What the language of success will do for you -- 1. Follow the leaders to the language of success : leave the sad stories behind -- The language of weakness -- Words that weaken your message -- Words that make you invisible -- Words that destroy confidence -- Reading as a power tool -- Put an end to predatory language -- Seeing yourself in a new light -- Acquiring the language of success : what you can learn from successful women -- The hero at the next desk -- The next step -- Quick tips -- 2. Throw off your shackles : break free of the grammar of weakness -- Embrace complexity : the Janus principles -- Eradicate the grammar of weakness -- The indecisive I -- Five ways I statements weaken language -- A quick fix for I statements -- Intimacies : great for the bedroom, poison for the boardroom -- Trim your hedges : add authority to your words -- What to say if there's real uncertainty -- Stop tripping on tags : keep the power in your expression -- The OTHER four-letter word that always fails -- How to like, stop looking, like, ditzy -- Puny passives : a world in which no one acts -- Hypercorrectness : a poor camouflage for weak language -- Modify, modify, modify -- The weak links : and, and, and, but, and, but, and, but -- Overkill : too many words, cluttering clauses, jibber-jabber -- Quick tips -- 3. Assert yourself : use the grammar of power -- Charlotte's grammar -- Quick review : powerful forms -- Verbs and the will to act -- Add vigor with action verbs -- Distance yourself for power and credibility -- The passive as the voice of power -- "Show who must be obeyed" : instructions that work -- Powerful ways to say no -- How to resist strongly...yet softly -- Gain unparalleled power : the parallel form -- Quick tips -- 4. Words that work : choose them wisely -- Word power : how to follow Charlotte's example -- Six steps to the vocabulary of power -- Step 1 : think before you speak -- Step 2 : energize with action verbs -- Step 3 : emulate Charlotte : be savvy about business words -- Step 4 : milk metaphors : make work a tapestry, a garden, a birthplace -- Step 5 : follow the mentors -- Step 6 : keep your word store up-to-date and ready-to-use -- Quick tips --

5. Get organized : a recipe for confident communication -- Planning is power : learn from Charlotte's organization system -- Make a million? : yes. Speak to an audience? : no! -- A no-fail recipe for successful communications -- Structures -- Thirteen steps to organized presentations -- The price of "spontaneity" -- Master the recipe--then create -- Quick tips -- 6. Stand up and speak like a woman : perfect your presentations -- Overcome the credibility gap -- Invisible and silent or seen and heard? -- You have the floor. Now what? -- How not to give a talk -- How to construct a talk that works -- Decide what to say...and what not to say -- Write a script -- Include all the ingredients -- Write for listeners, not for readers -- Make your words easy to remember -- Use the grammar of power -- Tell stories -- Remind and repeat -- It's not just rhetoric -- Use precise, concrete words and images -- Show vivid visuals -- How to control what you can't control : the question-and-answer session -- How not to ask questions -- What to do when you get the floor -- Techniques that fail -- Techniques that work -- Sit down and speak like a woman -- Choose powerful, precise language -- Make your meeting comments memorable -- Block the boors -- Watch the powerhouse women broadcasters -- The job interview in the language of success -- Quick tips -- 7. The body language of power : lead without words -- Achieve the posture of power -- You're seen before you're heard : send a powerful message -- First impressions count : how to make yours memorable for the right reasons -- Slouch, shamble, trip, leap, march, or stride -- Body power from head to toe -- Hold your head high -- The eyes have it -- The face tells all...or nothing -- The trunk show -- Arms and the woman -- The feet form the foundation -- Beyond the body : your voice speaks volumes -- Let's whisper about voice -- "I come from Atlanta?" -- Faster than the speed of sound -- Stamp out wimpy noises -- Use silence -- Transforming nervous Nellie : sure-fire confidence builders -- Confidence builder 1 : weigh the consequences -- Confidence builder 2 : laugh at yourself -- Confidence builder 3 : take a deep breath -- Confidence builder 4 : forget perfection -- Sit down and look strong -- Quick tips --

8. Success has its style : play your role with panache -- Work is theater : how to dress the part -- Hair -- Smell -- Figure -- Face -- Clothing -- Accessories -- Shoes -- Business casual? -- Copy the models of excellence -- Quick tips -- 9. Writing the language of success : use the mighty pen -- Weak words from a top manager -- The Harvard memo -- A response to "a memo every woman keeps in her desk" -- Elements of weakness -- How to recast the memo -- Writing in the twenty-first century : how the language of success empowers you -- Technology changes, principles remain the same -- E-mail peeves and tips -- Women and the Web -- Quick tips -- 10. Why can't a woman read more like a man? : empowerment through reading -- Reading and success : what (and how) you read does make a difference -- What do you read? -- How do you read? -- Reading : the heart of communication -- How to read for power -- Read like a fencer : no more Ms. nice girl -- Infiltrate the enemy camp : read what you abhor -- Rebel! : read aloud -- How to prepare a text for oral reading -- Tips on reading a talk -- Quick tips -- 11. "But I thought you said..." : precise listening prevents problems -- Listening : a top leadership skill -- What is listening? -- Impediments to listening -- Filtering -- Imprecision -- Inattention -- Mismatches -- Inflexibility -- Quiet : I'm listening -- Seven listening techniques that work -- Technique 1 : "listen" to body language and other nonverbal clues -- Technique 2 : listen precisely -- Technique 3 : repeat or paraphrase -- Technique 4 : empathize -- Technique 5 : clarify -- Technique 6 : probe -- Technique 7 : listen instructionally -- Fit the technique to the circumstance -- Quick tips -- 12. Running the world--onward and upward -- The four levels of leadership -- The novice -- The apprentice -- The master -- The mentor -- Evaluate your leadership skills -- How to use the leadership evaluation -- Leadership evaluation --

13. The executive suite : how to lead with the language of success

Manager and mentor : what Charlotte teaches us

Nine ways to lead people through language...and inspire them to follow

1) Be versatile

2) Accept credit for accomplishment modestly but strongly

3) Persuade in the language of power

4) Say no powerfully, but kindly

5) Lead meetings that work

6) Praise others' accomplishments when appropriate

7) Overcome hostility, win cooperation

8) Mentor the inexperienced

9) Transform weak players by showing confidence in them

Quick tips

14. Issues and answers : putting it all together in a complex world

Issue 1 : slurs, slights, and put-downs

A. Ignore it

B. Give one back

C. Respond in public but not in kind

D. Respond in private

E. Respond in writing

F. Ask a mentor for help

Issue 2 : apologies

Issue 3 : miscommunication

what to do when the system fails

The scenario : drowning in the secretarial pool

Issue 4 : giving criticism

Can you be kind and still lead? : yes!

Issue 5 : confronting tough personal issues

15. Our heroes, ourselves : empower yourself and others

Toward mastery and mentoring

Track your progress

Happy endings : the language of success

Language transforms a weakling

Language provides the power to lead

Language leads to opportunities

The importance of image

We can be both true friends and good writers

Bookshelf

About the author

About well-read.