There I was, sitting down with a nice cup of coffee and watching a ballgame. An advertisement came on the air from not just any bank, but my bank. It turns out that Capital One bank is really going t …
When was the last time you tried to teach another person how to play chess? It’s no easy task. Recently, one of my kids expressed interest so I decided to have a go at it. Clearly, I was feeling amb …
Perfection is a noble act. From a young age, we strive for it. Certain professions demand it. In fact, the sheer pursuit of it seems to lie somewhere between noble and mythical. Yes, there’s nothi …
This morning I got up and made myself a cup of green tea. I hear it’s a healthier alternative than regular tea, and the taste isn’t half bad. The US National Library of Medicine provides a report tha …
The other day, I was texting a good friend of mine. Off and on over the years, we have promised to get together for lunch, and I thought now was a good time to initiate that get-together. It started …
My books are like my children; I love every one of them. But Why People Don’t Believe You… is personal. This book is about finding the necessary magic to help others believe you. It has the ability t …
For close to forty years, I’ve been a loyal United Airlines customer. In doing so, I’ve earned various premier status – logging in a minimum of 25,000 miles in the air a year, and crossing the lifeti …
Why People Don’t Believe You Part 2 – “Something For Everyone?” Do you know the kind of book that publishers tend to run away from? Books that are for everyone. It’s instinctive to want to create some …
I’ve been conducting seminars for over 30 years, and I thought I understood what almost every audience needed. Back in the summer of 2012, nothing could have prepared me for the audience I met in a ch …
Frequently, I’ll ask participants in the seminars I conduct about their expectations. Someone usually raises his or her hand and offers the following classic statement: “If I could learn one or two g …
One of the challenges of grabbing a microphone, walking to the front of a room, and speaking, is the strange paradox of confidence that is clearly on display. If you come on with too much attitude, y …
Fishing fascinates me. My Dad, Lee Jolles, loved to fish. My nephew Matt loves to fish. Quite frankly, I’ve never really understood what’s so interesting about sitting or standing around, for hours …
Here is the situation: You are up in front of an audience, and you are on a roll! The participants are just beginning to warm up so you want to be extra careful to respond to questions appropriately. …
Many salespeople will not argue about the need to ask for referrals. Like so many necessary and supposedly simple tactics, few people can actually explain to you how to do it. They’ll just tell you th …
I remember the excitement of learning my first, real presentation model. Although I enjoyed public speaking, I had never received any formal training. I learned an approach that I’m guessi …
I went to dinner with my wife recently, and I felt like having a nice, cold beer. When our waitress came to the table, I asked if they had one of my favorite beers; a Sam Adams. I happen to real …
We all want to move forward and achieve our goals, but frequently we are blocked by our inability to begin. Try as we might, we just can’t gain any momentum. I’m not referring to physical …
One of the kindest comments that can come from those we work for is this: “You make what you do look effortless.” It doesn’t matter if you are a professional speaker, a salesman, a butcher, a ba …
When I work with sales people and consultants, I can always count on one question being asked when we begin to talk about opening tactics: “How long do you schmooze for?” It’s a great question… a …
It happens all the time in sports. One team is playing well, coasting along, and everything they do seems to be working. Then, in the blink of an eye, the momentum changes. Everything that was once ef …
Isn’t it interesting how guarded we tend to be when it comes to letting others know about personal challenges that require courage? Fear of failure is a mighty foe, but letting others in on our tryst …
“I could have told you, but you had to learn this lesson on your own.” How many times did you hear that phrase as a child, or as a young adult? How many times have you heard it as an adult? I’m not ve …
Typically, we talk too much, we listen too little, and we tend to overwhelm others with our vast array of knowledge. That’s neither persuasive nor pleasant. It’s not a secret that I’m not a fan …
Think about the last time you learned a new, and difficult, process. You may not have known it then, but learning that process was the easy part. Implementing it, however, was almost always …
It’s pretty difficult to live our lives without having to deal with high-pressure situations. Perhaps it’s a critical interview, an important presentation, or a key sales call. You showed up with a lo …
One of the biggest challenges any of us can face is simply to be believed. We need to be believable for our significant others, our friends, our bosses, our coworkers, and our clients. As a mat …
Isn’t technology amazing? We seem to have an insatiable appetite for anything designed to make our lives simpler. Apple is reporting that we’ve now downloaded well over 100 billion apps and cli …
Companies and sales managers are constantly looking for ways to motivate salespeople and increase sales. One of the most traditional approaches is to create a sales contest. After all, who woul …
We all hear the voices in our minds, and we usually hear them when we’re alone. They wait until they sense a vulnerable opening, and then they become louder and louder. These voices can infect our abi …
I’ll never forget my first few weeks on the campus of the University of Maryland. Like most freshman, I was both excited and overwhelmed. The very size of the university was intimidating, and with a w …
I was raised by a salesman, and you could say that selling is in my blood. Between boy scouts, sports teams, and school clubs, I have sold a bunch of different things. I have sold light bulbs, first a …
“To be honest with you, I’m going to put my cards on the table, tell you the truth, and this time, I mean it!” That certainly was a very passionate statement! For some of you, I’ll bet you can’t wait …
You can learn a lot from an artist. I should know; I happen to be married to one. For instance, have you ever watched an artist look at his or her own piece of art? Part of the evaluation of th …
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always liked buying live music recordings. Live albums, live eight tracks, live cassettes, live CD’s, and live downloads. I love the music, and I love listening to …
Click on the image above to watch the related video. I guess you can call me a gym rat; I have been someone who goes to his gym regularly for many years. I’ve belonged to my current gym for twen …
The other day, I was racing through the supermarket to pick up a few items. I jumped into a “12 Items or Less” line, and I came face-to-face with something that really makes me mad. There, in front of …
Who doesn’t like popcorn? Maybe it’s the taste, or maybe it’s the thrill of truly stuffing our face with it, or maybe it’s the sheer quantity that we’re allowed to eat: It’s a terrific f …
Let me start by saying this: I think we underestimate hope. Hope gets us through tough times. Although sometimes we may choose to give up on hope, hope will never desert us. Hope doesn’t …
I guess my fascination with models started when I was very young. My dad used to love to work on model tanks of all things, and he was darn good at it. He would spend hours working on those mod …
The other day, I was talking to a client about working with her sales team. She casually mentioned that the company’s budget was tight, and unfortunately, the first thing to be cut would be the traini …
There’s nothing like a well-deserved celebration after a hard-earned victory. One seems to feed off the other, and like peanut butter and jelly, victory and celebration just seem to be made for …
It sounds simple enough: If you want to influence someone’s perception of you, you must lead him or her to your particular strengths. This certainly makes a lot of sense, but doing it in a repeatable, …
Have you ever asked yourself, “Is it okay not to try my best?” After all, not every opportunity that comes our way represents a life or death situation. This question comes up more often the …
It’s human nature to look at any solution, particularly a premium-priced solution, and balk at its cost. At first glance, who wants to buy a premium-priced product when there’s another one – that cost …
Let me begin by saying that I am not much of a golfer. I’ve just never had the time to work on my golfing skills. When business was strong, I had no time to play. When business was not strong, why wou …
Let me set the stage for you: You are about to walk into a high-pressure situation, and there’s a lot riding on the conversation that’s about to take place. This isn’t just any conversation, bu …
Many salespeople will not argue about the need to ask for referrals. Like so many necessary and supposedly simple tactics, few people can actually explain to you how to do it. They’ll just tell you th …
Let me set the scenario for you. You are about to walk into a pressure situation. You may be speaking to one person, or maybe six people, or maybe six hundred. It doesn’t really matter. What matters i …
In today’s political landscape, many believe that changing the political views of another person is nearly impossible. I must be a hopeless optimist, because I think it’s not nearly as difficult as ma …
We all hear the voices in our minds, and we usually hear them when we’re alone. They wait until they sense a vulnerable opening, and then they become louder and louder. These voices can infect our abi …
Years ago, I worked on a contract with the Farmer’s Home Administration to help them automate their offices. There was a lot of technical training involved, and that meant a lot of study. However, it …
Let’s face it, we’ve been raised with the idea that “more” is better, and if you really want to see this concept play out in all its glory, watch someone try to persuade another. What takes place is f …
Pushing ourselves to do our best is clearly one of the keys to success. However, don’t confuse the noble act of trying our best with the noble act of pushing ourselves to perfection. They may sound si …
I’ll never forget one of the best directors I ever worked with. He not only believed in me as an actor, but he also believed in my ability to experiment with the role I was given. His shows were legen …
