What is the best way to build your brand, grow your business, or create change? It has a lot to do with whether you have influence or not. I’m not talking about being an “influencer” or influencing from the outside. I’m talking about what it takes to influence from within with the power of communication. My guest, Adam Stones, is the author of Influence: Powerful Communications, Positive Change, a communications playbook that guides readers through the five traits of influence.    Adam Stones is a writer and communications strategist who makes positive change and has an impact. His work focuses on strategy, brand-building, PR, and content creation. He helps entrepreneurs and changemakers build communication skills to make a more significant impact. He’s a cyclist and dad and who takes that job very seriously. We talk about turning influence on its head by focusing on communication. It’s easy to communicate but hard to connect. Connection is where the real change happens.   We talk about moving from a passive to an active mindset. We touch on the importance of being invested in the future and being powered by purpose. We talk about putting your why into everything you do. Adam walks us through the five core traits of influential communicators. We talk about storytelling and using the AIDA or attention, interest, desire, and action copywriting technique. We also talk about how useful it is to capture your story in a single sentence. Adam touches on his ten golden rules for behavioral change communication, the concept of OSEP or owned, shared, earned, paid, and so much more.     And be sure to subscribe to The Self-Employed Life in Apple podcasts or follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode.   Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com    Adam Stones thank you so much for being here!   Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself.  Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world. Guest Contact –   Adam Stones Influence: Powerful Communications, Positive Change Adam Stones Instagram Adam Stones Twitter Adam Stones LinkedIn Ann Handley Contact Jeffrey – Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer’s Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share!   Valuable complimentary resources to help you-   The Self-Employed Business Institute- You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. Check it out!   Take The Self-Employed Assessment! Ever feel like you're all over the place? Or frustrated it seems like you have everything you need for your business success but it's somehow not coming together? Take this short quiz to discover the biggest hidden gap that’s keeping you from having a thriving Self-Employed Ecosystem. You’ll find out what part of your business needs attention and you'll also get a few laser-focused insights to help you start closing that gap.   Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO!   Host Jeffrey Shaw is a Small Business Consultant, Brand Management Consultant, Business C