Christina Harbridge - Swayed: How to Communicate for Impact

2016 by Christina Harbridge

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Published in 2016 by Nothing But The Truth, LLC
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Harbridge, Christina

Swayed:

How to Communicate for Impact Mickey Nelson, Editor.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016907662

ISBN: 978-0-9972962-4-2 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-9972962-3-5 (ebook)

Printed in the United States of America
2017

Cover design by ALL Publications, Portland, Oregon
Levels of Context image design by Melissa Mahoney at Indigo Creative First Edition

Swayed: How to Communicate for ImpactSwayed provides thought-provoking ideas and real world examples on the power of context. More importantly, the book offers a wealth of deliberate practices for how to implement in everyday life. This is not just a business book, it is essential reading for improving communication and increasing influence.

Simon Cowell, CEO, bareMinerals

Ive been waiting for this book for years! I am so inspired by Christinas ability to inspire people to act and, more important, her ability to teach others how to do the same. Now we can all learn what shes mastered for yearshow to sway people and inspire them to move forward.

Simon Sinek, Optimist and author of Start with Why and Leaders Eat LastSwayed is one of the most realistic and original books on influence youll ever read. It doesnt just share one-off persuasion strategies. Instead, it helps you see and act compassionately, so youre seen as a trustworthyand therefore influentialhuman being. A major contribution to the field.

Thank you for writing it, Christina.

Mark Levy, Author of the OReilly Media course, Influencing People Honestly: Ethical Persuasion Strategies for Leaders, Managers, and Entrepreneurs

Christina has significantly changed the lives of five of the most important leaders in my life. Here, in a profoundly simple model, shes captured the essence of how she makes great people even more effective. I will be recommending this book to my closest friends. Bravo.

Mike Maddock, Founding Partner of Maddock Douglas, McGuffin Creative Group and Ringleader Ventures Do everything this book says.

Amy Critchett, Founder, Art & Audience and Executive Producer, The Bay Lights

As someone who has worked very closely with Christina Harbridge over the years, I am thrilled that she has put her brilliant communication insights into an approachable, easy-to grasp, practical, and compelling book. Swayed: How to Communicate for Impact is a must-read for anyone seeking to effectively communicate and refine their presentation skills. The book provides concrete and real-life examples to follow and implement. Christina is one of the most brilliant communicators I have ever encountered and I highly recommend her approach which has enabled me to achieve my desired communication outcomes and take my organization to the next level.

Andrea Dew Steele, Founder, Emerge America

This book is dedicated to:

Sebastian: my reason for being. ILY MEP, Mom

&

Sonia: the person who quietly and tirelessly
makes it all possible.

Context:

A simple concept that may solve 27%* of your communication hiccups

*completely made-up statistic

Sit still for a moment and think about the most incredible inventions, events, or movements in history. Youll recognize that each began with people being able to influence others to join them. Influence is the beginning of nearly everything we create.

There is a moment in time when two or more people share the reality of a single thought and then sway the rest to movement toward a future outcome. When I think of the word sway, I feel such deliciousness in the idea that communication is a rhythmic practicebackward and forward or side-to-side like a rally or a dance. It is in this exchange that we have the power to set a new reality into motion.

Communication doesnt always feel delicious, though. It can be downright roughin some cases nearly impossible to keep folks listening long enough to move a situation forward, let alone in the direction we prefer. To make matters worse, there are habits we all have around communication that can make the person swaying us feel like a direct assault or at least something to resist. There is better way! Here we will learn to identify natural human tendencies around communication, to use them to read situations, and to proceed in ways that will bring us closer to our desired outcomes.

This book is about a modelor a set of actionsthat can change the way you listen and are heard and thus can improve the way you sway those around you. The Context Model, if used correctly and often, can solve many common communication challenges and repercussions of miscommunication. It is an exploration into how we can communicate in ways that increase our influence and move us closer to what we want.

See if you can identify the challenges in the list below:

Does it seem increasingly difficult to get and hold peoples attention?

Do you hear a lot of people in your company complain and yet the complaints do not seem to lead to change?

Does your physiology become awkward or do you get stuck in your head when youre speaking publicly?

Are communication problems causing misunder- standings? Do these miscommunications become time-consuming and disruptive?

Is it often unclear what your boss/spouse really wants?

Do some people make it impossible for you to really listen to them?

Have you ever given feedback that created defensive ness in the recipientor gotten defensive yourself, when someone else gave you feedback?

Do you think some people talk endlessly although no one understands what they are trying to say?

Wouldnt it be nice to solve these issues at the cause instead of treating the symptoms?

Do you find that long, bulleted lists, like the one you are reading now, can cause you to lose track of what the original question was?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are noticing what I notice about communication. A book search on Amazon for the term communication retrieved more than 355,000 results because communication is as tricky as it is crucial.

If you feel it is difficult to get people to listen, to understand and to act accordingly, then you are not alone.

Miscommunication is a common challenge that is pervasive and often delays or disrupts outcomes we want. However, it is easier to solve than we make it.

This book describes one model you can apply toany vertical in life (raising kids, love relationships, collaborating at work, public speaking, you name it).

A model is a theory that is useless unless there are deliberate practices attached to it. Within this book you will have some of those practices to play with, and you must use them to make the model work for you. If used properly and regularly, the tools provided here may improve your understanding of those around you as well as enhance your ability to communicate effectively and influence others.