How to Get Your Message Across Loud & Clear

by Diana Long on March 7, 2010

number 3

Stress.Overwhelm. TMI- Too Much Information

Unless you live on an island somewhere far,far away without internet, tv, i-phones, blackberries and radio you are most likely feeling media fatigue because of relentless, constant and often uninvited messages you hear on a daily basis.

These messages come to you via your daily mail,internet, your email inbox, tv commercials, radio spots and now your cell phone.

This overwhelming amount of information that we take in on a daily basis is staggering. It’s truly a challenge to get your own message across to your audience without getting lost in the “noise”.

How do you stand out from the crowd so you can be heard loud and clear?

It’s simple.

Start using the “Rule of 3″ with every piece of communication you engage in.

Research shows that our comprehension and retention works best when we are given information via chunks instead of long laundrey lists of items or concepts. I fyou want people to “get you” and your message right away then start implementing the Rule of 3.

The Rule of 3 is all about zeroing in on your main,core points.As you prepare your message, whether it’s a sales conversation with a promising,new prospect, a presentation at a conference, media interview, or your own teleseminar, review your material and determine what your 3 main points are. Write your 3 main points down in a clear, no fluff, straight to the point style.Your goal is to be sure that your message is clear, simple and memorable. A big mistake that people make in their communication is taking too much time to explain, rationalize,justify and further confuse the listener with unnecessary and repetitive details.

We’ve all been there right… maybe you’ve watched your prospects eyes glaze over during your conversation because you got carried away and couldn’t stop talking or had the experience yourself at recent meeting when the speaker continued to go on and on and on and on. They lost you at hello,right?

From now on every type of communication that you offer use the Rule of 3. Determine what your 3 main points are and stick to them through out your communication.

You will love the result. People will remember your message. You’ve just cut through the clutter and created a memorable exchange with your listener. Brilliant!

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Are you Uncomfortable Enough?

by Diana Long on January 27, 2010

Woman soaring
It’s a great idea to review the past year and look for the evidence of your commitment to ‘live full out’ and take actions on your long held goals and dreams.

I recently did this review and noted what I had accomplished this year including both personal and professional goals. I went for it and really ‘stretched’ myself this past year – A few of my stretch goals included the completion and production of my Dream Card Game a product that I envision to be in every household as the way to ‘jumpstart’ and take action on personal and professional dreams. Another stretch goal was to increase my business revenue in spite of recession. Mission accomplished. Another one of my goals? To continue to improve my technique and style as a ballroom dancer. My stretch involved dancing my first latin dance public performance I can tell you that I was without question, pushed past my comfort zone…..a couple of my “buttons” that were pushed?

First time to do a “showcase’ in front of an audience
- Dancing a sexy number (I’m no Spring Chicken)
- I had to learn AND remember more advanced techniques
- I almost ‘bailed’ at the last minute… stage fright isn’t comfortable!

With some spot coaching from my partner friends and dance teacher I was able to pull it together & danced my heart out.
The result? I did it. Its a great feeling to set your goals and to achieve them.

The beauty of setting stretch goals is that they DO make you feel uncomfortable. When you choose a goal that scares you a bit you know you’ve got a ‘good goal’ Being uncomfortable is actually a really good sign. Let your dreams and goals pull you forward to manifest the results that you want. I invite you to really truly go for what you want. Please do share what you are ‘taking on’ this year. What will stretch you to your greatness?

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Everything you do with heart is art…

by Diana Long on January 27, 2010

As many of you may have noticed, I am advocate for personal expression & creativity. Just a few days ago, one of my favorite thought leaders & bloggers,Seth Godin shared this post about art: Seths’ definition of art contains three elements:

1. Art is made by a human being.
2. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
3. Art is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording… but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art.

By Seth’s definition, most art has nothing to do with oil paint or marble. Art is what we’re doing when we do our best work.

I agree and believe now more the time is ripe for creativity and innovation. How might you “gift” the world today with your strengths, talents & expertise?

In the spirit of the topic of creativity,I’ve recently taken up painting with acrylics, honoring a long time burning desire… My first go-round at this has been a rather large undertaking… to paint an abstract painting to go into our living room. What can I say, I am an overachiever :) )

As with anything we experience in life, there are always insights along the way.

A huge blank canvas is definately a bit intimatidating, similiar to any big project that scares the socks right off of us. But once you get past the initial fear and dive in, progress is made, step by step, brush stroke after brush stroke.

Here’s a quick peek on the progress of my painting:
Blank Canvas
A Start
A Start
More Color
more color
Taking Shape w more to add! More pics coming soon :)

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Is it time to “shake things up”?

by Diana Long on January 24, 2010

Upside Down
Now more than ever, business owners are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd, to have their message be heard above the “noise” of so many marketing messages.

One of the best ways I know of to get “unstuck” and create something brand new is to do the opposite of what you’ve gotten into the habit of doing.

We truly are creatures of habit, from the way we tie our shoes to the way we run our businesses.

Ready to “shake things up” and get unstuck? Ready to create something brand new?

Here’s a simple solution offered by Annharriet Buck,which she calls Buck’s Theory of Contrasts

If you have been sittting,stand
If you have be standing, sit
If you have been traveling,stay home
If you have been home, travel
If you have been teaching,learn
If you have been learning,teach
If you have been talking, listen
If you have been listening, talk

You get the idea. Unhook yourself from your habits and shake things up. i promise you will see things differently open yourself up to new ideas and feel better in the process. All this translates into fresh new thinking both personally and professionally.

Time to get unstuck and do things differently. I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts! What are you inspired to do differently this week?

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Do You Have Your Own “Success Partner”?

by Diana Long on January 17, 2010

Do you have a strong connection with a mentor to help you to leap ahead in your business & in your life?

I had a big aha moment I wanted to share with you about how incredible it is to have a strong partner ( more on the importance of this in just a minute, first let me tell you this little story:

Here’s what happened…

Recently during one of my dance lessons, I was introduced to a new dance,the Bolero.

Almost immediately,I noticed that my pattern of overthinking was truly get in my way of succeeding. As I tried so hard to focus on the “what”( the steps & what step is next) I easily became “caught up” in striving to get my steps just right and anticipating what is next before I’ve even completed the previous steps.

Note to self, this strategy doesn’t work very well!

When I am not fully connected to my partner all kinds of things happen: My timing is off, I crash into my partner, I trip, or fall off center. Not too graceful :) Not much of a partnership. I’m all alone “in my head”.

The obvious problem here is that I’m not very connected.

I’m not connected to my dance partner.

I’m not connected to my own body and movement.

I’m not connected to the music.

I’m not connected to being fully present in the moment.

I’m not connected!

My dance instructor,Michael, called me out on this. It was a really great wake-up call.

He told me, dancing isn’t about the steps. It’s about the connection. It’s about the synergy of the partnership. He showed me that there is a push & pull movement that happens between the partners. It’s not just about executing the steps.

I really “got” it, and our dancing took on a whole new meaning. It truly is about the connection. There’s power, more ease and results by truly being “in”the partnership.

It got me to thinking about partnerships, about coaching and why I am a raving fan of coaching and why it works so well.

As we just completed this past year, I bet you’ve given thought to what is next for you and your business in the year ahead.

You COULD try to do everything by yourself, you COULD spend a lot of time all by yourself ” in your head”, thinking,plotting and planning your goals for next year.

OR

you COULD make the decision that could dramatically change your year.

How much moo-lah would you like to have in your bank account? What do you want to launch in your biz? What do you want to experience In your personal life, more travel? More adventure? More love?

I would LOVE to help you activate your dreams and goals for your business and for your personal life. My clients get results! You can,too.

If you haven’t checked out my brand new highly customized Step Up Coaching program that I have created for YOU, then please do it now :)

This program is designed to help you get specific solutions for your specific business at a more than reasonable investment. (Pricing for this program will go up February 15th …so don’t delay.)

I invite you to Step Up and start off the New Year with your own creative and strategic partner. I created a special page for you to learn more about what you will learn and you can see it here @ http://www.DianaLong.com/StepUp.htm I only have 2 openings available as of today.

Let’s design and create your year ahead be everything you want it to be!!! So don’t hesitate, go ahead and Step Up to what you want!

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