Top Dog Impress and Influence Everyone You Meet

Get the results you want and come out as the Top Dog in every conversation

Fancy being the ‘Top Dog’ in all your dealings? Fed up of feeling like the underdog? So many of us regularly ‘lose’ in conversations before we’ve even opened our mouths. Often without realising it, we don’t see ourselves as a peer of the other person. And we transmit this in what we do and say (“I’ll fit round you. I know you’re really busy.”) The other person picks up on this. And, without doing a thing, they’re suddenly in charge!

Top Dog will teach you how to lead in all your interactions, so you can get more of what you want, more often.

Together, Andy Bounds and Richard Ruttle are experts at helping people achieve more from their conversations with others. Their techniques work in every type of interaction—conversations, socialising, dating, interviews, sales, marketing, and networking. Basically, anytime you want to impress and persuade others.

Top Dog:

• Details the skill set needed to gain competitive advantage from the outset 

• Provides instructive and thought-provoking content, relevant to both beginners, and seasoned professionals

• Contains insights from working with some of the world’s largest companies

• Addresses how to achieve more from interactions in business and social arenas

Andy Bounds is a Communication Consultant, working with blue chip organisations all over the world. He is the author of our successful Capstone titles The Snowball Effect and The Jelly Effect. He has decades of experience studying what makes communication work and has worked with thousands of businesses.Andy typically speaks at 30-40 major conferences per year in over 20 countries, addressing tens of thousands of people.?He has delivered keynotes at the Professional Speakers Association conference, as well as for blue-chip companies, Governments, professional bodies and business experts, to name but a few.

Richard Ruttle is a senior partner in Ernst & Young. He is a leading practitioner in developing board level relationships in some of the world's largest companies and his award-winning Relationship development courses have been run for partners ?and senior executives in two of the world's largest professional services companies. His course — on which Top Dog is based - is the highest rated on Ernst & Young's global learning and development system. He has delivered it to 1,000+ of his firm's partners, and continues to be invited to speak at E&Y events around the globe.

About the Authors ix

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction 1

1 Lead the pack

Focus on others’ successes, not your own 9

2 Drop!

Unlearn the bad habits that hold you back 19

3 The welcome visitor

Make a good first impression 31

4 Pick up the lead

Get – then prepare for – a great first meeting 47

5 Walkies!

Deliver a great first meeting 73

6 Keep walking!

Build momentum in subsequent meetings 95

7 Become Top Dog (1)

Write a compelling proposal/business case 109

8 Become Top Dog (2)

Nail the final presentation 137

9 Stay Top Dog

Lose your fear, and win more 155

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