One of the questions I hear most often from executives is "How do I motivate my employees to do the things I want them to do?"

The answer is: You don't!

We can't motivate people. They are already motivated. But we can determine what motivates them and use this knowledge to channel their energies toward our company goals.

From my 20 years of helping executives solve their people challenges, I've learned a few basic principles about motivation. Let me share them with you:

                         ALL PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED

Some people are like water in a faucet. They have the motivation; all you have to provide is the opportunity. The water is already motivated to flow. But it doesn't have the opportunity until you open the tap.

Others are like mountain streams, which flow swiftly but follow their own channels. People, too, may move energetically, but toward their own goals. We in management should make it worth their while to channel their motivations toward the results management is seeking.

                   PEOPLE DO THINGS FOR THEIR REASONS; 
                             NOT FOR YOURS OR MINE

We in management have to show employees what's in it for them when they follow behaviors that benefit the company. We can show them by using rewards and recognition, appealing to their sense of pride and achievement.

 PEOPLE CHANGE BECAUSE OF PAIN

When the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing, people will change. For example, Americans didn't start buying smaller, fuel-efficient automobiles until the pain of high gasoline prices became greater than the pain of switching to less roomy and less powerful cars.

THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS IDENTIFICATION

When something becomes personal, it becomes important. When our clients or our employees begin to identify with who we are and what we are, good things begin to happen.

Large corporations have discovered that. Prudential, for example, knows that its customers want to buy security. So it doesn't just sell insurance; it markets peace of mind by inviting all of us to buy " a piece of the rock."

AT&T doesn't tell us to make long-distance calls. It asks us to "reach out and touch someone."

In dealing with employees, it isn't enough to appeal to them on the basis of loyalty to the company. They need personal reasons for showing this loyalty. Whether we're instituting a new educational program or undergoing a total restructuring, we can get our employees on board more readily if we show them how the change will affect them for the better.

When my company sets out to lead corporate teams in developing their human-relations skills, we don't tell them what we're going to do for the company. We talk about what we're going to do for the individual. For example, in the introduction to one of our manuals, we tell supervisors:

We've designed this complete educational system to help YOU master the skills of supervisory management and enjoy the rewards of leadership and career enhancement.

From management's standpoint, the training was designed to increase the effectiveness of the organization. That's what sold the company on the program. But from the employee's standpoint, it was to upgrade the skills of the individual. That's what sold the employees on the program.

 THE BEST WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOU IS TO PAY ATTENTION TO THEM

That means listening to others and not just hearing them. Listening is active; hearing is passive. If you listen to individuals long enough, they'll tell you what their concerns and problems are.

It's very important that executives listen to their staff and associates. We need to take the time to get to know them, not just by name, but also by their interests and aspirations.

We should try not to come across as interrogators, but ask them friendly questions about how they are, what they did over the week-end, and what they're doing on vacation. Then listen. It's amazing what you'll learn.

                     PRIDE IS A POWERFUL MOTIVATOR

Everybody is proud of something. If we find out what makes our people proud, we can use that insight to channel their motivation. Pride is tied closely to self-esteem. My friend, Robert W. Darvin, has founded several successful companies, including Scandinavian Design, Inc., and has often used our consulting services and invited me to speak to his people. His observations on self-esteem are worth repeating:

There's only one thing that counts in a business: building the self-esteem of your employees. Nothing else matters, because what they feel about themselves is what they give to your customers. If an employee comes to work not liking his job, not feeling good about himself, you can be sure that your customers will go away not liking or feeling good about your company.

YOU CAN'T CHANGE PEOPLE; YOU CAN ONLY
CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS

To change behavior, you must change feelings and beliefs. This requires more than training. It requires education. When you train people, you just try to teach them a task; when you educate people you deal with them at a deeper level relative to behavior, feelings and beliefs.

 THE EMPLOYEE'S PERCEPTION BECOMES
THE EXECUTIVE'S REALITY

This is a very important point. When we speak to employees, they don't respond to what we say; they respond to what they understand us to say. When employees observe our behavior, they respond to what they perceive us doing, and will try to emulate us.

Suppose you send an employee to a developmental workshop or seminar and she comes back brimming with new ideas and information. But you haven't been exposed to all this stimulating stuff, so your behavior doesn't change. The employee realizes this and concludes that the behavior she observes in you is the behavior you want. This may not be the case at all. You may want the employee to implement all these new ideas, but your employee's perception is the reality you get.

YOU CONSISTENTLY GET THE BEHAVIORS YOU CONSISTENTLY EXPECT AND REINFORCE

We should look for ways to reward employees for doing the things we want them to do. The reward may take the form of financial incentives, prizes, or simply public recognition of a job well done. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, as my Roundtable partner, Ken Blanchard, has taught us all. If employees learn that a certain type of behavior results in lower earnings, less favorable hours or less desirable territories, they'll adjust their behavioral patterns.

WE ALL JUDGE OURSELVES BY OUR MOTIVES; BUT WE JUDGE OTHERS BY THEIR ACTIONS

Put another way, we're inclined to excuse in ourselves behavior that we find unacceptable in others. When our employees are late for work, it's because they're irresponsible and have no interest in their jobs. When we're late for work, it's because we were attending to necessary details that had to be taken care of.

When employees engage in undesirable behavior, we shouldn't try to assess motives or change them. Just deal with the behavior. We can't change the motives of our employees, but through positive or negative reinforcement you can affect their actions.

Follow these principles and you'll find yourself surrounded by motivated employees who are channeling their energies toward your corporate goals -- goals in which they have personal stakes.

What other motivational principles have worked in your organization?

_________________________________________________________________

Dr. Nido Qubein is an international speaker and accomplished author

on sales, communication, and leadership. He is president of High Point University which has an enrollment of more than 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students.  He is also chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 41 states.

Do you want to boost your selling power? Then, add power to your persuasion. But how can you add power to our persuasion? How can you become more effective at persuading your customers to buy?  Let's look at the way the skilled professionals put power into their ability to persuade.

Let me share with you ten secrets I've learned from some of the most persuasive salespeople in America - ten ways to add power to your persuasion. I call them the 10 P's of persuasion.

(1) Be positive.

One of the most successful insurance salesmen in America is a country fellow from South Georgia, who says, "You can no more sell something you don't believe in, than you can come back from some place you ain't been."

Successful salespeople are positive people.  They have positive mental attitudes about themselves, the companies they represent, the products or services they're selling, the prospects they're attempting to persuade, the country they live in.  They're positive about everything. Enthusiasm is contagious.  When you're excited about life and the work you're doing, you can persuade with power, because you can get other people excited.

(2) Prospect. 

Successful salespeople have learned to direct their persuasive power toward people who have the resources to buy and have good reasons to buy what they are selling. Professional salespeople pinpoint prospects who are likely to provide long-term profitability.  They analyze the possibilities for cross-selling.  They know that it takes an average of three calls to cross-sell an existing customer but seven to sell to a new customer.  In short, the powerful persuader targets all efforts at the person who has the resources, the motivation, and the authority to buy, and the potential for profitable repeat sales.

(3) Prepare. 

Red Motley, who started Parade magazine, said that the average salesperson will work like crazy to get an appointment, then blow the opportunity with a poor presentation after the decision-maker has agreed to the interview.  You don't make sales to busy people by rambling on for 40 minutes about features and benefits.  Usually, after such disjointed presentations, neither the salesperson nor the prospect can summarize what's just been said. Professional salespeople always do their homework.  They know that the better they're prepared, the more persuasive they'll be when they walk in to make a presentation.  They research to find out everything they need to know about the prospect.  They plan what they will show and what they will say.  And they practice, practice, practice.
 
(4) Perform. 

Amateur salespeople complain furiously when they are beaten out by a competitor.  How could that customer buy that overpriced, poor-quality product? He must be an idiot!  The customer was no idiot.  The complainer was just outperformed by a more competitive salesperson.  Remember: People don't buy; they're sold.  In fact, nothing is ever bought.  Everything has to be sold.  If you don't make a strong presentation, you can't persuade your prospect to buy.  Powerful persuaders are like stage actors playing to a full house.  They are artists at making their presentations.  They're entertaining and informative to watch and hear.  To succeed in business, you have to make every second of every minute of your "action time" count.

(5) Be perceptive. 

Powerful persuaders are alert to everything that happens during a sales interview. They are not preoccupied with personal problems, with airline schedules, or even with the next call they are going to make.  They know that reaching a sales goal always begins with making the sale at hand.  Powerful persuaders tune into their prospects and look for the motivating forces in the life of each.  Once they discover that motivating force, they play to the motivation.  To add power to your persuasion, learn to read your prospects and to discover the motivations they have to buy or not to buy.

(6) Probe.

Average salespeople do a lot of talking.  They can give you a 30-minute speech on any subject you want to name.  That's why silence is so threatening to most salespeople.  The instant a prospect pauses to take a breath, the amateur will jump in with a sales spiel, just to break the silence.  But powerful persuaders use questions to diagnose the needs and concerns of a prospect much as a skilled physician uses them to diagnose the problems of a patient.  They become masters at asking penetrating questions, and they use those questions to draw prospects into the selling process.
 
(7) Personalize.

The most powerful word in selling is you.  The emphasis on you marks the difference between manipulative and non-manipulative selling. Manipulative selling is self-centered.  It focuses on what the salesperson wants and needs.  Non-manipulative selling is client-centered.  It focuses on the needs and desires of the prospect.  A person who is looking at the business proposition you are offering wants to know just one thing: What's in it for me?  If you want to add power to your persuasion, personalize every part of your presentation to meet your prospect's own personal needs and wants.

(8) Please. 

Powerful persuaders seek to close sales by pleasing their clients.  When prospects become excited about the idea of owning what you're selling, they become customers.  Professional salespeople know that they can't force their prospects to buy.  Their challenge is to make them want to buy.  So they seek to please them in so many ways that they create the desire to buy.

(9) Prove.  Salespeople with selling savvy don't make statements they can't back up with facts.  And they don't expect their clients to accept at face value everything they say.  They are always prepared to prove every claim they make - to back up those claims with hard data, with test results, and with performance records.  One of the best ways to persuade by proving is to give proof statements from people who are happy with your products or services.  Third-party endorsements go a long way in building credibility for your claims, and for your products.  Facts and testimonials are very persuasive.  Learn to use them, and become a powerful persuader.

(10) Persist.

Call on good prospects as many times as it takes to sell them.  About 80% of sales are made on the fifth call or later.  Yet studies have shown that:

• 50% of America's salespeople call on a prospect one time, and quit.
  18% call on a prospect twice, and give up.
  7% call three times, and call it quits.
  5% call on a prospect four times before quitting.
  Only 20% call on a prospect five or more times before they quit.

It's that 20% who close 80% of the sales in America. You don't have to become a dynamic personality to sell.  You don't have to put pressure on people, or out-talk people to sell.  The most effective thing you can do is to apply your own selling savvy to these ten ways to add strength to your persuasion.

Learn how to persuade more effectively and you will boost your selling power.

______________________________________________________________________

Dr. Nido Qubein is an international speaker and accomplished author

on sales, communication, and leadership. He is president of High Point University which has an enrollment of more than 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Nido serves on several national and local boards and is the recipient of numerous awards. He is also chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 41 states.

Wherever I go, I find people who have encountered failure after failure and wonder why.

"Is it possible for me to achieve success, given my level of talent and education?" they ask.

"You can if you want to," I tell them.

Success is not a matter of luck, an accident of birth, or a reward for virtue. It is a  matter of decision, commitment, planning, preparation, execution, and recommitment. Success doesn't come to you; you must go to it. The trail is well-traveled and well marked. If you want to walk it, you can.

In my book, "Stairway to Success," I described six steps to success. Here they are:

(1) Decide what you want in life. You do this by identifying the things you do well and that you enjoy doing. This will help you define the success you want.

(2) Create a vision of the success you want, and make a commitment to achieve it. A commitment is like your signature on a contract: It binds you to a course of action. When you make a deep commitment to a goal, powerful forces come into play, propelling you toward that goal.

(3) Draw up a plan for achieving your dream. Don't ask, "Can I do it?" That's a loser's question. Losers are guided by what's impossible. They see barriers and they stop in their tracks. The winner's question is "How can I do it?" Winners are guided by what's possible. They see possibilities and build upon them.

(4) Once you know where you want to go, prepare yourself for the journey. Acquire the physical, mental/emotional, social and spiritual balance you'll need to keep yourself on course, and the motivation to provide you with the energy to carry it out.

(5) Execute your plan through three phases: action, learning and applying. Ask yourself what must be done next to achieve your goals. You'll never know whether a specific action will be successful until you've tried it. Once you've tried it, observe the results. This will enable you to learn what works and what doesn't. Use your mistakes as lessons, and apply what you learn in implementing the plan.

(6) When you've achieved the last goal in your action plan, create a new vision, make a new commitment, and start the process anew. Success builds upon success.

If you follow these six steps, you'll succeed, not because there's magic in the formula but because there's power in you. If you want to, you can do it.

______________________________________________________________________

Dr. Nido Qubein is an international speaker and accomplished author

on sales, communication, and leadership. He is president of High Point University which has an enrollment of more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Nido serves on several national and local boards and is the recipient of numerous awards. He is also chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 41 states.

 

The face and eyes are eloquent message conveyers.  Someone has estimated that humans are capable of 20,000 different facial expressions.  How do you measure up?

The most pleasant, and usually the most advantageous, is a smile.  A smile can be the little bit of sugar that helps the medicine go down.  It is always more pleasant to deal with people who smile than with those who frown.

The psalmist tells us that the eye is "the light of the body."  The unvoiced testimony it offers is often the most eloquent.

Most people interpret a firm, steady gaze as a sign of sincerity.  Darting, shifty eyes are interpreted as signs of untrustworthiness.  A quick wink can convey a secret message silently across a crowded room.  A coquettish look can set a heart to fluttering.

The ability to look someone in the eye is a sign of high self-esteem.  When children fib to their parents, they usually look at the floor.  It's hard to have self-esteem while you're telling a lie.

Steady eye contact is also a sign of assertiveness.  People who consistently avoid the eyes of those to whom they speak are inviting others to treat them as doormats.

A Baptist minister in Moscow once told an American reporter an interesting story about the Russian poet Evgeny Yevtushenko.

Visiting a wealthy American, the poet noticed a magnificent moose head mounted on the wall of the home.

"How could you bear to shoot such a magnificent animal?" Yevtushenko asked.

"It was easy," said his host.  "He didn't look me in the eye.  If he had looked me in the eye, I couldn't have shot him."

A word of caution, though: Different cultures respond to eye contact in different ways.  A gaze that may seem friendly to an American may be considered intrusive by an Asian.

Even in the American culture, steady eye contact can be overdone.  Most people feel uncomfortable when they're the objects of fixed, steady gazes.  The most effective eye contact consists of a relaxed, steady gaze that is broken off intermittently.  A good way to develop this habit is to look at someone and slowly count (in your head!) to three.  This is usually the appropriate length of time to sustain a gaze in one-on-one conversations.

Sometimes, angry conversation leads to mutual glares in which each party tries to outstare the other.  Don't be led into this kind of contest.  If you find your eyes locked in a stare with an angry customer, it's okay to break contact first.  In fact, one theory holds that the dominant person will break contact first, since the dominant person takes the lead in all things.

_____________________________________________________________________

Nido Qubein is an international speaker and accomplished author

on sales, communication, and leadership. He is president of High Point University which has an enrollment of more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.  He is also chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 41 states.

 

Nido Qubein came to the United States as a teenager with no knowledge of English, no contacts and only $50 in his pocket. Today he is a prominent business leader and President of High Point University, as well as a leading speaker on change, leadership, and communication.  

In this short video clip, Nido talks about how we must allow change in our lives to fulfill success. His uses his own experience as a metaphor to encourage you to accept the importance of change.

"We don't want to change until the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of changing."  For most of us, change is very difficult, but Nido discusses how improvement in your life comes as a result of change. 

It's hard to be anywhere these days without hearing the anguished voice of uncertainty in people all around us. Everyone, it seems, is talking about the bad economy and the financial markets. Everybody, it appears, is worried at some level.

To someone who is out of a job, life is difficult. The future seems uncertain. A good standard of living is less likely. It's heartbreaking to see a family in need, a business in trouble, a country in constant debate about what to do, where to go, who to blame and how to get back to normal again - soon.

Yes, these are scary times. They can test our faith. They can try our will. They can sow seeds of doubt. But, one thing I am absolutely sure of: These times cannot destroy our spirit. They cannot demolish our soul. They cannot confuse our brains. When things get tough, the tough must get going.

America has traveled down the path of adversity before. On lots of occasions. Really bad recessions and one atrocious Depression - all within the last 80 years. People got hurt. Some were even wiped out. But life, somehow, miraculously went on. Our faith, our genuine support of each other, and our deep belief in the very fundamentals of our system of free enterprise helped us to march on. To hope for a better day. To try and try again. To refuse to be defeated. To allow ourselves to be disappointed but to never be discouraged.

I speak every day to our students and their families. I visit with friends in High Point and around our nation. This recession has touched everyone in different ways and at varying levels. It has touched us all. We may ache because we lost money, a job, an opportunity. But we also ache when we see friends and neighbors suffer in any way.

In spite of it all, I believe in our America. A resilient nation with hopeful people. An innovative country with unlimited possibilities. I chose to become an American. I am proud to be an American. I am grateful to be an American. I thank God every day for my good fortune. I love my country even when I know it is not perfect. I appreciate the privilege of work even when it comes cloaked in cumbersome and stressful clothing. I rise every morning knowing that "this too shall pass." That tomorrow will be better than yesterday. That recessions come and go but our beliefs and values are constant. That most people still have jobs now. Life still goes on. The sun still rises daily in the east.

At High Point University, we are proud to be patriotic. We strive every day to plant seeds of greatness in the hearts of hopeful students. It is clear to us that we cannot teach values, but we surely can model them with our attitudes, our actions and our aspirations.

Let us all, dear friends, keep joy in our lives even when it seems difficult to do so. Let us climb the ladder of success even when failure tries to pull us down. Let us remember that we are created for a purpose - grander and better than any human can valuate.

Our life cannot be measured by success; it must be measured by significance. And significance is never measured by fans, fame or fortune. It is measured by commitment to our faith, dedication to our family and loyalty to our friends.

Somehow, I believe better things lie ahead. Meanwhile, let us be positive when it's easier to be pessimistic. Let us be faithful when it is simpler to be doubtful. Let us help each other when it seems more convenient to worry about ourselves. This is America. Land of the free and home of the brave. We cannot forsake our tradition and forget our legacy. We can only pray and hope and work and persist... and look forward to a rainbow that surely lies on the horizon.

Onward we travel.

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Dr. Nido Qubein is president of High Point University and chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company.   Originally published: The High Point Enterprise, March 11, 2009

People without principles are like boats without rudders and cars without steering wheels. Their direction in life is aimless and their decisions are haphazard.  However, when principles occupy the center of your life, they help you arrive quickly at the right decision when opportunities open or crises loom. 

When your life is centered on pleasing other people, the important thing to you is what others want. When it's centered on possessions, the important thing is what you have.When it's centered on activities, the important thing is what you do. 

But when your life is centered on principles, you are being true to yourself. Your principles can be like a compass, quickly pointing in the right direction when a crisis arrives.  A principle is like an anchor, providing a source of steadiness amid tumultuous circumstances.  And they can be like the nozzle of a hose-directing the stream of your thoughts and efforts in a purposeful way while concentrating their power on the things that matter. 

Successful people don't lie awake at night agonizing over decisions and the direction of their lives.  They simply consult their principles.  They make decisions that are in harmony with these principles.  They don't second-guess themselves and seldom reverse themselves. 

You can choose the principles you want to guide you by first identifying the values you hold dear.  First, think of the roles that are important to you in your family life, vocational life, community life, and religious life. Now think of the people, activities, and qualities you value in each role. 

For each value, write a supporting principle.  Make it personal.  State it in the form of a sentence describing yourself as you would like to be, in the light of these values.  Do this for each of the roles that are important to you.  For example, if one of your values is financial prosperity, you might write as your supporting principles:

1. I never miss an opportunity to upgrade my career qualifications.
2. I take intelligent risks in investing my time and resources.
3. I look for ways to enhance the perceived value of my products or services in the eyes of potential customers or clients.

When you have identified the principles you want to guide your life, use them in measuring each possible career and role choice. When you have found a pursuit that conforms to your basic principles while allowing you to do what you do best and enjoy most, you will have found your ideal calling.

Go for it!

_________________________

See the full article in Monetary Intelligence magazine: Pricipled Living by Nido Qubein

Nido Qubein is an international speaker and accomplished author

on sales, communication, and leadership. He is president of High Point University which has an enrollment of more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Nido serves on several national and local boards and is the recipient of numerous awards. He is also chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 41 states.

If a company is going to stay in business, it has to change, and that can be scary.

Many people see change as threatening. To them, it is the destroyer of what is familiar and comfortable rather than the creator of what is new and exciting. Unfortunately, comfort can be the enemy of excellence. It can even lead to corporate death.

A Navy aviator once told me that many pilots have died because they stayed with their disabled aircraft too long. They preferred the familiarity of the cockpit to the unfamiliarity of the parachute, even though the cockpit had become a death trap and the parachute had become a ticket to life.

Many businesses have died because their people preferred the familiar but deadly old ways to the risky but rewarding new ways. We must teach them that to stand pat is to perish.

The secret to successful change is to make it controlled change. If the change is well- planned and under control, the people affected will have a sense of stability amid change, and that can be reassuring.

One of the most important things you can do is to explain the reasons for the change. Change is easier to take when people can see a rational behind it.

Another way of easing anxiety is to show how advance planning minimizes risks. Let people know what to expect, step by step. No surprises, no alarm.

Rank-and-file employees need to know that management is fully behind the change. If they're learning to do things a new way, they need assurance that somebody up the management ladder won't come by later and say "That's the wrong way." Commend and recognize employees who master the new way.

Planned changes usually move through three stages: softening, reshaping and restabilizing.

During the softening stage, employees have to unlearn old habits. During the reshaping phase, new ways must be implanted. During restabilization, these new ways must become new habits.

You can smooth the way toward change through pilot projects that enable employees to go through trial runs before "going live." You can also find people who are familiar with the new ways and let them model them for the rest of your people.

I've learned, through consulting with companies implementing change, that the job is never finished. Successful companies look for ways to institutionalize change. When a company's people are oriented to change and educated in effective ways to bring it about, it's geared up for the future.

_____________________________________________________________

Nido Qubein is president of High Point University and chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 200 stores in 41 states. He has given more than 5,000 presentations to audiences worldwide and has authored more than two dozen books and audio programs on leadership, sales, communication, and achievement.

Wherever I go, I find people who have encountered failure after failure and wonder why.
"Is it possible for me to achieve success, given my level of talent and education?" they ask.
"You can if you want to," I tell them.

Success is not a matter of luck, an accident of birth, or a reward for virtue.  It is a matter of decision, commitment, planning, preparation, execution, and recommitment.  Success doesn't come to you; you must go to it.  The trail is well-traveled and well marked.  If you want to walk it, you can.  

In my book, "Stairway to Success," I described six steps to success.  Here they are:

(1)  Decide what you want in life. You do this by identifying the things you do well and that you enjoy doing. This will help you define the success you want.

(2)  Create a vision of the success you want, and make a commitment to achieve it. A commitment is like your signature on a contract:  It binds you to a course of action.  When you make a deep commitment to a goal, powerful forces come into play, propelling you toward that goal.   

(3)  Draw up a plan for achieving your dream. Don't ask, "Can I do it?" That's a loser's question. Losers are guided by what's impossible. They see barriers and they stop in their tracks. The winner's question is "How can I do it?"  Winners are guided by what's possible.  They see possibilities and then build upon them.  

(4)  Once you know where you want to go, prepare yourself for the journey.  Acquire the physical, mental/emotional, social and spiritual balance you'll need to keep yourself on course, and the motivation to provide you with the energy to carry it out.     

(5)  Execute your plan through three phases: action, learning and applying.  Ask yourself what must be done next to achieve your goals.   You'll never know whether a specific action will be successful until you've tried it. Once you've tried it, observe the results. This will enable you to learn what works and what doesn't. Use your mistakes as lessons, and apply what you learn to implementation of the plan.     

(6)   When you've achieved the last goal in your action plan, create a new vision, make a new commitment, and start the process anew. Success builds upon success.

If you follow these six steps, you'll succeed, not because there's magic in the formula but because there's power in you. If you want to, you can do it.

___________________________________________________________

Nido Qubein came to the U.S. as a teenager with no knowledge of English, no contacts, and only $50 in his pocket, yet ended up an extraordinary business entrepreneur. An active business leader, Nido lives daily with challenges that confront businesses.   He is President of High Point University and a successful business speaker. 

Most of the communicating sales professionals do is wordless.  The moment you enter the presence of another person you start communicating.  Your physique,  your clothing, jewelry, voice qualities, facial expressions, posture and many other factors pass along important information.  They give information or clues as to social, marital and financial status, your sex, and personal taste.

When you speak, your voice speaks in ways that go beyond words.  Your accent may give away your national or regional origin.  Your tone of voice will tell people whether you feel elated or sad, excited or bored.

Through verbal communication, people learn about your thoughts, ideas, products, and services.  Through non-verbal communication, they learn about your feelings.

About 93% of your communication is non-verbal.  Much of it is unconscious, but you can bring a great deal of your wordless communication under conscious control.

Often, how we say things conveys more meaning than what we say.  In fact, voice quality is said to convey about 38% of your meaning.

When George Bush ran for president in 1988, he hired a voice coach to help him lower his voice an octave.  Why?  Because the candidate's high-pitched voice had helped saddle him with the "wimp" image, even though Bush had proved his valor as a Navy combat pilot during World War II.

Fairly or unfairly, we impute strength and confidence to the person who speaks with a low-pitched, well-modulated voice.  When the voice rises to a high pitch, we sense excitement, panic, and lack of control.  That doesn't mean that we should all go around cultivating baritone voices.  It simply means that each of us should use the lower end of the voice range when we want to communicate calmness, confidence and competence.

We convey feelings, moods and attitudes through a variety of voice qualities, which are sometimes called paralanguage.  Among these qualities are volume, pace, intonation, stress and juncture.

Volume and Pace

Volume and pace should be used in a careful, controlled way.  These qualities can work in unison to achieve powerful effects, especially when selling and persuading from the public platform.  You can let your voice rise to a crescendo, the pace and volume quickening until you reach a peak of excitement.  Or you can drop to a dramatic whisper.

Volume should always be great enough that you can be heard by everyone you're trying to reach with your voice.  When addressing a group through a microphone, that generally presents no problem for you.  When speaking without a microphone, keep checking the people farthest from you for signs that they're straining to hear, or indications that their attention is straying.

Pace should be adapted to the message.  Some simple but telling points can be made effectively in rapid-fire sequence.  Others can be made by slowly drawing out the words, or by long pauses to let the points sink in.

Intonation

Intonation refers to the voice pitch.  We usually speak in a range of pitches from low to high.  The range between high and low intonations varies from individual to individual, and from one linguistic population to another.  The English generally have a greater range than do Americans.

Stress

Stress is another important element of paralanguage.  The way you emphasize words can change the meaning of your sentences.

As you speak, be conscious of the effects of sense stress on the meaning you're trying to convey.  Use stress to help your listener understand the sense in which you use words and to show which words you consider to be important.

Juncture

Juncture refers to the way vowels and consonants are joined in the stream of speech.  If you listen to someone speaking in a foreign language, it sounds like a continuous flow of syllables.  That's because you haven't learned to recognize the signs that tell you where one word stops and another begins.

Speakers of other languages have the same problem comprehending English.  As I've spoken on different continents, I've formed a great admiration for the translators who have had the task of rendering my speech into other languages.  Once I was translated simultaneously into seven different languages.  Either my juncture was good or my translators were superb.  The audiences laughed at the appropriate points and applauded at the appropriate points.

Inattention to juncture can make your speech indistinct or hard to understand.  If you tell a carpenter to build a greenhouse, make sure that you don't end up with a green house.  The difference in appearance and cost can be substantial.  If you ask your secretary to get you the night rate and have it on your desk the next morning, be sure it doesn't sound like "nitrate."  Otherwise, you may find a sack of fertilizer in your "in" basket.

Voice Tips For Effective Speaking - by Nido Qubein was featured by Salesopedia