How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 332

when doing a presentation. When your movements are purposeful and
well timed, your audience will be more tuned in to your message.
Using the Art of Questioning
Of all the tools in your persuasion toolbox, questioning is probably the
one most often used by elite persuaders. Questions gain immediate
involvement. Questions are used in the persuasion process to create
mental involvement, to guide the conversation, to set the pace of
conversation, to clarify statements and objections, to determine beliefs,
attitudes, and values, to force you to slow down, to find out what your
prospect needs, and to show your sincerity. Questioning is a very diverse
and useful tool. Negotiation experts Neil Rackham and John Carlisle
observed hundreds of negotiators in action in an attempt to discover what
it takes to be a top negotiator. Their key finding was that skilled
negotiators ask more than twice as many questions as average
negotiators.[17]
Much like movement, questions elicit an automatic