Personal Note From Anne:

HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON A FREE BODY LANGUAGE DVD?

Fall is here, and you know what that means: elections, holidays and a brand-new business year are just around the corner. Every new season offers the opportunity to do some self-evaluation and look for areas to get stronger, but in today's market that's especially true. You don't have to be glued to the financial news to realize that it's getting tough out there; more and more people are working harder to get your job and your customers.

With that in mind, I'm offering a special offer to 100 people only on the three newest programs in our groundbreaking Outcome Focus(R) Webinar Series. Each of these webinars is designed to hit you where it matters - right in the bottom line. Packed with information and arranged for busy professionals, they're like reading a handful of best-selling books or attending an all-day seminar, but for a fraction of the time and money. Here's what you'll learn:

• The Five Deadly Body Language Secrets. No matter what you have to say, your mouth will never speak as loudly as your body does. More often than not, though, we're using our gestures and mannerisms to say things we don't mean. Mastering body language is about more than making good presentations - it's a key to bigger sales, greater confidence, and a higher degree of credibility. In this course, you'll learn everything you need to know to put your body and mind on the same page, and how to use both of them to win new business, earn more money, and communicate more effectively.
• How to Stand Out and Profit in a Down Market. Right now, there are men and women all over the world dreaming about the same job as you. Do you know what separates you from them? Can you convey that to interviewers? By distilling decades' worth of data and experience from interviews - on both sides of the table - we've designed a course to show you what's really going on in an interviewer's mind, and how to give answers that put you ahead of the competition.
• The Top Five Sales Mistakes: Are You Culpable? Sales is a high-pressure game, and it's all about results. But most hard-working men and women make common mistakes that cost them tens of thousands of dollars - or more - every single year. This webinar is designed specifically for anyone who needs to bring new business to their company. By curing the problems that trip sales professionals up the most - including giving weak presentations, asking too many or too few questions, and trying to close too soon - we use our decades of experience with selling dynamics to get to the root of these problems. At the end of the session, you won't have a new set of tricks; you'll have a fundamental understanding of what works and what doesn't.

SO HOW DO YOU GET THAT FREE BODY LANGUAGE DVD?

For the first 100 people to sign up, I'll be offering registration to all three courses for only $97 and I will throw in my Body Language DVD that is packed with over 60 minutes of how to read what people are thinking and not saying for....FREE! We expect to sell out! So, register today and get your free Body Language DVD- a $99 value!

Click here to register for all three sessions and get your FREE DVD

Remember, this discount is a great opportunity to get your career tuned up for the coming year. When the economy gets tough, it's those professionals who keep reaching and learning that come out ahead. The competition might be getting stiff, but there's always a little more room at the top.

I look forward to talking with you in the webinars. Best wishes for your fall season!

-Anne

PS. The body language DVD will help you with reading what the politicians are thinking but not saying! A must in this upcoming election!! (This is the stuff that Anne is on the news around the world for and we are putting it right in to your hands!)

How can I answer unexpected questions without appearing argumentative or ignorant?

Use as a training tool: Present the situation below to the group and have them brainstorm how they would best handle the situation. Then share the Outcome Focus™ answer and see how it relates or differs from solutions the group found.

Situation:

Anne, I do a lot of presentations, which means I'm guaranteed to get some unexpected questions from the audience. Just last week I had a person ask me why I thought that this new system would work when it really seemed to just be a band aid. It was frustrating and embarrassing to have someone almost attack me while I was in front of the room. How can I react and respond to them in a professional manner?

Outcome Desired:

At no point in time should you make your audience feel stupid or defensive. If you do, all their energy will move away from listening to you and instead will turn to fighting with you. Remember you are all on the same side.

Other Person's Perspective:

Your audience may be confused, frustrated, not understanding what you are talking about or just trying to do their job well and they aren't sure if this solution will be a good long-term solution or just a "band aid." It is best to assume they want to do the right thing but are just not sure of how what you are saying fits with what they need to do.

How to Handle:

So the first thing you want to do with a difficult question is to start with a point of agreement. Then move to showing a new side to their question so they don't feel you are telling them no or that they are wrong.

You might want to say, "so from your perspective it feels like this solution is not going to be a long-term one and so you want to know why we would even apply a short term solution?" Look for head nods from the person or agreement of some form. Once you have that then you can move to "Even though it may seem a short term solution we believe this will stick long-term due to the following reasons (then list the reasons.)"

You never want to get into an argument because you will lose credibility and trust with a majority of your audience.

Anne's Outcome Insights:

Quotable Quotes “You can not mandate productivity; you must provide the tools to let people become their best.” - Steve Jobs See Anne’s latest videos "Obama's Body Language" http://bzdo.tv/watch/?channel=I23103BI57 "McCain's Body Language" http://bzdo.tv/watch/?channel=I23103BX91   Learn how to get the job you want, the promotion you deserve! With one click of a button you will begin to learn how to recession proof your career. You will be able to hold the knowledge of HOW to interview in order to get the job you want, the promotion you deserve. Begin your journey by signing up for your free 5 weekly interviewing email lessons. Each week you will receive a lesson on how to interview to get the job you want, the promotion you deserve. Sign Up Here Order Here: www.interviewingsystem.com

Outcome Focus™ Guest Column Lighting your way with new perspectives!

The 5 Step Relationship Check-Up By Steven Gaffney Is someone in your life not listening to you? Does this cause friction and difficulty? Are the two of you struggling to get along? I had a seminar participant who complained that his teenage daughter wasn't listening to him. I asked him a simple question: "If your daughter was in the next room and I asked her if she thought her dad listened to her, what would she say?" He grinned and candidly admitted that she probably would say he didn't listen to her either. I then asked him: "How likely is it that your daughter will listen to you if she feels that you don't listen to her?" After careful consideration, he agreed it was unlikely. People want to be heard, and since you can only control your own actions, you must listen first. If someone isn't listening to you, you can begin to significantly improve the situation by using the Five-Step Relationship Checkup Process. Just as you go to a doctor for periodic checkups, you should perform a checkup on your relationships to reveal hidden problems and find appropriate solutions to those problems. This process is especially helpful if you feel someone isn't listening to you, or you're not getting helpful feedback, or the person is unwilling to open their mind to hear what you are saying. The Five-Step Relationship Checkup Process(TM) 1. Be direct and ask, "Do you think I listen to you -- really listen to you?" The point is to ask a very direct, clear question. 2. Admit the truth if you don't listen. If you take an honest look at yourself, you would probably admit that you are not always really listening to the other person. Once you realize this, you might be afraid to admit it. Don't worry. They already know. Can't you tell when someone isn't listening to you? By proactively admitting the truth, the person will notice that your conversations are more honest and upfront than they have been in the past. Also, being truthful will encourage the other person to be truthful with you. 3. Ask, "What can I do (or we do) to improve things from this point forward?" This question puts the focus on exploring solutions rather than finding out who is to blame. A participant in one of my seminars took her ten-year-old daughter through this process. When the mother asked what could she do to improve things, her daughter replied, "It would be great if you could look me in the eyes, rather than cooking dinner, when you are asking me how school is going." Remember, when you ask for feedback, some people may have a hard time admitting things to you. It's particularly difficult if you already have challenges with them, so do your best to create a safe environment for them. Do not debate them when they start to give you feedback. Instead, just be a sponge and try to soak it all in. This will allow the person to fully express what they are thinking. In my experience, initial feedback comments are really just tests to gauge your potential reaction. The real feedback will follow once they feel safe that you won't react negatively. 4. Make commitments. Unilaterally commit to some action on your part to improve the relationship. This will often inspire the other person to take action too. Even if they don't, you can still move things forward by making a commitment and being proactive. For example, you might tell the other person that, from now on, you will admit when it is a bad time to talk instead of pretending to listen. Or tell them you won't try to watch TV or read the paper while you are listening. If it's a person at work, you might tell them that you won't read e-mail or conduct other business while they are talking. 5. Follow-up. Plan a time to check in to verify that the committed action items were accomplished to everyone's satisfaction. This will give the relationship some positive forward momentum and likely inspire further action. Following up may require you to go back to step one and repeat the entire process. No matter what, don't wait to follow up. It is better to do this sooner rather than later -- even if it doesn't feel like the most opportune time. Difficult relationships are usually the result of repeated communication problems that are ignored or are not immediately resolved. The difficulty didn't develop overnight and the repair won't either. However, repeated efforts at using this process can turn night into day. Relationships that have had a lot of issues may need to run through the Five-Step Relationship Checkup Process several times. Until the people in our lives truly believe we hear them, it's unlikely they'll be willing to hear us. Better to do the checkup now than to have major problems down the road. By using these strategies, you can take steps toward developing the healthy, productive, and fulfilling relationships that you deserve. Steven Gaffney, President of the Steven Gaffney Company, is a leading expert on honest, interpersonal communication, influence and leadership. Thousands of people credit, Steven's speeches, seminars, TV, and radio appearances as well as his books and products with making immediate and lasting change in both their organizations as well as their personal lives. Serving such a diverse clientele has enabled Steven to create and implement innovative, cross-discipline solutions to achieve maximum effect. His clients include Marriott, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, BP, Citigroup, American Express, SAIC, Allstate Insurance, Blue Care Network, Texas Instruments, US Department of the Treasury, NASA, American Cancer Society, The US Navy, The US Marine Corp, among many others. 2008, Copyright, Steven Gaffney Company, All Rights Reserved, Any Duplication of this article must be expressly approved by the Steven Gaffney Company. Please contact us at 703-241-7796 or christina@stevengaffney.com. www.StevenGaffney.com