- RT @bargainr: Life in North Korea is absolutely dreadful http://nyti.ms/dAcL26 #
- RT @bitfs: Weekly Favorites and Gratitude!: My Favorite Posts this Week Jeff at Deliver Away Debt threw together the .. http://bit.ly/9J0gGo #
- @LiveRealNow is giving away a copy of Delivering Happiness(@dhbook). Follow and RT to enter. http://bit.ly/czd31X # #
- Baseless claims, biased assumptions, poor understanding of history. Don't bother. #AnimalSpirits #KeynesianCult #
- RT @zappos: Super exciting! "Delivering Happiness" hit #1 on NY Times Bestseller list! Thanks everyone! Details: http://bit.ly/96vEfF #
- @ericabiz Funny, we found a kitten in a box last week. Unfortunately, it was abandoned there, not playing. Now, we have a 5th cat. in reply to ericabiz #
Stand Up For Yourself
Monday night, my son was struggling to get all of his homework done before bed. He had a 6 page packet of work from his advanced math class that he was supposed to have done over the weekend.
When I asked him why he hadn’t done it, he told me he forgot about it.
I wasn’t happy.
We’ve had a lot of conversations about responsibility and planning over the years. He knows better.
Cue Dad Lecture #26.
Towards the end, when I’m building up this rocking crescendo about how what he does now will affect him for the rest of his life, I stopped.
“Buddy, weren’t you sick on Friday?”
He didn’t get his weekend homework until Monday. Of course he didn’t do it over the weekend.
Dad Lecture #26 immediately transitioned to Ad Hoc Lecture #4, titled “Why did you let me chew you out for something you didn’t do?”
I’ve always tried to raise my kids to be independent. I’ve never stifled asking questions, and I am willing to explain my decisions to them, even if they don’t stand a chance of winning the appeal. As frustrating as independent, strong-willed children can be, I know it will serve them well as adults.
Now I’m trying to figure out why that fell apart on Monday. I wasn’t yelling at him and he doesn’t think I was. Sometimes, the perception of who’s yelling differs depending on which side of my loud voice you are on.
He doesn’t know why he sat back at took the lecture instead of explaining what happened. He apparently forgot that he was given that homework just a few hours before.
My question to all of you is how can I make my kid behave and obey when necessary, but still have enough backbone to stand up for himself when he’s not wrong? And know when each is necessary.
Book Review: Small Message, Big Impact
I was recently given an advanced reader copy of Small Message, Big Impact by Terri L. Sjodin. It’s a book on crafting an effective and persuasive elevator speech.
An elevator speech is, according the the author, “a brief presentation introducing a product, service, philosophy or an idea. The name suggests the notion that the message should be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride, up to about 3 minutes. Its general purpose is to intrigue and inspire a listener to want to hear more of the presenter’s complete proposition in the near future.” It’s a 3-minute speech you give to intrigue someone enough that they will let you give a real presentation.
A lot of people–probably most–use their 3 minutes of unexpected access as an “information dump”. They pour as much data as possible into their audience. According to Sjodin(and I agree!), and elevator speech needs to be primarily persuasive, not informative. You need to include enough information to back up your persuasive arguments, but too much information is at least as bad, if not worse, than too little.
An elevator speech is either a sales pitch or a waste of time. You are selling the right to give more detailed information at a later time. The elevator pitch is not about making the sale. It’s about advancing the ball toward the eventual sale.
Who needs an elevator pitch? You do. Everybody sells. Even if you don’t have a product, a service, or a business, you have yourself. Can you pitch your boss on why you deserve a raise or a promotion?
The author walks you through creating an elevator speech that takes advantage of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to advance your goal, whatever that is. She’ll teach you how to grab your audience’s attention and make them recognize a need for change. You’ll offer a solution, help them see the super-ninja-awesome future you’re offering, and give them a clear call to action. All in 3 to 5 minutes. Small Message, Big Impact will also teach you to provide a clear progression through those steps, making it easy for your target to say yes.
You’ll learn the basic outline of an elevator speech, including how to grab your target’s interest, build a persuasive case, and establish credibility when you’ve been surprised with a few moments of access. The three pieces of any successful presentation, from an elevator speech to a full-day presentation are
- Case. If you can’t make your case, nothing else matters.
- Creativity. You won’t win by being the same as everyone else. The same product, the same service, the same buzzwords won’t differentiate yourself from the competition.
- Delivery. Stumbling, stammering, and talking to the wall will make the the best product and the most creative presentation sound like crap, every time. You need to build your presentation and practice it, so you come across and smooth an knowledgeable.
One of the best ways to sound credible, which will assist your delivery like nothing else, is to use an authentic voice. Be sincere and sound it. Believe in the material and yourself. Know the material–inside and out–and practice it until you can deliver it smoothly, even if that means enlisting a friend for speech practice.
Of the books I’ve reviewed, I think this is my favorite. If you need to design an elevator speech or improve the one you’ve been using, you should read this book. Even if you don’t care about an elevator speech, the book provides a decent education on persuasive selling that easily carries over to the written word.
How would you(or do you) use an elevator speech?
Happy Form
If you don’t know why you are hear, please read about the 21 Day Happiness Training Challenge.
Garage & Yard Sale Manual
After months of research and planning I recently had a successful garage. Here’s my how-to yard sale manual.
Step 1: Preparation. You can never be too prepared. I detail advertising, setup, planning and more.
Step 1.5: Marketing. Here is the text of the ads I placed.
Step 2: Management. Pricing, haggling, staffing, and other “Day Of” issues.
Step 3: Wrap-up. It’s done. What now?
Finally, we’ve got a Page of Tips. This is sure to grow over time.
Dolly Parton’s Car Crash and the Importance of Insurance
America’s country sweetheart, Dolly Parton, was in a car accident recently. Although she was only a passenger in this minor fender-bender, she still suffered some injuries requiring a quick hospital visit and rest. The offending driver did not stop as he was supposed to and struck Parton’s vehicle. Parton surely has auto insurance, and hopefully the offending driver has coverage as well.
Auto Insurance 101
Every month, you pay a premium toward your coverage balance. Coverage varies by state, from hospital bills to repairing damaged street items, like guard rails. People with expensive cars pay higher premiums while inexpensive cars have lower amounts. Some buyers only purchase the bare minimum of coverage, called comprehensive. This coverage does not help in the Parton crash because it typically covers vehicle damage from objects, like flying rocks, rather than a collision situation.
How Much Does That Part Cost?
Repairing a vehicle after a car crash can lead to astronomical figures. A simple dent in the bumper may warrant an entire part replacement costing thousands of dollars. The offending driver in Parton’s accident is at fault. His insurance should cover Parton’s insurance deductible and any other expenses that arise. If he is not covered, she could technically sue him for damages, although there may not be many funds to pay out.
Those Medical Bills
Coupled with a car repair, Parton and her driver also went to the hospital. The offending driver uses his auto insurance to cover their medical bills. Any bills generated from the driver or passenger’s injuries goes directly to the offending driver’s insurance. If he is not properly covered with this policy feature, he must pay for the bills out-of-pocket. With medical bills costing thousand of dollars, he probably called his insurance agent right away to see if his policy has that coverage.
Luckily, Parton’s accident was not severe, but ongoing injuries can slowly siphon funds out of the offending driver’s account. If Parton has whiplash, for example, she may need multiple visits to a chiropractor or other specialty doctor. Each visit should be covered by the offending driver’s insurance. Because she has good insurance coverage does not mean that her policy should pay out. The party at-fault always pays for both car repairs and medical bills. With treatment that takes several weeks to a few months, the offending driver’s insurance rates will typically jump next policy year.
Someone Has To Pay For It
Depending on the insurance company, an accident on your record causes your premiums to rise. You are now considered a risk to the company. It is possible that you will cause another accident incurring more cost. Insurance companies must weigh their risky customers with their good drivers. Hopefully Parton recuperates quickly so the offending driver’s rates do not remain high for several years.
You may not think of auto insurance as a top priority, but the reality of Parton’s fender-bender shows everyone that accidents happen at any time. Even celebrities must cover their vehicles with good insurance to protect their assets.
