Friday, 30 April 2010

PWG- MAIN

WE ARE A FRONTRUNNER IN THIS OPPORTUNITY, _ .
THEY ARE PERIPHERAL TO THE MAIN TASK, _ .
THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN THE RECIPIE FOR SUCCESS IS, _ .
THE OPERATIVE TERM BEING , _ .
HE IS THE MAIN PROPONENT. THE MAIN ADVOCATE OF , _ .
THE GOLDEN RULE OF , _ .
RED HERRING - Diversion from the main issue, _ .

2. CRUX, _ .
The CRUX of the problem is that we have no resources.

3. PREDOMINANTLY, _ .
We have being working PREDOMINANTLY on new business opportunities, _ .

4. PRIMARILY
We have PRIMARILY focused on new opportunities, _ .

PWG- KNOWING

I AM UNDER NO ILLUSION THAT __ .
THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT __ .
IT'S OUT THERE SOMEWHERE IN THE ETHER, _ .
I HAVE MY DOUBTS, _ .
I WANT TO PUT THIS TOP IN OUR MINDS, _ .
WE NEED TO HAVE THIS FRESH IN OUR MINDS, _ .
JOHN, CAN YOU HELP ME BETTER UNDERSTAND, _ .
CAN YOU HELP ME BRIDGE MY KNOWLEDGE GAP, _ .
WE ALL STARTED TO SCRATH OUR HEADS THINKING, _ .
WE ARE IN UNCHARTERED WATERS SO ITS DIFFICULT TO KNOW, _ .
IT IS A POSSIBILITY THEY ARE TRYING TO HELP, THAT THEY WANT YOU TO DO WELL...BUT ITS ALSO A POSSIBILITY THAT (make sound ridiculous), _ .
CURRENTLY ON THE FENCE WITH RESPECT TO, _ .
IT'S AS CLEAR AS DISH WATER RIGHT NOW, _ .
IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THEIR AMBITION LEVEL, _ .
I REMAIN UNCONVINCED, _ .
IT'S AS CLEAR AS MUD, _ .
I KNOW AT A HIGH LEVEL WHAT WE DO BUT I DON'T HAVE DIRECT HANDS ON EXPERIENCE, _ .
THE RIGHT HAND DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE LEFT HAND IS DOING, _ .
THERE IS NO DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT FROM A TO B, _ .
THAT IS ALL WELL GOOD IN HINDSIGHT BUT I DIDN'T HAVE THAT FORESIGHT, _ .
A NEW BRUSH SWEEPS CLEAN BUT AND OLD BRUSH KNOWS THE CORNERS, _ .
KNOWLEDGE IS THE PROCESS OF PILING UP FACTS. WISDOM LIES IN THEIR SIMPLIFICATION, _ .
I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE, BUT WHAT I AM ENTIRELY SURE ABOUT IS THAT MICROSOFT ARE COMMITED TO ____, _ .
UNFORTUNATELY, UNLIKE RAIN MAN I DO NOT HAVE ALL THAT INFORMATION STORED IN MY HEAD, _ .
WE NEED TO KNOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD BEFORE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DRIVE. ONLY THEN YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR OWN STYLE, _ .
THE MAN WHO KNOWS WHY WILL ALWAYS RULE OVER THE MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT & WHY, _ .
I DO NOT HAVE WORKOING KNOWLEDGE OF BUT I KNOW AT A HIGH LEVEL THAT, _ .
IT WAS A FACT SUPPORTED DECISION, _ .
IT IS TOUCH AND GO, _ .
SO, JUST SO I FULLY UNDERSTAND THIS, _ .
THAT IS, TO MY KNOWLEDGE...CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG, _ .

2. DETERMINE.
How do we DETERMINE the best course of action, _ .
It has not yet been DETERMINED, _ .
It was an illdefined project of INDETERMINATE goals, _ .
The outcome was PRE-DETERMINED, _ .
It is NON-DETERMINISTIC. That is it is random; and unpredictable, _ .

3. KNOWLEDGE GAP.
There is a significant KNOWLEDGE GAP, _ .

4. OCCUR TO YOU.
It never OCCURED TO YOU to inquire about the feasibility, _ .

5. CAN'T COMMENT ON THIS.
I CAN'T COMMENT ON THIS at this point in time, _ .

6. HESITANT.
I'm slightly HESITANT to mention, _ .

7. QUESTIONABLE.
Their capacity to deliver is somewhat QUESTIONABLE, _ .
Their true intentions have been called into QUESTION, _ .

8. ARGUABLY.
It is ARGUABLY the most, _ .

9. ENTIRELY SURE.
I'm NOT ENTRIELY sure to be honest, _ .

10. RULE OUT.
I would not RULE OUT that possibility going-forward, _ .

11. UNAWARE.
I am UNAWARE of any efforts to address those issues, _ .

12. KNOWLEDGE.
He does not have the required TACIT KNOWLEDGE, _ .
He does not have the required INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE, _ .

13. NOTIFY.
I have not been NOTIFIED of such , _ .

14. VISIBILITY.
I do not have VISIBILITY of what the BI team are doing, _ .

15. INSIGHT.
I do not have that INSIGHT, _ .

16. BEYOND ME.
It transcends the BOUNDS of my knowledge , _ .
It is BEYOND MY knowledge , _ .

PWG - SAME

IT'S UNDER THE SAME LID, _ .
IT'S IN THE SAME BUCKET, _ .
IT'S THE SAME STREAM OF THOUGHT AS, _ .
THEY WANT TO PRESERVE THE STATUS QUO, _ .
WE ARE READING FROM THE SAME PAGE, _ .
WE ARE ON THE SAME WAVE LENGTH THEN, _ .
WE ARE ROWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION IT SEEMS, _ .
IT HAS THE SAME QUALITIES AS, _ .
ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME, _ .
6 OF ONE AND HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER, _ .
2 HALFS OF THE SAME COIN, _ .
WE NEED TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD, _ .
YES, WE ARE IN THE SAME BOAT - BUT NOT EVERYONE IS ROWING - BUT THERE ARE 2 DECKS, _ .
IT'S ANOTHER WAY OF SLICING THE SAME CAKE, _ .
WE ARE DRINKING FROM THE SAME PIPE.
WE ARRIVE AT THE SAME INESCAPABLE CONCLUSION IRRESPECTIVE OF PATH, _ .
WE CAN DRAW PARALLELS, _ .
PARTS OF THE SAME PUZZLE, _ .
WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL, _ .

2. NOT DISSIMILAR.
They are not overly DISSIMILAR, _ .

3. PARITY.
It offers functional PARITY with, _ .
We need to be in PAR with ..GAIN PARITY with, _ .

4. CONGRUENT/COHESIVE.
It is in CONGRUENCE/COHESION with our thinking around, _ .

5. ALIGNED.
We need to ALIGN our efforts around, _ .

6. HOMOGENOUS.
Its easier because those formats are HOMOGENOUS, _ .

7. SYMMETRY.
There is a lot of SYMMETRY in what they do, _ .

8. OVERLAP.
There may be areas of OVERLAP so be cognosant of that, _ .

9. FALSE DICHOTOMY.
It is a FALSE DICHOTOMY to believe business and social change are mutually exclusive, _ .
you're either with us or against us, _ .

10. MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
They are MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE. They need to happen together at the same time______....

PWG - DIFFERENT

CHALK AND CHEESE, _ .
SPLIT INTO 2 CAMPS, _ .
2 SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT, _ .
THERE WAS AN INCREASING DISCONNECT, _ .
THERE IS A CLEAR DEMARCATION BETWEEN A & B, _ .
ITS A DEPARTURE FROM WHAT WE ARE USED TO, _ .
It can come in VARIOUS SHAPES & SIZES, _ .
DIFFERENT MANIFESTATIONS of the same thing, _ .
IT COMES IN MANY DIFFERENT FLAVORS , _ .

2. SKEWED.
I feel You may have a SKEWED view of what is actually going on, _ .

3. ALTERNATIVES.
There are several ALTERNATIVES, _ .

4. POINTS OF DIFFERENTIATION.
There are great commonalities but also some key POINTS OF DIFFERENTIATION, _ .

5. UNIQUE.
There are UNIQUE points of view on this, _ .

6. DISPARATE.
There are a number of DISPARATE data stores, _ .

7. DISSIMILAR.
They are quite DISSIMILAR when you drill down on the features, _ .

8. VARIATIONS.
There may exists many VARIATIONS or VARIANTS of the same entity, _ .
There are a VARIETY of WAYS, _ .
There are a VARIOUS ALTERNATIVES from which to choose, _ .

9. FLAVOURS.
Correct. It does come in many different FLAVOURS, _ .

10. DIFFERENT FORMS.
It is a case of DIFFERENT FORM SAME FUNCTION versus DIFFERENT FUNCTION SAME FORM, _ .
It can take many different FORMS, _ .


11. DIFFERENTIATORS.
The primary DIFFERENTIATORS are PRICE..AVAILABILITY..CONVENIENCE, _ .
What DIFFERENTIATES your product? , _ .
One key DIFFERENTIATOR may be time to market, _ .
All sprinters are the same speed over 5 metres, the test doesn't show true DIFFERENTIATION , _ .

12. DISTINGUISH.
It is DISTINGUISHED in that, _ .
How would you DISTINGUISH your product from the competition? , _ .

13. HETEROGENOUS.
There are many HETEROGENOUS formats on different websites, _ .

14. MISALIGNED.
We seem to be MISALIGNED in our thinking around, _ .

15. OUT OF SYNC.
Their notion of a good project is a little OUT OF SYNC with ours, _ .

16. MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
They are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. They are unable to be both true at the same time, _ .
Throwing heads and tails at once, _ .

17. DICHOTOMY.
There was a sharp DICHOTOMY of responses from the participants. Half agreed and half did not______....

PWG - BASICALLY

WELL BROADLY SPEAKING, _ .
LONG STORY SHORT, _ .


2. ESSENTIALLY.
We are ESSENTIALLY playing catch-up, _ .
In ESSENCE I am operating behind a curtain, _ .

3. PRINCIPALLY.
PRINCIPALLY, yes, that is correct, _ .
In PRINCIPAL I am in agreement with this, however there are some caveats, _ .


4. ULTIMATELY.
ULTIMATELY they intend to, _ .
ULTIMATELY, what I care about is , _ .

5. FUNDAMENTALLY.
FUNDAMENTALLY, there are 3 main reasons for that, _ .

PWG - THINK

WE NEED TO CHANGE THEIR MINDSET WHEN IT COMES TO, _ .
WHAT IS YOUR VIEW/TAKE ON, _ .
WE NEED TO CREATE A FUNDAMENTAL PARADIGM SHIFT, _ .
WE HAVE A GOOD GRASP OF WHAT IS REQUIRED, _ .
THAT'S MY 2 CENTS, _ .

2. ASSUME.
It is completely absurd to ASSUME that, _ .
I would ASSUME so , _ .


3. SUGGEST.
What I would SUGGEST is that you, _ .

4. SPECULATE.
I can only SPECULATE at this point, _ .

5. SEE IT.
How I SEE IT is like this. Firstly, _ .

6. SHARE.
I can SHARE with you how I have been THINKING AROUND THIS, _ .

7. OPINION.
I'm of the OPINION that, _ .

8. BELIEVE.
I BELEIEVE that the most optimal, _ .

9. UNDERSTANDING.
As I UNDERSTAND it, there are 3 main streams, _ .
Based on my current UNDERSTANDING of the situation, I would say that, _ .

10. PERSPECTIVE.
My PERCEPTION of the current game plan is that, _ .
From my PERSPECTIVE, I can see a number of, _ .
We need to look at it through the different stakeholder LENSES, _ .

11. CONSCIOUS.
One thing I am conscious of is, _ .

12. FEEL.
My FEELING on this is , _ .
I FEEL that we need to , _ .
The SENTIMENT I gather is ______....

PWG - GIVE INPUT

I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT, _ .
CAN I JUST GET SOME CLARIFICATION ON, _ .
I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE I UNDERSTAND WHY, _ .
SO IF I UNDERSTAND YOU CORRECTLY THEN, _ .
COULD YOU ELABORATE ON, _ .
SORRY FOR INTERJECTING, I JUST HAD A QUESTION, _ .
I BELIEVE XYZ AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY, _ .
IN MY OPINION, _ .
MY 2 CENTS ON THIS IS, _ .
AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, _ .
MY TAKE ON IT IS THIS, _ .
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE I HAVE 2 CONCERNS. FIRSTLY, ...SECONDLY, , _ .
AS I SEE IT,, _ .
BASED ON MY CURRENT UNDERSTANDING, _ .
IN MY VIEW, _ .
TO MY MIND, _ .
IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT, _ .
AS I UNDERSTAND IT, _ .
ACCORDING TO JOHN THERE ARE __, _ .AS I SEE IT , _ .
MY TAKE ON THIS IS, _ .
SO LET ME SUMMARISE THAT FOR YOU, _ .

THANK YOU FOR THE OVERVIEW THAT HAS BEEN VERY USEFUL IN GIVING ME A BETTER UND. OF THE CONTEXT, _ .
AS I SEE IT, THERE ARE 2 MAIN APPROACHES. FIRSTLY,.. SECONDLY, _ .
LET ME BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU, _ .
LET ME SHARE WITH YOU HOW WE APPROACH/VIEW THIS, _ .

PWG - REQUEST INPUT

WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON? , _ .
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON? , _ .
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ON? , _ .
BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE, CAN YOU? , _ .
FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? , _ .
WHAT IS YOUR STAND ON? , _ .
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT? , _ .
HOW DO YOU SEE? , _ .

PWG - EH, UM FILLERS

DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?, _ .
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE, _ .
AM I MAKING SENSE, _ .
OK? , _ .
YEAH? , _ .
RIGHT? , _ .
ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? , _ .
ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON? , _ .
LISTEN, _ .
LOOK______....

How do I explain difficult concepts effectively?

1. Value-Add and Cost Avoidance Perspectives:
Look at all the stakeholders that are impacted by the model and explain the Value Add & Cost Avoidance from their perspectives.

2. Use Contrast:
Contrast the model to a model everyone is used to in everyday life.

3. Use Analogies:
Relate the idea to ana analogy the user may be familiar with.

Thursday, 29 April 2010

How do I ensure communicate effectively?

1. PACE YOURSELF BEFORE DIVING IN WITH A RESPONSE. USE A PRIMER.
"I'm glad you asked that question..."
"[Repeat question] How would I differentiate the offerings. Well, firstly..."
"The way I see it is like this..."
"From my perspective..."
"As I see it now,.."

2. SPELL OUT WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT BEFORE HAND.
"There are 2 main reasons....A...and B...."
"There are a few different schools of thought..."
"There are several core drivers..1...2...3.."
"There are a few main things i want to talk to you about, firstly...the....."

3. CLAM, COMPOSED, SLOW, RHYTHMIC DELIVERY.
"What..we..need.. to do..is...not decrease..but rather..INCREASE...the amount of ..."


4. DON'T RUSH. ENSURE YOU FINISH.
"Just let me finish before you dive in.."
"Please have the decency to let me get my point across before you jump in.."
"Well I'm sorry for speaking while you are trying to interrupt me..."
"Have the courtesy to let me finish speaking. I'll return the favour..."
"Let me finish please! Thank you."



PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

1. Plan Story Board+ then add slides
2. Populate each of these sections on a template sheet before a presentation
3. Key Delivery Secret = Rhythm + Pauses and HIGH Hand Gesture Conducting

{MAKE EVERY PRESENTATION A STORY. Need to answer 2 questions:
What chapter is my slide deck telling start - middle - end?
How is each slide progressing the story?}



--- PRESENTATION OPENING + AGENDA + STRUCTURE + OBJECTIVES---

How are you all doing? No, nothing, ok, tough crowd..that's ok. Good! Not so tough crowd..

Thank you for joining us for today's session __________.


My name is ________ from ________ and


Today I would like to share with discuss with you a few different areas relating to the topic of ____________. Namely,
Today I would like to share with you several key messages relating to the topic of ___________.
Today I would like to explore with you several key areas. Namely,__________.

I want to take you through, ______.
We are going to first look at ____, then we will look at ____ and finally we will look at _________.
What we will look at today is, ______.


By the end of today's session you should have a better understanding of a ________ b _________ and c __________.


This presentation will consist of 3 main parts, firstly we will ___________. Next we will ___________. Finally we will take a look at ___________.


The main objectives of today's presentation are to 1 _______ , 2 _, . 3_____.
The goals of this presentation are to 1, ______, 2, _______ and finally.


>

--- HEY PRINCIPLE ---

What we can do is say, "Hey, why don't we just..."

And your customers may be like, "Hey,..."

The solution says, "Hey, I can extract the people, places, dates..."





--- POP QUIZ ---
(do as many of these as possible throughout to kep them awake & session dynamic)
Before we dive into to that though, I'd like to get a show of hands.
....How many of you don't want to be here?
....Who can tell me ________?
....How many of you have __________?
...What would you say __________?
....Of these 3 options, A, B, C, which is the most used?

We are going to ....But just before we do that. so that I can get a feeling for how the audience is made up, can you tell me ____________
Can you raise your hands if ____
By a quick show of hands how many of you _____
In this room today, how many of you ________

So, of you who raised your hands could you possibly give us an example?



--- WARMING AUDIENCE ---
Let me quickly touch on ______
a) So Why is this topic of importance in today's _____ environment? Well, __________.
b) Why should you be interested in this topic? You should be interested in this topic as ____________ because _________.



So without further adoo , Let's get started.
So without further adoo, Let's kick-off.


--- SECTION CLOSING ---
So, that was _________ and that was the first thing I wanted to share with you today.



--- SECTION OPENING ---
The second Thing I want to share with you today is ______________.
In this next section we will take a look at ______.

--- SLIDE STORY ---
[Never read the slide. Use the slides to tell a story. Each slide is a chapter in the story. Use the
P.O.W.H.A or T.E.A.C.S technique]

[The Problem. Our Offering. What it does. How it solves the problem. Advantage it brings.]





In today's world [Truism] we are bombarded we information everyday [Examples] email, files, docs, texts, adverts, newspapers....[Action] we need to stem the flow to make info more consumable [Solution] a potential solution would be ______ .
[Credibility] This has been applied before to ______ [Success Metrics] with 100% success. [TEACS]

--- PERSONIFY ---
So he said "...." Then I said " "
[3rd person] So in he comes and says ""..then in I come and say ""
The content goes thru the pipeline, it is then read by a number of readers, they scan through looking for the entiy matches, when they find one they push it into a bucket, ...



--- DELIVER KEY POINTS ---

[Rule of 3 ]
REPEAT BIG IDEAS x3
- We need to be the first. We need to be number one. We need to be the best.
- What did this mean?They were less aware of opportunities. Less cognisant of threats. Less equipped to perform role.


SET EXPECTATIONS OF 3 TO KEEP INTEREST UNTIL FINAL ONE
-There are 3 ideas core pillars components I want to share with you today
--Firstly,...secondly, finally
--1, 2 and 3
-- A, B and C


--- CONTRASTING ---
You are most likely familiar with the ill-performing ___________. Now you can ________.
You probably know the frustration of ___________. Now you can ________.
You probably know what I mean when I say _____.


--- HIGHLIGHT KEY FEATURES---
There are a few things I want to CALL OUT here...
The other THING I'LL MENTION IS...
What is going to HAPPEN NOW is..
he Main point here IS THIS.
The really EXTRAORDINARY thing here is this. It is_________.
The AWESOME thing here is this. The_________.
The COOL thing here is this. It is_________.
What I really love about this is _________.
What EXCITES me about this is __________.
Its INCREDIBLE how you can __________.
Its AMAZING that ________.
This is my FAVOURITE right here and let me tell you why __.



--- KEEPING IT FRESH ---
Later today you will hear my colleague talk about ________.


Earlier today you heared my colleague talk about ________.



Only this week it was announced that __________.
Just yesterday in the news there was an article describing _______.
Just before the session I was speaking to Linda who's company was experiencing ________.


Right here in this city, 50 years ago ______________.



--- KEEPING IT ALIVE ---
I like to use the analogy ___________.
Research from _________ has shown that ____________.
They have conducted studies at __________ to examine _____________. What they found is that __________.

As [famous person ]James Joyce once said ____________.
I recall hearing a story a while ago about _____________.
I recall hearing a quote that went something like this _____________.
I recall a fact that states that ________________.
When I first joined I recall I _____________.


--- FLAGGING CONTENT ---
What I will say is this. __________
There are a few considerations. Let me take you through them. Firstly, ___________
The next section is important because ______.



So, what does this mean? This means _________.
So, Why is this important? This is important because _________.
So, Why should you care you might be asking yourself right now.

You are probably thinking to yourself right now _______________.
I would like to highlight this point. ___________.
This here is key, ______.
This slide describes ____________.
Let me jump to a demo and show you how ____________.

So, Its like this _____.
So, Here is the deal ____.
What this means is _____.


What you will notice here is that _____.

If there is any single thing you should take away from ttoday, it is this _________.
If you leave the presentation with a single take away it should be this _______.
So, what did we learn here? We learned that __________.


Now, ____
Let me tell you what I thinkbet ______.
Let me share with you my view on this _________.
Look, its like this _______.
Do you know what I think? I think ______.
There is one important point I want to make and it is this. ___________.
But, you know what ________.


--- ENGAGING & ENCOURAGING THE LISTENERS ---
Who can tell me, ______?
Has anyone, _______?
How many of you, _______, raise your hands?
Does anyone, ________?
Raise your hand if, ______ .

I can see eyes starting to glaze over and blank stares. Is this making sense?
I know it took me a while the first time. Don't be afraid to ask questions?
Are you getting a feeling for what it is and what it can do?
Am I making sense? Too technical? Not technical enough?


What would you like to see next?
What would you like to focus on for the remaining hour?
Is there anything you would like covered in more detail?
Are there any areas of concern where you do not believe we would be able to address your requirements?


--- EXPLAINING DIFFICULT CONCEPTS ---
Let me illustrate with an example.
Let me illustrate with an analogy.
In order for you to better grasp this, visualise for me a __________.
Think for a second of how you ____________.



--- PRESENTATION CLOSING ---
So, what did we see there. We saw ____________.
So, what did we learn form that? We learned, I hope, that ________.
So, in summary. The key ideas we looked at today were __________.
Before I finish I want to leave you with this call to action. The next time you __________.











DEMONSTRATION COMMUNICATION TEMPLATE

Golden Rule: Alaways be looking for THE FLIP
- Before I answer, for what reasons is that important to you?
- Before I kick-off, What areas would you specifically like me to cover?
- So that I make best use of time, tell me, what are you interested in seeing specifically?


P.O.A.E.M - Problem.Our Offering.Advantage it brings.Example.Metrics

[P.O.W.H.A]
[The Problem. Our Feature. What it does. How it solves the problem. Advantage it brings.]

--- DEMO OPENING & SETTING ---
Before we run through this demo I want to first set the scene.
If you to leave with one big idea/key message let it be this:

[BOP PRI]
[Background. Objective. Problem. Pain. Resolution. Improvements.]
Background - Factiva is the world's leading provider of premium business & research information for the business and education communities.
Objective - to provide customers with relevant information to inspire their business decisions.
Problem - Information is free. Information is everywhere. We are part of the 'Google' generation.
Pain - Decreasing utilisation. Fewer sign ups. Reduced margins.
Improvements - Increased utilisation. Accelerated growth. Increased profits and reduced labour costs.

As we run through this demo ________. I want you to think about how you ______ today.

--- DEMO MESSAGES ---
In this demonstration I am going to take you through 2 user journeys. In the first journey _____.
The key messages I want you to share with you through this demo is how it is.

- More Visual than the search you are used to. This leads to quicker intelligence extraction.

- More Conversational than the search you use today. It engages you in dialogue in order to filter results from several millions to a manageable handful in a couple of clicks.

- More Actionable. The results of a search are only step one in a multi-stage process. We want to assist towards other stages in that process.


I want you to think about the key messages we discussed earlier.Search is no longer about a simply an input box and 10 blue links.
See how that is realised in this example.

--- DEMO PRIMING---
So, hopefully the demo gods are with us today and this demo responds.
As, the page is loading with results what you are going to see here is _____________.
What we are going to see here is ____.
We are going to first look at ____, then we will look at ____, and finally we will examine ______.
What we will look at in this demo is, _________.


--- HIGHLIGHT KEY STRENGTHS ---
What I want you to think about, as you watch this demo is _________.
What you are seeing here is ____________.
Notice how ___________ this enables __________.
What I would like to showcase here is. Firstly, ________ Secondly, ________ Thirdly, _______.
What I would like to highlight here is _________.
You will see here that ____________.

A key differentiator you will notice vis-a-vis _________ is that ___________. The benefit of this is ___________.
One of the most important things to realise here is that ______________.

--- HIGHLIGHT PAIN ALLEVIATION ---
You are most likely familiar with the ill-performing ___________. Now you can ________.
You probably know the frustration of ___________. Now you can ________.
You are probably familiar with the painful process of ___________. Now you can ________.
You probably know what I mean when I say _____.c

--- DEMO FEATURE CONTRASTING ---- for each feature to demo, choose competitor features
You can see here at a competitor powered site how difficult hard counter-intuitive time consuming restrictive it is to perform _____________.
Let me show you how we have made this process so much more easy more enjoyable quicker.

--- HIGHLIGHT KEY FEATURES---
What used to happen was ____________. Let me show you how we have made that process more enjoyable, enagaing, easy.

Let me show you how we can _____________.
This feature is important because _____________.
I'm going to go ahead and select ______. Now having selected ______ I see. Now this is an important insight not explicitly available ___________ only after stepping back.


I would like to highlight ___________.
What you will notice here is that _____.
Let me take you through a SCENARIO where _______.
Let's look at a sample USER JOURNEY ______. In this Journey we _______.
The really EXTRAORDINARY thing here is _________.
The AWESOME thing here is _________.
The COOL thing here is _________.
What I really love about this is _________.
What EXCITES me about this is __________.
Its INCREDIBLE how you can __________.
Its AMAZING that ________.
What I find most AMAZING about this is _______.
This is my FAVOURITE right here _____.
One of my FAVOURITE things about this is ______.
One of the features that WOWs me most is _________.

--- DEMO QUESTIONING ---
How would you see this being used in your organisation?
What elements of this would be relevant to your role, department?
Have you used such capabilities before _____?
How does this differ from your current solution?
Can you visualise how this could be applied?

--- DEMO ENGAGING ---
Ok? Yeah? Right?
Is this making sesnse?
Is this useful for you?
I can see eyes glazing over, is this overly technical?
What areas would you like to dive deeper into?
Are there any areas where you see us not fulfilling the requirements?

--- ENGAGING THE LISTENERS ---
Ok? Yeah? Right? Making Sense?
I can see eyes starting to glaze over and blank stares. Is this making sense?
I know it took me a while the first time. Don't be afraid to ask questions?
Are you getting a feeling for what it is and what it can do?
Am I making sense? Too technical? Not technical enough?

What would you like to see next?
What would you like to focus on for the remaining hour?
Is there anything you would like covered in more detail?
Are there any areas of concern where you do not believe we would be able to address your requirements?

--- EXPLAINING DIFFICULT CONCEPTS ---
Let me illustrate with an example.
Let me illustrate with an analogy.
In order for you to better grasp this, visualise for me a __________.
Think for a second of how you ____________.

--- DEMO CLOSING ---
So, what did we see there. We saw ____________.
So, in summary. The key ideas we looked at today were __________.
Before I finish I want to leave you with a call to action. The next time you __________.

So, in that demo we saw how...
That demo is a good example of how..
_________ is a good demonstartion of how..

If there is anything you should take away from this its 3 things. Firstly, _______ .
I hope this communicate 3 high level concepts. Firstly, _______ .




Tuesday, 27 April 2010

How do I raise my profile as an expert?

Networking events: Identify industry seminars that look interesting to you, and stay for a drink and a chat afterwards. Or put yourself forward as a speaker or panellist. You can start locally with your nearest Business Link or Chamber of Commerce. Be specific about what you can offer in terms of expertise. You can also try approaching an event’s organisers to offer yourself as a substitute speaker — speakers often pull out at the last minute.

Tap your alumni network: Headhunters may look for alumni recommendations for candidate leads or to get information on someone they already have their eye on, so it helps if you are in contact with former classmates. Joining online alumni groups on social networking sites such as LinkedIn will put you in touch with other alumni.

Digital networking: What information comes up when you type your name into a search engine? Your online presence will be scrutinised by headhunters, so it’s worth checking your LinkedIn page is up-to-date and your Facebook profile passes muster. Doig recommends using a site like www.pipl.com, which will list your appearances on all social media sites. Include a photo of yourself on your social media profile – it’ll put a face to your name.

Join your trade body: Industry bodies such as ACCA (for accountants), the Marketing Society and the CMI (for managers) are a great starting point for events and networking. It’s always possible you might meet a headhunter there, too. Membership organisations and conferences aren’t cheap, though, so invest wisely. Be sure the people you want to meet are going to be there.

Get quoted: Industry magazines and websites look for to approach for comment or contributions. Aim for publications that are considered their industry’s ‘bible’ —in retailing, it’s Retail Week, in TV it’s Broadcast. (If you don’t know which one should be your target, search the name of a high profile business leader in your industry and see where they’ve been quoted.) Blogging and micro-blogging (via Twitter) can also help you set out your stall to a wider audience and help you build up a network within your industry.

Thursday, 22 April 2010

How do I qualify a customer?

1.How does your company purchase products of this type?

2.How does your company make the decision to buy?

3.What are the organizational relationships that influence the decision?

4.Who are the people typically involved in this decision making process?

5.What ego or ownership issues come up that need to be managed and respected?

6.If you don’t buy at this time, what remedial actions do you plan to take?

7.How will your current vendors react to the possibility you’ll buy from us?

8.What are the concerns or roadblocks that could get in the way of us working together?

9.What are the timely and relevant issues that are going on internally?

10.What is the overall mood of the company and its leaders?

11.Who else in your company should I be presenting to and following up with?

12.What challenges does your current solution not address as effectively as you would like?

13.What internal resources can you leverage to try and resolve this issue on your own?

14.What will it cost you and your company if you keep things the way they are today?

How to understand the prospect and create the most dynamic sales proposal?

1.Find the Key Decision you want them to make.
What decision do I want my audience to make?

2. Understand how they make their decisions. [PEG FAS]
Key #1: Greed. “If we make a decision now, we’ll get a big reward.”
Key #2: Fear. “If we don’t make a decision now, we’re basically toast.”
Key #3: Altruism. “If we make a decision now, we’re good people.”
Key #4: Envy. “If we don’t make a decision now, the other guys will win.”
Key #5: Pride. “If we make a decision now, they’ll know we’re smart.”
Key #6: Shame: “If we don’t make a decision now, they’ll know we’re dumb.”

NOT MADE - RAISE the likelihood of pain and LOWER the likelihood of pleasure.
IS MADE - RAISE the likelihood of pleasure and LOWER the likelihood of pain.

3.Research the audience to understand how they make their decisions.
If you are going to create the emotions that drive decision-making, you need to know not just the audience’s current emotional state but also the beliefs that they’re using to evaluate the emotional weight of anything that you might present to them.

However, please remember that it is not the information that is important, but the emotional effect that your use of the information will have upon the audience.

For example, if a company sees IBM as their main competition, the “fear” and “envy” segments are best stated in terms of competing with IBM.

Similarly, if a firm’s management consists of evangelical Christians, altruistic appeals to “saving the environment” will likely fall flat.

For the new CIO "If I screw up; I’ll lose this job"

Friday, 16 April 2010

How do I form a kick ass team?

1.Everyone knew the goal. The goal SMART. A second pass adds complexity, time & waste.

2.Everyone knew the schedule. Not just a single deadline, but a detailed project milestone chart. Everyone always knew where we stood.

3.Everyone knew their responsibilities. Everyone had a function and everyone knew what that was, although it often changed during the project on an as-needed basis.

4.We were competing with other project teams. There were multiple teams working on similar projects in the same department and physical location. We shared ideas and insights, but there was also an element of friendly competition.

5.We spent a lot of time not heads-down working. We had ad-hoc meetings constantly and in real-time as problems arose. We frequently goofed around and went out for lunch and after work, but not “as a team,” it just sort of happened.

6.Management left us alone. I reported status to management, which communicated to our customer. Otherwise, the team was left alone. Managers did some walking around, but they were lighthearted and conversational, not critical.

7.Compensation was not tied to results. The pay was the same no matter what happened. And there was no time clock.

http://blogs.bnet.com/ceo/?p=4372&tag=nl.e713

Thursday, 8 April 2010

How do I craft a killer elevation pitch?

[LDEC]
#1: The Lead-in. This is the set-up statement to spark interest.
#2: The Differentiator. The Unique Value Proposition.
#3: The Engagement question. Open-ended conversation starter that allows one assess the prospect’s interest level.
#4: The Call to action. This is the request for a meeting to discuss the matter.

Lead-In:
Retail firms use our software and services to help __________.
Our customers achieve a $1000 savings per employee within one month by ___________.
We help companies lower IT costs by _________.
Companies like [former customer] benefit by _________


Differentiator:
We have a unique methodology ___________.
Through our unique ability to ____________.

Engagement Question:
Of what I just said, what might be of interest to you?
Can you see this being of benefit to your firm?
How does your company currently address this?


Call to Action:
What would your thoughts be on having an initial conversation with us about (something of value to the customer here)?
I would love to have an initial phone conversation with you about (something of value to the customer here). What is the best way to get on your calendar?
If we really could do (something of value to the customer here), what would your thoughts be on having an initial conversation with us to hear more?

Monday, 5 April 2010

Book - 59 Seconds - Learnings

[Likeability/Support]
Franklin Effect - Get someone to do something for you to increase likability.
Pratfall Effect - The occasional slip-up increase likability. (N.B. only when fear is that seen as too perfect) . Consider Kate in the Apprentice.
Make it personal - Appeals about a single child starving or a lost dog named rupert are more likely to generate interest and support than statistics on the hundreds of thousands dying.
Yes, Yes, Yes - People are more likely to agree with you when they have already said something positive - Think fundraisers asking "How are you today sir?" "Are you enjoying the weather?" "Would you benefit from some extra cash?"
Likeness = Likeability - we like people like us - people answered more surveys from people with the same name - find the similarity that links you and a customer & use that to build rapport.
Facial Feedback Theory - Smiling makes you happy, its not that you just smile because you are happy, but you are happy because you smile.

[Persuasion]
Humour to close the deal - "My final offer is £110 ... And I'll throw in my pet frog!" - extend hand for close.
Avoid Diffusion of Responsibility - Everyone assumes that the other person will do it - farmers lifted 85kg alone but 65kg when in a group - Need to make the request personal (not send to all) in order for accountability. Why brainstorming is inefficient.
Save your time, Persuade by rhyme - More memorable, likeable, repeatable - "Beanz, Meanz, Heinz" - "A Mars a day helps you work rest and play" "If the glove don't fit, you must acquit"
Every Penny Helps! - Many people are concerned that if they give only a small amount that they will be viewed as mean, so end up giving nothing at all.
Spontaneous Favours Elicit the Desire to Reciprocate - the more thoughtful the better - E.g. waiters giving sweets with bill, then giving an extra one and saying don't tell management - received greater tips as it appeared thoughtful and personal though small. Give pen at meeting, buy a pint for colleague, give a free booklet.
Baby Back! - in studies, those wallets that contained pictures of babies or a dog were more likely to be returned than those without.

[Motivation]
SUCCESS = SMART Goals+(Sub-Goals & Rewards) - "People tend not to walk around and end up on the top of Mount Everest"
Public Declaration - Telling others about your goals increases likelihood of success - hold you accountable - can't deny to yourself.
Zeigarnik's Unfinished Tasks - "unfinished tasks stuck in a person's mind like an unclosed door leaving a draft" - anxious mind nags away until you complete it.
Take advantage of this by starting all tasks you need to complete if only for a few minutes.
Bottomless Bowl Effect - In a study by Wansik of Cornell University -he found that those consuming from bottomless bowls ate 75% more than the control. Suggests we eat until we have finished, not until we are full!
Science of Dieting - Power of Slow - Eating slowly makes people consume less, especially if they get slower as they progress. Tall Glasses appear more - people consume more when a glass is smaller and wider as assume less. Out of Sight Out of Mind - more accessible = eaten more often. Beware the large Crockery - the larger the bowl the more participants ate - Focus, Focus, Focus - the more distracted participants were the more they ate e.g. in cinema.

My first sub-goal is to _____________.
I believe I can achieve this goal because _____________.
To achieve, this sub-goal, I will _________________.
This will achieved by the following date ____________.
My reward for achieving this will be ______________.

[Creativity]
Two guys in a room theory - Loud guy needs to let the quiet guy speak - Unconcious guy has all the best ideas but doesn't always get his ideas across because the loud guy - concious mind - is a talker, clever but less innovative. Distract the loud guy with a game or reading and the quiet guy can shine thru.

Breaking + Priming- Prime your mind by working feverishly on a problem. Then leave it unfinished and feed your mind with diverse experiences. Helps with different approaches to solve the problem.

Change Perspective - Solve a difficult problem by asking how would a child, doctor, clown, teacher, fireman - approach this?

More Green = More Creativity - Green is associated with positivity and relaxation - studies showed that having pot plant/ greenery in the office increased creativity.

Priming - Studies have shown that if you sit people in front of a screen saver containing dollars and money symbols they behave in a much more selfish and greedy manner and give less to charity.
Add a faint smell of cleaning detergent to the air and people tidy more thorougly.
Give interviewees a cold cup of coffee and they report the interviewer to be more cold and distant.
Black students thinking about black olympic athletes performed better on tests than those primed with watching black crime stats.
Reduce Worry = Increase Creativity - Strong link between anxiety and creativity - when worried participants became more focused and concentrated on the task at hand, don't see peripheral solutions, become very risk adverse, rely on well-established routines as opposed to innovative new approaches.
Touch of Authority - people more willing to comply if you give them a gentle touch on shoulder or upper arm as you make the request.
Mirroring - lean forward shortly after they lean forward, sit back shortly after they lean back, cross arms shortly after they cross arms.
If you were a _____ what would you be? If you were a singer who would you be? If you were an actress who would you be?






How do you create daily motivation?

If you walk into a room that smells of fresh baked bread, you quickly detect the pleasant aroma. However, if you spend some time in the room the aroma will disappear. You need to walk into the room again in order to experience the aroma again.

Using this analogy we can apply it to joyful experiences:
[Gratitude Attitude]
- 3 things I am happy for as I wake.
- One thing I am really enjoyed with yesterday.
- A favourite experience.
- How getting closer to my ideal future.

STORY: It's not the time taken its the value created

Story of a man trying to fix his broken boiler.
Despite his best efforts over many months, he simply can’t mend it.

Eventually, he gives in and decides to call in an expert repair man.

The engineer arrives, gives one gentle tap on the side of the boiler, and stands back as it erupts into life.

The engineer presents the man with a bill, and the man argues that he should only pay a small fee as the job only took the engineer a few moments.

The engineer quietly explains that the man is not paying for the time he took to tap the boiler, but rather the years of experience involved in knowing exactly where to tap.