The businessperson's guide to saying what needs to be said and asking questions that need to be asked In the business world, the first step to great results is good communication. Talk Lean uses original research and a fresh approach to teach businesspeople how to say difficult things and ask difficult questions in a way that is positive, effective, and comfortable for everyone involved. You'll learn how to begin meetings and conversations in a way that is succinct, empathetic, and effective, while putting people in a positive and receptive frame of mind. You'll learn how to listen and respond during meetings to maximise both productivity and empathy and how to close meetings in positive ways that lead to great results.
- Offers proven techniques for improving communication and making an impact professionally
- Written by Alan Palmer, head of Interactifs UK, which offers communication coaching to major corporate clients
- Ideal for executives, team leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone whose success depends on great communication
Table of Contents:
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
Part One: Introduction 1
1 What the book is about and who it’s for 3
2 All different . . . and all alike 15
Part Two: Straight to the point in less than a minute: opening your meetings and conversations 23
3 The benefits of straightforward, straightaway 25
4 Begin at the end 39
5 And how are you feeling about announcing this objective? 57
Part Three: Talking lean DURING the meeting: the keys to productivity 73
6 Why meetings run rough: the grit in the engine 75
7 Don’t just listen with your ears! 85
8 Responding: first principles 99
9 The three paths: 1 “HIM/HER” and 2 “ME” 119
10 The three paths: 3 “US” 135
11 Dealing with the non-verbal 149
12 “What do you think?” 163
The Interactifs Discipline: Schematics 177
Interactifs Training Programmes 181
About the author 185
Index 189
About the Author :
Alan Palmer was educated at Oxford and INSEAD and has spent most of his career working for advertising agencies and management consultancies in London and Paris. He is a senior figure at Interactifs, who provide coaching and training to a variety of major clients from financial services to the car industry, from business schools to manufacturing companies. The company is based in France but operates in some 20 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Alan runs the UK operation of the business, which incorporates English-speaking divisions of Interactifs France's clients as well as customers unique to the UK.
Review :
"Talk Lean should be mandatory for any negotiator, manager, employee.... Everyone." (Valeurs et Management, April 2014)
"For sales people in particular, meetings are an important part of working life. To get the most out of them, welcome to Talk Lean...." (Sales Initiative, March 2014)
"This straightforward book helps you meet a middle ground in communicating frankly, courteously and effectively." (Talk Business, January 2014)
"There is plenty of practical advice here and, as you'd expect in a book on this subject, the tone is concise and precise.... Widespread adoption of these practices would, in theory, mean an end to those long, unproductive meetings. Reason enough to recommend it." (Economia, December 2013)
"Talk Lean deserves to be the definitive text of its kind for years to come." (Elite Business, December 2013)
