I read an article not too long ago that a friend passed along and felt compelled to share my thoughts about it. The article appeared in Forbes.com and was titled “Why Public Speakers Need To Copy James Bond.” That’s a compelling title for Bond fans and speakers alike – of which I’m both – so I got sucked in and read. The author’s piece was well written and compelling…unless you know something about the psychology of persuasion. The gist of the article was this – Bond movies open with compelling action-packed scenes, not the credits, to immediately hook moviegoers. Speakers should do the same by starting immediately with a compelling story. I wholeheartedly agree that a speaker starting with a good story hooks the audience but foregoing a brief introduction misses out on a golden opportunity to utilize the principle of authority which will make you more persuasive, according to the science of influence. Imagine going to a conference and getting ready to listen to a speaker you’ve never heard of before. Will you pay more or less attention if you quickly learn beforehand the speaker was the top salesperson in their organization, or had a doctorate, or was one of only a handful in the world who does what he/she does, or had some other fact that established him or her as an expert? I’m willing to bet you’ll be more interested to listen after learning something compelling about the speaker. Several years ago, Joshua Bell, one of the most accomplished violinists in the world, was playing a million dollar Stradivarius violin in a public subway. Despite the fact that people pay several hundred dollars to hear him in concert, hardly anyone paid attention that particular day in the subway. His beautiful music was the equivalent of a compelling story but it wasn’t enough to grab people’s attention. Do you think people would have stopped to listen if they knew he was one of the greatest violinists in the world and that he was playing a million dollar instrument? I’d bet you any amount of money that many, many more people would have paid attention to him and his music. James Bond enjoys a brand very few individuals can claim. Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton and a few others would need no introduction before giving a speech, but you and I do, so here are six tips for your intro when presenting to a group of any size: You write the introduction. Don’t leave this to chance because nobody knows you and your expertise like you do.Keep it short. An intro of 100-200 words is plenty because too long and it’s boring, but too short and you may omit something important.Make sure it’s audience-appropriate. There may be interesting things you’ve accomplished that have nothing to do with the talk so leave out those things.Include something personal. This allows audience members to connect with you on a personal level which invokes the principle of liking.Have a third party introduce you. You do this because someone else can say things about you that will sound like bragging if you say them.Make sure the introduction happens before the talk. Unlike the movies where the credits come later, you want people to feel compelled to listen before you even open your mouth.Talking about Bond as a model for speaking makes for a compelling headline but not everything he does will work for you and me. That’s the difference between movies and reality. So my advice is this; find out what the science says then diligently apply it and you’re sure to give a more persuasive presentation.
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.As noted last week; Dr. Cialdini has a new book coming out that he’s coauthored with Steve Martin and Noah Goldstein, Ph.D. The book is called The Small Big and can be pre-ordered here.
Contrast – Protect Our Coral Sea
In previous posts I have highlighted the sophisticated use of persuasion in advertising – sophisticated because it seems so simple. In a current television ad being run by Protect Our Coral Sea they use a giant humphead wrasse named Barry as their spokes-fish.
Watch the advertisement and look for the use of Contrast and Liking.
The reference to the Amazon and the Serengeti take world-renowned environmental flagships and connects them to “our” Coral Sea thereby answering the Contrast Phenomenon question “Compared to what?”
Barry says that as Australian’s only we can protect it (nice bit of Liking). There is a drop in by another fish saying ‘hello Barry‘ – pointing toward Consensus, more than just Barry and I involved; before delivering the call to action of contacting the Prime Minister.
When you go the website you have the video, a list of other reef supports (Consensus), keep scrolling down and you find all of the major world environmental foundations and societies (Authority) and on the right there is a sign-up box asking you to act now:
This then takes you to a page that asks you send a letter to your local member. Based on the Commitment you have made to click on the ‘Send Letter’ button on the first page – you are most likely to send the email – nailing Consistency.
They have even gone to the effort of typing out an example letter for you to send to your local member – what a gift (Reciprocity).
In the body of the example email they highlight all that will be lost if the Federal Government suspends protection of the Coral Sea (the loss of many marine hotspots, endangered species, marine businesses, the overall health of our oceans, and Australia’s reputation as a world leader in marine conservation). And there my friend is Scarcity!
In a 27 second advertisement and two webpages Protect Our Coral Sea have nailed all of Cialdini’s principles in record time.
Not that it matters, but I sent the letter to my local member. Great campaign!
Let me know what you think.
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Surround Yourself With The Skills You Do Not Possess
I am a big fan of the concept surround yourself with the skills you do not possess. This can mean seeking out a individual different to yourself, working with someone who extends your thoughts and takes it somewhere new or perhaps engaging a whole team that have strengths you do not possess.
I have recently been working on a design piece and I knew I didn’t like what we had, I just didn’t know why. As part of the larger brief I decided to engage a marketing agency that could provide some specialist skills in concept and branding.
At one of the firms I visited I was comfortable form the start. I have followed their work for almost 12 months and have been impressed. I liked them. From the first meeting there was a connection. We were speaking the same language and it just seemed to fit.
So I told them that I had walked in with a brief but also a problem. The problem as I mentioned above was the design element I didn’t like but I didn’t know why. I gave them the back-story on the company. We explored the nuances and where opportunity lay. They wanted a week to think about things and were very clear that they wanted me to come back to look at the ‘draft’ before they presented it to the entire leadership group. Great use of Liking and kicking the relationship off through no-risk cooperation.
With a great deal of anticipation I went back to see them this week. We did the social thing up front and Liking was certainly at play. We spoke around all sorts of topics and laughed and after about 15 minutes we got into the presentation. They presented some background on their methodology and provided an overview on the specifics of what we were about to be shown. They provided plenty of praise for the brief we had delivered and the specific nature of the deliverables.
I deliberately took a female colleague with me to both meetings because the goal we were seeking to achieve is a corporate brand that appeals to women and she was far more qualified than I to make a call on that. Seated, anticipation piqued. The Director of the company stood, walked out of the room and came back with a portfolio. It was face down and this little piece of Scarcity (i.e. I couldn’t see the design work they had done) was killing me.
They said, what they had developed was just to see if they understood the brief and developed entirely from what I said I wanted. Great use of Consistency, as they were about to pitch me something in my own words. They told me if they didn’t get it right they would go back and rethink it – a nice Contrast to some others we had spoken to and as an Authority they were willing to admit upfront if they didn’t get it right but they would go away and fix it.
All the while the director was tapping on the documents, which I still couldn’t see, and this was making me a little distracted with impatience.
Finally, he turned the one and only concept around. I looked at it and then looked at my colleague. And we both smiled.
What they presented was there all along. It was integral to everything we had discussed, yet we were far too close to see it. This team, with their fresh set of eyes, took what we had told them, and had given it back to us with their own spin. A clearer and crisper version of what we had said.
So the question is, could we have come up with this on our own? The answer is no. We had too much baggage and were too close to it. Were they any smarter than us? The answer is again no. They asked the right questions and listened to what we said in order to understand what we were trying to show but couldn’t. Did they possess skills we did not possess? Yes. The depth and quality of the concept was amazing and this was only possible by listening to what we wanted and more importantly to what we didn’t.
In that moment, we were emotionally connected to the concept, the one we had given them, but the one they had gone to the effort of drafting. And then they asked, “Are we pitching against anyone else?” And I said, “As of now. No!”
Implication for you
Sometimes you can bang around for ages on a persuasive problem. Thinking about how best to approach your target of influence. Thinking about the stakeholders involved and their attitude toward your proposal. But I would always encourage you, that once you have thought about the principles of persuasion that are available to you, always sense check it with someone else to see what you have missed. Perhaps present it to knowledgeable others long before you get stuck, to ensure you maintain momentum. If they see something you don’t, it doesn’t mean they are smarter than you, it just means they are not burdened with the same biases and filters you are, having worked on the problem for so long.
Remember: No one person can know everything. Therefore surround yourself with the skills you do not possess. Tell them what you are thinking and let others contribute to your success!
The post Surround Yourself With The Skills You Do Not Possess appeared first on Social Influence Consulting Group.
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