Your ability to communicate persuasively determines whether your opinion is actively sought out or you have to fight to get your voice heard.

The ability to influence others can set you up for career and personal success.

The most powerful communicators are thoughtful professionals who’ve learned to leverage their perceptiveness strategically. They understand psychology: how people think, what drives their choices, and how to present ideas to get seen, heard, and paid.

Persuasive communication is a learnable skill. Here are three strategies to get started.

1. Lead with your bottom line

Decision-makers are busy and overwhelmed. When you take too long to get to your point, you risk losing their attention, and you may inadvertently signal that you don’t have a good handle on your own message.

Contrast this with someone who can articulate their key point in a few crisp sentences. That level of clarity suggests expertise and confidence.

To be more persuasive, start with your conclusion, request, or recommendation, then follow with supporting evidence as needed. This might sound like:

• “I recommend pushing the product launch to September. The three factors driving this are ….”
• “We need to consider redesigning our app’s navigation by Q3 to stop losing users. The data shows ….”
• “Can you review this report by Thursday? I need your input specifically on X and Y.”
• Before your next meeting, write down your main “take-home” message in one to two clear sentences. That constraint forces you to filter out the fluff and focus on the information that matters.

2. Sell your idea as a way to solve specific problems
Persuasive communicators have mastered the art of translation. They reframe their messages through the lens of their audience’s needs.

People in power don’t just want clever solutions. They want good ideas that speak directly to their pressures, pain points, and priorities. Make that connection and you’ll gain a competitive edge.

To be more persuasive, start with your conclusion, request, or recommendation, then follow with supporting evidence as needed.

For example, instead of saying, “This new system will improve data processing efficiency by 40%,” you might say, “This solution will help you deliver quarterly reports three days faster, giving you more time to prepare for board meetings.”

Even when you need to defer or push back, the same principle applies. Jazz up a simple “I’ll get back to you,” by saying instead, “I want to make sure I give you the most useful answer for your quarterly planning. Can I have until Friday to gather the specific data you’ll need?”

3. Speak with authority

Small shifts in your word choice can dramatically change how your message lands, especially with senior stakeholders.

Consider the difference between saying “I think we should …” versus “In my experience …” One signals uncertainty, the other expertise.

Or how about “I’m trying to …” versus “We’re implementing …”? The first suggests struggle, the second implies purposeful action.

Look for opportunities to swap weak verbs with more powerful ones. For example:

• “Had to” can become “decided to,” “chose to,” or “opted to”
• “Helped” could be replaced with “guided,” “directed,” “led,” “advised,” or “oversaw”
• Don’t get caught up in fancy words or corporate jargon. This is about choosing more precise language that reflects the scale and scope of your actions.

Melody Wilding, LMSW, is an executive coach, human behavior professor, and author of ”Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge.”

Source:  https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/10/how-to-influence-people-and-succeed-at-work-executive-coach.html

No one on their deathbed has ever looked back on their life and said, “I wish I had just spent more time at the office.”

But people do look back and say, “I wish I had pursued my dreams.” Or, “I wish I had spent more time with my family.” Or, “I wished I had traveled and experienced the world.”

Only you know what matters to you and what you value the most; and only you know your dreams, ambitions and goals  — just make sure that’s what you’re pursuing and devoting your time, talents and treasure towards.

However, you might be thinking, “Easier said than done!” And yes, you’d be absolutely right. But the things worth doing and pursuing, the treasures worth finding and the things worth doing, are always the most challenging to do.

But, the reward is embedded in the process and journey.

“Success in life comes from holding a good hand, but in playing a poor hand well.” — Denis Waitley

Not all hands in life are dealt fairly or evenly. Yes, some people are born on third base and think they’ve hit a triple, while others are born on the outside of the ballpark and have seemingly insurmountable challenges to even get in the game. But the wonderful thing about life is that you’re able to change your circumstances.

So if you don’t hold the perfect hand, focus on the strategies you can play well right now to get you through to the next round. You can set ambitious goals, maintain a positive attitude and mindset, take responsibility for your choices and responses to circumstances, develop productive habits, and always be grateful. Eventually, you’ll succeed and win the whole damn thing.

Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do in a situation is to simply step back and let people walk away with their own narrative.

Cutting someone off, not to punish or create drama, but because you recognize that their version of the story is just that—theirs—is a form of emotional maturity and self-preservation.

There’s a certain peace in letting them leave with their delusions intact, knowing you no longer have to fight for your truth or your space. It’s not about winning an argument, but about protecting your mental and emotional energy from people who will never see things from your perspective.

Letting go of the need for closure or resolution in these scenarios is liberating. It’s a quiet form of control, choosing to invest in your own peace rather than engaging with someone who refuses to accept accountability.

In the end, their delusional story will fade, and you’ll be left unburdened, free to move forward without the weight of trying to change their mind. It’s a top-tier move because it demonstrates that you’re not interested in endless conflict—only in reclaiming your sense of peace and self.

— Balt Rodriguez, author of Choose Yourself

“This [2024 Presidential] election is something of an indictment on the political information complex. The story that was portrayed was not true. We were just ignoring the fundamentals.”

https://x.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1854083315671736761

“Blaming people who almost always vote for you for not voting for you is an interesting strategy. Can’t see it working out well myself but doesn’t look like there’s any stopping it”, states Konstantin Kisin .

For my British and European friends who are “shocked” and “surprised”, here are 10 reasons you didn’t see Trump’s win coming, writes Political Satirist Konstantin Kisin.

1. Americans love their country and want it to be the best in the world. America is a nation of people who conquered a continent. They love strength. They love winning. Any leader who appeals to that has an automatic advantage.

2. Unlike Europeans, Americans have not accepted managed decline. They don’t have Net Zero here, they believe in producing their own energy and making it as cheap as possible because they know that their prosperity depends on it.

3. Prices for most basic goods in the US have increased rapidly and are sky high. What the official statistics say about inflation and the reality of people’s lives are not the same.

4. Unlike you, Americans do not believe in socialism. They believe in meritocracy. They don’t care about the super rich being super rich because they know that they live in a country where being super rich is available to anyone with the talent and drive to make it. They don’t resent success, they celebrate it.

5. Americans are the most pro-immigration people in the world. Read that again. Seriously, read it again. Americans love an immigrant success story. They want more talented immigrants to come to America. But they refuse to accept people coming illegally. They believe in having a border.

6. Americans are sensitive about racial issues and their country’s imperfect history. They believe that those who are disadvantaged by the circumstances of their birth should be given the opportunity to succeed. What they reject, however, is the idea that in order to address the errors of the past new errors must be made. DEI is racist. They know it and they reject it precisely because they are not racist.

7. Americans are the most philosemitic nation on earth. October 7 and the pro-Hamas left’s reaction shocked them to their very core because, among other things, they remember what 9/11 was like and they know jihad when they see it.

8. Americans are extremely practical people. They care about what works, not what sounds good. In Europe, we produce great writers and intellectuals. In America they produce (and attract) great engineers, businessmen and investors. Because of this, they care less about Trump’s rhetoric than you do and more about his policies than you do.

9. Americans are deeply optimistic people. They hate negativity. The woke view of American history as a series of evils for which they must eternally apologise is utterly abhorrent to them. They believe in moving forward together, not endlessly obsessing about the past.

10. America is a country whose founding story is one of resistance to government overreach. They loathe unnecessary restrictions, regulations and control. They understand that freedom comes with the price of self-reliance and they pay it gladly.

• Mathematically, it’s impossible to replace federal government taxes on W-2 income with tariffs.

The Winner’s Effect.

Researchers found that if you let a mouse win a few staged fights early on, it starts racking up real wins later, according to Success Mentor Darren Daily. And the real wins were not because it learned better fighting skills.

Those early staged wins flip the switch in the mouse’s brains and it starts to impact the mice’s performance for real. The mouse’s mindset changes and it starts believing that it can win

In humans, the same has been observed to be true. Legendary NFL football coach Vince Lombardi would become upset if his quarterback threw too many completions in practice.

Lombardi was deliberately trying to build up his defense’s confidence. He knew that even if it meant a slightly off practice for the offense, Those early wins by the defense, even if a little manufactured, would pay off big time later in the season.

From DarrenDaily On-Demand: DarrenDaily Recap: The Week Unpacked November 2nd, Nov 2, 2024

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/darrendaily-on-demand/id1449270369?i=1000675437523