Imagine if what you said had the power to touch hearts, change minds and open wallets. What if when you spoke at meetings, people hung on every word you said. It’s possible when you learn the right skills.
Leslie Gold knows that the power of persuasion is critical for any business leader; she lived it herself, honed her skills and now she’s sharing her knowledge with business leaders as well as audiences of women, so they know how to influence and persuade others.
At the tender age of 26, a few years after she graduated from Harvard Business School, Leslie became the CEO of a 55-employee window manufacturing company, which she grew to 165 employees. She learned, at a very young age, the importance of the ‘power of persuasion.’ She was able to obtain a $5 million loan to purchase the window-making business, when she was barely worth $5,000. Over the ten years of owning that business, she also used her unique methods of communicating to defeat a union organizing effort and to convince her suppliers to extend terms to her company that were unprecedented in her industry.
After she sold her window business for a tidy profit, she went from being a total unknown personality in a small radio station, to building an army of over one million rabid followers who listened to her New York based radio show on CBS. Known as “The Radiochick”, she moved groups of people, both big and small, to action. Upon being fired from her on-air position, her devoted followers self-mobilized, sending 10,000 letters to her employer, CBS Radio, demanding that she be re-hired…which she was.
In fact, it was this experience, that resulted in an ah-ha moment for Leslie. She asked those 10,000 listeners what they enjoyed so much about her show, that they were willing to write a letter demanding she be rehired. What she learned surprised her but laid the groundwork for her concepts on persuasive communication. It was her stories that they enjoyed, not the pre-planned bits.
Today Leslie addresses groups of people, both big and small and brings her unique methods to every type of business. Using her four proven techniques, Storytelling, Resonance, Analogy, and Presence and Countenance, she explains how easy it is to guide others to accept your ideas and move together to accomplish any goal.
She demonstrates how to incorporate these elements and apply them to persuade employees, clients, or vendors in sales calls, client presentations, product introductions, board presentations, media appearances and panel discussions, to work in the same direction to get things done in everyday business situations.
She’s realized that businesspeople often rely on the wrong methods, and the wrong techniques to present an idea. Many managers and executives are immersed in numbers all day long and feel the data will be compelling enough to produce a desired outcome. Not so, according to Leslie. For example, if you say, 83% of people benefited from my product, you think that’s persuasive. There is a place for data like that, but if you really want to influence someone to make a decision in your favor, you have to tap into their emotion. There is no better way to do that than with storytelling; it’s the best way to marry an idea with an emotion.
When asked how to craft a good story, whether it be for a video, a sales presentation, a meeting, etc., Leslie told us:
“A story has to have an emotional arc. You have to start somewhere and finish somewhere else with an emotion tied in, and it has to have at least one human being in it, to which the listener can relate. Without a human being, it’s not a story. Then, there needs to be a ‘moral’—it’s the lesson you want your audience to walk away with when they think back on the story. And that moral of the story has to be stated by you, so it’s clear.”
An effective story can tip the scales and make a presentation believable.
Be sure you listen to our podcast with Leslie, to hear her describe, in more detail, and give examples of storytelling.
Corporations now look to Leslie for help teach their staff persuasive communication as well as to assist in the creation of specific business presentations for board of directors or investment groups, as an example, to help move the business in the right direction.
Leslie spends a great deal of her time today speaking in front of large groups, especially women. Having competed in two male dominated industries, Leslie has special communication tips for women in business. She told us that communication for females in a business setting can be a challenge.
When she speaks in front of women’s groups, she does a section about monitoring your tone, your pacing and your physical presence. Women tend to use more words than men, as well as, use reflexive apologizing. For instance, “Sorry to bother you,” instead of, “May I have a moment of your time.”
Although those two phrases say the same thing, they feel very different.
According to Leslie, “When women tell a story to a group of mostly men, it’s usually too long. They need to take a scalpel to it. In my talks to women, we talk about nerves and not giving in too early. Many of the fixes I recommend are surprisingly simple and are about physicality and choosing the right words. For example, avoiding weak phrases such as, ‘I just want to say,’ or ‘I feel like this is a bad idea’.”
Persuasion is in any every facet of business. Customers need to persuaded buy your product, investors need to be convinced to put money into your business, the board of directors need to adapt your plan, stockholders must purchase your stock, etc. Every part of business needs to understand the power of persuasive communication whether internally or externally and can benefit from Leslie’s presentations.
We had a delightful conversation with Leslie; be sure to listen to our podcast. She is an earnest, compelling, entertaining and insightful speaker sure to light up your next conference, staff meeting, training session or networking event.
Be sure to listen to our podcast with Leslie on Spreaker and if you are interested in hearing Leslie speak or hiring her to speak, visit her website: https://www.lesliegoldspeaker.com/ or find her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/theradiochick.
