Product Description

"As GMTV anchor, I interview hundreds of people every year. However well they interview, every single person would find it easier to explain their case by following these simple principles." EAMONN HOLMES, GMTV Presenter
"[Drop the Pink Elephant]...tackle[s] every aspect of personal communication in a crisp, entertaining style." THE PLAIN ENGLISH SOCIETY
"There can be no whitewash at the White House." (Richard Nixon). These nine words turned the American nation against their President. Why? Because people hadn′t linked the White House with a cover up until Nixon himself made the connection. His own denial created the story.
It is perhaps the most famous Pink Elephant in history. But what exactly is a ′Pink Elephant′? Pink Elephants are the unnecessary negatives that clutter your conversation and meaning, sending out the wrong signals to anyone you communicate with.
In Drop the Pink Elephant, Bill McFarlan reveals how to avoid the deadly trap of allowing poor communication skills to obscure your meaning and reduce your effectiveness. Drop the Pink Elephant is filled with helpful, simple and practical advice on how to make your words count for more. Put these straightforward lessons into practice and you will notice immediately how much more effectively you are able to communicate with others.
Sharpen your conversation by:
∗ FIRST SPOTTING, THEN DROPPING THE PINK ELEPHANT
∗ GETTING RID OF THE JARGON
∗ LEARNING TO SPEAK IN PICTURES
∗ RECOGNISING WHEN YOU SHOULD APOLOGISE OR THANK PEOPLE
∗ CAPTIVATING AN AUDIENCE
N.B. No animals were hurt in the making of this book. (Can you spot your first Pink Elephant?)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26507 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 166 pages

Review
"full of advice about how to avoid sending out the wrong signals" (Human Resources, March 2006)

Review
"full of advice about how to avoid sending out the wrong signals" (Human Resources, March 2006)

Caledonian, May 2003
"..Even if you normally steer clear of self-help books, do try the very funny and perceptive Drop The Pink Elephant.."

Customer Reviews

I'll be careful as I write this....
How could I possibly resist this book once I'd seen the title? It demanded that I at the very least opened the book to find out just what a Pink Elephant is! What I found was entertaining, provocative, simple, perhaps obvious in parts (but hindsight is wonderful), and most importantly something which immediately changed my behaviour. You would expect a book about "personal communication heaven" written by an expert in the field to be easy to read and understand - you will find that to be true (I nearly wrote "you will not be disappointed" - oops Pink Elephant!)

This book both fun and potentially life changing - Bill McFarlan writes near the end "I have experienced at first hand how these rules have enriched my life and the lives of others I've met" and then goes on to finish with significant examples. Can "rules" about communication work in this way? Having read this book and had my first taste of putting the ideas into practice, I am certain that he is right. Thank you Bill. I commend this book to everyone.

Whatever you do DON'T read 'Drop The Pink Elephant'
Having been assigned the presumed long and arduous task of reading Drop the Pink Elephant as part of my work experience working with a management consultant; I found the book an undemanding and entertaining read. In my opinion this is an amazing self help book in which the author provides an insight into the imperfections of our personal communication skills, and offers remedies to these weaknesses. The clear, comprehensible, well structured chapters each aim to develop the readers communication abilities through highlighting the solutions to possible problems. Using everyday examples Bill McFarlan places the reader in situations common to most, aiding in the understanding of the book. Filled with helpful, simple, and practical advice, coupled with a dose of humour, Drop the Pink Elephant is a very educational read.

Anyone who has a communication problem should read this!
My goodness, I can think of loads of people who would benefit from reading this book!

In today's society where everyone seems to be jumping on each other for saying anything out of place, we could all use a lesson in communication. Dropping the "Pink Elephant" ie, the negative words in our language, helps us to communicate what we want to say in a positive and non confrontational way.

Losing the sarcasm from our voices and responding to people in a positive way is always going to get you further than responding in a snappy and impatient tone.

A very good and educational read.