One of the biggest reasons we fail when attempting to persuade others: our inability to manage our own emotions.

Anybody can craft a compelling “pitch” when trying to sell their idea. What happens, though, when the conversation doesn’t go as planned - when your boss snaps at you and tells you now’s not a good time to ask for a raise/promotion; when the interviewer tells you that you might not be a good fit for the job; or when your partner immediately shuts down your idea without hearing it through? What do you do then? Do you react? Or do you respond?

In this episode, I’ll break down the difference between reacting and responding and explain why keeping your cool is critical for achieving a successful outcome.

“Buy this!” “Donate now!” “Register here!”. These are the calls to action that most of us see on a daily basis. Because this type of messaging has become so prevalent, many of us have become completely desensitized to it. This desensitization has made it that much more difficult for people and organizations to capture our attention and inspire us to action. This past weekend, however, one organization had a breakthrough.

Wikipedia earned a place in my heart after I stumbled across their latest donation request. The message was masterfully written and incredibly persuasive. In this episode, I break down the persuasion methods used in each sentence and explain how you can use the same methods to win others over. Enjoy!

“There is little success where there is little laughter.” - Andrew Carnegie.

You don’t need to be a comedian to win others over but there’s plenty of science to show that laughter does help. In this episode, I discuss the science behind humor and why it’s vital for persuading others. Enjoy!

There’s a proverbial radio station in the world of persuasion and it’s called WIIFM. If you hope to influence others, you need to be “tuned into it”.

In this episode, I’ll break down this age old acronym as well as provide some examples for how to use it. Side note - I’d like to thank and give a shout out to one of my heroes, the late great Zig Ziglar, who I believe first coined the term “WIIFM”. RIP ZIG!