52 Techniques
I’m one of those people who, when I run into someone I’ve worked with somewhere at some point in the past, they say, “Kevin, it’s so good to see you!”
That’s what you want for the rest of your life. If at any time you feel like you wouldn’t sell your product to your mom, your dad, your sister, or the next-door neighbor, then don’t sell it to anyone else. Instead, tell a sales manager at a company whose products you like that you will be his next star salesperson. Not everyone should buy from you, not every girl should say yes to you. Your children should not always comply. And finally there are times when you need to be influenced by others.
The following techniques sometimes include dialogue that might sometimes seem a bit stilted because the situations are decontextualized. If you read the following sentences, you’ll quickly get the idea of what you want to sound like (and what you don’t want to sound like) when communicating with people you need to influence. Just think about how the messages feel to you and be very aware of how you want others to perceive you. There aren’t necessarily right and wrong answers here, but most people I know who communicate in the “A” way don’t seem to do as well as the folks who communicate in the “B” way!
Read and compare the feel of the following pairs of sentences:
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