Persuasion

For More Influence, Try Grounded Cognition

What does your brain do when you hear the word 'pepper'? What about 'grasp'? Or 'hat'? All these words fire up not just your language circuits, but different senses through other relevant brain circuitry. 'Pepper' activates your taste circuits. 'Grasp', your motor movement circuits. 'Hat' - visual circuits. Whatever you see as a hat from past experience fires up the 'seeing' part of your brain. To influence more effectively, we can improve our chances of motivating our audiences by using language that's: Concrete Specific We'll come back to examples of these in a moment. By being concrete and specific, we build a richer, more powerful experience for...

To Influence, Think White Space, Not White Noise

To influence, think white space, not white noise Just as visual white space designed into documents and slides is a very good thing, so is verbal white space in meetings, presentations and conversations. Visual white space allows the content to breathe and to be digested without cognitive strain. Verbal white space does exactly the same. Ideas and solutions need room to be conjured up, and to be heard. White space in this sense could be seen as a metaphor for communication opportunities. How often do we get white noise instead? It's everywhere nowadays! So much certainty, so much content being churned out. It's relentless. And...

Powerful Internal Questions to Influence Up

Some powerful internal questions to influence up, if you're nervous or threatened by hierarchy. Hierarchy challenges can rear up for a lot of people. Even when confident, that sense of "less than" can be a real issue. It can help a lot to reframe what you're aiming to achieve. Asking yourself powerful questions such as "How can I contribute here? How can I help these people with my information?" can make a difference. Or finding a way to generate a feeling of 'peer to peer' discussion by asking yourself - prior to the conversation or presentation - questions such as: "What will make this feel...

To persuade, check your tone

To persuade, check your 'tone'. How often do you focus on your tone of voice when you're trying to persuade? One of the issues that can turn people off without you even being aware of it, is speaking in a tone that sounds pessimistic or resigned. Thinking of it as a tone 'scale': Resignation and pessimism on one end, versus enthusiasm and energy on the other - where do you usually sit on that scale? It's easy to be concerned about appearing pushy, "too much" or even cheesy! And we certainly need to be aware of all of those things. But in an effort to...

Stories as Light, Web or Glue

Stories as light, web or glue. Do you use stories or case studies as part of your communication process to engage or influence an audience? If you do - and I hope that's the case - you probably know that there’s a lot of information out there about the best ways to create and deliver one effectively. So I want to keep today's concept simple: it's about using three specific lenses to categorise your stories. Doing this can help you to see them in new ways, and have more impact. Note: these story categories relate to working across sectors to effect systems change, and...

Should you speak to your audience as a group or individuals?

Today’s topic is an important word choices distinction that can make a big difference to how your audience engages with you. Should you speak to your audience as a group or individuals? It matters especially at the start when you first speak - remember that your opening words are often what make people decide to listen to you or not. And this technique can also be important as you go through your content. Let me illustrate it with an example. I recently signed up for a newsletter from a US global influencer, originally known for the 4-Hour workweek, Tim Ferriss. Some of the emails I've been receiving as a subscriber...

For Influence and Confidence, Question Lazy Labels

For influence, question lazy labels We label and put people and ideas into boxes all the time: and we need to. These short-cuts for our brain are vital to let us get on with our day without stopping to second-guess ourselves. And it's much faster to label than to try to understand. However, by their very nature these labels stop us from thinking more deeply and being curious. And if you follow me regularly you'll know that I believe curiosity to be a major super-power for successful communication. The good news is that avoiding or questioning these label shortcuts can be a major step-up...

Your truth or universal truth, get to the point, and a self-worth reminder

1. To influence: are you speaking a universal truth, or your own? If as a presenter we generalise about things that aren't true for our audience, they'll usually disconnect, and the opportunity to influence disappears. And if you think this doesn't apply to you, it's worth a check-in: it's surprisingly common. Some sentence starters to be aware of when you speak: “We all appreciate that…” – are you sure? “Of course you know…” – do we? “We’ve all felt/done/heard…” – have we? Any of these can create a barrier between speaker and audience. If I feel “you’re not talking to me” , you lose me. The speaker...

Unconscious Speaking Habits May Be Holding You Back

Are you aware of what you do with your hands, or if you use many filler words (like, um, you know) when communicating? And that these unconscious speaking habits may be holding you back? Most people aren't that aware - and this is often a good thing! We have enough to do to get through each day without finding something else to work on, let's face it. And a few filler works like 'um' aren't an issue. (The problem comes when they multiply and become a barrier for the listener.) Likewise with gesturing. We gesture to help us think, and it's important not...

Communication Challenge: Avoid Empty Phrases When You Communicate

A frequent challenge when speaking is to avoid adding empty phrases when you communicate. And there are a few popular ones doing the rounds at the moment which, in my view, weaken and dilute the message you're trying to convey. Avoid Empty Phrases When You Communicate When we want to get a point across at work, whether in a conversation, meeting or presentation, it's important to be clear and crisp (unless, of course, we're trying to create a smokescreen or divert attention from something undesirable!). And there are some empty phrases which just bloat our communication. Here's a recent quote from a high-level sportsperson...