Three Secret Keys to Persuasion Magic

Just a few critical distinctions can supercharge yourcommunication skills:

1 Appeal To Peoplesī Values

Values are the criteria by which people make sense of all theinformation they must process before making a decision. Insimple terms, your values consist of what is most important toyou.

When you ask someone: what is most important to you about ....?They will tell you their values. Let's say you ask them theircareer values, what is most important to you about your career?They might answer: money, approval, and winning. Speak to them interms of these values and you will have their attention, talkabout what is not important to them and don't be surprised ifthey fall asleep!

In the case of this example if you wanted to hire this person,you would grab their interest by showing them how they could havemore money, approval and win more often with your company. Ifinstead you talked at length about the modesty, politeness andpunctuality of the workforce you would be wasting your time.

2 Let Go

Have you ever wanted something so much that your nerves got inthe way of expressing yourself clearly? That rush of excitementjust seemed to burn out some critical speech circuits!

When you absolutely need to be at your persuasive best ironicallyyou must also feel that you can walk away from the deal ordiscussion without getting what you want. Developing emotionaldetachment while still pursuing your goal is a powerful skillthat more people could do well to master. How can you let go ofthe feelings while still wanting the goal?

Run through the scenario again and again in your mind, and seeeverything working out in your favor. Picture it, hear it andfeel it going your way. Only when you have visualized this ingreat detail are you ready to let go.

Ask yourself: could I just let go of wanting this to happen?Spend a few minutes asking this question until you feel at peaceabout your goal, when you feel at ease you will know that youhave let go.

Letting go is vital if you are to be at your persuasive best. Thebest influencers prepare emotionally in advance of the big event,you now know how to join them.

3 Be Persistent And Count To Ten

I once worked for the best salesperson I have ever come across. Icould never figure out what it was he did differently to everyoneelse. What was the secret to doing so much better than everyoneelse?

One day I asked Paul what his secret was and he told me. He saidthat he will listen to *No* ten times before he even considersgiving up on a prospect. Whereas most salespeople grow weary orgive up after hearing No the fifth time, Paul is only gettingstarted!

I took on board his philosophy and immediately found that I wascatching more of those tricky sales as well as enjoying theselling game a little more. Be persistent with a smile on yourface and count to ten!

Peter Murphy is a freelance business writer. He publishes a freeweekly ezine full of practical tips for communicating at yourbest under pressure. All new subscribers receive a free e-bookwith powerful strategies for being at your best.