Power Talk: Using Language to Build Authority and Influence

This book made a profound difference in the way I conduct my business. I was an "Edge" person to the extreme. I had always been taught that asking questions and constantly probing was the best and most powerful way to deal with clients and prospects. Not so! There's a time to stop asking and start "telling."My clients want confident advice from me. They don't want to sit around and explore options forever. I do not understand some of the negative reviews of this book. I found it to be a great help.

Good communication skills are a key ingredient in the recipe for success. But a solid career plan must also include achieving corporate and community visibility. To really take charge of your career there is no substitute for creating a strategic 'personal' publicity plan. People not only have to hear your voice "loud and clear," they need to know who's talking! They need to have a clear understanding of who you are, what you stand for, and why they should hire you, promote you, or do business with you. That's really taking charge of your career.

Power Talk is more than a book on communicating at work. It's an essential read for anyone navigating their way through today's workworld. If you are launching your career, moving up, on, or considering a work/life transition, McGinty's ideas can help the reader understand the "power dynamics" of language at work in building a solid reputation, establishing immediate rapport, developing long-term relationships, and becoming known as a valuable resource.In a recent job training seminar I led, I used McGinty's model on language from the center and language from the edge to help participants become more comfortable with job interview questions--How best to respond and how to ask. Take the typical (loaded) interview question: "Tell me about yourself"? Language from the center responses will allow a candidate to direct his/her answers to the often unspoken interview questions: "Will you be able to succeed here and will you be able to help me succeed?" Language from the Edge responses can be developed to confirm a candidate's work commitment and organizational fit.Her on-the-job advice is solid. From what to do with voice mail, telephone conversatons, meeting manners, and presentations to understanding the role language plays in determining leadership, listening and speaking styles, her points are clear and concise. Everyone! Take a minute and listen to your voice mail message to see what she means.In Power Talk, McGinty states that "language doesn't create our world". The book will, however, show the reader how language makes the (work)world go round!

The auditor did not provide any exceptionally brilliant idea about how authority might be built. The book was full of day-to-day techniques that you and I are using everyday in our lives, though without being aware so.I give it four stars since the auditor was able to structure those common techniques into a framework, a clear and concise one. The framework itself is interesting too. The auditor considered that our choice of speech was related to power situation. The power network and stiuation shaped our speech style and our style would at the same time impact the situation. Thus, an intentional carefully chosen style of speech might help to change the situation in the way we want.This is perhaps the most insightful and useful idea of this book.Not a classic book on communication skills but still worth reading it.