Story Telling with passion to win hearts and minds

A couple of posts ago I talked about how stories can so powerfully communicate a message. There was one ingredient of story telling that I forgot to mention...Passion!  I was reminded of the oversight yesterday when I watched a brilliant presentation by Chilean author and activist Isabel Allende. With a list of best sellers to her name written over many years her other great passion is The Isabel Allende Foundation. It primarily supports organizations that help women and children in need, by providing education, healthcare, protection and the means to empowerment

lorri Barron (c) 2009

The dual topics of Isabel's presentation were passion and eradicating the abuse of woman across the world. Isabel introduced herself by saying "I tell stories." And she proceeded to tell with passion the stories of two woman and the abuse they had suffered at the hands of men.

I will admit that having stumbled upon a presentation on feminism that was going to take 20 minutes to watch I did not expect to see it through to a conclusion! The reason I did see it through and then wanted to quickly share the presentation with others was....I was completely hooked!

Isabel beautifully demonstrated the story tellers art with elements that I would recognise afterwards. A central character (the hero), a place and time, a challenging situation, an outcome and a conclusion.

But for me what made this a story telling masterclass was her use of passion and emotion to make you experience the situations she spoke of. And how did she do that?

She began with humour. The emotions "ice breaker" that enabled the audience to connect with their feelings.

Using self-directed irony she endeared herself with a story that included personal comparison with the magnificent Sophia Loren. In the process, offering a subtle metaphoric reminder of how the world popularly views women.

This set up the dramatic contrast of the harrowing stories of her real heroes. Told to an audience who had been subconciously primed to feel the pain and the shame of the stories they heard.

With her stories told, Isabel brought the audience back to "feel good" state with concluding humour and a further reference to Sophia Loren's legendary breasts. Anchoring the metaphor maybe? 

And finally...with the message embedded...the final stirring call for action! 

I viewed the presentation at http://www.ted.com/.  Ideas worth spreading is their mission.

I certainly was compelled to share Isabel's idea. 

For more tips and advice on adding persuadability to your message visit us at http://www.persuadability.co.uk/

why can't you see what I'm saying?

If you haven't had a look at Linkedin then give it a try. I'm a great believer in the value of business networking, and if there is a relevant group that I can attend without getting up at dawn then I'm definitely up for that.    One feature of Linkedin which I particularly rate is "Groups." Likeminded members regularly post questions of interest, inviting other members to comment.  There is a bit of a risk that you post a question and nobody responds. That must be a bit crushing....especially in the gregarious Sales group that I belong to. On the other hand you can suddenly find yourself to be an "industry luminary" when you post a question and everybody wants to express an opinion on it.
We have one such question at the moment.   "Have you seen anything genuinely new from a sales trainer recently or is training now simply a commodity differentiated purely on price and service level?" ......Seems a straightforward enough question?

Of course the responses (110 so far ) were always going to be interesting!  We Sales Trainers are passionate about our profession. We encounter sceptics and critics in the marketplace and winning them over comes with the territory. Which is probably why we need the comfort and reassurance of consensus amongst our peers. However as passionate professionals we do tend to argue our case in what you might describe as an explanatory and assertive manner. I begin well enough...offering my first concise explanation. In this case discussing amongst other things, the importance of rapport, empathy and listening skills. When my response fails to gain the nod of approval from a peer I blame it on brevity...and go in again with a more expansive explanation. Followed by another even more expansive explanation. By now my interest in the comments of others has declined. Besides, they are so lengthy I find it difficult to grasp the point.

Only the fittest survive to this stage. I drop out of the debate, convinced that it is the poorer without me. After a while I reflect back on arguments about  rapport and empathy. "Hmmm!....Practice what you preach" seems good advice....but it was great fun! 

Then a couple of hours later I happen upon a quotation that had been posted by a Linkedin member.... 

"A fool finds no pleasure in understanding...but delights in airing his own opinions!"

I'm just off to revisit those responses...particularly the ones that seemed to contradict with  my opinions!  

For more thoughts, tips and advice on persuasive communication visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/

Tell a story and get your audience to really understand

There are some great new programmes currently on TV. And for me BBC 2 takes all the "medal positions" with "Empire of the Seas" with Dan Snow, "How Earth Made us." with Prof. Iain Stewart, and Virtual Revolution with Dr Aleks Krotoski. As well as fantastic television imagery what makes these programmes so compelling is the presenter. Clearly the show producers have chosen them because of their terrific understanding of the subject. Also because they are highly engaging presenters. And I'm sure there is also a reason somewhere in there which connects with widening the appeal of the programme. Something clearly lost on the computer geeks complaining in their Guardian blog posts about the "dreamy shots of Dr Aleks walking across a concourse!"
The other thing that makes them such compelling presenters is that they all tell stories.

Dan explained how a combination of totally overwhelming naval supremacy and a visionary approach to finance drove Britain's acquisition of an empire. Prof. Iain showed why the trade winds circle the earth and how they effectively blew Columbus to America and then blew him back again. Dr Aleks beguiled us with the origins of the internet, both technical and cultural, empowering me with an informed view on the arguments for freedom of information.
Their stories are told around familiar elements: 

• Central character or hero. 
• Location and Time.
• Some kind of challenge.
• Solution or Outcome. 
• Something unexpected or special about that outcome.  
• A conclusion.

When we listen to stories we allow our more open, imaginative, and creative right brain in on the conversation. What we hear we act out in our minds....setting the story within our own map of the world. We experience it and because of that we better understand it.
When planning your next presentation see for yourself how easily the storytelling format can be applied to your message. And see also how much you will enjoy telling that story to your audience as they experience your message.
Remember what Confucius said - What I hear I forget. What I see I remember. What I do I understand.   .....he'd have been great on TV too!

For more helpful tips and advice on how to influence and persuade others visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/

Seven great habits to improve your speaking voice

"Enunciate!....Enunciate!"  50 plus years later I can still hear that empassioned call from Miss Lawler as she urged Old Oak Junior Mixed school choir to give it our all! Thinking about it, her words have probably been "recorded" in my sub-conscious all this time....which possibly explains why I find voice such a compelling element of communication.

But it is the case that audiences are as much if not more influenced by the sound of a voice than by the words that voice utters.  And with so much of that influence happening at a subconscious level.

You only have to catch the latest TV commercials for Barclays Bank to get an example of that. Where Stephen Merchant lends his "so honest and trusting" sounding West country dialect to a market sector much in need of restored trust.

So if you are routinely influencing others...whether that be in a buyer's office, the board room or from a conference stage then you should be making the best of your voice. Here are some excellent habits that will have a big impact on your voice:

• Sing in the shower. Give your lungs and larynx a good work out, it will also add power to your voice.

• Find a willing young listener and read children’s story books. They are a great way to practice dramatised delivery of words and comfortable regulated breathing

• The dreaded “gruffness” is nearly always due to digestive mucous in the tubes caused by eating too late or food that is too rich. So avoid both.  Avoid coffee and chocolate, these dehydrate you.

• Lubricate your throat. Warm water with lemon is highly recommended.
• If you need to clear your throat cough gently. Do not “slap” the vocal chords.
• Good breathing creates resonance which creates vocal power. Trying to squeeze power from the throat or unnaturally lowering the voice in a growl will strain your voice.
• Practice breathing evenly from the diaphragm and not the chest. It frees up the chest to add sound capacity and resonance. And it gives greater stamina.
For many of us in business we have to speak to impress. It is a physical activity. The more we practice the better we become. And if we try and perform without putting in the training then we only have ourselves to blame if we get "crocked!"

For more tips and advice on how to improve the persuasiveness and presentation of your business messages please visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/

Mastering the art of visual persuasion

My very good friend Angela was recently sharing some excellent advice she'd been given on how working environment and surrounding visual stimulii can be used to influence and focus our thinking. Thinking about what she had said I started to connect with several situations which seem to illustrate this.  Like creative agencies who dedicate a work room to a client and dress it entirely with client-related images. Like Derren Brown's famous red BMX bike conversation where peripheral images were seen to play a big part in influencing thought. 

And then of course numerous other examples came to mind going back over many years. Reminding me that we have always known about visual communication but without really understanding it or making full use of it.
With an interest triggered off by my NLP training I've avidly researched the whole topic of subconscious thought and the power of visual stimulus. This has revealed some fascinating facts. Certainly fascinating enough to impress this unsophisticated mind!  But the notion that our minds are busily thinking without us realising it I find fascinating. The notion that visual stimulii will influence that thinking I also find fascinating. And the notion that the less we are consciously aware of that stimulii then the greater we will be influenced by it...I find really fascinating!  This of course is what the masters of visual communication recognise....as they visually communicate in a subtle unobtrusive way.
I smile inwardly when I meet many newly trained NLP'ers. They enthusiatically and as a result rather obviously apply their mirroring techniques....and of course it doesn't work!  But when with time and practice it is done elegantly and almost inconspicuously... it does work! And this "inconspicuous elegance" is the secret element that....
Distinguishes the body language of great persuaders and gains them instant rapport!
Generates the "charisma" in great presenters and wins them audience approval!
Adds the "magic" in visual presentation design that makes it compelling!

For more free tips and articles on persuasive communication visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/

Why people are hard to sell to!

How much thought do you give to the words you use when pitching for business or when selling your ideas to a colleague. Go on be honest!    How often do you enthuse with total gusto but choose reasons and express your argument in terms that you would find convincing. In other words sell it as it would have been successfully sold to you.  I was reminded of this by some recent research into group motivations to tackle a particular task. The quick summary of this research was that in any cross section of people you will find half of them regarding completion of the task as the key driver whilst the other half would be motivated by getting fun out of it.

I work with a couple of guys who illustrate this difference very clearly. Present an idea for them to consider and you get two reactions. One is more interested in how it might improve control, or reduce costs. He asks a lot of questions. The other is more interested in how it might deliver marketing advantages or added value.  He tells me how he sees it working. One likes to carefully read through back-up information and maybe even create an excel spread sheet before making up his mind. Give his partner the supporting papers and he will push them aside with instant boredom. He wants to talk about it and hear how it will work.
And that is the reality of selling and persuasion. People are different. How we would go about deciding on a particular idea is not how others will do it. Roughly speaking, 3 out of 4 people will by varying degrees of difference have their own reasons and their own ways of deciding.
So don't rush to present what you want to hear. Take some time to listen and learn what it is that they want to hear.

For more helpful tips and advice on how to influence and persuade others visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/

The key to a successful sales pitch

I was chatting with a Creative Marketing pal today about his current success rate with new business pitches. Despite coming up with some terrific responses he just wasn't winning the pitch.  We chewed over the usual factors that arise in these conversations...Price...the client testing out the market!  But eventually he admitted that when asking for some feedback he was told that he hadn't really answered the brief.  That kind of response is of course abhorrent to any professional creative! "Well they moved the goal posts didn't they!" was his first explanation.  Followed by "They didn't really know what they wanted anyway...and they asked us to come up with ideas!"  "That must make it really tough for you when working up a responsel" I inquiringly suggested, anxious not to offend creative sensitivity.  He explained at length just how difficult and then listened attentively to my observations - That enthusiasm alone will never close a sale if your best shots are just fired off hopefully at an unknown target.  That building agreement can only happen when you know that your solutions are right on target with the prospect's needs. That only then can you present those best shots with that vital smile and nod of the head, as you use that magic closing phrase "and this will give us (their key need) which we know is important to you isn't it?   

This then allowed me to nicely loop back to the brief and to talk about the crucial need to question, probe and qualify the brief. We talked about the need to create rapport as a precursor to qualifying needs and he promised to read the blog post How to really listen and influence people.  And in the end we agreed that:

• Buying decisions are of course based on practical requirements or needs which will be prioritised in some way. But they are also and ultimately based on wants and desires. This kind of criteria are rarely articulated in the brief.  Sometimes they are not even fully clarified in the buyer's mind until the final proposals are considered.
• Decision makers do not readilly share these inner criteria. They need to be encouraged by an attentive and empathetic listener who can comfortably ask questions like:
•  "What are you looking to achieve?"
• "Why is that important to you?""
• And what ultimately does that mean to you?"
•  Suppliers who create that rapport and ask those questions will be seen by Decision Makers as the Pitch Team who "really got to understand what we wanted!" And as the Team that when presenting solutions, hit the target and closed by saying ".....and that is what you are really looking for isn't it!"  ....Not forgetting the nod and the smile!!

Bob Howard-Spink is a Partner in Persuadability. For more tips and help on improving your persuasive business messages visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/