00:01
In this lecture, you're going to learn
techniques designed to motivate and inspire
your audience. You'll learn three different
ways to emotionally hook your audience, as
well as a five step process to convince them
that what you're saying is correct.
00:13
And we'll finish up talking about some
powerful storytelling techniques designed to
speak to both sides of the brain at the same
time.
00:21
Let's start out talking about three
different ways that you can emotionally hook
your audience. Number one, simply use the
phrase
imagine or picture.
00:33
Here's what I mean. Don't picture 12 pink
elephants walking through
the lobby of your organization right now.
00:41
Don't picture them. Don't do not picture 12
pink elephants.
00:45
Okay. What did you picture right now?
12 pink elephants. Right?
When you use the phrase or the word, imagine
or picture
whatever comes after that, people can't help
but imagine it or picture it.
00:58
If I were to say to you, for example, right
now, imagine yourself sitting on the
Caribbean beach, white sand underneath you,
the sun on top of you,
and the turquoise water in front of you.
01:10
When someone says Imagine, yadda, yadda,
yadda,
picture, yadda, yadda, yadda.
01:16
The brain can't help but visually picture
whatever it is that you're telling
them to imagine.
01:23
Use those words and you get people more
involved in whatever it is that you're
saying. And it also gives us a good
opportunity to speak more feeling or right
brained or creative language.
01:33
Number two, analogies.
01:35
Analogies are going to be things that sound
like it's as
if while you're painting a picture, for
example, I was
so embarrassed, I felt as if I was carrying
around a big scarlet
letter on my chest or.
01:53
I was so humiliated, it was as if I was
spiraling down a vortex of shame.
01:58
When you use as if and then you paint a
picture that involves some type
of movement or color or something that's
visually stimulating under normal
circumstances. For example, just now I said
it's as if I was wearing a big scarlet letter
on my chest. It was as if I'm spiraling down
a vortex of shame.
02:17
If you use analogies that describe visual
pictures and some interesting color
or movement, again, people can't help but
get hooked into your story.
02:26
And if you haven't noticed, these techniques
are great in a public form if you're giving a
formal presentation or if you just want to
spice up your everyday conversations,
because if you're more of a left brained
communicator, if you're more of an analytical
type, especially analytical types tend to
struggle more, making whatever
they're saying, more colorful, more
interesting, more creative.
02:48
And many times, if you're more of a left
brained communicator, you watch right brain
communicators speak and you think, gosh,
there's something about the way you speak
that is more interesting.
02:59
Engaging right brainers tend to paint
pictures as they talk, and a way that you
can paint a picture is by using analogies.
03:06
And number three, intensifiers,
intensifiers are going to be words
that provoke a memory of one of your senses,
a sense of
smell, a sense of touch, a sense of sound.
03:18
For example, if I were to talk about a
product that I'm selling and I were to say,
this will get your monitor really clean,
super clean, very, very, very clean.
03:28
When you find yourself wanting to say words
like very, really
super. First of all, remember that words
such as very
really super words that we generally
consider to be intensifiers and
many of us use them in this sense.
03:45
They'll say things such as, I really think
this is the right plan for you.
03:50
The word really tends to distract from our
message.
03:54
It would be more powerful if I simply said,
I believe this is the plan for you.
03:58
So under normal circumstances, we want to
take intensifiers out of our speech patterns
because they distract from the message and
actually make them less powerful.
04:06
But if you want to intensify your message,
remember, evoke a sense,
for example, instead of, as I was saying,
this product will get your monitor really
clean. Try something that is talking about a
sense this
product will get your monitor squeaky clean.
04:23
Or for example, if you use this additive,
your car will go really fast on the
street. How is that different from with this
additive?
Your car will fly down the street.
04:33
Your car will zip down the street better,
right?
When you use intensifiers instead of really
your vary.
04:39
And you paint a picture, you will zip down
the street.
04:42
It will be squeaky clean.
04:44
Or you could say something such as Woof.
04:47
Boy, I'm telling you, that lady just reeked
of class.
04:51
She was dripping with class.
04:53
When you talk about words that evoke a sense
and it makes you imagine things such
as smells like this, sounds like this, feels
like this does
this. Those are called intensifiers.
05:05
And if you add them to your everyday speech
patterns, then when it comes time for you to
speak in public, or it comes time for one of
those high risk communication situations, and
you think, I really want you to pay
attention, whether it's you as a group or you
as one person.
05:20
If you are comfortable with using
intensifiers when you use them, you will be
hooking your audience more, especially on a
right brain emotional basis.
05:30
And now you're going to learn five simple
things you can do to be more convincing when
giving a presentation.
05:37
These are five things that you can do as if
it were a system.
05:41
This could, for example, be the five steps,
or they could simply be five things that you
can do. You might just do one of them or
three of them or four of them.
05:48
When you're speaking to a group or to an
individual and you want to convince them that
what you're saying is correct.
05:56
Number one, cite an expert other than
yourself.
05:59
What that means is, if I were to say to you
right now, I have been researching this for
the past ten years, and what I have found in
my studies is that is not as
powerful or as convincing as if I were to
say, according to Johns
Hopkins University, 63% of yada, yada, yada.
06:17
When you cite an expert other than yourself,
even if you are the expert and you have done
the studies, if you cite someone else,
studies have shown that people will believe
it more. Number two, use specific numbers.
06:31
For example, if I were to say, over half of
the kids in America
use cell phones when they order a pizza.
06:39
That's not as convincing.
06:41
People will not believe that.
06:42
I've really researched this and know what
I'm talking about as much as if I were to
say. 53% of children in this country order a
pizza
between the hours of six and 11:00 pm.
06:53
So when I use specific numbers, not over
half, not
50%, but 50.32%, when you say things like
that,
people are much more likely to believe that
what you're saying is correct.
07:07
Argue against your own argument.
07:11
Here's what I mean by that.
07:13
If you're delivering a presentation, for
example, to a group and I were to say
something such as this product is wonderful
for the
environment, it does not harm the
environment like old gasoline.
07:24
This is new gasoline.
07:25
It's good for the environment.
07:27
Let's say that that were one of the main
features of my product and I knew that people
in the audience, they are concerned with the
environment or they wouldn't be here
listening to me to begin with.
07:37
That would be a great opportunity for me to
argue against my own argument and say
something such as.
07:44
But of course, if the environment is not
something that you're concerned about, then
this might not be of interest to you.
07:49
Or, for example, if you're talking to your
boss and you're saying, I believe that if we
do this, if we color code the files and the
accounting department, it would save this
organisation a lot of money.
07:59
If you were to simply add, of course, if
saving money isn't something that you're
concerned with at this point, then you might
not be interested.
08:06
When you do that, when you argue against
your own argument.
08:09
Of course, if XYZ is not something you're
concerned with, or of course if you believe
that XYZ is not a priority, when you do
that, people tend to be
hooked more in with you and believe whatever
it is that you're saying because you're
saying, Hey, this might not be for you and
most people don't do that.
08:25
Don't be too perfect.
08:28
The fourth thing I'd like to talk about is
not being too perfect.
08:30
You will see presenters sometimes and again,
this can be a presenter in a one on one
situation or in a group.
08:36
You will see them be perfect.
08:38
They'll have perfect hair, they'll be
wearing the perfect clothes.
08:41
They've obviously rehearsed their speech
many times.
08:45
Perfect visuals, perfect words.
08:47
Everything seems very scripted and perfect,
and we're not connected with them
because especially in this new age that
we're in, the age of wisdom,
the right brain directed age.
08:58
We do not want perfection.
09:00
We do not want something that we've seen
before.
09:03
If we recognise something as being perfect,
it's because we've seen examples up until
this point and now we know, Oh, that's
perfect.
09:08
What we want to see is authenticity.
09:10
And so if you find that you are a
perfectionist by nature,
which number would that be?
On the Enneagram scale, that would be the
one.
09:19
If you find that you're too perfect, that
you're too scripted, that you could say it in
your sleep, whatever your presentation is,
find a way to improvise
something during the presentation.
09:31
Something because when you are too scripted,
again, it's one of those subconscious
things where the people who are listening to
you are going to know you've practiced this a
lot. You're not just speaking to me, but you
are saying your
lines and you've probably seen that you've
been to some presentation or you've seen it
on television where you know that the person
speaking has said this many, many, many times
and they're simply delivering their lines.
09:56
They might be really good at it, but they're
delivering their lines.
09:59
You can always tell there's something
subconscious that enables us to
tell when somebody is speaking to us.
10:06
And if you want to make that emotional
connection with the audience, don't be too
perfect or too scripted.
10:11
Leave areas where you can be unscripted and
speak off the cuff.
10:15
And number five, use tag questions.
10:19
Remember that a tag question is a simple
closed ended confirmation at the end of a
statement. That sounds like, isn't it?
Don't you think? Wouldn't you agree?
Aren't you? For example, if I'm giving a
presentation, I could say to everybody
and that really looks great, doesn't it?
And that's something we're all concerned
with, isn't it?
And that's something every single person
here has dealt with, right?
If you do that as you're speaking, as you're
talking to the audience, you simply use tag
questions and you can use them, by the way,
not just as a group and say to the entire
audience, Now, this is something we're all
concerned with, isn't it?
That's one thing you can do, but you can
also single people out.
11:00
If you have throughout your presentation,
gotten to know some members of the audience.
11:04
I like to choose a few people that once
they've engaged with me and I
could tell you're okay with me engaging with
you throughout the presentation, I might say,
Isn't that right, John? And isn't that
right, Mary?
And people will be drawn into your
presentation because again, those who you're
calling on, they like that if you choose the
right ones, you can tell by their personality
and those who you are not calling on are a
little bit on call thinking they might call
on me at any moment and say, Sounds great,
doesn't it, Dan?
And if you do that, people will be, as you
speak, more and more and more
convinced because you're using tag questions
to get them into a yes
momentum. And remember, the more people
think in their head, yes,
yes, yes, or say yes, yes when they're
around you,
the more likely they will be to say yes when
you need it.
11:56
If you're some if somebody is on the fence
about saying yes to you, for example, at the
end of your speech, if you have a call for
action and you want people to do something,
the more often during your speech, they have
said yes, yes, yes.
12:08
Even if it's simply as part of their
self-talk, the more likely they will be to do
what it is that you're asking them to do.
12:14
And I'd like to wrap up this lecture talking
about an issue that I get a lot of questions
about how can I stimulate both sides of the
brain during my presentation?
Again, it could be a group or an individual
because I speak really quickly and
sometimes it's difficult for me to punctuate
the emotional hooks or the
big messages that I'm trying to send.
12:34
So if I talk a lot, how can I distinguish
one
thought from another?
Punctuate those that I believe are
important.
12:43
What? I'm emotionally hooking them in,
logically explaining what I want them to
believe. Let me give you a great tip for
when you want to punctuate certain
parts of your message, especially if you are
a fast talker and you want to emotionally
hook your audience.
12:59
The pregnant pause.
13:00
Remember, a pregnant pause is simply a pause
that's
longer than a regular pause.
13:09
And if you're someone who generally speaks
really left brain language.
13:15
And you want to infuse any message with more
emotion.
13:19
But it's difficult for you.
13:22
Start using pregnant pauses.
13:24
And it makes almost anything you say a
little more dramatic.
13:29
Not only can you use them that way, you
know, people use pregnant pauses in a variety
of different ways. But if you're a fast
talker or if you're somebody like me, I'm a
fast talker. Or if you're somebody who
doesn't find it
easy or natural to illustrate certain things
verbally, you know, to
add punctuation to his or her speech
patterns.
13:50
So if you find that it's difficult for you
to make what you're saying more colorful, to
punctuate certain things, you can use
pregnant pauses that way.
13:58
But additionally, people will ask me, Dan, I
tend to talk quickly and sometimes
it's difficult for me to know How can I
illustrate?
Hey, everybody, pay attention to what I'm
about to say.
14:09
These are the important words.
14:10
Many times I'm told that when I'm done
saying something, people don't know
exactly what it is that I wanted them to
focus on.
14:18
Of course, we've already talked about the
steeple.
14:20
That's one way to punctuate what you're
saying, but that's not always an option you
can't always visually punctuate.
14:27
Or that might be something you're already
used and you want to use other techniques.
14:31
If you believe, as I do, sometimes I'm
talking really fast and I want to
make sure that what I'm about to say or at
this point or this word gets
illustrated. That's a great time to use.
14:46
The pregnant pause.
14:48
Any time you pause right before you say
something or right after you say something,
it adds more power and strength to whatever
it is that you're saying.
14:55
So you can use it before or after something
important.
15:00
And what it does is not just grabs people's
attention and illustrates vocally, by
the way, not verbally but vocally, that what
you're saying is important.
15:09
It also emotionally hooks people because
they start to use the right
hand side of their brain thinking.
15:17
What's different here?
What? What? Why are you stopping?
Why are you pausing? And when people again
get thrown off the regular pattern, when you
start to do things a little bit differently
from how you did it a minute ago or from what
they're used to. People tend to pay
attention because it's different and they
want to know why. And that starts to
stimulate right brain activity.
15:35
So if you combine the things we talked about
in this lecture, you use techniques such
as analogies, you use techniques that paint
pictures with the brain.
15:44
You use techniques that convince people.
15:46
You use techniques that make people ask,
what's going on here?
You can punctuate your message, make it more
credible, and get your audience to take
action.