Forget price cuts, special offers and other short term gimmicks designed to bring in more business during the crunch, the biggest asset for any business in the coming year will be its ability to influence others, says business specialist William Buist.
Rather than focusing on price-led tactics, Managing Director of Abelard Management Services William Buist believes that smaller businesses in particular should be focusing on engaging with their audience through the art of conversation. Success in 2009 will come to those who can learn how to use debate to influence rather than to defend.
In order to help people to develop these much needed communication skills, Buist launched The Debating Society earlier this year on popular social networking site Ecademy (www.ecademy.com) and the club now boasts over 1200 members, who recognise the value to their business of perfecting the art of debating for influence and of being able to clarify their messages and thoughts to a wider audience.
Buist, a specialist in the Societal Web, collaboration and building business by word of mouth says “The biggest problems facing businesses in the current economic climate is poor communication skills and the ability to separate personality from principle when it comes to dealing with objections or simply another point of view. Mastering the art of debate is something that has been lacking on the business scene in recent years. It is an incredibly valuable skill in 21st Century business, especially with the increase in online conversations where people have no visual or verbal clues and have to rely on words alone to understand meaning and context”.
The Debating Society has also proved that providing an environment which encourages stimulating and lively debate actually works to eliminate negative banter and instances of online bullying which can sometimes occur in social networking sites and forums and Buist claims that this is why The Debating Society forum needs very little moderation.
“The Debating Society is working proof that it is possible to have good, robust, and open conversations with many alternate, and often opposing viewpoints expressed online. Give people the opportunity to discuss their point of view without fear of attack or rebuke and they will show the same behaviour to others. The result is an opportunity to gain valuable thoughts and opinions from a large group of people who are actively engaging, collaborating and building deeper, more meaningful relationships with each other, based on mutual respect for their differences as well as similarities”, explains Buist.
To find out more information about The Debating Society visit www.performing-teams.co.uk
ENDS