“Every week I speak to my good friend and former client, Al Martella who is THE Coach and Counselor to Business Stars. He did this in his former role as Training Coach Extraordinaire at Merrill Lynch/Bank of America for 31 years and continues to spread his wealth of knowledge in his newest life chapter.
We had just been speaking about Bert Healy from Annie (played by Peter Marshall, the former Hollywood Squares host in the movie) who sang “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.” I had just seen the production here in Sarasota.
Al then shared with me the great teachings and wisdom of the late, expert communicator Arch Lustberg who was an in demand speaker and trainer to thousands and author of the book-“How to Sell Yourself.” Arch believed in the concept of likability. He believed that Likability won the race, won the election, got the job and got the date.
Having an open face, with an appropriate smile are key components of likability.
Arch used to say “Likability- In all situations where communication occurs, likability wins. No one votes for someone they dislike or takes advice from someone they do not trust.”
He believed that there are only four ways people can perceive you when they see you for the first time:
They can like you.
They can dislike you.
They can be neutral towards you.
They can feel sorry for you.
He said the object of communication should always be directed towards the people whose minds are
not yet made up and there are three things we all need in order to be able to sell ourselves:
They are:
- Competence- Showing you have the ability to perform well is tied to how confident you appear. Fear and insecurity undermines your ability to appear competent.
- Likability- In all situations where communication occurs, likability wins. No one votes for someone they dislike or takes advice from someone they do not trust.
- Luck-It is not chance that determines your life. It is how you live your life with whatever cards were dealt to you. (So true!)
Think about how you can apply all of these wise teachings when you are out networking and living your life and if you get the chance, order Arch Lustberg’s book-“How to Sell Yourself” on Amazon. You will learn from it and love it!
“A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.” ~ Denis Waitley