Rating: 4 / 5
 
Who doesn’t want to be more persuasive? Whether you own a business or not you’re constantly in the business of trying to sell something – your great traits as an employee or wife(!), a project or even an idea.
 
Heck, if I got a penny for every time one of my mummy friends said, “I want to do x but I just need to convince my husband”, I’d be richer than Donald Trump!
 
I’ve had the paperback version of Yes! For ages but it’s only when I got the audio version that I got to the end.
 
The book is based on the subtle changes we can make to influence a decision. All 50 examples in the book are based on empirical studies so they are scientifically proven to work.
 
There are 50 ideas in this book so there is no way I can summarize them all but a few examples include the following:

• Intuitively, we think that an increase in variety leads to more business but studies suggest that too wide a range of products leads to paralysis of analysis and reduced sales. Your customers do want some choice, yes, but too much choice and they get frustrated and leave without buying. This is not always the case but it is frequently the case.
• An interesting small tweak in TV infomercials’ call to action led to a huge rise in demand: Instead of just saying “Please dial phone number x to make your order” a behavioural psychologist suggested a change to “Please dial phone number x to make your order. If operators are busy, please call again!” The impact? Everyone thinks, I need to get mine now, if lines are busy it suggests there is excess demand and scarcity is one of the biggest drivers of sales.
• Reciprocity. Do someone a good turn and by and large, they feel compelled to do a good turn back.

 
There were tonnes of good tips here and I, in fact, feel I should re-read this book because I was very distracted over the period I read the book. I’m preparing for a property renovation so I was driving along half listening to the book and half thinking about the different tiles I’ll put in each one of my bathrooms.
 
Everyone has to sell something, even if it’s just yourself or your views so give this book a read to become more of a gentle persuasion artist. It’s available on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

​Rating: 5 / 5
 
In many way this book is similar to Yes!byCialdini and Goldstein in that it’s based on empirical analysis but in my opinion it’s better written or told, given I listened to the audiobook.
 
Ted Talks have been loved by billions the world over so the secrets behind the success of the best presentations is inherently interesting. Nine secrets were revealed:

1. Passion: if you’re truly passionate about your topic you’re more likely to present it well.
2. Stories: stories are more engaging to the human brain. They capture attention and aid memory. Telling a story is a great start for a captivating talk.
3. Practice: that old adage practice makes perfect is not just a saying. It’s been proven time and time and again in every field that when you practice, you perform better.
4. Teach: humans inherently love learning new things. If you can give your audience a fresh perspective, they’re more likely to enjoy your presentation. Turn a common stereotype or current view on its head and you’ll have all ears perked up.
5. Shock: at some point in your presentation provide something that will shock and awe. Anything that elicits a strong emotional response (joy, fear, shock or surprise) makes a presentation more memorable and more likeable.
6. Humour: getting your audience to laugh makes you much more likeable. You can get people to laugh in many ways without actually telling a joke, e.g. being self deprecating in most cultures is a great way to make people laugh and bond with you.
7. Time: apparently 18 minutes is the perfect amount of time to relay something serious without losing people’s attention. Interestingly some scientists looked at great speeches from the past by the likes of Martin Luther King and found that they more or less adhered to this sort of time-frame.
8. Images: if you do use slides, make sure they are rich in images. Include VERY little text. I think this definitely works well if you are presenting live as your body language does most of the talking but webinars and teleseminars probably benefit from extra text. Talk Like Ted only covered live talks and speeches so I have no evidence for this view.
9. Be you: there’s no substitute for authenticity, just be yourself, your real self. Don’t try to present like Tony Robbins if you’re not naturally like that, present like you.

 
Another book that is so worth a read;get it on amazon.com or amazon.co.uk.