Communicate effectively with all stakeholders through these invaluable tips, including how-to's for dealing with disasters and approaching sensitive topics such as sex, gangs, and substance abuse.

"Makes ... effective strategies for communicating ... readily available to all school leaders"--Page xiii.

Media guru and Emmy Award-winning correspondent Bill McGowan—coach to some of the biggest names in business and entertainment, including Eli Manning, Kelly Clarkson, Jack Welch, Thomas Keller and Kenneth Cole teaches you how to get your message across and get what you want with pitch perfect communication. He is also a trusted advisor in the C-suites of tech companies like, Facebook, Spotify, AirBnB, Dropbox and Salesforce.com. Saying the right thing the right way can make the difference between sealing the deal or losing the account, getting a promotion, or getting a pink slip. It’s essential to be pitch perfect—to get the right message across to the right person at the right time. In Pitch Perfect, Bill McGowan shows you how to craft the right message and deliver it using the right language—both verbal and nonverbal. Pitch Perfect teaches you how to overcome common communication pitfalls using McGowan’s simple Principles of Persuasion, which are highly effective and easy to learn, implement, and master. With Pitch Perfect you can harness the power of persuasion and have people not only listening closely to your every word but also remembering you long after you’ve left the room.

Ari Wexler, a trans guy in his late twenties, is barely scraping by. His family life is a mess, he feels like a failure when it comes to love, and his job at a college music library is on the rocks. His relationship with Itche Mattes, his doting best friend, helps him get through the days. Then a famous actress comes to town and sweeps Itche off his feet, leaving her dreadful sidekick to step on Ari's toes. As Ari's despair grows, a fascinating music project falls into his lap, and he's faced with a choice: to remain within his comfort zone, however small and stifling, or to take a risk that could bring meaning and joy to his life.

This incredible resource is a guide to facilitating powerful activities to create more connected and more engaged teams.

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

Some find talking to others uncomfortable, difficult, or intimidating. Here is a way to overcome these communication challenges. HOW TO TALK TO ANYONE, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE is the key to building confidence and improving communication skills. Written by Larry King, this guide provides simple and practical advice to help make communication easier, more successful, and even more enjoyable. Anecdotes from a life spent talking--on television, radio, and in person,--add to the fun and value of the book. Learn what famous talkers say and how the way they say it makes them so successful. Lessons include: • How to overcome shyness and put other people at ease • How to choose an appropriate conversation topic for any situation • How to ace a job interview, run a meeting, and mingle at a cocktail party • What the most successful conversationalists have in common • The one great question you can ask to enhance your conversation with anyone, anytime, anywhere

Get what you want at work the first time and every time Being a business professional is all about managing, motivating, and leading, or, in other words, getting people to do what you want. And, far and away, the most important tool for accomplishing this objective is language. Written by an internationally recognized expert on business communications, this book offers managers deep insights into the power of language and how to wield it effectively in any organization. Loretta Malandro arms readers with more than 200 power words and phrases designed to help readers become better managers, leaders, and coaches. She also reveals communication secrets such as emotional triggers, victim versus ownership language, escape phrases, as well as language for "softening the edges," reframing, accountability, and recovering from communication gaffes. Malandro also provides: Invaluable insights into the emotional power of words Priceless techniques to connect with and move an audience Tips on recognizing "killer words" and overcoming the trouble they can cause An arsenal of strategies, scripts, work sheets, and self-tests for gauging current communication skills and pinpointing weaknesses

Annie Banks' life is in for a change when she agrees to go on a road trip to New Orleans with a childhood friend she hasn't seen in years. Original.

The #1 Principle of Sustainable Business Success Is Simpler Than You Think “Do the Right Thing is about how any company can stay true to its soul. Jim Parker’s deep and abiding belief in the power of people and culture in building a business of lasting worth is evident everywhere; so too is his humility and selflessness as a leader--his stories are not about his own achievements, which are many, but those of the people he led, one of the great success stories of our time.” --Sean Moriarty, CEO, Ticketmaster “Do the Right Thing offers insightful views into the culture, leadership, and decisions that build great companies the right way. A must read for my management team. THIS BOOK ROCKS.” --Kent Taylor, Founder and Chairman, Texas Roadhouse Restaurants “The book is a fun read filled with memorable stories that get at the heart of what it takes to lead in a way that simultaneously satisfies employees, customers, and shareholders. Jim Parker plays the role of eloquent detective and ferrets out the interweaving parts that distributed leadership, culture, values, and teamwork play as the underlying layers of a company’s success. This is a book about heroes at all levels and the environment needed to create those heroes. A must-read for today’s leaders.” --Professor Deborah Ancona, Seley Distinguished Professor of Management and Faculty Director of the MIT Leadership Center, Sloan School of Management “You’ll laugh and cry reading Jim’s book, and probably won’t be able to put it down. It will forever change the way you view the employees in your organization.” --Beverly K. Carmichael, Member, Board of Directors, Society for Human Resource Management People matter most. You know that. But most companies would rather slash costs, cut headcount, replace well-paid employees with lower-paid employees or outsourced workers, and reduce customer service. No wonder so many fail–while others focused on doing the right thing remain profitable and growth oriented for decades. James F. Parker shows why “doing the right thing” isn’t just naïve “feel-goodism:” it’s the most powerful rule for business success. Parker’s stories won’t just convince you: They’ll move you. Naïve? No way. In this book, Southwest Airlines’ former CEO proves why doing what’s right is the #1 rule of business success. James F. Parker tells how after 9/11, Southwest made three pivotal decisions: no layoffs, no pay cuts, and no-hassle refunds for any customer wanting them. The result: Southwest remained profitable and its revenue passenger miles for 4Q01 held steady while the rest of its industry nearly collapsed...and Southwest’s market cap soon exceeded all its major competitors combined. These pivotal decisions grew naturally from Southwest’s culture of mutual respect and trust. Parker offers deeply personal insights into that culture, revealing how those same principles are used by other people and organizations, showing you that it’s really not that hard to Do The Right Thing! Why doing what’s right is the surest way to optimize and sustain value Putting people first...honestly, for real Finding great leaders at every level of the organization Hiring for attitude, training for skills Achieving unprecedented levels of teamwork (and fun!)