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Posts Tagged With: "decker"

Are you in the weeds?

Posted by Ben Decker   |   November 5th, 2009   |   1 Comment   |  Tweet This

weeds4We’ve all been there – caught up in the shrinking world of tunnel vision.  But when communicating with others, being in the weeds can lose your audience.

Last week I coached two executives, neither of whom had used video feedback before.  In both of these sessions, we addressed the need to “get out of the weeds.”  Most often, when we’re in the weeds, we don’t realize it.  Having an outside perspective (such as coaching and video feedback) is important for this very reason.  When we are passionate and invested in a message, it’s our natural tendency to share as much as we can in as much detail as we can.  The material is so important, so brilliant and so valuable that we inadvertently create information overload in our fervor.

When you present your communications experience, are you in the weeds?  Consider these indicators:

  • The verbal content of your message is cluttered with verbosity, technical jargon, industry lingo, and too much detail.
  • The visuals presented are overkill (too many slides, too much text, little or no graphics).
  • Your presentation lacks stories, anecdotes, and humor.
  • Your intensity for the material blinds you from the need to connect with and engage your audience.

The answer?  Focus on two things and two things only.

  1. Your point of view:  What is the core message you want to convey?
  2. Your audience:  What’s in it for them?  What are they looking for in your message?  How can you focus on the aspects of your message that they’ll care about?

Simplify your material.  Divorce the details that excite you but alienate your listeners.  Become a master of exclusion and a facilitator of a memorable message.  Take “you” out of the message.  Focus on your listeners, learn them and create an experience that leaves an impact on them.

Want to connect your message with your audience?  Get out your weed whacker!

Photo credit: gracieshoots


Categories: Communication Skills, PowerPoint Abuse - Avoid It, SHARPs and Stories, Speakers, Video - Use It
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A little eye communication goes a long way for WOMM

Posted by Bert Decker   |   November 3rd, 2009   |   4 Comments   |  Tweet This

6a00d8341d71f353ef0120a599f079970cLast week I wrote on various aspects of eye communication. A couple of experiences prompt me to write again – on how eye communication impacts word of mouth marketing.

And how important is word of mouth marketing?

  • 80% of reviews are positive…because people want to share things they enjoy. Known as the “J-Curve”
  • 90% of people who write reviews do so to help other people.
  • In 2007, “Trust in someone like me” tripled, which trust in companies dropped. (Think of what it is today!)

(For more stats, check out Bazaarvoice – the leader in WOMM)

Last week, I became a disgruntled customer at my local market because an order I had placed a week before had yet to be filled, and I was having friends over that night. I went there and the manager looked me directly in the eye throughout our conversation. As a result, I found myself calming down, seeking to work towards resolution. In the end, I left the establishment satisfied and eager once again to recommend the place to others.

Then recently I walked in to a store as a potential new customer, prepared to spend some good money to update a few home furnishings. Rather than engage me while discussing options in the store, the salesperson completely avoided eye contact, looking at my watch, my clothes, and pretty much anywhere else he could other than my eyes.

Combined with a generally unpleasant demeanor, this lack of eye contact cost this business not only a sale but also any positive word of mouth marketing. Being a small, specialty store in my neighborhood my negative experience leads me to give less-than-positive reviews to my friends in the community – bad WOMM.

As communicators, we have a toolbox of behavioral skills we enlist to communicate effectively; of all the skills in our toolbox, eye communication is the most important. As I wrote in You’ve Got to be Believed to be Hearyouve-got-to-be-believed-to-be-heard-300x457d:

“Eye communication ranks first because it has the greatest impact in both one-on-one communications and large group communications. It literally connects mind to mind, since your eyes are the only part of your central nervous system that is in direct contact with another human being. When your eyes meet the eyes of another person, you make a First-Brain-to-First-Brain connection. When you fail to make that connection, it matters very little what you say.”

My point?

With the growth of the Web 2.0 generation – focusing on branding and marketing through social media et al – the significance of powerful, effective interpersonal communication often gets lost in the shuffle.

WOMM reflects the reputation of a brand – a reputation built on communication experiences. Interpersonal communication is still the basis of a reputation. And the primary communication skill that can make or break a positive communication experience (and thus, a reputation) is eye communication.

Remember your eye communication next time you’re trying to make a sale, or just sell yourself; your WOMM is on the line.


Categories: Books, Communication Skills, Twitter and Social Media, Web/Tech
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Grab a mop!

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   October 29th, 2009   |   2 Comments   |  Tweet This

I know.  Another Obama post? Put your politics and feelings about health care and the economy aside to learn a great lesson here. Obama brings ideas to life with his words. He did it again on Tuesday at a rally for Senator Creigh Deeds, Virginia’s democratic candidate for governor. With the election just one week away, Obama stumped for Deeds and drew on his own experiences to inspire Virginians to action.

“When I showed up after inauguration, they had left a big mess on the floor. So I got a mop, and I started cleaning up their mess. That’s okay, I don’t mind.  But you know — you know, it does bother me when they start saying, ‘You’re not mopping fast enough.’ ‘You’re not holding the mop the right way.’ My attitude is, why don’t you grab a mop?”

He used the concrete analogy of a mop instead of what most politicians and business leaders might have said (warning: this might sound all too familiar to you):

“After inauguration, it became even more apparent that our economy is in crisis. As we strive for bipartisanship, they continuously blockade our endeavors, impeding on our progress instead of joining the effort.”

But instead, hemop drew a picture. Simply. Right away, you can see that mess and that mop. Then, he tugs at the hardworking, roll-up-your-sleeves drive in all of us – calling us to action, instead of making our eyes glaze over.

This is a quick example of the power of being concrete to drive a message home. We thoroughly explore concreteness (and all Made To Stick SUCCESs principles) in our Decker Made To Stick Messaging workshop – and find that people walk away saying that it will change the impact of their messages immediately.

Think about this the next time you chime in at a meeting and want to get your point across. What could you do to remove abstractions and make your message resonate?


Categories: Communication Skills, Political Communications, Public Speaking, SHARPs and Stories, Speakers
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Does your message stick?

Posted by Ben Decker   |   October 20th, 2009   |   1 Comment   |  Tweet This

I’m thrilled to introduce @MeredithGood, one of our newest team members brought on to do program development and marketing.  She’ll be contributing to the blog from now on, starting today!

In true Decker form, we videotaped the entire Decker Made To Stick Messaging debut program so we could (what else?) give ourselves feedback!  Several participants gave us feedback, too, so we can continuously improve and evolve.  With all this video lying around, @MeredithGood put together a short testimonial (for kicks!) to give you a sense of what Decker Made To Stick Messaging is all about.

What are you waiting for? Get in on the action and register for December 2nd! Hope to see you soon.


Categories: Communication Skills, Great Books, Leadership and Communications, Public Speaking, SHARPs and Stories, Video - Use It
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You can learn to be sticky

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   October 9th, 2009   |   3 Comments   |  Tweet This

“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time, a tremendous whack.” 

-Sir Winston Churchill

DMTSM Logo

I used this quote to start our great day on Tuesday – the premiere of our new program, Decker Made To Stick Messaging.  What I love about these words of wisdom is that great, sticky messaging can be learned. You don’t have to be “subtle or clever”, be born with a wildly creative mind, or spew the perfect witty comment at all the right times. What a relief!

Earlier this year, we set out with Chip and Dan Heath to combine our Decker Grid with their Made To Stick SUCCESs template into a training program to teach anyone – regardless of creative DNA, experience, title or industry – to create sticky messages. It came to fruition on Tuesday, when Chip and I led a diverse group of 20 business leaders through a hands-on experience that yielded some amazing transformations – and it was really fun, too!

chip and kelly

More details and examples are coming, but for now, just a couple highlights:

The CEO for a furniture company came up with a fantastic Unexpected statement to describe his product, “You may think of modern furniture as being cold and sterile, but this is completely the opposite. It’s warm and comfortable, like your favorite pair of jeans.” Contrast this to typical business-speak which might have sounded something like, “the environmentally-friendly materials combine with durable construction and charismatic design to create inherently unique pieces.” Alleluia!

Another participant used Credible human scale statistics to call her listeners to action and become an advocate in a non-profit organization. In her initial pitch, she used really big numbers, like 248,000 out of 750,000. At the end of the day, she converted those numbers into something so meaningful that she had half the audience in tears. She stated that only 1 in 3 kids are assigned an advocate in this organization, and went on, “that means that if you have three children, you have to decide which one will get assistance and support. You have to single one out and provide them with an advantage over the others.” That did it for me. She made big, lofty, somewhat incomprehensible numbers hit home…hard.

Others were able to unbury the lead of their pitch and focus their message. Still others told stories, found feeling, and removed jargon-filled abstractions to make their ideas concrete, visual and meaningful.

How did it all happen?grid in action

Structure: We developed a new messaging folder that incorporates our Grid with the SUCCESs checklist. As we worked through exercises for each section, each person continued to refine their pitch throughout the day using easy-to-apply tools and simple recipes to make it stickier, little by little. Here it is in action, with post-its and all.

Video: Yep, even though it’s a messaging program, video was a key component. We used cool little cameras attached to tabletop tripods to record a before and after pitch to witness the transformations. Here’s David, a Yahoo, recording his group (and there’s Chip right behind him, totally focused on feedback):

Yahoo filming

Feedback: Working in small groups, each person received Keepers and Improvements from peers to learn what was working and what wasn’t in their messages. Many found the Curse of Knowledge was unfortunately alive and well when others in their group just didn’t get it!

3x3

All in all, it was a huge, sticky SUCCESs (no pun intended). Stay tuned for testimonials, before/after videos and many more great examples. In the meantime, you can check out Jay Ehret’s (@themarketingguy) blog post for his top takeaways.

Can’t wait for the next one!  BTW…we’re already sold out for November. Check the website to register for December 2nd!


Categories: Communication Skills, Uncategorized
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Decker Made To Stick Messaging is here!

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   August 25th, 2009   |   2 Comments   |  Tweet This

@kellydecker here with a super newsworthy post…

Decker_Made_To_Stick_Messaging

Think back to a time when you’ve been so incredibly excited to give someone something that you knew they would LOVE. Maybe it was the Superman PEZ dispenser that your younger brother wanted for his 5th birthday…or your kid’s first bicycle with training wheels. Maybe even the macaroni necklace you gave to your mom for Mother’s Day. You thought about what they wanted and then went out and made it or bought it, wrapped it up, and eagerly awaited the day they would open it.

Well, we’ve been wrapping something up for you over the last couple of months, and we’re just as excited. We’re thrilled to announce a partnership with Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the fabulous, best-selling Made To Stick.

Announcing the Decker Made To Stick Messaging Program!

Together we created a program that is completely dedicated to messaging. It’ll teach you how to talk about your ideas in a way that will make them stick, and most importantly, make an impact – with your customers, co-workers, bosses (and maybe even your kids). We take our Decker Grid system to bring focus and structure to the message, and then layer on Made To Stick’s SUCCESs principles to make it good and, well…sticky.

Yes, it’s for sales and marketing types, but just as important and applicable for the techies, engineers and ops managers. You’ll learn to identify (and avoid) the dreaded “Curse of Knowledge” – the single biggest obstacle in our communications. Then, with lots of hands-on exercises, you’ll give your idea the wings it needs to fly.

The premiere program is happening October 6th in our San Francisco office – be sure to check out the promo at www.decker.com. I’ll be leading this one with Chip Heath. There’s limited seating, with phone registration only. If you’re interested, give us a ring or send an email to info@decker.com. If there’s no room, we’ll get you on the list for the next one.

Until then…start looking around. Anything sticking these days?


Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, SHARPs and Stories, Special Event
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It’s All About Them: How to take “you” out of the message

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   April 24th, 2009   |   8 Comments   |  Tweet This

@kellydecker back here this week, inspired to write another post.

“It’s not you…it’s me.”

Relationship wise, maybe you’ve been the receiver of that message, or in George Constanza’s case, you invented it. One of my favorite Seinfeld moments below:

We’ve ALL actually been there – in fact, in our business communications, we’re guilty of being on the sender side. And it’s one of the single biggest problems with communications.

When we present (in a meeting, conference call or formal presentation) we think it is about us, and not about them. It’s not as if we consciously try to focus on me, me, me, but it sure comes off that way. It rears its ugly head in many ways. Maybe you’ve got a start-up, or a new product, or you’re trying to convince your exec team to pursue your initiative. You use those opportunities to prove yourself. In the words of Stuart Smalley, “You’re good enough. You’re smart enough. And gosh darn it, people like you.” So there you are with YOUR agenda in mind, why YOU think it’s great, and what it will do for YOU. And you’ve got a presentation that has nothing to do with listener.

A recent HarvardBusiness.org article on framing notes, “Individuals tend to focus on their own particular needs and on matters relating to their specific areas of expertise. In so doing, they may lose sight of the details that matter for the project they are currently working on.” In other words, you’re just too focused on you to worry about them.

Last Saturday I failed miserably doing this with my four-year-old. He came into my room to hang out as I was getting ready for a busy day with the kids. (Let me just take a moment to say that I really value my very rare alone time – those 20 minutes in the morning is one of those few calm, zen-like moments that I have all to myself.) I’m therefore none too happy with the intrusion, and say, “I REALLY want to finish getting ready alone right now, please go wait in the family room.” If I’m him, I’m thinking “That’s nice. What’s in it for me?” I shoulda coulda woulda said, “If you wait in the family room, I can get ready much more quickly so that we can go to the park sooner.” Same thing goes for your next pitch.

Focus on your listener. Now, really focus. Listeners are the centerpiece of our Decker Grid system – whether it’s 1, 15, 54 or 322 people to whom you’re speaking. Before you come up with the big “So what?” of your message, you should do a careful analysis of your listener. Ask a few questions:

  1. Who are they? Why are they here?
  2. How do they feel about you or your subject?
  3. How will they support or challenge your idea?
  4. Are they data or business (initiative) driven?
  5. What’s in it for them (not just as a team or corporation, but individually as well)?

Once you’ve answered these questions, come up with the top three adjectives that describe your listener – things like: resistant, open, hostile, skeptical, friendly, budget-conscious, etc. Now you can think about the big picture, and the approach that you’ll use to move that specific listener from information to influence.

When it comes to communications, remember, “It’s you, it’s not me.”

BTW, Duarte Design does a great audience mapping exercise as part of their work as well – because they get it! It’s mentioned in their blog here.


Categories: Leadership and Communications
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