Drop the Pink Elephant: 15 Ways to Say What You Mean...and Mean What You Say, Mass Market Edition

World’s Top Ten Pink Elephants xi

Foreword xiii

Introduction xv

SECTION ONE: Dump the Baggage and Create Clarity 1

1 Drop the Pink Elephant 3

2 Every Picture Tells a Story 13

SECTION TWO: Be Principled in What You Say 23

3 Staying on the Louisiana Highway 25

4 Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word 32

5 Tell the Unpalatable Truth, Rather than the ‘White Lie’ 46

6 Thank You and Well Done 53

7 Who Looks Stupid When You Criticize in Public? 59

SECTION THREE: Positively Assert Yourself 73

8 Flush Out the Watering Down Words 75

9 Talk Positively About Yourself 88

SECTION FOUR: Think of the Audience 103

10 It’s All Relative 105

11 Email and Text – Bullets or Boomerangs 117

12 Three Little Questions 126

SECTION FIVE: Create Deeper Understanding 137

13 Listen First to Understand 139

14 Powerful Words 148

15 Think, Talk, Act ... Then Tell the World 153

Appendix: What do Your Words Say About You? 165

Index 175