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How to persuade people who dont want to be persuaded get what you want every time joel bauer

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A s you continue reading, you're going to learn to persuade in a w ay you never im agined possible.. T hese m entors of m ine, w hom you'll learn about throughoutthe book, share several

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J0 :L BA UQR & M ARK LQVY

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M ore Praise for H ow to Persuade People

W ht? D on't IAWJZ' to Be P ersuaded'Joel Bauer and M ark Lev.s draw back the curtain and 1et you see, hear, touch,

and tf sc the most m yst eri ous mechanism s of success- - i-ftfewcc fpg.il ècrsuasion lfyou' re thinking li ghtwei ght cunni ng or heavyw ei ght sociol ogs f orget i t W e' re talking about an ancient craf t our ancestors knew t hat our generati on forgot This book wi ll teach you how to w i el d your best i deas to inf luence others with the m ysti cal dexteri t.s ofa caveman who strikes a flintytfstso- and creates fire.'

.- hli ck Corcodil os, founder of the N orth Bridge G roup, Inc.

and author of zlsk tlle H eadllunter

'J-J/tp tt Ptrsuatk Pcc')!c T btl Don't Wkg.t tt l?c Ptrsuatlc? is a gem lts concepts are

cl ear/ i ts exam ples are powerful/ and the wri ting in it provi des readers w i th the energ s inherent i n a great pi tch lf you want to elevat e your i deas and get them recei ved as i f they w ere m anna f rom heaven/ you must read thi s book '

- l- esli e Yerkes, presi dent of Catal yst Consulting G roup, Inc and author

of 301 W flps to H ave Fun at W tvk Fun W tf v ks and Beansf

'Joel Bauer and M ark Le'or teach you how to get into the mind of the decision

aker and convert ' no' into ' es ' '

- leffrey Gitomer, author of Tlw Sales Bible and

Tl le Patterson Principles of Selling

'l've watched Joel Bauer work with audiences for 1 2 years and now l

under-stand w hy he' s been the undi sputed l eader in persuasi on But How t t Pcrsuat k

Pcc')!c W'-lDc'g.ï Wffwt tt l?c Pcrsuatk? isn't just a stonr about Joel lt's an unselfish

recipe for personal and professi onal developm ent Thi s book i s a gi ft.' '

.- M att Hill , presi dent, The H il l Group

'Joel Bauer and M ark Lev.selevate the art of salesmanship to a level others only

dream about and reveal persuasi on strategies few prof essional s woul d be wil ing to share Tl - ul y/ thi s i s a book on how to be a success.' '

l l- arry Becker, form er creati ve partner of Becker-Kanter Advertising ' &1 r Bauer possesses amazi ng insi ght/ and offers inspi red revelati ons into hum an behavi or This book i s dangerous '

- W i ll iam Bakoyni, president and CEO , Video Technologies ' N 0 hocus-pocus here Thi s book wil l awaken the negoti ator withi n and en- abl e you to be more pers uasi ve that you ever thought possibl e '

.- M ax Cohen, cofounder and CEO , CashAdvance.com ' Bauer and Lev.sdon'tjust prove the power of persuasion in their new book/ theyshow you how t o become an expert at thi s key lif e ski ll - qui ckl y and easi l y' '

-peter Economy, coauthor of M anagingfor Dummies

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'Nvhile reading Joel Bauer's book you'l get an urge to rush out and test what

you' ve l earned W hen you see your fi rst ' victimk eyes li ght upJ you' l reali ze his persuasion techni ques reall y work From that moment onJ you' re hooked '

- scott Goodm an, CEO , Sam son Technologies'How ttl Pcrsuatk Pcc')!c T btlDon't Wkg.tttl l?c Ptrsuatlct is candid/ insightful, educa-tional/ and f un Read i t and put som e magi c into your business li fe '

- leffrey J Fox, author of How to M ake Big Azftlse.y in Ytlvr Own Sm all

Business and H ow to Becom e CEO

'Donald Trump's airl oj t/ Dcfp! and Joel Bauer's How ttl Ptrsuatk Pcc')!c Tbtl Dc'g.ï

Wf f wt tt l l ?c Pt rsuat lc ? are two essenti als for those looking to succeed in busi ness '

.- ll ob Bedbury, director of Btt siness D evel opment, G um as Advertising

'M aster Joel and M ark's influence strategies and you can become the business

w orld' s next pi ed pipen' '

- stewart Levine, author of Tlle Book t l /zlgrccvscvzf'

and G etting to Resolution' found infl uence pri nci ples l could imm edi atel y appl y to my busi ness on a1-

m ost evenr page.' '

.- D avid G oldsmith, founder, M etaM atri x Consulting, Inc.

'Joel Bauer is such a rock star He has shown up with his own brand of real

m agi c and i t w i ll rock your world Read evenr w ord and read i t agai n.' '

- Angelica J Holiday, 'TV producer, entedainment/advertising/marketing

& brand consultant

' A m ust read and a fun read for business peopl e at any level The book grabs you the moment you pi ck i t up and is fu11 of underground practi ces/ whi ch w i l have you persuading li ke a prof essi onal pi tchm an '

- -l-homas J W aletzki, president, Eizo Nanao Technologies' H ow t t Pcrs uat k Pcc ' )! c T bt l Dc' g ï Wf f w t t t l ?c Pcrsuat k? w i ll shake you out of your comfort zone and/ in the process, draw others to your ideas A wonderful ly unorthodox l ook at how to inf luence and get att enti on '

.- lohn Izzo author of Second Innocence:Rediscovering Ioy

& W tlsflc'r and A w akening tlle Corporate Soul

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Thi s book i s pri nted on aci d.f ree paper @

Copyright @ 2004 by Joel Bauer and lvlark Le'o, A11 rights resenred

Published by John W iley sc Sons/ lnc./ H oboken/ Newlersey

Publ ished si mul taneousl y i n Canada.

Thanks to Aigfc magazine publisher Stan Allen and editor.in.chief John lvloehring for

permi ssi on to use i ntervi ew materi al that was publ ished i n i ts Apri l 2003 iss ue.

No part of thi s publi cati on may be reproduced/ stored i n a retri eval s yst em / or t ransmi tted

i n any f orm or by any means/ elect roni c/ mechani cal/ photocopyi ng/ recordi ng/ scanni ng/

or otherwis e/ except as permi tted under Secti on 1O7 and 108 of the 1976 Uni ted States Copyri ght Act/ wi thout ei ther the pri or wri tten permi ssion of the Publ i sher/ or authoriza.

ti on through payment of the appropri ate pencopy f ee to the Copyri ght Cl earance Cen.

ter/ lnc./222 lkosewood Drive/ Danvers/ &lA 10923/ (978) 750.8400/ fax (978) 646.8600/

or on the web at Mmr wccopyri ght com l kequest s to the Publ i sher f or permi ssi on s houl d be

addressed to the Permissions Department/lohn W iley scSons/ lnc./ 1 1kiver Street/Hoboken/ NJ 07030/ (201) 748.601 1J fax (201) 748.6008

Li mi t of Li abi l ty/Discl ai mer of W arranw: W hil e the publ isher and author have used thei r best efforts in prepari ng this book/ t hey make no representati ons or warranties

wi th respect to the accuracy or compl eteness of the contents of thi s book and speci fi cal l y di sclaim any impl ied warranti es of merchantabi l ty or fi tness for a part icul ar pur pose No warranw may be created or extended by sal es representati ves or wri tten sal es materials The advice and strategies contai ned herei n may not be sui tabl e for your si t uati on The publ i sher i s not engaged in renderi ng professi onal senr ices/ and you shoul d consul t a prof essi onal where appropri ate Nei ther the publ isher nor the author shal l be l i abl e for any loss of prof i t or any other commerci al damages/ i ncl uding but not l i mi ted to speci al/ inci dental / consequenti al / or other damages.

For general i nf ormati on on our other products and senr i ces pl ease contact our Cus.

tomer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762.2974/ outside theUnited States at (3 17) 572.3993 or fax (3 17) 572.4002

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I.ibrary ojcongress Cataloging-in-publication Data:

Bauer/Joel

1960-How to pers uade peopl e who don' t want to be persuaded : get what you

want-every timeL /Joe1 Bauer/ lvlark I-e'

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For m y m other, C arol, w ho never said, ''lt cannot bedone/'' and m y wife, Cherie, who said, ''ls that a11?''

- J B

For m y m other, Rhoda, w ho read m e T'retgsgre Js/tggk, and

m y wife, Stella, who can persuade with the best of them

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THE TpakhlsyoltlvlzkTlox M ECI-IANISM

THE BODY M ETAPI-IOR

THE PAPER M ETAPI-IOR

THE Qul cl t PI TCH OPENI NG

THE Qul cl t PI TCH BODY

THE SLOGAN PITCI-I

C otkvlxcE w l7'l-I SAMPLES

THE Pow Ek oy FItEE

1 7 THE PLATFOR&1 PITCH

1 8 THE V ECHANISIVI EMERGENCY K IT

IN DEX

A BO UT THE AUTHO ZS

1

1 3 22 405366 78 90 1O1 11212513315O

1 59

1 76 186 197 213

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p - 1

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

'd like to thank m y w ife, C herie, w ho knew l had potentialwhen it w as well hidden; m y am azing children, Chanelle,Briana, and Sterling, w ho every day teach m e w hat life is re-ally about; m y m other, C arol Bauer, and m y father, StephenShoyer; m y adoring grandfathers, Albert and D uf-fy; and m y clos-est friends, Bi11 Bakoyni, Larry Becker, D avid Borys, G ary Lam ers,

Eric M aurin, Dale Penn, Jason Randal, David Stahl, and Jon

Stetson W ithout their ongoing support, the journey toward

get-ting what l've alw ays w anted w ould have been lonely l'd like to

thank my life teachers, Jack Chanin, Paul Diamond, Joe DeLjon,

G ary H unter, H idy O chiai, Ron Praver, Benny Ray, and G regg

W ebb; the Kenin C oin & Stam p Shop M agic Departm ent when l

w as eleven; the staff of Carnival C ruise L nes w hen l w as thirteen;and m y publicist, Phil Lobel, who has w orked brilliantly with the

m edia to get the w ord out about m e

l'd also like to thank my co-author, M ark Levy, who is a ing god W orking w ith M ark is the only way my techniques andphilosophy could have ever been transferred so expertly to thepage H e clim bed inside m y w orld, and becam e a friend as well

writ-L fe has dealt m e a great hand, and the cards w ill rem ain inplay until m y last breath

- J B

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ACKNOW LEDGM ENTS

'd like to thank m y w ife, Stella, whose love and support haskept m e going; my m om , Rhoda; my brother, Paul; m y sister,

Joyce; and, a11 my other amazing relatives, like Gi1, lrwin, and Joan l thank my friends whose wisdom helped Joel and me

w rite this book: D ick ''The Guru'' Axelrod, Renee Babiewich,

Larry Becker (for introducing me to Joel), Steve ' ' There' s a arity in my shoe' ' Cohen, Patti Danos, Kevin Daum (for a two- hour conversation that made it a11 clear), Christopher Dil ts and his hair, Jack Foster, Bob ' The H appy Skeptic' ' Friedhoffer,

peculi-M ichael ''Leonardo'' G elb, N athan G old, D avid ''Ferris Buehler''

G oldsm ith, M ichelle H erm an, Paul H arris, Robert ''Short

Sen-tences' ' Jacobs, M ac ' ' Vegas, babyl' ' L ng, Paul Lemberg, Steve

'H ow did it w alk?'' Sanderson, Rich Schefren, Adam Snukal, Ken

Swezey (who was excited by our book concept before anyone

else,and w hose enthusiasm gavethe ''Pitchh/lind'' rocket a lift

into orbit), and Karl W eber Also, thanks to our literary agent,

M uriel Nelli s, and her assistant, Jane Roberts, to everyone at

W iley, with a big shout out to M att ''T he N urturer'' H olt andTam ara ''The Transylvanian'' H um m el, and to Claire H uism ann

and the killer staff at lmpressions Book and Journal Services Al so

also, l'd like to thank m y pets W hen you're w riting eleven hours

a day w ith no hum ans in sight, a bark, a m eow , or a tw eet can be

awfully comforting Bless you Kum a, Jofu (' ' Fuzio' ' ), X ger, and

Betsy

Finally, l would like to thank the m an himself, Joel Bauer Joel

is a m asterful businessperson, perform er, and friend lf you everget the chance to see him in action, take it!

M

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D R AW IN T H E LIST EN ER

hat you're about to read is a bit frightening Som tim es sem inar attendees w alk out on m e as l de-

e-l ver t hi s materi al because the/r e di sturbed by

what they hear These are sm art people w alkingout l don't blam e them for leaving This is the stuff of nightm ares

A s you continue reading, you're going to learn to persuade in

a w ay you never im agined possible N ot in a D ale C arnegie w ay

N ot by sm iling and tossing in people's first nam es as you speak

w ith them This is about getting people to do what you w ant

Particularl y strangers (W hen a J / /fre; t reporter saw hundreds of

strangers follow m y com m ands in unison, he called the display ''

feat of mass obedience that must be seen to be believed '

M y persuasion m odel is unusual, but deadly effective l didn'tread about it in a m agazine or develop it with a team of universityscholars lnstead, it com es from m y 37 years' experience in front

of audiences and from m y study of those true m asters of ence, show folk; m ostly show folk in the ''dark arts.''

influ-Yes, a11 l know about persuasion l've learned from carnies,fakirs, hypnotists, m agicians, m entalists, spiritualists, and, partic-

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a Dl t/ tw I x TI -I E Ll s- fExEl t

ularly, pitchm en N aturally, l'm taking liberties here with w ho lcall show folk, but let's not split hairs T heir m ethods are the im -portant thing, not the taxonom y

T hese m entors of m ine, w hom you'll learn about throughoutthe book, share several traits: lf they don't persuade, they starve;their strategies m ay involve outright deception; and they use, forthe m ost part, entertainm ent as a m eans of changing m inds For

w ant of a better term , let's call their w ays ''theatrical/' and m y

model the ' ' Theatrical Persuasion M odel ' (Things always seem more real when you name them; there' s your first lesson.)

So if you're ready for an underground education in influence,read on lf you're anxious to learn what m agicians dub ''the real

w ork/' this is the only place to find it lt's a11 very doable, andyou'll be able to use the m odel no m atter w hat your situation-that is, if you don't 1et your fears get the best of you

Reader, l just hit you with an influence technique: the Fright

C hallenge L ken it to the carnival barker's ballyhoo used to snarepeople strolling the m idw ay: ''Ladies and gentlem en, can you bearit? Sho-cking! H orr-i-fy-ing! A living, breathing nightm are! The

m ost intelligent am ong you will w ant to keep w alkingl'' The m orethe carny protests, the larger the crowd grows

lf l w as successful with m y pitch, you didn't notice you w erebeing influenced O r, if you realized it, you w ere at least intriguedenough to read this far W hatever your reaction, l now have yourattention, and l intend to keep it

You can rely upon the Fright Challenge w hatever your ence's size and intellectual m akeup Everyone- and l m ean every-one- responds to this sim ple tactic

audi-l used a audi-lengthy challenge to open this chapter because you canbuild slow ly on paper Readers like to feel the tim bre of a writer'svoice and see how he or she goes about developing an argum ent lnperson, though, it's a different story; if you take too long setting thechallenge, you cross the line from provocateur to m enace

W hen the people l'm trying to influence are standing before

m e and w ant to know how l earn a living, m y Fright Challenge is to

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ovEl t v l Ew

the point: ''Are you sure you w ant to know ? lt's a little frightening

M ost people can't handle it.' W hen they say yes, and they always

do, l conspiratorially add: ''M ove in closer l don't w ant everyonehearing this.'' Suddenly, l have their attention in a w ay that m akes

them hungry f or my words The/r e mi ne for the moment.

Reading J-foa? to Persgtgke Peoble J///?0 D 0g1 J//tggt to Be Persgtgtle;t

w ill be an experience for you M uch of w hat you're about to learn

is available now here else

Ladies and gentlem en, can you bear it? lt's overview tim e!

O VERV IEW

W ho Should Read This Book?

l wrote it predom inantly for businesspeople M y techniques w illhelp executives, m anagers, entrepreneurs, salespeople, m arketers,

advertising staff, human resources personnel, presenters, job seekers, andjust about anybody looking for a way to make people

receptive to suggestions.

O f course, you don't have to be in business to profit from thisbook Anyone who wants to influence others to his or her w ay ofthinking w ill w ant to read it That audience includes activists,counselors, negotiators, perform ers, physicians, politicians, pub-1ic speakers, and teachers

A n audience that deserves special m ention is singles M y suasion strategies are naturals w hen it com es to m eeting and im -pressing people lf you're a C asanova- or vam p-in-training, youkecom e to the right place

per-W hat Is the Book's H igh C oncept?

Before l answer, 1et m e explain w hat a high concept is The ciple is critical if you w ant to be a pow erful persuader The term

prin-bèb cogcel )t is most often used in the TV and fi lm industries,

par-ticularly during pitch m eetings, in w hich writers throw densed ideas at a studio executive, hoping that the executive w illbuy one of them and turn it into a series or a m ovie

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con-Dl u w Ix TI -IE LI

STENEP-T hose condensed ideas are high concepts They take a com plex plot and reduce it to its m ost com pelling point The resultingsentence or phrase is w hat the w riter fires at the executive

-W hat's the m ost fam ous high concept ever pitched? ing to ''Perfect Pitch/'' a TV docum entary, it w as delivered by

Accord-Aaron Spelling to sell his proposed series A lbt inyales Spelling

pitched the series as ''nurses in w et t-shirts.' The studio bought it

im m ediately

Jt sl l of z you / 9 0f , t o be r suai je by gsf ' g t / ?e cl l gf t ye sj bro je s si onal f cl l me a.

T hat concept m ay not be as sexy as Spellingk, but it's accurate

T his book brings the secrets of show folk to the boardroom ltteaches you how to use entertainm ent to influence

T hink these prem ises sound odd? Then l suggest you switch

on your television lf the success of television has taught us thing, it's this: People w ill open them selves up to a com m ercial

any-m essage f

-fyou entertain them Take away the entertainment, and

the view er surfs off to another station while the sponsor's m essagegoes unheard

Product sales rise and fall based upon the entertainm ent value

of their m essages A m essage that tickles the public can be w orthbillions At tim es, an entertaining m essage m ay be the only thingseparating one product from another

Bottled water is a good example lt' s a $35 billion a year dustry That' s $35 bi llion for a product not substantially different

in-from w hat you can get out of your faucet

O bviously, the people in that industry are bright They not onlycreated a m arket, but they work hard at m aking each brand seemdifferent from its competitor O ne w ater is from a stream O ne isfrom the m ountains O ne is from France O ne has added vitam ins

O ne com es in a squirt bottle for people on the go The list goes on

l would argue that very little separates one w ater from theother lf you w ere to conduct a taste test am ong the top threebrands, l don't think you'd find an obvious w inner

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ovEl t v l Ew

T he thing that really separates these products is their com nies' positioning strategies and the entertainm ent principleseach uses in its m arketing m essage l've seen brands advertised by

pa-m odels in flow ing robes, by glam orous m ovie stars, and by tiful, sw eating athletes

beau-M odels, m ovie stars, and athletes have little to do w ith w ater

T hey have a 1ot to do w ith telling an attention-grabbing dram aticstory, fast ln other w ords, they're there to entertain you For noother reason

Perhaps the entertainm ent com ponent in bottled w ater is tle After a11, m ost com panies in the industry take a dignified ap-proach to pitching their product lt's not so with beer

sub-T he beer industry is a11 about associating its product w ithgood tim es and wild entertainm ent To push their product, brew -ers have used a w ide variety of entertaining m eans: Theyke flow nblim ps over sporting events; run contests with a billion-dollarprize; and aired com m ercials featuring wom en wrestling in m ud, adog with hum an girlfriends, frogs croaking a beer's nam e, and afootball gam e played between rival bottles of beer

W ith exaggerated vehicles like those, it's easy to dism iss thebrilliance of the beer industry That is, until you realize one thing:

ln 2002, beer sales totaled $74 4 billion Say what you like

En-tertainm ent sells

Entertainer?

You w ill not have to sing, dance, act, recite, get up in front ofcrow ds, or w restle in m ud, unless you w ant to W hen l talk aboutentertainm ent as a persuader, l m ean that you w ill use com pelling,often whim sical strategies designed to put people in a receptive

m ood for w hat you have to offer

A nd keep in m ind, entertainm ent isn't necessarily hearted A dram a is entertaining So is a horror film ln the w ork

light-w e'll be doing together, you'll be using the full range of hum an

em otion to m ake your point forcefully

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DPAW IN TH E LI STENER

W hat Are Som e ol the Techniques?

Youke already experienced at least two techniques The Fright

C hallenge w as one, and contained within it w as a second

tech-nique: stgrlll/fg-f? lf you want to persuade people, you're going tohave to figure out w ays of letting them sam ple your suggestion,idea, service, or product O therwise, they'll doubt you, and thatdoubt m ay keep them from acting on your w ishes

l opened with the Fright Challenge because it's an

attention-grabber (gg;t it acted as a sam ple of what you're going to learn lf

you thought the challenge flim flam , then you instantly knew thisbook isn't for you Conversely, if you thought the challenge in-triguing, then you're no doubt eager to tear through the rest ofthis book and m ake its strategies your strategies

Sam pling helps people draw conclusions quickly and estly lt's an ethical w ay to win them over to your side Later,you'll learn the best w ays to offer sam ples in situations profes-sional and personal

hon-Besides the Fright Challenge and sam pling, you'll also learnhow to persuade using dozens of other tactics Am ong them : the

Body Metaphor, the Paper M etaphor, the Qui ck Pi tch, and the

Platform Pitch A11 are entertaining A11 are effective You andthe people you're persuading w ill have fun while you get your way

O f course, not every technique in this book functions solely

to entertain Your offerings should be flavored w ith

entertain-m ent principles, not drowning in them W hile you're learning toentertain, you'll also be learning good, solid business and influ-

ence practices.

l don't w ant to leave this introductory chapter w ithout ting the spotlight on an influence technique particularly dear to

put-m e: the Transform ation M echanism

W hat Is a Translorm ation M echanism ?

lt is a dem onstration that gains your audience's attention, low erstheir defenses, and serves as a m etaphor for your m essage Jtk (g

trfcê t/ gt gt rl t g/ t es ( g I lofgt A major point O ne that might spell the

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dif-ovEl t v l Ew 7

ference between som eone's taking your suggestion or dism issing

it Let m e give you an exam ple of a Transform ation M echanism l

used to make a $45,000 sale lt involved a rubber band.

M y prospect w as the head of m arketing for a W est Coast

soft-ware firm Her company was renting m ajor 1 700th space at an

up-com ing convention, and she had contacted m e as a possible hire

for the show M y job? To act as the company' s pitchman and

draw people to her 1700th

Because it w as she who had called the m eeting, l thought thesale w ould be easy W as l ever wrong W hen l asked her about hercom pany's goals for the show, she w as vague W hen l show ed herclient testim onials and photographs of m e drawing overflowcrow ds at previous show s, she glanced at them as if l had handedher yesterday's new spaper

She thanked m e for com ing and said she'd get back to m e But

l w asn't leaving The m eeting had cost m e tim e and m oney, andher get-back-to-m e speech w asn't giving m e false hope lf l left, l

w ould never hear from her again

l rose from m y chair and pretended to pack up As l shut m ylaptop and repositioned im aginary item s in m y briefcase, l asked

her the same questions l had just asked her, only l softened them

For instance, rather than asking about her com pany's goals for theupcom ing show, l asked about her best m om ents from previousshow s, and how she planned on duplicating them After a few

moments, l smoked out her objection to my services.

H er com pany had alw ays relied on w inning over earlyadopters w ho w ould get the w ord out about the new softw are totheir fellow hard-core users This strategy had served her firm

w ell lt had doubled in size over the last three years by catering toearly adopters

M y service didn't fit that early-adopter m odel at all- at leastnot in her m ind W hat l'm a11 about is draw ing the largest trade-show crowds possible, and that's not w hat she thought sheneeded ''The m asses aren't going to buy our product/'' she said,''

so l see no reason to attract and entertain them ' She confessed

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Dl u w Ix TI -IE LI

STENEP-that the only reason l had been called in w as because her firm 's

C EO had seen m e draw crowds for a rival, and he thought it

m ight be a good idea to hear w hat l had to say

'Let m e m ake sure l understand/'' l said ''You believe that l candraw a m ob to your 1700th, but you think that's overkill You be-lieve that thousands of undifferentiated onlookers are a w asted ex-pense, a distraction They m ay even keep aw ay the folks youreally want: the early adopters.' She agreed, that was her dilem m a

l knew w hat l had to do l had to transform the m om ent forher l had to take her from where she w as and m ove her to a dif-

ferent vantage point W ords alone w eren't going to do it Sbe

ge ee t / e xber i nce o jsee i ny / ? er lf / wl rl t ( ggef z

l noticed a rubber band encircling her w rist and asked her to

rem ove it.

'lm agine that your sm all rubber band is your sm all group ofearly adopters/' l said 'T hose are the people you really w ant atthe show They spell the difference between your com pany's suc-cess and failure A greed?''

gree

'H old one end of that rubber band at your left fingertips, theother end at your right fingertips, and press the band against yourupper 1ip.'' The w om an looked at m e as if l w ere fresh from theasylum

'D on't worlx '' l said ''you know l m ake m y living as a show

-m an l w ant to drive hom e a point, but l w ant to do it in a special

w ay Please put the band against your 1ip.' She com plied

'D oes the band feel hot or cold?'' l asked

O ltl

'Good N ow im agine that besides that sm all band of adopters,hundreds of other people com e along and expand the crow d Toget a vivid im age of what l'm talking about, expand the band.Stretch it between your fingers until it nearly snaps.' She did.'Your large rubber band now sym bolizes the m ob surroundingyour 1700th if l w as pitching Keep the band taut, and put it up toyour lips again W hat do you feel?''

Trang 24

OVERV I EW 9

'O h m y godl' she said ''that's rem arkable The band is hot.''That's right/' l said ''lt's hot not because of m agic, but be-cause of physics W hen you stretched the rubber, you excited itselectrons and heated up the band

'The sam e kind of excitem ent-and-heat reaction is w hat pens when you expand your trade-show audiences, too

hap-'W hen you have a big crowd, passersby realize som ething big

is happening in the 1700th The crow d's size creates an tion, an excitem ent, a heat The people sauntering past stop and

expecta-w onder, 'W hat are a11 these people looking at? W hat do they

know that l don' t' Then they run to join the crowd, making it

bigger

' N ow, some of these people running to join the crowd will be

early adopters Early adopters alw ays w ant to be on the inside lfthey spot a crowd and they don't know w hat it's about, they'llpractically shove their w ay to the front l've seen this happen overand over through the years

'M y crowds will pull in m ore early adopters than youke everhad, precisely because my crowds are so big, so excited, so full ofenergy A crow d draws a larger crow dl'

She sat silently for a few seconds, playing with the rubberband Then she asked m e questions: about my fees, my m ethods,the logistics of m y perform ances W hen l left her office, it w as

w ith a signed contract

Transform ation M echanism s help you m ake your point in a

w ay m ore effective than straightforw ard logic They work for the

same reason Det gt / o ja St g/ e rl t gg f orces us t o reexami ne our val ues

and Jtk (g J//ogtler-f g/ Li h l ets us re- see our place in the world Thei r

lessons come to us in a Trojan horse They appeal to us because of

story, color, and entertainm ent They touch us in a w ay that baldinform ation m isses

M ore than one-third of this book is devoted to the

Transfor-m ation M echanism You can use these m echanism s in any tion you can im agine: to rouse a w orkforce, to close a sale, or toget children to clean their room

Trang 25

situa-DPAW IN TH E LISTENER

W ho Am I to Teach You These M ethods?

l am Joel Bauer, professional trade show pitchm an l persuade for

a living Fortune 5OO com panies hire m e to stand atop a high riser in front of their booths and pitch their products

26-inch-W hat do these com panies have invested in a typical tradeshow ? Theyke spent up to ten m illion dollars on 1700th construc-tion, five hundred thousand dollars to rent floor space, and hun-dreds of thousands m ore on union fees, drayage charges,personnel costs, and travel expenses But those dollars are theleast of their concerns

O ften, the future of their organizations rests upon how wellthey do at the show lf they have a new product rollout, they

w ant the press to see it, the TV cam eras to shoot it, and theirprospects to buzz about it A bad show m eans a bad productlaunch, and that can sink a com pany W hen people hire m e, theyhave high expectations

W hat is the trade-show environm ent? W hen you're at a tradeshow , you're in an environm ent that can be im personal and attim es brutal The com petition surrounds you, and they w ant tosee you fail badly And the people you're trying to persuade- theshow attendees- are rushing past you They don't care w ho youare, how nice you are, how fearful you are, or how superior youthink your product is

Persuading at a trade show is akin to persuading on the street

or in the ancient bazaar There are rules, but few of them are inyour favor lt's m y responsibility to stop passersby, get them to lis-ten to a product pitch, and coax them into leaving their contactinform ation

To be cost effective, l can't persuade people to stop one byone lnstead, l m ust create crow ds Large, scary crow ds l m ustget so m any people to stop and w atch and listen and act through-out the day that m y client's lead-generation m achines are flooded

w ith prospects

H ow w ell do l do? The J'$Q// Street Jogrgtg/ O nline calls m e ''the

chairm an of the board'' of corporate trade show rainm aking f'tgst

Trang 26

m ove l create such pandem onium , they say, that hardly a showgoes by from w hich l am not threatened w ith expulsion by show

m anagem ent.

G uilty as charged

l've been pitching at trade shows for 24 yeals, and in that tim el'd estim ate that twenty m illion people have stopped to hear w hat lhad to say, resulting in m ore than three m illion leads for m y clients

W ho Is the Book's O ther A uthor?

l w rote J-foa? to Persgtgke Peoble J///?0 D0g1 J//tggt to Be Persgtgtle;t w ith my

colleague M ark Levy M ark is an expert pitchm an and w riter whoseskills have helped m ake his clients m ore than a billion dollars

M ark has contributed m any of his own influence techniquesand anecdotes to this book while working to bring my concepts

to life

W hat's M y Pitch to You?

T his isn't an ordinary book on persuasion lt's not a tom e on how

to control, m anipulate, or force others to subm it to your w ill.Books that prom ise such adolescent fantasies don't hold

w ater Their w in/lose m ethods soon turn into lose/lose Their losophy goes against the w ay m ost of us live, think, and act anddoesn't take into account w ho w e are and what we w ant to offerthe w orld

phi-l am going to teach you how to persuade in a w ay that's ther sinister, m anipulative, nor zero-sum l am going to show youhow to becom e influential, charism atic, and m agnetic

nei-You w ill get w hat you w ant by helping others get w hat they

w ant, and in the process, you will a11 have a good tim e

Trang 27

1 2 Dl kAw IN TH E LISTENER

T his is not a book on how to w in at a single negotiation This

fs a book on how to w in at life lt teaches that the best w ay to fluence others is to look and behave as if you're a person of influ-ence Alw ays A t a11 tim es

in-lt teaches that the w ay to m ake m oney is to have fun M y w ay

is the way of the pitchman, the conjuror, the entertainer For that,

A re you ready, then, to learn how a professional pitchm anpersuades people who don't w ant to be persuaded, and how youcan do the sam e? lf so, step closer

l don't w ant everyone to hear this

Trang 28

C H A N G E T H E M O M EN T

hat you do can have a rem arkable effect on ple D on't believe m e? Try this: Ask a friend tothink about the best sum m er day she's ever expe-rienced, then w atch her closely You'll w itness astriking change in her physiognomy and dem eanor

peo-She m ay look about dream ily, as if she's trying to orient her

m ental im age in physical space H er eyes m ay w iden w hile her

jaw slackens She' ll speak sl owly, and then, as she catches hold of

a visceral m em ory, she'll ram p up and tell you about a childhoodtrip to a carnival or a long kiss on a park bench

By the tim e she's finished, she'll be grinning and feeling asthough she's found som ething she'd lost She m ay even be tearyeyed And a11 you did w as ask a question You changed herthoughts, her posture, and her outlook with a question O nequestion! That's pow er

You didn't w restle her into a happy state You set the properconditions and 1et her m ind do the rest You changed her

m om ent.

Trang 29

CHANGE THE I VIOI VI ENT

M ost people walk around in their problem s They view lifethrough their perceived lim itations They m easure today by w hathappened yesterday

W hen you change the m om ent, you shift people's tive, taking them from w here they are to where they'd like to be.From that vantage point, people will be m ore attentive and m ore

perspec-receptive to your propositions.

You can change the m om ent in a num ber of w ays ln the lowing three chapters, you'll learn m ethods that require sim pleprops N ow, though, let's continue learning how to do it throughlanguage

fol-C H A N G E T H E M O M EN T W IT H W O RD S

ln a corporate planning m eeting, l change the m om ent byyettiny

Iol l t o se e ( l e ne r yet i c y'gre i n ( g pl t gg ' se nse s ( gs bos si bl e Bef ore the

planners start their work in earnest, l go around the conferencetable and, one by one, ask the participants about their goals l

w ant to hear about the organization's goals and their personalgoals

T he first person to speak is usually guarded H e talks in protective, distancing language ln language that can neitheroffend nor inspire lt sounds som ething like this: ''The organiza-tion's goal is to assum e leadership of the industry by the fourthquarter of next year T he organization plans to do this by im ple-

self-m enting Six Sigself-m a throughout the coself-m pany and by im provingcustom er service as a result of breaking down departm ental silos

M y personal goal is to do w hatever it takes to support the ship in m aking this happen.''

leader-T hat answer won't do lt's m achine talk H um ans don't speaklike that O r if they do, it's a corruption of w hat it's like to behum an

l challenge him : '' heard what you said, and l still don't derstand your com pany's business W hat does it do?''

un-'lt m anufactures industrial-strength piping/' he says

Trang 30

CH ANGE TH E I VIOI VIENT W I TH W ORDS

'W hy does the w orld need industrial-strength piping?'''W ithout it, you couldn't erect skyscrapers, run subm arines,have lasting sew er system s.'

'So your product helps build cities?''

the/re payi ng for Heavy- duty material strength '

'You talked about breaking down departm ental silos W hatdid you m ean?''

'At tim es, people in different departm ents don't com m unicate

w ell They don't share inform ation They don't help one another

as m uch as they could.''

'lf you got them sharing inform ation and acting as a team ,

w hat w ould happen?''

'W e would m ake our products even better, because there'd be

a stronger cross-fertilization of ideas.''

' lf that happened, how would your job be different?' '

'l'd probably have m ore responsibility There'd be m ore em

-ployees under m e, and l' d be working on bigger projects W hich

is fine by m e l'm m uch better w hen the pressure's on.'

'W hat else?''

'l'm in on the profit-sharing plan, so l'd stand to m ake a gooddeal m ore m oney.''

'W hat would you do w ith that m oney?''

'H alf w ould go into my kids' college fund, and half would gotow ard a European vacation.''

l turn to the next person at the table and listen to her sponses lf they are crisp and authentic, l m ove on lf not, l ques-tion her for as long as it takes to get her to tell m e w hat she truly

Trang 31

under-T he room also pulses because of the pelsonal, em otion-laden,

w ord-pictures each person is painting The place is filling with life

D ry concepts have becom e vivid D ead scenes now dance and sing

l coax lively w ords and im agery from people in order to vate their im aginations and hearts l get them seeing in three di-

acti-m ensions and speaking about their thoughts in w ays that shiftperspective l then repeat back to them w hat l've heard, in their

ow n language, and l add som e language of m y ow n to heightenthe m om ent

l put everyone into the future l ask them to see their zation tw o years from now lt's reached its goal and is the leader

organi-in its field M ore piping is being shipped C lients are building

stronger, safer structures w ith it Even the m edia is im pressed tgge has done an article on the com pany, as has Torbes

Tor-Because of the profit-sharing program , everyone's salary hasincreased Their m oney is going where they w ant it to go: intocollege funds, savings plans, buying a new house, a new car, a trip

to Europe

l ask the people to picture them selves at the corporate bration lt's at a rock club Their CEO has rented out the club forthe night, and a band is playing everyone's favorite songs Spreadout across tables are fun foods: steaks, burritos, tacos, pizza lhave m y clients sm ell the cheese on the pizza, the cilantro sprin-kled on the tacos

cele-The CEO stands and asks everyone to join him in a toast: ' ' To

a11 of you for m aking this organization do so m uch, so fast.' Theyclink glasses, drink down the cham pagne, and head out to thedance floor O nly then does the organization's scheduled plan-ning session begin W hy?

Trang 32

FJAZJ S AZD PLJSJIG SS JIVJ SJVJ F KN OW S EI VIOTION TRUI VI PS LOGIC

Because the participants are now in a different psychologicalplace T heir m om ent has changed W here they w ere closed, theyare now open W here they w ere hesitant, they are now giving

W here they were problem -focused, they are now goal-focused

-.r' / ?: ?i j je r nce n t ef r rl f gks t gs/ t gt e f gt o ( ?i j jer e nce ft / gtfr n t e / g l

ï-niny lt is a spirited, productive session, one they will rem em ber

O ne whose m em ory w ill guide them through the real work that

m ust be done if their vision is to becom e a reality

T H E J- JASJ/A# D BLISIN ESS RE W f V/ K N O W S

EM O TIO N TRU M PS LO G IC

lf using words to alter perspective seem s too m uch like hypnosisfor you, 1et m e point you to the Septem ber-o ctober 2000 issue

of the J-ftgrptgrk Business Review ln an article entitled ''Getting the

At-tention You Need/' ' authors Thom as Davenport and John Beck

discuss a study they conducted with 60 executives

T he authors asked each executive to m ake note of his or herinterest level concerning the m essages they received in a given

w eek Those m essages could have com e to them through sation, e-m ail, phone calls, or a variety of other m edia The re-sult? D avenport and Beck w rote:

conver-Overal l, the factors most hi ghly associated with getting rthe uti ves'l attention, in rank order, were: the message was personal-

exec-ized., it evoked an emotional response, it came from a trustworthy

or respected sender, and it was concise The messages that 170thevoked em otion and were personalized were m ore than twice as

likely to be attended to as the messages without those attributes

1' repeat that last sentence, w ith my added em phasis: ''The m

es-sages that 170th evoke? twlotfo.l and were bersonalize? w ere m ore than

tw ice as likely to be attended to as the m essages without those tributes.'

at-To get attention, to be rem em bered, to change the m om ent,you m ust m ake your m essages personal and evoke em otion in

Trang 33

CHANGE TH E M OM EN T

your listener lt doesn't m atter if your listener is an auto m echanic,

or the executive of a conglom erate You m ust alter things forthem , in them , if you w ant to succeed

Y Backroom ' Ilps to Change the M om ent

+ Stob tlofzqgll/tglrfg.p your frlllorttggce to t/?e fzqor/k Suppose you m

anu-facture bricks Your product can be used to build an outhouse

or a cathedral, so w hy assum e it'11 be used in the form er andnot the later?

ln general, people are m odest about their abilities and therole that their products and services can play in society W hy?

Perhaps i t' s because t hey' re af rai d t o stand out Or t he/re

scared that if they elevate their sights, they'll be disappointed

W hatever the reason, being overly m odest doesn't serve them

or the world

l'm not telling you to boast or m ake false claim s, but w hy

w ouldn't you w ant to think and act as if you and your productcan serve our civilization's highest ideals, if such elevation ispossible? lf you're a publisher, you don't produce m ere books,you give people the m eans to transcend their current station

in life You give them know ledge that they can translate intoreal-w orld achievem ents You provide them with rest and sol-ace w hen daily life proves too m uch You help readers focus

on hum ankind's higher ideals These are wonderful and uine qualities W hy not claim them ?

gen-To change the m om ent for others, you m ust first do it foryourself Give yourself a w ider, deeper understanding of howyou and your offerings benefit the world Push yourself onthis Select a client benefit that your w ork brings, and further

it until you get a clear picture of how it helps the w orld

lf you produce m icrochips for an autom obile m turer, you protect the lives of m illions of people w ho count

anufac-on your w ork to get them to and from their destinatianufac-ons insafety

Trang 34

FJAZJ S AZD PLJSJIG SS JIVJ SJVJ F KN OW S EI VIOTION TRUI VI PS LOGIC

lf you m anufacture dress shoes, you help people feel ter about how they look so that they can go through their day

bet-w ith m ore confidence

lf you organize office space, you help businesses function

m ore sm oothly so their em ployees are less stressed and canspend m ore tim e m aking the com pany m oney

This is not a snow job, snake oil, or self-deception lt' s a

full look at why you do what you do

+ Use ( g I l er sogk javor e ? i maye r y ( gs ( g rl e gs o j c/ g gg- t /f g p t / ?e rl orl e at- f or

t/gtwl People speak as they think Their spoken language m

ir-rors the w ay they process concepts in their head So w henyou're speaking w ith som eone, pay attention to the types of

m etaphors he uses, and to the specific language that excitesher lf you can fram e your concepts in their types of m etaphor

or by using their language, you increase your chance ofchanging the m om ent for them and getting them to rem em -ber w hat you say

For instance, som eone m ay use lots of sound-based

m etaphors when talking: ''lt's as clear as a bell '' '' hear w hat

ou' re saying/' 'T hat's m usic to m y ears.' lf so you'd position

your concept in an auditory context: ''M aybe this will strike achord with you.''

O f course, if you don' t use this technique judiciousl y, it

can be transparent Pick your spots for it W hen you do itproperly, the listeners w ill carry your ideas w ith them a long

tim e.

+ Asê (g question tlltgt segks beoble into tllefr p st, into tllefr-j ït f ïr e orjl i bs

tllefr betsbective Although you can't control another's thoughts,

you can influence people to think in new directions O ne w ay

to do that is through the use of questions Specifically, t/ftfogs tlltgt rtwlope tlltwl-j rorl tll ef r cf ïrreat sftf ï gtfog.

ïes-O ne type of question l use focuses on the past For

in-stance:

Trang 35

CHANGE TH E I VIOI VI EN T

'Te11 m e about a tim e you w ere lost in business.'

'W hat's the m ost significant business lesson youke learned

in the past tw o years?''

N otice that these questions are based upon em laden them es The listener is ''lost'' and has learned a ''signifi-cant'' workplace lesson -.r'/?: rlore extrane t/?e sftfgtfog your t/fïestfo.l(gkkresses, t/?e rlore likely you'll cllgelg e t/?e rlorleat-j or tll t gt li stener ( ggt :

otion-oben fï!l t/?e cogperstgtfo.lï in fïgexllectet: yet rltwlortgl'/e ways

Llsing the sam e idea of appealing to the extrem es, you canask questions that also put people into the future:

'lf you reached your goal three m onths early, w hat w ouldyou do w ith that extra tim e?''

'W here w ill you be this tim e next year, if you continue tohold that assum ption?''

A nd you can take people out of their current reality by ting them to flip a perspective and create a new reality:'W hat would have to happen for your m ost agonizing busi-ness problem to be solved today?''

get-'lm agine you had to run your business w ith half your staff

H ow w ould you m ake it work?''

Become a question junkie Collect interesting inquiries

and try them out in casual conversation with business ates See w here your questions take people These questionsshow you how easy it is to change the m om ent for others

associ-ln the end, influence isn't so m uch a zero-sum gam e of

m anipulation techniques, as it is a w ay of transporting people

to a different place lf youke chosen that place carefully, thepeople w ill be m ore receptive to your ideas and requests

+ Do somet bi ny 0gt o j t e gor pl Changi ng the moment i s a1 1 about

giving people the unexpected, w hether it be a new idea or thefram e around w hich you present that idea

ln the next chapter, you'll learn about Transform ation

M echanism s, which are distinctive m etaphors you perform

Trang 36

FJAZJ S AZD PLJSJIG SS JIVJ SJVJ F KN OW S EI VIOTION TRUI VI PS LOGIC

that enable you to com m unicate your ideas in m om changing w ays They attract attention and com m unicate w ithsubstance But don't feel you have to put on a perform ance to

ent-do som ething out of the norm

lf you're involved in a negotiation, you could overnightthe other party a letter reiterating a single point you m ade theday before; that point w ill stand out m ore pow erfully than itdid during your conversation

lf you have guests over for dinner, you could cook a dish

w ith a special ingredient and use this ingredient as a m eans of

changi ng peopl e' s focus on what the/re eati ng l know a

w om an w ho brought back a spice from her trip to lndia andused it in a dish This spice initiated night-long conversations

about lndia, the Taj M ahal, world travel, foreign politics, and

U S hi story Qui te a moment- changer f or a f ew penni es.

+ Cbanye t / gerl orl t' :t J/ ect ggse f fs t be rl // ?t tbi ny t o t 10 W hen l spot a cranky

child on a flight, l sit next to him As a father of three, l know

w hat it's like for the other passengels w hen a child is restless

l reach into m y pocket, rem ove a square of paper, white

on one side, black on the other, and l start folding The child

watches l turn to him and say: ' 'l' m m aking a jack-in-the-box.

W hen l' m finished, Jack will be wearing a tuxedo, a shirt, a

tie, and gloves W hen you lift the 1id of his box, he'll pop up

A 11 from this one sheet of papen''

T he child leans closer to w atch l get him involved l

m ake folds and 1et him press dow n the creases W hen l'm

fin-ished, l have a box, which l open, and out springs Jack l then

hand the origam i sculpture to the child, as a gif-t lt is a

w him sy m ade especially for him

l can't know this for sure, but 1'11 bet he'll rem em ber that

m om ent H e'11 recall the tim e the m an on the airplane folded

a jack-i n-the-box for him.

W hat did l do? Did l m ake a six-figure sale? N o W hat ldid w as give a child a m om ent of fascination Som e entertain-

m ent Som e happiness

Trang 37

T H E T R A N SFO R M AT IO N

M EC H A N ISM

y favorite w ay to change the m om ent is through aTransform ation M echanism l ow e a 1ot to m echa-nism s Theyke helped feed and clothe m y fam ily, aswell as pay for my hom e and cals They're one of the

m ost powerful tools you can use to pelsuade in business and in life

W hat is a Transform ation M echanism ? lt's a trick w ith a point

A m echanism puts people in a pleasure state, and that's w here you

w ant them O ff business, on pleasure lt sets a receptive atm sphere W hen you use a m echanism , people are m ore likely to

o-lower their defenses and give your ideas an honest hearing A mec/(ggfsm fs (g rlettgll/gor rltgtle bbysical, (gg;t t/ggs rltgtle rltwlortgl'/e (gg;t Ilersgtgsfpe

?-M ETAPH O RS A S A ?-M EA N S O F ?-M A K IN G SEN SE

Everyone knows the pow er of m etaphors They help us better derstand one idea by relating it to another idea H ere's an exam -ple lf som eone told you that she had trouble sleeping because

Trang 38

un-I VI ETAPH ORS AS A I VIEAN S OF I VI AKING SENSE 23

her m attress w as ''hard as a rock/'' w ould you understand w hat she

m eant? O f course You'd know that she couldn't sleep because the

m attress had no give to it The m etaphorical phrase ''hard as arock'' helps you see and feel the m attress's stiffness lf youke everslept on a hard m attress, you m ay even experience a back twinge

just reading the phrase That' s the power of m etaphors.

H ere is another exam ple Am ong your incom ing e-m ail m

es-sages you see one wi th the subject line ' ' Upgrading Your Com

-puter ls N ow As Easy As Tying Your Shoes.' W hat's this m ean?

A gain, a no-brainer Som e com pany prom ises to m ake your com puter run better, and installing its product is sim ple The

-m etaphorical phrase ''as easy as tying your shoes'' conveys thisthought After all, w e a11 learned to tie our shoes when we w erefour years old, so what could be easier?

M etaphors are everywhere lf you took an hour to m onitor a11the m etaphors you read in books and a11 the m etaphorical im ages

you see on television, your head would swim (which, by the way,

is another metaphor).

l look to my bookshelves, and on one shelf alone there areenough books with m etaphorical titles to keep m e busy for a

month: Pgrl l/ e Cow) Hell' s Agle/ s? T' / ?e f xecgtfoger' s Sony) T' / ?e ' Ih?yeri n.l

T' of g? k kl f gde i vonyer s J / /t g/ / ' g 0 l Al l èat or s) and St e ri ny t / ?e Cr t /.

M etaphors one and a11: w ays of m aking you interested in one

sub-ject by cloaking it in the words and imagery of another You don' t actually walk on alligators in J / /t g// tf ' g 0 l ï All èators, and Steeri ny t/ ?e

Cr ajt i s a book about wri ti ng.

ln one T V com m ercial, a financial services com pany is sented by a bull ln another, a sports utility vehicle drives up acanyon w all at a supernatural angle These im ages don't have a di-

repre-rect, one-t o- one correspondence wi th real i y The/re meant to

convey an idea, a feeling To create a feeling, com m ercials often

Trang 39

TI -IE Tp- / ttqsyol kl klATlox M ECI -I AN I SM

geese The grateful birds break their traditional form ation and usetheir bodies to form the soda com pany's logo Those im ages are

m etaphorical Teenagers and skateboards don't fly, and geesedon't form logos You know that, l know that, the soda com panyknows that

W hat the com pany is trying to do is m ake us understand one

thing (the taste of the soda), by explaining it through the im age

of something else (the skateboarding teenager and the geese).

T he com pany w ants us to have certain thoughts when w e think

of its soda lt w ants us to think Youth, Freedom , and D aring lf itcam e out and said, ''O ur soda fs Youth, Freedom , and D aring/'

w e'd be skeptics But if the com m ercial w orks and w e associatethose qualities with that soda, it w orks because of m etaphor En-tertaining m etaphor

M A K IN G TH E SH IFT TO M EC H A N ISM S

For m ost people, perform ing a Transform ation M echanism

re-qui res a new way of thinki ng The/re not used to i nfl uenci ng

others through m etaphor, entertainm ent, hum or, or fun

To them , influence seem s a grim gam e They approach

presen-tati ons, negoti ati ons, and meeti ngs as i f t he/re marchi ng i nto a

firefight They figure if they have their facts straight and their logic

is sound, their opinions should win out And if it looks as if they

aren' t w inning,they m ight turn to intim idation to get their w ay.l'm not knocking seriousness, determ ination, facts, logic, or

even intimidation Those things have their place (l, for one,

wouldn' t want my lawyer writing jokes into a contract that calls

for airtight legal reason.) W hat l' m saying is that a bull rush to the

heart of the m atter isn't alw ays the best persuasion tactic

W e aren't m achines W e don't process logic linearly as well assom e m ight think A critical point that's obvious to you m ay beinvisible to m e

A Transform ation M echanism highlights your critical pointand presents it to the listener in a w ay im possible to m iss The

Trang 40

THE M ECHAN I SI I N ACTION

m echanism is a learning lesson done up as an intriguing dem

on-stration.

T H E M EC H AN ISM IN A C T IO N

ln Chapter 1 , you read about how l used a rubber band to close asale The band w as a m echanism lt helped influence my client

w hen words were having little effect

M y client believed that the trade show crow ds l attract w ouldhurt her business She reasoned that w ith a m ob at her 1700th, hertarget m arket w ould stay clear l knew differently From a decade

of experience, l knew that m y pitches w ould attract conventionattendees of every stripe- including the people from her m arket

N ot only would her m arket flock, but they'd be im pressed thather com pany w as attracting such heavy traffic

T hat rubber band transform ed the m om ent for her lt turned

her mind 1 80 degrees lt took her objection and made it into a

reason for hiring m e H ad l not used the m etaphor of the rubberband, l would never have persuaded her to sign m e on

Let m e show you another exam ple of a m echanism l've used,

so you can see the concept's utility After that, 1'11 teach you how

to construct Rnd use your ow n m eclnanism s

W ith this m echanism , l w asn't even in the sam e part of thecountry as the person l w as trying to influence The head of sales

at a m anufacturer phoned, asking m e to speak at her com pany'sannual two-day conference She w anted m e to tell a story, do adem onstration, create excitem ent Fine, l could do that The onlyproblem ? She w anted a script

'You m ean an outline of m y general concepts?'' l asked.'N o '' she said ''l need a full script lt's com pany policy for any

speaker W e want to m ake sure your messages and ours jibe '

' don't w ork from a script/'' l said ''l have specific ideas l want

to get across to the audience, and then l use w hatever m eans essary to get those ideas across.'

nec-'l'm sorry then W e can't do business.'

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