David Lewis - The Pin Drop Principle Captivate, Influence, and Communicate Better Using the Time-Tested Methods of Professional Performers

Praise for The Pin Drop Principle

A great book. At the end of each chapter, I found myself cheering for the concepts and wishing I had been introduced to these ideas years ago!

Dan Hebel, former senior vice president, claims, Allstate Insurance Company

Practical, straightforward, sane advice. Anyone who speaks will benefit from applying the concepts in The Pin Drop Principle to their communication.

Eloise Haverland, director, training and development, Fort Dearborn Company

The techniques presented in The Pin Drop Principle have proven to be the most effective communication tools that I have acquired as a senior executive. I can only imagine how much more valuable they could be if I had been exposed to them twenty years ago.

Gregory J. Rizzo, former president and CEO, Spectra Energy Partners

The Pin Drop Principle is essential for anyone wanting to improve presentation delivery.

Roshan Joseph, global head, learning and development, Virtusa Corporation

This insightful book provides everything you need to know to move from being an average speaker to becoming a great speaker.

Brendan Noonan, senior vice president, learning and development, Emirates Airline Group

Copyright 2012 by David Lewis and G. Riley Mills. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

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Author photos by Ben Newton

Cover image by iStockphoto

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lewis, David

The pin drop principle : captivate, influence, and communicate better using the time-tested methods of professional performers / David Lewis and G. Riley Mills. 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-28919-8 (hardback); ISBN 978-1-118-31013-7 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-31016-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-31017-5 (ebk)

1. Business communication. 2. Persuasion (Psychology)

3. Communication. I. Mills, G. Riley. II. Title.

HF5718.L475 2012

658.45dc23

To Celeste, Rider, and Hunter, for their love and inspiration

DL

For my dad, the greatest teacher and coach of all

GRM

To be heard so intently that a pin dropping would be a shock is, of course, the perfect high C of communication.

UTA HAGEN

Introduction

Communicationthe human connectionis the key to personal and career success.

Paul J. Meyer

We have been privileged, over the course of our careers, to train thousands of executives around the world. Wherever our travels have taken us, people across all industries consistently bemoan the poor communication skills of the individuals within their organization, from entry-level employees all the way to the C-suite. Complaints include lack of credibility and assertiveness, low levels of enthusiasm, unclear messaging, and more.

This will likely not surprise you. How many times have you attended a meeting, sat through a presentation, or listened to someone's story and thought,

Experts estimate that the average business professional attends a total of 61.8 meetings per monththat's more than three meetings a day. Judging from these statistics, it is quite apparent that a lot of people out there are not engaging their audiences.

This book, and the methods and techniques we present here, will help you make sure you are never one of those people.

Without engagementmeaning your audience is in a willing state of attentivenesseffective communication is not possible. This is a fact. It doesn't matter who you are or what topic you are discussing, if the arrow that is your message does not hit its intended target, you will have fallen short of the mark as a communicator. Think about it. You can be the most brilliant nuclear physicist in the world, but if the people in the audience you are presenting to have fallen asleep, the theories you are there to explain will not be understood. As a salesperson, you can have the most amazing product on the market, but if your customers aren't clear about what it can do for them, you are not making that sale. As anyone tasked with delivering a message to others knows, you need to penetrate your audience to make an impact on them. You must engage them if you hope to persuade them. We want to teach you the rules of engagement. It's as simple as that.

At the heart of The Pin Drop Principle is a conviction that the burden of engagement always lies with the speaker. It is your responsibility, in any communication you deliverwhether you're running a meeting, presenting material, or sharing a storyto engage your audience so fully and completely with what you are saying that, at any given moment, you really could hear a pin drop. As legendary acting teacher Stella Adler puts it, When you stand on the stage you must have a sense that you are addressing the whole world, and that what you say is so important the whole world must listen.

We all know a great communicator when we see one, that rare individual who captures our attention, rouses our emotions, or compels us to take action. We are drawn to people like thisboth in our personal lives and in the public arenathose unique individuals that can project confidence and speak with passion and purpose. In fact, let's try a little experiment. Close your eyes right now and think of the first three people who come to mind when you hear the words