Do You Have “The It Factor” Team Women?
On a scale of 1-10 how effective would you rate your communication skills? The ability to communicate effectively is important in successful networking and creating a great business. Do you think about whether what you are saying when you meet someone for the first time is accomplishing what you intended or just going in one ear and out the other of the person you are speaking with.
I just finished reading “The It Factor” by Mark Wiskup and it had some very eye opening and surprising points. I personally learned a lot and have been having fun implementing Mark’s strategies. Mark’s definition is:
“The “IT” factor is the remarkable ability to instantly create honest and powerful connections, in every meeting and social interaction, every day. It is the seemingly spontaneous skill of making your words meaningful and memorable to everyone, from those you have known for just two minutes to those who have known you for two decades.”
Mark understands ‘honest communications translate into dollar and cents success. Effective communication is about more than just talking; it is about making a connection with the other person. Once the connection is made, your success rate of your communication increases dramatically. Because you have made a connection, the other person hears what you are saying on a deeper level. In other words, what you are saying matters more to them.
One of the first important steps Mark points out is to have an agenda for every conversations. Or as I interpreted this, know why you are saying when you say it. If you don’t get it, how will the person listening to you get it? Also, the use of industry jargon which not everyone understands can get in the way of successfully communicating what it is you are trying to say.
Chapter 6 – Preserve Your Hard Won Connections by Avoiding Patronizing Patter was my favorite. Mark lists several things many of us say without thinking which could be sabatogeing our success. Here is one example: the word “Certainly”
“If you’re a member of this ill-advised adverb pack, you think the word ‘certainly’ strengthens sentences. It doesn’t. Instead it demonstrates passive-aggressive, manipulative and weak behavior worthy of a dysfunctional guest on Dr. Phil. Even worse, it shows you just don’t care enough to put forth the effort to communicate with power. Misuse of the word ‘certainly’ kills connections.”
This is a great book and as business networkers creating The It Factor in your conversations can create more success in a shorter time. How effective are you being in your communications on a daily basis?
Successful Networking!
Keep Networking,
Judi
“The newest computer can merely compound at speed the oldest problem in the relations between human beings and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem of what to say and how to say it.” – Edward R. Murrow
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Judi Finneran
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