Once the call to action has taken place, your audience needs to remember, retain, and respond to your message. They have to keep doing what you want them to do. Have your points been memorable, easy to understand, and simple to follow? Remember, your message will boil down not to what you say and do, but to what the other person remembers. The following critical items must be included in your persuasive presentation. A. Repetition The use of repetition is very effective. We have heard that repetition is the mother of all learning; it is also the mother of effective persuasion. Repetition creates familiarity toward your ideas, and that leads to a positive association. When something gets repeated, it gets stuck in your memory. It improves your comprehension. You need to repeat your message several times so your audience understands precisely what you are talking about and comprehends exactly what you want them to do. You can repeat the message several times without saying the same thing over and over again. My motto is: When you repeat, repackage how you say it. Each time you express your point, use new evidence and new words, so you don't sound like a broken record. When you use repetition too much, it might result in diminishing returns. You know how you feel about someone telling you a joke or a story you've already heard or about that commercial you've seen one too many times. If you've heard it a million times before, you tune out and quit listening. Keep your repetitions about each point to approximately three references, and definitely no more than five. B. Theme We see general themes in commercials and advertisements. A theme is easily remembered and easily retained. Attorney Gerry Spence uses themes during his court cases. For example, when a small ice cream manufacturer sued McDonald's for breach of oral contract, Spence centered his whole argument and position around the theme, "Let's put honor back into the handshake." The jury was won over and Spence's client was awarded $52 million. In another case, Spence's client was suing an insurance company for quadriplegic fraud. This time, Spence's theme was: "Human need versus corporate greed." The insurance company ended up having to shell out $33.5 million plus the interest on $10 million. Having a theme will give your presentation flow, order, and presence in the minds of your audience members. Themes provide an easy way for people to remember the heart of your message. If you have strong and well-organized themes, you can be sure your audience will understand and remember your message more clearly and more strongly. C. Brevity and Simplicity Keep your message short and simple. Boring an audience to tears has never yet worked as an effective persuasive technique. If the message is short and simple, it will most likely be clearer and therefore easier to remember. Consider the profundity of Abraham Lincoln's historical Gettysburg Address. The whole speech, from start to finish, was only 269 words. He presented it in less than three minutes. D. Primacy and Recency Effects Timing is everything. The Primacy and Recency Effects refer to timing your message so it will have its greatest impact. The "Primacy Effect" refers to the impact of points made at the beginning of a presentation, and the "Recency Effect" refers to the impact of information presented at the end of a presentation. . These effects can be powerful presentation tools since it is typically the very first and very last parts of your presentation that bear the strongest weight in your audience's overall impression. These impressions will linger longer than anything else about the presentation. Your first and final words determine how you will be remembered and thought of long after your speech has ended. Be sure you carefully craft your opening and closing statements, placing your strongest points at those times. E. Offer Choices There is a strange psychological phenomenon in regards to drawing conclusions. If someone tells us exactly what to do, our tendency is to reject that dictated choice when we feel it is our only option. The solution is to offer your prospects a few options so that they can make the choice for themselves. People feel the need to have freedom and make their own choices. If forced to choose something against their will, they experience psychological resistance and feel a need to restore their freedom. We all need options. Recently, I saw a young moose get surrounded by people who wanted a picture of it. Feeling trapped, this moose charged at the people in an attempt to escape. This type of scenario can also present itself in your persuasive efforts. If you don't offer options to your audience, they could attempt to charge and escape. The strategy is that you have control over your prospects' options. As a Master Persuader, you only give them options that will satisfy your situation. We have all done this with children: Do you want to finish your dinner or go to bed early? In sales, they call this strategy the alternative close. For example, have you heard the line, "Do you want regular or deluxe?" Or what about, "Do you want it in blue or green?" or "Do you want to meet Monday afternoon or Tuesday evening?" The person has options, but both options meet the persuader's goals. Even if it is just something simple, people need to have options. I heard a story of one lady who desperately needed to take her medication or she would die. Her doctor, nurse, son, and husband all tried to get her to take her medication but to no avail. The doctor insisted she take her medication first thing when she arose in the morning, but she just wouldn't do it. Distraught, the family took her to a new doctor. This doctor immediately saw the situation and talked to the patient. He explained the benefits of taking the drugs and how it could help her. Then, he gave her an option. He said, "You need to take this once a day. Would you like to take it with your breakfast or your dinner?" The patient smiled and said she would like to take it with her dinner. After she made that decision, she no longer gave people a hard time about taking her medication. The key is that both options the doctor gave her were fixed to achieve the same goal. If you absolutely have to limit your audience's choice to one thing, you must explain to them why there are limitations on their options. If the audience understands why a limit has been put on their freedom, they are more likely to accept it without feeling undermined. On the flip side, try not to give your prospects more than two or three choices. If you give too many alternatives, your audience will be less likely to choose any of them. Structured choices give the audience the impression of control. As a result, they increase cooperation and commitment. Offering choices is also called "binds." Each option offered gives the persuader what he wants without making him appear as if he is restricting freedoms. When you use the word "or," the very opposite is implied, so try to structure your choices with the word "or." For example, "Would you like to make an appointment now, or should we meet next week? I know today you will become involved in our product or make the decision to take it home with you." Make sure your speech is articulate and intelligent, but be careful not to use esoteric language. Use simple terms and jargon that are familiar to your audience. Complexity will not impress them; rather it will muddle your message. Make your points simple, clear, and direct. Avoid facts, figures, examples, questions, or anything else that--if used ineffectively--might complicate your message. Conversely, if you are trying to dissuade, use all the complexity you want. If a person feels confused, perplexed, bewildered, etc., well, as they say, a confused mind says, "No!" Conclusion Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life.Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence.Think about it.Sure you've seen some success, but think of the times you couldn't get it done.Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across?Were you unable to convince someone to do something?Have you reached your full potential?Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals?What about your relationships?Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. |
