Argue Skillfully & Convince People

Improve repartee self-confidence & communication, use the power of rhetoric & emotional intelligence, recognize manipulation techniques & lies

Simone Janson, Simone Janson, Simone Janson

• Publisher: Best of HR – Berufebilder.de®
• Year: 2024
• ISBN:
  9783965964471
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Langues et linguistique
• Subtopic: Rhétorique

Communicate to success in the job: 3 X 3 tips against career torpedoes
// By Dr. Cornelia Topf

Anyone who works in professional life usually dreams of succeeding. But how do you become successful? At least not by throwing the shotgun at the end of every failed attempt. But what makes success?

Success factor torpedo defense

Oh dear, dear - you have to present! In front of all the important, critical, skeptical people! The problem: The best preparation of the content does not help if the boss or someone else intervenes. What can you do How are you successful with a presentation? With well-researched content? If it were that easy! With colorful pictures? That was once.

No, the decisive factor for success is the one with which you least expect: disturbances from the boss, heckling of good-byes, jokes at your expense, in short: disarm presentation torpedoes.

A remark that kills careers!

And for a simple reason: If even a joke “sits” at your expense and your listener smiles smugly or even laughs out loud, no one will remember your well-researched content afterwards.

With a single critical remark, a hierarch can collapse your beautiful presentation building. Unless they let his demolition excavator out. Surprisingly, even old presentation bunnies can do badly rather than right, as I experience again and again in coaching and training.

Top content, torpedo defense flop

Again and again it amazes me, how well they prepare themselves in terms of content and how little on what is actually completely normal at such events:

The listeners whisper among themselves, chat between them, ask stupid questions or play power games, profiling matches or “shoot the presenter off the rope”.

The right defense for every torpedo!

Just recently, a department head complained to me: “Our department head gets on my nerves like this. In every presentation he plays with his Blackberry endlessly. ” In every? Why didn't the department head do something about it long ago? Because he has no torpedo defense.

The good news, for all those who often fail during a presentation to interrogators and fools: There is a functioning torpedo defense against every torpedo. And defense is worthwhile, because if it succeeds, this considerably increases your reputation among colleagues and bosses.

Rhetoric counts more as content

Unfortunately, rhetoric counts more than content: if you skilfully, elegantly, deliberately and confidently counter even a single interjection, a single “disturbance”, this increases your reputation.

Your perceived competence will be much stronger and more sustainable than the greatest content. The question is: how do you win this torpedo sovereignty?

Sharpen your defense

A professional torpedo defense is not all that hard to learn, even if handled in no time at all.

I am only surprised that most of the presenters are so terribly stiffened on their content and then can actually pack the first call. No need. Make your torpedo defenses sharp!

3 instant prescriptions

If you do not face the next presentation in the coming hours, three of many instant prescriptions that you can instantly implement:

1. Look forward to disturbances!
2. Customize standard anti-torpedo strategies!
3. Faults are not disturbances!

Success: fall down and get up again

Success is once more to stand up than to fall. Paulo Coelho wrote:

Learn that victories and defeats are part of everyone's lives - except for the lives of the cowards.

How not

This seems to be a problem for some people: Recently, a seminar participant said:

"Ms. Topf I tried your recommendation once - it didn't work, I will never do it again."

3 tips for success

So you will not succeed. Success means much more:

1. Be persistent with the motto: I never, never, never, never give up.
2. But still recognize when "more of the same" is the wrong recipe and you have to try new ways.
3. Learn the rules so you know when it makes sense not to obey them.

3 tips for working with others

And the following rules apply to cooperation with others:

1. If in doubt, do it alone, before you enter with windy partners, who play with you riders.
2. Be better and / or different from the others: Get yourself a USP.
3. Think smartly about which partners help you with your success - and which not.

3 tips for the example presentation presentation

To return to the example from the last you hold your lecture - and peng, a torpedo is fired against you. Oh dear, what now? How react? How to make sure that you do not get seriously hurt and your carefully prepared talk with man and mouse goes down? Three tips on how to defuse presentation torpedoes instantly.

• Look forward to disturbances: Anticipation is half the battle. I am always slightly shocked when coachees tell me after their presentation: "My department head has split hair again - I should have guessed that!" Why afterwards? If, in addition to your presentation content, you also list the expected faults - before the presentation! - you will hardly be able to surprise anything. You will literally count on it - and be well prepared, thanks to tip 2.
• Customize standard anti-torpedo strategies: Repartee is not a spontaneous feature. Many believe that. They believe that one can deal with attacks of all kinds from a standing position. That's an unrealistic expectation. You can not talk Swahili at first! Practice makes perfect, the master. For this reason, you should refer to all the expected faults listed under 1) for suitable sample formulations. Preparation means not only contentwise, but also disruption-oriented preparation.
• Faults are not disturbances: As a rule, disturbances are not at all. Let's say your manager says in the middle of the presentation: "It never works!" From your point of view, things will only go wrong if you assume that the boss wants to shoot you off the rope. It looks like this for every amateur, but it's not like this: The boss primarily wants to profile himself. So you say: “Logically, you were the first to notice: The crux is, of course, in the implementation of the concept. We definitely have to go a step further. ” And then continue with the text. What do you think you look like afterwards? Well. Sovereign. Impressive. Not because you "stood up" to the boss - antagonism has never been used. But because you have agreed with him and yourself at the same time. Clever. And effective.

It's not just about the thing

Women often believe that the job is about the job. But good performance contributes only to a small extent to success. Too often, it's about image and acquaintance. Means: who presents himself well, has more success!

Again and again I meet young leaders in coaching who tell me: “I am also one who has believed for years that I can make a name for myself. How could I be so wrong? ” They come into coaching so that I can “coach” them. I often have to make it painfully clear to them: the job is not just about the matter. Of course, it's also about power and self-expression. I think that is morally unacceptable.

Play for the sake of the matter?

But if you love your job and really want to do something good, you have to either set up your own business, start your own business - or strategically manage schizophrenia according to the motto:

I play the embarrassing game of power and self-expression - but only to do good in the end.

You have to decide

But if you decide to do so, you have to be hell-bent on not losing yourself, as is the case with the many board members that I then meet in my coaching practice.

But what does not matter at all: frustrate the retreat, instead of consciously deciding. Because mails and word messages from wives or partners of board members and managing directors always come back to me.

Better to become active yourself

And then I hear and read sentences like this: "I have my hands full keeping my husband on the floor as a board member of an international company!" your own advancement, no longer matter of fact. ”

It's better to become active yourself!

What do you want?

No question: A system in which above all those who can better market, is questionable. I do not deny that. That does not even deny board members. But that's not the point.

It's about: what do you want? "I thought I could distinguish myself about the matter." Anyone who says that wants two things: Advancing the cause and profiling themselves. Think about it: What do I want more?

For the cause, against the career!

I know a lot of women who have decided with full conviction for the cause since 20 years at clerk level throw the whole store - and thus get no recognition and career from the Old Boys, but who are very happy and successful with it.

The reason for this is simply that these women have deliberately opted for the cause and the career.

Play the power game

On the other hand, there are also a lot of women who have made a conscious decision: "If I don't get on with my expertise, I'll just hit the system with my own weapons and get myself a high position."

And then you use this high position to do a lot of good. Like the young entrepreneur who inherited the construction company from her father and was soon awarded an entrepreneur prize because she is now building ecologically and socially sustainable. For example, she says, "Why shouldn't two mothers share a job?"

Frustration does not continue!

Ergo: It is possible to do good things and not be interested in careers. It is also possible to use the ailing system itself to do even more good from a higher position.

On the other hand, what does not matter at all: to scold the system, to condemn its injustices and senseless power struggles

Conclusion: conscious decision!

Until so many women are in the system to make a complete change, each one of us should go through one of two attitudes that will both achieve success and satisfaction: I do good things - I do not care about my position. Or: I'm doing good things - and get me an upscale position.

Two equal paths to happiness. Which is yours?

Article really good Writing in 9 steps: formulate Druckreif!
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