Getting Deeper Into Persuasion Continuums
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In the first article of this series, "Persuasion Continuums" I started to describe one of the slickest persuasion tools around. I'm going to take it a little further here.
A brief recap of article one: Continuums work best when your prospect is at one end or the other of the scale, not if they're in the middle. (This will make more sense as you read on.)
If your prospect is at the far left side of one continuum (say the towards and away continuum) but in the middle of another one (like the internal/external continuum), then you'll want to concentrate on towards and away and ignore the internal external because whatever language you're using in that regard is not going to affect them much anyway.
People organize their thoughts and reactions through continuums. They are a way of viewing the world, filtering experiences, and luckily, for persuasion purposes, they remain relatively static within a particular context. So if you've inquired about security or finances and the prospect's orientation is 'towards', they will likely remain towards in these areas.
Radical life changes can alter orientations but for the most part, they are a set way of experiencing the world.
We all view the world through these different lenses to one extent or another. We have a 'towards/away' lens, an 'internal/external' lens, and an 'options/procedural' lens. Once you understand how these work and what to say in order to access them, you will be able to zero in on the way a person functions and influence them with amazing precision.
When you begin to hear these continuums you can learn to adjust your language accordingly for maximum advantage.
Most of us, we just assume that everybody else thinks the same way we do.
Nothing could be further from the truth. You think the way you do. I think the way I do. Your prospect thinks the way he or she does. We're all wildly different.
The very first step is to learn to put your mind into a white board state. You're there to be marked upon by the way your prospect thinks and speaks and you define yourself by those strategies.
This is not at all about you changing your beliefs or core values. This is only about temporarily changing the way you express yourself within the context with this one client.
You've heard the saying, 'You are what you eat.' Well, are you? Are you what you wear? Are you what you drive? Are you where you live? Are you who you're with? We are all made up of any number of things but not one solitary thing.
Are you a belief? No, but you're closer to that than you are a shoe. Are you a value? Well, that's part of who you are. You're part of all those things. When you combine it together you have you.
By changing your languaging with your prospects, you retain who you are. It's more like changing a shirt or getting a different haircut.
Our main goal in persuasive communication is flexibility, bending to the ways your prospect or client bends, not maintaining our rigid views.
As the context changes, so does the orientation. If we're talking about health and then switch to finances, then in that given context, the orientation has to be reestablished. Don't assume that because someone is 'away' in one context, that they'll be 'away' in all contexts.
Coming soon: Backing the Ambulance Up to the Door: The 'Away' Perspective.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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