When I was in high school, I sat at a lunch table with a bunch of really smart kids. I don't know if you would call us nerds, or dorks, or whatever, but we were the ones who were in all of the AP classes together, and Latin, and calculus, and, well, you get the point. But we were still teenage boys which meant that there was a lot of testosterone and arguing at that table. This confluence of brains and competition meant that you were judged in no small way by your ability to engage in debate and hold your own. Oh, how I wish that I'd had this book then! But failing my invention of a time machine, Thank You for Arguing is still a … [Read more...]
Daniel Pink – To Sell is Human
I read To Sell is Human when it first came out, and it was such a fantastic book...that I never had a chance to write down my thoughts. Oops. I recently went through it again, and was struck by how much still resonates. Dan Pink does a great job of unpacking the negative stereotypes that have been built around the idea of "sales", and why they might not be that relevant anymore. At the same time he points out something that I started realizing when I started as a salesperson as a 20-year-old kid: We're all in sales. Not matter what your job title, we are continuously attempting to persuade and influence the people around us. Big … [Read more...]
How Stand-Up Comedy Can Help You Sell and Influence
Updated October 2019 Do you want to get better at persuading people? My guess is that you do because whether you are a salesperson selling a product, an entrepreneur courting an investor, or a business owner convincing your team about your vision, your success hinges on your ability to influence other people. Luckily, there are shelves and shelves of books (and information all over the internet) on how to be better at selling, public speaking, and influencing others. A lot of them are good, more of them are mediocre, and almost all of them are relatively boring. It makes it a little more challenging to slog through them. So here's … [Read more...]