Carol Bentley

You have probably noticed I have been a bit quiet this week. That’s because I’ve been extremely busy on a new project which has got me all fired up! In fact the only reason I am adding this post is because an email just came in I thought you might want to know about.

On February 6th I shared my thoughts about using the mindmapping software from Buzan - iMindMap™ (read the original post at Getting your thoughts on paper - opens in a new window).

Today’s email came from the Buzan team telling me they are soon to release version 3, which contains three new editions of the software. And Tony Buzan is giving a surprisingly generous gift to anyone who already has iMindMap™ before the release date - more about that below. The three new versions are:

Elements: for basic mind mapping
Professional: for businesses and organisations. It includes a high level of integration with Microsoft Office and Open Office
Ultimate: “The ultimate package of features, including an impressive creative and comprehensive Project Management System and publishing tools.” You can import mindmaps created in MindManager and FreeMind.

Naturally I took a look at what the new versions cover - impressive. But I had an ulterior motive because I was invited to get in early by joining their private testing team. If the new features looked good, it might be just what I need for my new project and getting to grips with it now would be great (apart from which I can spill the beans to you on what’s good or not so good! )

So yes, I’ve taken up the invitation to get the early releases (who wouldn’t?)

Tony’s Gift

Giving upgrades at a reduced price is standard procedure for many software companies. Some generously give free upgrades to the next version of the same level of a software package. So I would have expected to get a special deal on this new version of iMindMap™. What I didn’t expect was to be told…

“Tony Buzan is making a once only offer for iMindMap™ users to save over UK£90/US$180/EUR€99 by giving away free upgrades to the ‘Ultimate’ Edition of iMindMap™”

…that’s the top-of-the-range edition - with all the new bells & whistles. And it’s a saving of almost double the current price of a single licence. Not bad.

Plus - the offer applies to everyone who has a copy of the current iMindMap™ before the release date of version 3.

So - if you’ve been thinking about treating yourself to a mindmapping program, here’s one to consider - iMindMap [Affiliate].

I’ll let you know what I think of the new version before the official release date. As they say… ‘Watch this space.’

~ Carol Bentley

Do this, every day, and you feel better. And so do the people around you. In fact it has even helped turn a failing business and marriage around - as you can read below.

And the best thing? It does not cost you a penny and every single person on the planet can do it - no experience is needed!

What is it? I’ll let John Wood share this particular gem with you…

Try This for 30 Days and You’ll be More Welcome Everywhere You Go
By John Wood

No matter what country you’re from or what language you speak, everyone in the world understands what a smile means.

According to Dale Carnegie, famous self-improvement lecturer and author of the best-selling How to Win Friends and Influence People…

“It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive it, without impoverishing people who give it. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.”

English essayist and poet Joseph Addison (1672-1719) was also well aware of the power of smiling. He wrote…

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are bug trifles to be sure, but scattered along life’s pathway the good they do is inconceivable.”

Here are eight reasons why you should make smiling part of your daily routine…

1. You’ll live longer and be in better health. University of Michigan professor, Christopher Peterson, PhD, says, “Overall we found optimistic people are healthier. Their biological makeup is different. They have a more robust immune system.”

Peterson adds that optimistic people generally take better care of themselves – they are more likely to eat sensibly, drink in moderation and exercise regularly.

According to a November 2004 study by the Archives of General Psychiatry among people 65 to 85 years of age, optimists were 71 percent less likely to die than pessimists.

When you smile it also boosts the levels of serotonin, which plays a vital part in regulating moods, sleep, sexuality and appetite, and releases endorphins which are the body’s natural pain killers.

2. It’s easier to smile than frown. Someone once said that “It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.” I’m not sure if numbers are accurate, but you get the point – being miserable requires more work than being happy. [Carol: I like the idea of less work, plus for us more mature ladies it might mean less wrinkles as well! ]

3. It makes you more attractive. There’s a reason people insist you smile before they take your picture, everyone looks better with a smile on their face.

4. Smiling makes you look younger. Not only do you look better, you look younger. Forget the face lifts or Botox shots; just smile more often.

5. Smiling makes you seem more successful. People who smile are assumed to be more successful. If you’re always frowning, people automatically assume things aren’t going that great for you.

6. People treat you differently. If you’re smiling, people are more likely to start a conversation with you. People want to be around people who smile.

7. You’ll spend less time in jail. Studies have shown that judges give lighter sentences to people if they’re smiling. [Carol: e-er! Hope you don’t ever need this benefit! ]

8. You’ll have a more satisfying relationship. A study by Dr. Dacher Keltner showed that women who showed an intense happiness in their smile were more likely to marry by the age of 27 and maintain a satisfying relationship.

In his classic book, How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling, Frank Bettger told of how when he’d give talks across the country he’d challenge people to greet others with smiles for 30 days. He received thousands of letters talking about the impact this simple gesture had on their lives. He cites the following letter as typical of the letters he received:

“My wife and I had just about agreed to separate. Of course, I thought she was entirely at fault. Within a few days after I began to put this idea into action, happiness was restored in my home. I then came to realize that I had been losing out in business because of a sullen, losing attitude. At the end of the day, I would go home and take it out on my wife and children. It was all my fault, not my wife’s at all. I am a totally different man from what I was a year ago. I’m happier because I’ve made others happy too. Now everybody greets me with a smile. In addition, my business has shown surprising improvement.”

Here are four things you can start right now to put you on track to a happier life:

1. “Fake it till you make it.” Dale Carnegie said it about enthusiasm, but it applies to smiling too. Put a smile on your face and even when things aren’t going so good, you can’t help but feel better.

2. Find the humor in situations. Who can forget the last scene of Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” when Brian, sentenced to death by crucifixion for his part in a kidnapping plot, joins in with the other 140 doomed men and sings “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”?

3. Smile at least five times a day for no good reason. Make smiling part of your daily schedule. Add it to your day timer so you don’t forget. Make a point to smile at yourself first thing every morning when you look in the mirror.

4. Sing a song that makes you smile. There are certain songs that when you hear them, you can’t help but smile. One of the more famous ones is “Put On a Happy Face” from the musical “Bye Bye Birdie.”

But in my opinion, the greatest song about smiling was written by the person many consider to be the greatest film comedian of all time. Everyone knows Charlie Chaplin was a great entertainer, but you may not know that he was also a prolific composer. Eighteen years after his most famous melody appeared on the soundtrack of his 1936 film “Modern Times,” two Englishmen, John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, wrote lyrics to it and titled it “Smile.”

No matter where you are, if you’re feeling less than stellar, you can’t help but feel better about the state of your world if you sing these words to Chaplin’s melody:

Smile tho’ your heart is aching,
Smile, even though it’s breaking,
When there are clouds in the sky – you’ll get by,
If you smile through your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through – for you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide ev’ry trace of sadness,
Altho’ a tear may be ever so near,
That’s the time you must keep on trying,
Smile – what’s the use of crying,
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile,
If you just smile.

—————————————
[This article appears courtesy of The Golden Thread, an e-letter from AWAI that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on how to build your freelance copywriting business. For a free subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/thegoldenthread]

And remember - when you are on the phone the person you are talking to can hear a smile in your voice as you speak. You come over as friendlier and more pleasant to deal with. And that’s got to be good for business, hasn’t it?

~ Carol Bentley

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Giving great service is recognised by most businesses as a must. But what is great service? I think this experience related by my friend, Nigel Risner, is a good example. . .

“Last night I went to one of my favourite restaurants of all time, it has just reopened after many years.

What they have done so remarkably well, is to do exactly what they had done to make them one of the busiest establishments in the past.

Great service.

Great service; great menu and staff who actually want to SERVE.

They also have added some nice little touches, (kosher section) a booking service that lets you know they know you are coming. Valet parking, and many others.

Why am I writing about this with such passion? Because when times get tough, get the basics right.

Will I be returning? yes! Will I spend a lot of money? yes! Will I tell my friends No (only kidding.)

The Chicago Rib Shack is back and in my opinion EVEN BETTER.

I have also been asked to work with a very famous retail store. If I can get them to understand the messages from above I promise I can turn them around.

They had and have a great customer base, they had a great theme, but somewhere have lost their way.

Great service, great people, great choice.

I promise you if you follow that mantra business will come back

Remember the definition of a great organisation:

A product that doesn’t come back and a customer who does

”

Nigel Risner

So how does your business stack up? Are your customers raving fans, like Nigel is of this restaurant?

~ Carol Bentley

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How do you get your creative juices to flow when you need to get that sales letter written?

When you are immersed in the day-to-day flow of your business it can be difficult to pull yourself away enough to allow those innovative, compelling words to materialise.

And sometimes we need to get back the imagination and free thinking of our childhood - see things through fresh eyes, with a new, vibrant perspective.

But how?

In my sales letter writing workshops I aim to get that free feeling in the delegates, before they even put pen to paper. Sure, I go through the ’science’ behind writing an effective sales letter (or advert)…

• craft eye-catching headlines
• structure the letter to follow my skeleton outline
• write a personal letter to your prospect
• paint the picture of what the reader gets - benefits - in a language that resonates with him

All of this is important. But facing a blank page or empty computer screen is a real dampener for many.

So I start off by giving everyone a small bottle of champagne.

What?!

Encourage people to drink - like a writing equivalent of dutch courage?

Absolutely Not!!

The bottle is champagne bubbles - the type you see at weddings.

Having fun - for some going back to the childhood pleasure of blowing bubbles - lightens your mood.

It generates laughter; lessens the sometimes sombre and serious mood of business. And thoughts and ideas start to percolate through.

And, happily, for many it does make writing easier, because writing about your passion; your business is fun! Isn’t it?

Give it a go - what have you got to lose? You might surprise yourself with a flow of creative writing that ‘hits the mark’.

~ Carol Bentley

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Applying the Pareto Principle to your activities is the way to truly achieve more in the time (or even less time) than you currently have is the claim from some experts.

Although not an exact science, many studies frequently seem to show 20% ( or thereabouts) of effort generates 80% of the results achieved.

OK - hands up (mine are already waving high in the air) how much of your time is not as productive as you’d like it to be?

Gary Bencivenga (have you heard of him?) gives a great description in his Bencivenga Bullets newsletter of how this principle applies to copywriters and marketers; how he discovered it for himself many years ago and what action he took to turn it around so he didn’t continue to waste 80% of his time.

If you have ever looked back over your day and thought “Where the heck did the time go today? What have I got to show for it - nothing!” then some of the insights Gary shares in this bulletin (and his next one) may give you back a feeling of being in control. Read it here: Bencivenga Bullets

And talking of being in control… tomorrow’s post is an important one for making sure you get what you want from these snippets - don’t miss it.

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: copywriting Pareto Principle Bencivenga Less time more productivity

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A little while ago I explained why I migrated to iMindMap from Mind Manager. Chris Ingham sent a message describing the surprising result he gained when he decided to give mind-mapping a try - here’s Chris’ full message (with his permission to share):

Good Morning Carol,

We’d like to thank you for promoting Tony Buzan’s iMindMap.

In an exciting and ‘full’ weekend, we’ve re-thought our Business Plan totally and committed it to paper.

It’s certainly something that I’ve been procrastinating over for a long time and I’ve had some great reasons for delaying: waiting for various marketing to run its course, still running a particular ad., not being able to get everyone focused and on-site, etc., etc.

We’ve found the iMindMap Blue-Print can easily be passed around for input (or not) and with time-limits in place, a speedy result can be on the table in next to no time. I particularly like the fact that the team feel and are involved.

Heading up the particular project is exciting; I (we) can visualise the business growing along with the map. Interestingly, with projects in the past, it’s always been an effort to refocus and concentrate on the job to hand; with iMindMap, you just know what’s down on the paper and you’re (your brain is) in-tune with the content immediately.

For just £58.69 our harnessed, collective brainpower is now a permanent team member.

Thank you for sharing Chris.

If you’d like to get the 7-day free trial you can download it here iMindMap

~ Carol Bentley

P.S. My thanks to everyone who sent their best wishes following my earlier post explaining my ‘absence’. I hope to be able to resume normal service towards the end of next week.

technorati tags: mind mapping sales letters brainstorming

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Your mind is buzzing, your senses are on fire as the ideas come to you thick and fast - you can’t write them down quick enough and you just know that some gems are going to disappear into the ether.

Or you’re listening hard, you want to capture every ounce of wisdom you’re hearing but as you write you’re missing other vital information. Sound familiar?

It was certainly a familiar scenario for me when I used to make my notes in linear form. When I discovered Tony Buzan and his mind mapping it opened up a whole new world. I could capture my ideas, brainstorm creatively and remember what I’d heard with simple keywords on a mindmap.

I remember attending a seminar in 2002 where Ivan Misner was speaking about business networking. I made notes; on a mindmap in a notebook that was no more than 10cm x 6.5cm - that was pretty small! I transferred my mindmap, complete with images to a larger map when I got back to my office. I still refer to that mindmap and in fact have written articles and given presentations to business groups using the material as my foundation.

But I’m not aiming to convince you about how wonderful mind mapping is as a business tool - you may already know that. No, what I want to share with you today is the mind mapping program that has been created by Tony Buzan and his team.

You see, up to now I’ve used Mind Manager from Mindjet. And I’ve got quite proficient at using it for most of my creative work. But today I discovered iMindMap, which has a more organic feel that ties in with Buzan’s concept of mind mapping and the way our brains function.

So I downloaded the evaluation 7-day trial copy and gave it a whirl. And I love it! It is extremely easy to use and - for me - looks just right, completely organic like the mind maps you’d draw by hand.

And, just to show you what I mean, I created a mindmap to match one of my earlier posts: 8 elements of a compelling sales letter. Here it is:

The other point that impressed me is the reasonable cost - just £58.69 per user license compared to £199 for Mind Manager.

I think I’m converted If you like the flow of hand-drawn mind maps you’ll love this software too.

You can download a free trial copy at www.iMindMap.com/drwriter and test it for yourself. And yes, that is an affiliate link. If you’d rather not use the affiliate URL you can just go straight to www.iMindMap.com

I’m off to get some more ideas down using my new mindmapping software, ciao for now

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: mind mapping sales letters brainstorming

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Many business people are good at putting pressure on themselves to succeed and beating themselves up when it doesn’t all go quite to plan. I know I am pretty good at doing that to myself

In spite of the fact I absolutely love what I do.

Then, whilst browsing the Internet I saw. . .

“One day as I was venting to a friend about a job I despised, she interrupted and grandly proclaimed, ‘I hereby give you permission to quit your job and do what you truly want!’I had to laugh. Her words made me realize that the only thing keeping me stuck was that I hadn’t given myself permission to do otherwise.”

. . .that was the start of the blog post that caught my attention; enough to share with you.

You see, as well as sometimes being a little too hard on ourselves, I wondered how often do we do the opposite and shy away from success. Or avoid doing something because we feel silly about it; are scared of the consequences or nervous about what other people may think?

This post expanded on the idea of giving yourself permission to do or be something different; to - maybe - get outside your comfort zone and experiment.

And I thought… how about applying it to our business and career aspirations?

After all - if you own a business - why shouldn’t you give yourself permission to fail and learn by your mistakes; to relax and enjoy what you are creating and, ultimately, be outrageously successful?

You can read the original post here:http://mentalmosaic.com/blog

~ Carol Bentley

P.S. And how about giving yourself permission to relax and enjoy your family and friend’s company this weekend?

technorati tags: inspirational

When you are planning your future goals for your business how much notice do you take of last year’s achievements and disappointments?

Many people concentrate on what they are going to do without fully considering the experiences they have already had. I know I’ve been guilty of that over the years, even though I’m continuously building on what I’ve already produced.

But this post at Rich Schefren’s blog made me stop and think. He describes how to analyse your experiences, good and bad; how to learn from them and - more importantly - decide what action you’re going to take so you benefit from those lessons.

Tie that in with my post on setting goals 2008 and beyond and you have a powerful system for improving your business - and personal - success.

Take a look - even if you already do this in your business and life - Rich’s explanation is worth reading.

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: goal setting new year resolutions business planning

Just how positive are you about your success or failure - in life or business? Have you noticed the way people think seems to support the outcome they experience?

So tell me, are you a ‘the glass is half-full’ or ‘the glass is half-empty’ type of person? And does it really matter?

For many years experts have encouraged us to ‘think positively’ in order to be successful. But some people find that far more difficult to do than others. And thinking about it, I realised that the worriers in this world; the people who get stressed; the people who agonise over what’s happening when things don’t go quite to plan are often those who have a ‘glass half-empty’ approach.

So why have I brought this up? I’ll tell you.

I recently received an ezine with an article that gave a very interesting - and quite different view - of positive thinking. In fact it started off by saying ‘Positive Thinking Does Not Work‘.

Have you had people say that to you? Maybe that’s the experience you’ve had.

The author went on to say:

“And, not only does positive thinking NOT cause transformation but it could actually be a root cause of people living life in a vicious cycle.”

Now that caught my eye because I’m one of those positive, ‘glass half-full’ people and this seemed to be heresy!

But I’m also open minded and, after reading the remainder of the article, I concluded it not only makes sense, it is also an insightful explanation for anyone who has tried positive thinking with disappointing results.

It might be just the refreshing start you need for the New Year and, even if it isn’t, it certainly helps to understand why positive thinking doesn’t work for some people.

You can read the full article at Positive Thinking Doesn’t Work

My best wishes to you for a prosperous 2008 and good luck with all you aim to achieve this year and beyond.

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: positive thinking inspirational thoughts

It’s nearly that time of year again - you know… New Year Resolutions! And many experts will be advising you to review your business plans as well.

So what are your goals for 2008 and beyond? Have you got specific targets in mind? Are you focused on achieving them?

Here are a few tips on making realistic goals and, more importantly, increasing your chances of achieving them… You can use these steps for both your personal and your business goals.

The most successful people; whether in business or personal achievement, frequently have one thing in common; they write down what they want to achieve using the SMART acronym.

1. What is your goal? Write down what you want to achieve. Follow the SMART structure:
   1. S - Specific e.g. ‘Increase sales by 28%’, rather than just ‘get more sales’ or ‘lose 2 stone’ rather than ‘lose weight’
   2. M - Measurable. This is linked strongly with specific. If you have a specific goal you’ll be able to measure how close you are to achieving it.
   3. A - Achievable or Awesome. Most people say this stands for achievable but I think the word awesome given by my good friend Steve Pipe of Added Value Solutions is a better. Why?
      Because your goal must be awesome for you; fill you with excitement and inspiration. You see if it isn’t an awesome goal for you to achieve the chances are you’re not passionate about it and you are less likely to take the action needed to make it happen.
   4. R - Realistic. If they are realistic they are achievable. By all means stretch yourself; you don’t want to be doing the ’same-old, same-old’ but make sure what you set is practical. For example increasing your sales by 100% or 200% may be achievable - but can you handle that increase in business logistically?
   5. T - Timed. Set a date when you intend to reach this goal. E.g. ‘reduce my working days to 4 days per week’ is not as powerful as ‘reduce my working days to 4 days per week by February 2009′.
2. Why do you want to achieve this? Is it a “it would be nice to…” or is a passionate “I absolutely must do this”? A weak reason for reaching your goal is not going to inspire you.
3. What will happen if you fail to realise your goal? What pain will you experience by not achieving it?
4. What do you stand to gain when you succeed? Will it light your inner fire? Give you less stress and worry? Make you feel happier? Give you a feeling of pride? Draw the admiration of your peers and superiors?
5. What are the steps you must take to achieve this goal? Write the key things you need to achieve this goal. Not the finite detail, enough to identify what action you need to take. For example if your goal is to increase your sales in 2008 by 28% you might decide you need to put your sales team through the latest sales training. At this stage you would not say it has to be training with ’such & such a company on this date’.

Repeat this sequence for all your personal and business goals.

Prioritise Your Goals

Some of your goals will be more important to you than others. Some may be dependent upon you achieving another goal before you can get started. For example if you have a goal that says ‘increase the profitable response to my direct mailing campaigns by 300% by June 2008′ your goal to learn good copywriting skills would have to be achieved first.

And others may, on reflection, not be as important or inspiring as you first thought.

Decide which are your most meaningful goals and write those on a separate planning sheet. Constantly monitor your progress towards your goal as you take the actions needed.

Does Writing Goals Down Work?

In my personal experience, Yes! If I decide I want to achieve something but I don’t write it down, following the SMART structure, it just doesn’t get done or it takes an inordinately long amount of time to achieve a less than satisfactory result.

When I write my goal down it does 4 things for me:

1. It focuses my mind on the outcome I want and when I want it by.
2. It programmes my subconscious to find solutions for me.
3. It clearly identifies the actions I need to take and when they need to be done by.
4. Things happen! Unexpected opportunities that help me achieve my goal suddenly appear. Now some people will argue that’s because I’m more focused and aware of what’s going on around me. So I see those opportunities more clearly. Maybe; I really don’t care- it works!

Sometimes Sharing Helps

For some people stating a goal in public or sharing it with a mentor or valued colleague gives added impetus to achieving the goal.

Let me give you an example. In 2003 I decided I would write and publish a book. It didn’t happen. Why? Because the goal, although stated, wasn’t written down and wasn’t specific.

In 2005 I committed to a group of business people that I would have the manuscript for my book on how to write sales letters completed for the next meeting, which was 1 month away. I did it!

So what was different this time?

I stated my specific goal (to write a book on how to write sales letters)

It was measurable (a completed manuscript ready for publishing)

It was awesome (I was very excited by the prospect of sharing my expertise in a book that would be available to the public)

It was realistic (I had the knowledge, expertise and material for the book content)

I said when it would be done (in 1 month)

And, for me crucially,

I stated the goal to people I respected. (My reputation was on the line. What would they think if I didn’t achieve what I’d stated?)

If you find sharing your SMART goals helps you to achieve them feel free to share with me. You can do so publicly (if you are very brave) by adding a comment to this post or privately using the blog contact form. But be warned - I just might ask if you achieved what you set out to do when your stated time scale is reached.

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: goal setting self achievement business tips

I’ve just read a 93-page report that made absolute sense to me.

It’s a free report from a guy called Rich Schefren. Have you heard of him?

He’s coined the phrase Attention Age and in his new report explains how trying to get someone’s attention through the old ‘in-your-face’ sales and marketing methods is doomed in this high-tech, information overload age.

He says the most powerful marketing vehicle today is word-of-mouth; viral marketing. Specifically on the net through forums, blogs and social sites.

Giving information that people can use; sharing insights that help people before they’ve even spent a single penny with you is the most powerful marketing activity you can engage in.

Sound familiar?

He also warns about the power of these social sites and gives examples of how 3 different big corporate companies were brought to their knees by the ‘man in the street’. That’s worth the read in itself.

But trying to manipulate this type of marketing is a definite ‘No-No’. You have to be genuine in what you do and what you give.  And when you are the results can be mind-blowing.

Have I got you intrigued? If so, go get your own copy here:

Attention Age Doctrine Part 2 Released

Then come back and share your thoughts on the content.

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: Inspirational Attention Age Rich Schefren Business Resources

In my last post I mentioned how negative self-talk can be a hugely demotivating activity. And it reminded me of what my good friend, Max Eames, said in his presentation at a seminar I attended the weekend before last;

“Failure is not the falling down, it’s the not getting back up!”

and that really sums up what business, and especially being an entrepreneur, is all about.

Having the confidence and self-belief to stick at it; as some people would see it, being pig-headed and stubborn about making your business work, is crucial to its success.

So - expanding on from that thought - do you think about what you could do? See the opportunities as they arise? Or do you say “that’s impossible - I can’t do that!”

Have you heard the phrase “You cannot conceive what you cannot achieve“? As Max, who is a psychotherapist explained, “You cannot dream of achievement without having the inherent ability to do it.”

Isn’t that a liberating thought?

Yes, we may have to study and work hard to reach that goal, but it’s not impossible for us because we came up with the idea in the first place.

(Having said that, there may be some practical restrictions - I don’t think dreaming of flying without a means of doing so - as in para-gliding - is counted as a possibility).

Keep your eyes open for the chances that are out there for you and your business and eliminate the negative thoughts that turn those golden opportunities into impossibilities.

Become a ‘possibility thinker’.

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: business tips inspirational copywriting

Do you ever have a conversation in your head? Do you sometimes criticise yourself - perhaps harshly?

Have you ever stopped to consider the power the words you use have over you?

Because words do have power. If they didn’t we wouldn’t bother writing sales letters using words to persuade people to buy from us.

So what do you say to yourself when you’re mulling things over in your mind?

Do you berate yourself for your mistakes, rather than acknowledging you’ve just eliminated another way that doesn’t work for you?

Do you tell yourself you cannot possibly achieve what you see others doing, especially in business. Are the words you use negative and degrading - putting yourself down?

Or do you think of the glass as being ‘half-full’? Do you expect to achieve what you plan; use words that are uplifting, encouraging and supportive?

Your thinking affects the way you feel as well as what you achieve, which is why on my office wall I have this favourite reminder..

Watch your thoughts, they become words
Watch your words, they become actions
Watch your actions, they become habits
Watch your habits, they become your character
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny

Anonymous

If you look at any successful person, whether in business or some other field of achievement, they all have one thing in common - they do not regard themselves as a failure who will never get anywhere. And more importantly, they expect to achieve what they set their heart on.

Do you?

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: inspirational,copywriting

How do you feel when you meet someone, perhaps a business person, who you’ve only seen once before at meeting… and they remember you AND your name?

It feels great doesn’t it? And, be honest, rather flattering too. And because of that you probably have more rapport with them.

Now let’s turn that around and say it’s you who always manages to remember people and their names. Do you think they just might be more interested in doing business with you? Or recommending you to their business colleagues who are looking for what you offer?

Here’s how to make remembering people easier…

When you are introduced to someone make sure you hear their name clearly.

• Repeat the name and ask if you’ve got it right.
• Check the spelling with them if it is unusual… they will be flattered that you consider them important enough to take the trouble.
• Repeat the name at least twice, silently in your mind, to give yourself a better chance of remembering it.
• Ask a question and listen

Listening is a Skill – Take Time to Develop It…

The challenge we all have is to silence or ignore our own thoughts. Especially whilst other people are talking.

How often have you drifted off in your mind whilst someone is talking?

Perhaps, like I used to be, you are guilty of finishing people’s sentences for them? It took me a while to stop that one, I can tell you! Especially with people who were more precise in their conversation and took their time to finish a sentence, it could be agonising for me.

Or if you don’t interrupt, perhaps you are busy thinking about what you are going to say just as soon as they stop to take a breath. Yep, been guilty of that too!

Guilty, that is, until I found this neat trick. Peter Thomson told me about it in the late 1990’s and it’s a real gem. He calls it Active Listening, which is a pretty good description.

It’s great for group meetings; presentations; 1-to-1 meetings; in fact any conversations at all.

Here’s what you do…

Repeat, internally, everything the other person is saying. I think you’ll be surprised at the unexpected benefit you get; here’s 7:

1. You don’t miss anything important that is being said.
2. You understand the communication better.
3. You give the impression of being very interested in what the other person has got to say (well, you are, aren’t you?)
4. Your reply, which you won’t be in a position to make until the other person finishes speaking, appears considered and relevant because of the slight pause.
5. Your reply is more appropriate because you have completely understood the previous part of the conversation.
6. You do not annoy the other person by interrupting them,and the biggest bonus…
7. You can recall the conversation and important details more clearly, when you need to, at a later date.

By the way, it is a good idea to practise this technique in private or with a group of friends or business colleagues before ‘going live’. The other person will find it a bit disconcerting if you stare at them with a glazed look in your eyes. And they certainly will not be flattered if you move your lips whilst repeating their words internally!

~ Carol Bentley

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