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Tip 94: Don't tell others what they already know. |
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Yes, you can repeat for emphasis, but don't state the obvious. Examples: "I see you've already called a taxi." "You're limping." "The cord has to be plugged in before it will work." "Statistics can be misleading." ''We're experiencing a lot of change during this downsizing." |
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Tip 95: Don't overload yourself with information to the point of distortion. |
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Yes, your brain is a complex computer, but even computers run out of storage space. If you've attended a meeting or listened to a tape where information floods you, stop long enough to digest what you've heard before you lose everything. |
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Tip 96: Don't overload your listener with data that has to be processed before being usable. |
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Raw computer printouts of numbers are of little use to the senior executive unfamiliar to reading such data in that format. Most people find themselves in similar situations. To be usable, information has to be interpreted. Don't tell me that most of the salespeople in your territory sell an annual volume of $700,000. Is that high? Low? Typical of the industry? An incredibly successful job? Cause for alarm? Interpret. |
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Tip 97: Relate the unknown to the known. |
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It's difficult for most of us to understand the national debt. However, a newspaper reporter used the following analogy to bring the debt into perspective: If Ross Perot were a corporation, he'd rank as number 223 on Fortune's list. If he were financing the national debt, he'd be penniless in three days. Now that's understandable. |
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Talk about health care in terms of football injuries if you're addressing high school students. Relate the inner workings of a spacecraft to that of a car for people at General Motors. If you're talking to dietitians, put the quality movement in terms of meatloaf. |
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Tip 98: Make information easy to access. |
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When my son finished his college degree in business analysis with computers, he was anxious to show me what those tuition checks produced. He vol- |
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