. When we seek peace above proving our point, we become the catalyst for eradicating conflict and accelerating connection for others, making us more impactful leaders, parents, teachers, counselors, mentors, etc. People see us as advocates and not adversaries.

#peace #conflict #relationships

What if you could quickly and accurately understand other people consistently in every facet of your life? What positive impact would that have on others? On you? How could this help you be a more effective leader at work, home, and your community?

By understanding others and helping them understand themselves, we bring people and situations into harmony and alignment, creating unity.

Discover the four key elements to understanding where people have been, where they are at, where they want to go, and what they are able and willing to do to get there. Using these elements, you will be able to help others make the connections for themselves that will accelerate their success.

A key factor in understanding others and helping them understand themselves is this: Often what people want is different than what we think they want; and even different from what they thought they wanted prior to our facilitating their discovery of a clearer view of their desired outcomes.

For more on this, and many other related topics, go to BoldEmpathy.com. Use the code "PODCAST" to access our Introductory Training Course FREE as our way of saying "Thanks for being a loyal listener!"

#selfawareness #values #vision

We've all been taught to ask questions to assess what others are thinking. But often our questions begin to feel more like an interrogation than a conversation.

Whether in sales, management, parenting, teaching, counseling, or any other leadership situation, having the right question to ask next is key to optimum outcomes. But how do we do this? How do we not run out of questions? And makes a question the "right" one?

All questions are NOT created equal. Traditionally, the pattern we are taught is to ask a question, get an answer. Ask another question (usually unrelated), get an answer. And repeat. But this is not the way for us or those with whom we interact to really understand their position, situation, or needs.

The solution is to find out what to ask. The magic happens when the next question we ask is the question the other party wants to answer (even if they aren't consciously aware of what that question is).

This is simple to do, even if you don’t currently know how to do it, once you understand the framework. We'll cover some basics of that framework in this episode.

Discover more at BoldEmpathy.com. Use the code "PODCAST" to get the Introductory Training FREE!

#Questions #Insights #Empathy

In conversations with others, how often do you genuinely listen to the other person to truly understand them instead of trying to have your own point known or understood?

There is a half-truth we have all been led to believe. There is a saying we all know, and while the first half is true, the second part is where disconnect and conflict happen when we are communicating with those around us.

Tune in to discover this half-truth, and you’ll be armed to make a significant breakthrough before you go to bed tonight.

You'll also discover why some traditional “listening practices” don’t work (and why), and the best solution to having a real conversation.

Everyone's answers are inside of them. We can be the facilitators to help them discover those answers.

Learn how you can most effectively have a front-row seat to watch others connect the dots that transform their visions into exciting reality.

Get our Introductory Training FREE by using the code "PODCAST" at BoldEmpathy.com.

#Listening #Leadership #Empathy