Shut Up and Say Something:

Business Communication Strategies to Overcome Challenges and Influence Listeners

By Karen Friedman
Praeger (2010)

When was the last time people at your business meeting or important event were riveted to what was being said? Can’t remember? You’re probably not alone. In today’s time challenged, Twitter-like world, it’s little wonder so many professionals suffer from S-A-S: Short Attention Spans. Karen Friedman’s newest book, Shut Up and Say Something: Business Communication Strategies to Overcome Challenges and Influence Listeners (Praeger, 2010) is an essential, much-needed guide for anyone hoping to cut through today’s multitasking, electronic fog and communicate a clear compelling message that impacts others. Whether selling ideas, impressing the boss, influencing decision makers or connecting with customers, simple communication strategies can help us minimize mistakes and shine in the workplace

Shut Up and Say Something unveils an entirely new “Z–to-A” approach to business communications showing readers how to keep the end result in mind when faced with daily communication challenges that are frequently met with resistance and uncertainty.

Karen demonstrates how to dodge loaded questions, think on your feet, express yourself clearly and provides practical problem solving strategies to twenty-six different communication topics to engage listeners so they care about what you have to say.

Brimming with heart warming and humorous stories, try-it-this-way techniques, best practices, and a wealth of personal review notes, examples and evaluations from coaching sessions, Shut Up and Say Something shows readers how to think and speak differently to advance agendas in a fast-paced attention challenged 21st century workplace.

Karen outlines her advice by sharing anecdotes from high profile communication blunders, the campaign trail, media interviews, and corporate boardrooms to make her point:

• In “Understand Your Audience,” she explains why former Vice President Al Gore’s global warming message had the potential for connecting with Oprah’s highly emotional audience...but he blew his chance by simply flipping through a slide show depicting infrared radiation. What, no polar bears? Talk about an “ah-hah” moment!
• In “Visual Overload,” Karen demonstrates how crowded PowerPoint presentations muddle messages and put audiences to sleep. She offers advice on how to talk, not read, bring information to life and spotlight key ideas to laser focus the listeners’ attention.
• “Queasy Times” is full of tips on how to manage sidebar conversations, get back on track when you forget what you wanted to say, repair client relationships, deal with tough bosses and battle butterflies that keep you up at night. “Being nervous can work to your advantage if you use it to energize your talk or presentation,” she writes. The chapter also offers strategies to maximize attention when listeners tune out.
• In “Keepers and Catchy Phrases,” Karen details how to leave a memorable sound bite in the “head” of an audience. She gives examples of “Dull” statements and how to re-word them to make it a “Keeper.”

Shut Up and Say Something is filled with easy-to-read actionable advice. “Try-it-This-Way” techniques, humorous anecdotes, “Coaching Notes,” and “Quick Fix” pointers at the end of every chapter offer solutions to real life scenarios business professionals routinely encounter. Karen lays out models to develop and deliver key messages and also offers an at-a-glance summary of the book’s contents for easy (and likely, often) reference. Readers can brush up on tips to ace media interviews, personalize content, finesse financial presentations, and hone techniques to develop and maintain executive presence.

Karen Friedman is a professional communication coach and speaker whose techniques to help business professionals become more powerful persuasive communicators have been applied on four continents. As President of Karen Friedman Enterprises, Inc., she has counseled key opinion leaders and conducted speaker, media, and leadership communication training programs for many of the world's largest companies. She was formerly an award winning major market television reporter and political candidate whose expertise in message development was first recognized when a U.S. delegation led by former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton tapped her to provide media and political training for women from emerging democracies.

Click on these links to learn more about Karen and her new book, Shut Up and Say Something, or to purchase your copy, click here and then click on the book's cover. You'll also learn about other books authored by our emersongroup client thoughtleaders. Just scroll down the page to view our many thoughtleaders' books!

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