Last Friday I thought I'd bring out my cherished Pierre Cardin burgundy leather "RHS" monogramed A4 executive organiser...rather than save it for special occasions. Gratefully appreciated as a gift (from myself) at our HP Foods annual sales conference in 1988...it nicely complimented the gold-plated, personally inscribed Cross pen and pencil..."earned" at a previous year's event! Yes we were a bit pretentious in those days... but we also knew that these eyecatchers worked for us in front of customers. Put it this way if the Trading Director of Tesco coveted them... they were working!
The psychology of this didn't overly concern us back then. But as it happens... one of our selling commandments was "Thou shalt always use a pen when presenting!" That regularly involved persuading a sales representative to throw away his chewed Bic ball point and invest in a Parker Flighter. Flashing the Cross clearly helped with it's subliminal message "This is what you could aspire to one day....perhaps?"
Subliminal influence has been a subject of much debate over the years. Most people think straightaway of subliminal advertising and the subsequently discredited claims of the Cocoa Cola cinema ad of the 1950's. These days subliminal advertising is banned although this seems to have been forgotten by the Conservative Party in their pre-election advertising. But in fairness it wasn't deliberate or mischeavious ...according to an article in Marketing Week.
In fact it was quite the opposite. While intending to present negative messages about Gordon Brown they had unintentionally promoted a smiling likeable Gordon...as subsequent consumer research was to prove.
Maybe the advertisers hadn't seen Derren Brown's famous stunt where two executives designed a logo. The design having been subliminally implanted by carefully sighted ad' hoardings and the like passed en route by their taxi.
These examples plus numerous scientific experiments illustrate the power of visual communication.
People's minds are made up by what they consciously see...often they don't bother to read the text or hear the words.
Their minds are also made up by what they unconsciously see. We know that the sub-conscious channel of the mind is highly responsive to sensory stimulii. We also know that this route to the mind diverts thought away from the critical reasoning areas...encouraging a more creative imaginative outlook on issues.
Compelling reasons why presenting from behind a lectern and reciting from bullet pointed texts is such an ineffective way to communicate.
Get out from behind the lectern. Communicate wth your body language.
Use areas of the stage to anchor different moods and then trigger emotional response.
Illustrate your meaning with graphics...or photographs....or animations....or video.
Communicate with your audience through all the senses...consciously and unconsciously!
For more tips and advice on persuasive communication please visit us at http://www.persuadability.co.uk/
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