A Leader Communicates Effectively: Learn To Listen!

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There is more to effective communications than just being able to express yourself verbally. You must be willing and able to listen to others! Learning to listen is more than half the battle.

Listening is the way you learn what is going on and how it affects people. Usually, when there is a problem in an organization, it's because the leader hasn't listened to what is going on until it's too late and the situation has occurred.

There are two things you can do to grow your listening skills.

First, practice effective questioning. Think about questions you need to ask and ask good questions. You need to hear the answers from others, so don't have any preconceived notions about them.

Second, look for feedback. Giving and receiving feedback is a win-win situation. Ask for feedback from all members of the team, or group, and listen to it with an open mind. You need to remain open minded in order to effectively evaluate the answers you receive. This will also build trust amongst the group.

As a leader, you will eventually, and from time to time, have to deliver bad news to your team members. This is when your listening skills are the most critical. You must be as sharp as possible in listening to the feedback from team members in a bad situation so that you can effectively determine the impact this has on the people as individuals, and on the group as a whole.

There is a sequence of emotions that everyone goes through when they hear bad news. It starts with shock, moves to anger, rejection, and finally acceptance. After you tell them the news, you must become a top-notch listener. You must ask the right questions and ask for feedback so you know what people are feeling. Once you do this, you can help them move through the stages to accepting the situation.

Every leader is also faced with some form of conflict at one time or another. As the leader, you will be the one the group looks to for resolution of the problem. Conflict should be handled rapidly so it isn't lingering over the heads of the group or people involved. Lingering problems can cause reduce productivity, poor decision making and destroy relationships. Conflict can not be ignored, hoping that it will simply go away. If you don't feel comfortable handling conflict resolution or confronting conflicts, you should not be a leader. It's as simple as that! Your strength as a leader will be measured on your awareness of the conflict and your ability to resolve it. If you don't, or can't perform these functions, you will lose the respect of the team and people will begin to leave the organization or interrupt its progress. Communication is the key to conflict resolution. There are several steps you can take in these situations.

First, collect information. Listen to all party's point of view. Get the opinion of outsiders if you feel it is required. The viewpoints will most likely be totally different. You need to know the feelings along with the facts from all sides in order to successfully resolve the conflict. You must ask difficult questions and listen for the answers to determine the correct path to take to resolution.

Clarify the issues. Restate the points that were made and ask the people to correct you if you misunderstood what they were saying or feeling.

Identify common ground. Move to neutral territory. This is important so that one person does not have an advantage while another is disadvantaged. Whether this is perceived or factual, it will play a role in resolving the conflict and could cause animosity towards you from one party or the other. If one person feels slighted, or that you put them in an unfair situation, you have lost their respect. Use your power as the leader to determine where and when the discussions will take place and how you will proceed. Remember, you are in charge and they came to you for help! If you need to sit people down to talk together, a round table is the most non-threatening arrangement.

Create an action plan. Be a mediator if possible and let the group discover the plan. If the group is too large or totally disagrees, you will need to step in and assign a resolution and delegate who will perform what actions. Be sure to set a deadline for the actions and assign responsibility for their completion. Communicate the assignments, making sure they are crystal clear to everyone involved and check to be sure you were understood correctly.

If a conflict cannot be resolved (which is rare but does occur), you will need to make the decisions yourself that are best for the group and the mission as a whole. Tell the group that you are making the decisions and taking the actions that you feel are best for everyone and explain why you feel that way.

Conflict can actually be healthy. It could possibly expose differences of opinion that can create an exchange of ideas to help move you and your team forward. The key is not to allow confined frustration to hamper productivity or cause people to give up. You must act quickly and authoritatively in these situations.

Your goal is mature communication amongst the team members. This type of communication allows the words, thoughts and messages to be delivered with a balance of emotional and intellectual intensity. As a leader, you have to understand that people will respond from a place of emotion initially and logic does not play a part there. Allow them time to move from emotion to intellect so they can reason out the problem intelligently, not emotionally. Don't be judgmental, and allow people to express themselves. Your sensitivity is vital and you can't ignore the emotions involved.

So be a great example. Your actions will speak louder than your words! You will not have the respect of your team if you don't "walk your talk." And learn to listen!


As Always ... Make it a GREAT day!

10 Ways To Empower Your Communications

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There's much more to conversation and communication that anyone could ever realize. You can watch talk shows, listen to radio programs, visit (and participate in) clubs dedicated to public speaking, hold ordinary conversations, etc. Certain rules apply when it comes to interaction through words. It may sound tedious, I know, but even though it's your mouth that's doing the work, your brain works twice as hard to churn out the information. So what better way to start learning to be an effective communicator than to know the very person closest to you: yourself.

1. What you know: Education is all about learning the basics, but to be an effective speaker you have to practice what you've learned. My times as guest at every Toastmasters' meeting I go to taught me that we all have our limitations. But that doesn't mean we can't learn to share what we know in an effective manner.

2. Listening: It's just as important to ask questions. Sometimes listening to the sound of our own voice can teach us to be a little bit more confident with ourselves and to say the things we believe in with conviction. When in normal conversation, you should be listening more than talking, especially in a business situation. And don't interrupt when somebody else is talking ... that's just plain rude! You have 2 ears and 1 mouth ... use them proportionately!

3. Humility: We all make mistakes. Sometimes that throws us off track and then we tend to slur our words, stutter, or maybe mispronounce certain words even though we know what the word is and it's definition. So in a group speaking setting, like Toastmasters, don't be afraid to ask if you're saying the right word properly. If they're unsure about it then make a joke out of it, it'll ease the tension and calm you down. I promise you, it'll make everyone laugh and you can simply brush it off.

4. Eye Contact: When it comes to directing your attention to your audience with an eye-catching gaze, it's important that you keep your focus when talking to a large group in a meeting or a gathering. If you feel comfortable talking with one person in the audience in particular then focus mainly on them, but scan the room as well occasionally. This practice will make you less nervous. I get nervous every time I speak to a crowd, and I've done it plenty of times. As I get more into the presentation or conversation I notice that the nervousness goes away, I think you will too if you stay focused on the topic and pick a friendly face to look at, but don't forget to scan the room too!

5. Kidding around: A little bit of humor can do wonders to lift the tension, or worse, boredom when making your speech. That way, you'll get the attention of the majority of the crowd and they'll feel that you're just as approachable, and as human as they are. They will feel more comfortable and so will you.

6. Be like the rest of them: Interaction is all about mingling with other people. You'll get a lot of ideas, possibly make good contacts, and find out through conversation what makes them tick. Don't act like you're better than everyone else. People don't like that, and you just might not be!

7. Me, Myself, and I: Admit it, there are times you sing to yourself in the shower. I know I do! Listening to the sound of your own voice while you practice your speech in front of a mirror can help correct the stress areas of your pitch. And while you're at it you can spruce up as well.

8. With a smile: A smile says it all, much like eye contact. There's no point to frowning in a meeting or a gathering. You can express what you're saying better when you smile. The audience will also feel more comfortable listening to you because, believe it or not, they can tell a lot about your personality just from the way you present yourself non-verbally.

9. A Role Model: Everyone should have a mentor. There must be at least one or two people in your life that you look up to, admire, and that you have listened to when they're at a public gathering. Sure they read their lines, but taking a mental note of how they emphasize what they say can help you once you take center stage.

10. Preparation: Make the best out of preparation rather than just scribbling notes and being in a hurried panic. Some people like to write things down on index cards, while others resort to being a little more silly as they look at their notes written on the palm of their hand (not for clammy hands, please). Just be comfortable with what you know since you enjoy your work. After you've done the same presentation or speech multiple times you'll get better at it and you won't need notes. But you still need to be prepared. You must get into the mindset required to give your presentation so you don't look like a dope standing up there. Somebody once asked Jim Rohn, "How do you do it? You give a 3 hour seminar and no notes?" ... his answer? "Well I've done it a few thousand times!" Be prepared!

And that about wraps it up. These suggestions might seem rather amateurish and basic, but you wouldn't believe the people who just disregard them or worse, don't even think about them! I've learned to empower myself when it comes to public or private speaking. But still, it never hurts when you are around other people to listen to how they carry on conversations. Take mental notes on how they act, how they present themselves, and how they say certain things. The way you present yourself and how you prepare yourself are crucial!


As Always ... Make it a GREAT day!

10 Secrets To Earn A Million In Network Marketing

Copyright © Success Network Group
www.SuccessNetworkGroup.com


Do you deserve to earn a million dollars in Network Marketing? This article highlights a 1 hour course taught by a famous millionaire and Network Marketer where he shares his secrets to earning a million dollars in the Network Marketing industry along with some of my own thoughts and experiences!

Are you tired of hours and hours of calling leads with no results? Tired of getting "no shows" to your appointments and getting rejected constantly? Are you frazzled and asking yourself "What's going on? Why isn't this working?"

Here are ten secrets for earning a million dollars in Network Marketing:

First, write down your IT, your WHY. What was IT that got you into Network Marketing? WHY did you look at Network Marketing in the first place? Something brought you here … what was IT?

1] Self Belief: What happened from that IT? Your self belief went down and met your self doubt. You have to raise your income to match your dreams, not lower your dreams to meet your income. This is why 95% of people in Network Marketing are failing or have failed! You must believe in yourself! You have to believe that you CAN do it! Take the ceiling off of your income, the income potential in Network Marketing is UNLIMITED!

2] Fall in love with your phone: You have to love to contact people! Most people don't love their phone. It feels like a 10 ton weight when they try to pick it up. You need to learn to make the phone your best friend. Buying leads and loading them into an autoresponder and never speaking with anyone simply doesn't work by itself. There has to be personal contact involved! Make your phone your best friend!

3] Contact and Invite: Make contact and invite, don't make contact and "fire-hose" them with information! Treat the business with respect. If you treat the business with respect it will respect you. If you treat it like a business it will pay you like a business, if you treat it like a hobby it will pay you like a hobby.

You have to learn to invite people to your meeting, presentation or conference call. Be an information tour guide! If you are on the phone more than 90 seconds on each call you are never going to make it! Professionals sort, amateurs convince. Be professional!

4] Rejection: Get used to it and learn to love it! It's going to happen ALL the time! Remember that it isn't personal, they are rejecting themselves. The people you are talking with are thinking "This is too good to be true."

We are taught for (at least) 12 to 20 years of our lives that we are suppose to get an education and then go get a good job and support our family. We are simply never taught the right kind of knowledge to be successful in life! Now you are presenting them with an opportunity that can create freedom for them and they are disapproving of it.

You need to them to get to a level of approval inside themselves, if they don't reach that level you will be rejected. You must convert rejection into approval, then approval into application, then application into agreement, then agreement into distributor. Then you teach that person to model you and duplicate. Your business should have a system in place for all of this. People are not duplicable, but systems and processes are!

5] Slave camps do exist: It's called having a job. If you stop and really think about it, by following the standard belief system accepted by society you are leading the life of a drone. You get up, shower, eat, go to work for 8 (or more) hours, come home when your boss tells you it's ok to leave, eat, and relax a little before bed. Then you get up the next morning and start all over again. Kind of monotonous isn't it?

I was a slave until 2003 ... NO MORE! It's time to get your life to the next level ... seek freedom and be willing to pay the price! I guarantee you it's worth it!

6] Objections are awesome: You should be looking for people who will give you objections. Most Network Marketing people tell you to look for people who WON'T give you an objection, look for people who will sign up. This is wrong! An objection is simply a question or concern in disguise. People who give you objections are normally inquisitive, sharp, positive, aggressive, intelligent people. These are the people you want in your business!

You need to recruit UP, not DOWN. This will cause you to have to go outside of your comfort zone, but you need to do it if you want to achieve freedom. Get yourself around people who are making the big numbers you keep hearing about. Don't hang around the small fish that are only making a couple hundred bucks a month. Get yourself around the ones making 5, 6 and 7 figures each month! How can somebody who isn't actually doing it teach you how to do it for yourself? The answer is: They can't!

7] Work with strength: Don't waste your time with weak people. Work with your strong people. Too many people try to recruit easy people so they can say "I got one." This is dead wrong! If they are excellent, go after them. Don't keep building and building and building with weak people, you'll never get anywhere.

Find yourself strong people and work with them to grow their business and your business will grow and you will have more security in the long run. Don't fall into the rut of just signing up anyone and everyone. That's not what you want, you want strong people; leaders!

8] Freedom is in depth, not width: Identify your leaders and work with them. Too many people go wide when they need to go deep. It's impossible to support that many people. Picture your business as a building. How strong is it? The foundation on a building goes deep, not wide. The foundation for your business should replicate that. Take a look at your business, how strong is your foundation? Will it stand on its own if you turned around and walked away right now? Map out your group, identify leaders, replicate your business, find your depth and make it concrete.

9] Mentors: Do you have one? Do you have a Mastermind Team? Write down the 5 people you associate with every day. Ask yourself "Have these people earned over a million dollars in Network Marketing?" Do you have even one that has? At least one of these people must be a Network Marketing millionaire, preferably all of them. These are the people you need to get around ... NOW!

You must be around people who are where you want to be and stay around them. The major reason people don't get into Network Marketing is because of no time and no money. These are exactly the reasons they SHOULD be in the industry!

10] Decision: These are the most powerful 8 letters in the alphabet when put together. You must make a decision right now to change your life. You must decide to cutoff and release the past. How are you going to respond? Your past is robbing you of your dreams and of making 7 figures a year in Network Marketing. Your past is holding you back; your job, your associations, etc. You have to let them go if they are not getting you where you want to be!

My mentor says "It was your best thinking that got you to where you are today, obviously that wasn't good enough." Think about that statement, it's SO powerful! Your past has affected your life up to where you are right now. You must make the decision to cutoff and release the chains that are holding you back. You must make the decision right now to release and cutoff anyone you associate with who is not making 6 or 7 figures in Network Marketing. Then you must take the action!

Right now, make the commitment to change your life. Make the decision, take the action, and don't wait any longer! Nobody can make you do this but you. Today is the day!


As Always ... Make it a GREAT day!