Description
Book Synopsis"As GMTV anchor, I interview hundreds of people every year. However well they interview, every single person would find it easier to explain their case by following these simple principles." EAMONN HOLMES, GMTV Presenter
"[Drop the Pink Elephant]...tackle[s] every aspect of personal communication in a crisp, entertaining style." THE PLAIN ENGLISH SOCIETY
"There can be no whitewash at the White House." (Richard Nixon). These nine words turned the American nation against their President. Why? Because people hadn't linked the White House with a cover up until Nixon himself made the connection. His own denial created the story.
It is perhaps the most famous Pink Elephant in history. But what exactly is a 'Pink Elephant'? Pink Elephants are the unnecessary negatives that clutter your conversation and meaning, sending out the wrong signals to anyone you communicate with.
In Drop the Pink Elephant, Bill McFarlan reveals how to avoid the deadly trap of allowing poor communication skills to obscure your meaning and reduce your effectiveness. Drop the Pink Elephant is filled with helpful, simple and practical advice on how to make your words count for more. Put these straightforward lessons into practice and you will notice immediately how much more effectively you are able to communicate with others.
Sharpen your conversation by:
* FIRST SPOTTING, THEN DROPPING THE PINK ELEPHANT
* GETTING RID OF THE JARGON
* LEARNING TO SPEAK IN PICTURES
* RECOGNISING WHEN YOU SHOULD APOLOGISE OR THANK PEOPLE
* CAPTIVATING AN AUDIENCE
N.B. No animals were hurt in the making of this book. (Can you spot your first Pink Elephant?)
Trade Review"full of advice about how to avoid sending out the wrong signals" (
Human Resources, March 2006)
Table of ContentsWorld’s Top Ten Pink Elephants xi
Foreword xiii
Introduction xv
SECTION ONE: Dump the Baggage and Create Clarity 1
1 Drop the Pink Elephant 3
2 Every Picture Tells a Story 13
SECTION TWO: Be Principled in What You Say 23
3 Staying on the Louisiana Highway 25
4 Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word 32
5 Tell the Unpalatable Truth, Rather than the ‘White Lie’ 46
6 Thank You and Well Done 53
7 Who Looks Stupid When You Criticize in Public? 59
SECTION THREE: Positively Assert Yourself 73
8 Flush Out the Watering Down Words 75
9 Talk Positively About Yourself 88
SECTION FOUR: Think of the Audience 103
10 It’s All Relative 105
11 Email and Text – Bullets or Boomerangs 117
12 Three Little Questions 126
SECTION FIVE: Create Deeper Understanding 137
13 Listen First to Understand 139
14 Powerful Words 148
15 Think, Talk, Act ... Then Tell the World 153
Appendix: What do Your Words Say About You? 165
Index 175
