People Rich eTips May 2013

Welcome to our May edition of short tips and tricks that aim to provide quick insights into human communications, neuroscience, wellbeing, projects and business in support of your personal and career education.

Did you know that how you position your body, the tone and speed of your voice, and the hand gestures can all make you come across more credible to your audience?

The most important skill for any business owner is the development of their ability to influence.  Our businesses are dependent on our skill to build and nurture our relationships, and establishing credibility and trust, so that a long term association and alliance is maintained. 

The better you are able to demonstrate your values, gain rapport, and reveal your brand distinction, the more profitable your business can become. 

The challenge is how do you communicate all of your worth and value in a succinct and powerful manner so new contacts get who you are and desire to like, trust and engage with you.  It is an art and a science steeped in people intelligence.  It is a system of influence so powerful that you can even learn how to ethnically influence even at the subconscious level.

The system is derived from the science of Human excellence, Neuro Linguistic Programming and comprises the platform skills that are taught at the very highest levels of certification.  These skills are generally never known in traditional speaker educational programs and offer the professional the cutting edge in the how- to in influencing and presenting their ideas charismatically and powerfully.

For example, when writing on a whiteboard, avoid blocking the view of what you are writing by placing your spare hand on the side of, or touching the back of, the whiteboard. In this way your back will not break rapport, they will be able to write at the same time you are, and that means when you turn to talk they will listen as opposed to being kept busy copying what you wrote down on the board.  It is all about maintaining maximum rapport and ensuring a high level of engagement.

Join Gary De Rodriguez in Perth on the 1-2 June 2013 for ‘Charismatic Presentations’ to learn and master the techniques. Click here for more.

There is so much we don’t know about the brain.  Neuroscience is leading the way to understand how we reason, how we memorize, how we learn, how we move, and even how our emotions work. These abilities define us as human beings, and are things computers simply cannot do.

First the first time ever, scientists in Europe and coming together to create a supercomputer to mimic the brain being referred to as the Human Brain Project (HBP).  The intent is to be able to then study how the brain works, and its diseases, given that we cannot so easily study a working brain from the inside. Technology has been limited to non-evasive brain scanning technology.

The commercial concept behind it is to lead towards major innovations in evolving information technology by understanding how our internal super computer works – the brain.

Click here to go to the HBP project site.

Popularised by Alex Faickney Osborn in the late 1930s, brainstorming is the technique of generating ideas through the utilisation of group thinking (following the concept that two heads thinking together are better than one).

Effective brainstorming is generally governed by four main rules:

1. No judgement of ideas– this allows all ideas to be listed without criticism, and for creativity to follow;
2. Unusual ideas are welcome– this allows people to think out-of-the-box or from perspectives that maybe optimistic or unrealistic. Again, creativity is able to flow and there is recognition that ideas may be triggered from other ideas;
3. Combine and improve ideas– this recognises that good ideas can often be combined to become brilliant ideas; and
4. Focus on quality– by focusing on quality outcomes, quality thinking should apply.

Different people bring varied perspectives and their opinions are influenced by diverse expertise, values and beliefs.

It is always amazing to travel to the most obscure and remote areas on the planet to find the Coca-Cola symbol and other similar brands on signs and buildings. It demonstrates the power of global marketing, and whether you notice them consciously or not, at some level the brand is being imprinted on your brain.

Coca-Cola has been ranked many times as the best (most known) global brand, but imagine having a company that has been around since 1886 (Pepsi began in 1893).

Here are some interesting facts about Coca-Cola:

• Coca-Cola originally began its life as a patent medicine  in the late 19th century by John Pemberton;
• Coca-Cola was literally addictive and once contained an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass that was later removed in 1903;
• It was reported that Coca-Cola had the chance to buy out Pepsi in its early days at a song, but did not.  They later became Coca-Cola’s greatest global rival;
• Coca-Cola manufactures over 400 brands (e.g. Lilt, Power Ade, Fanta, Pib, Sprite etc.) in over 200 countries.
• Santa Claus’ suit changed permanently from tan or green to red and white because of Coca-cola.  Actually, it was Thomas Nast who drew the Santa suit in  tan, green and red originally, but it was Haddon Sundblom, who used Santa in advertising for the Coca-Cola Company from 1931 that then made Santa’s red suit become the norm.

Even the large corporations have to keep reinventing themselves.  Coca-Cola uses flavours and container shapes to reinvent their products and now have some 18 flavours today, including Black Cherry Vanilla to Diet Coke with Raspberry.  If businesses  don’t evolve and innovate, they can die and disappear. 

The computer Apple started as a computer business, then became a music company and today is a phone company.  What could be the next innovation and reinvention for your business?