How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 397

1. Give them your undivided attention. They are the most important
people in the world to you at this time — make them feel that
way. Don't get distracted by your surroundings. Stop talking and
concentrate on them.
2. Look them directly in the face while they are talking. Lean forward
to indicate interest and concern. Listen calmly like you have all
the time in the world.
3. Show sincere interest in them. There is no need to talk. Just nod
your head and agree with verbal sounds like "uh huh." Don't
interrupt and listen for main points.
4. Keep the conversation going by asking questions. Prompt more
information from them by repeating their phrases.
5. Use silence to encourage them to talk. You have heard that silence
is golden. Being silent encourages your prospects to talk about
themselves and reveal truths that will help you in the persuasion
process. Pausing for silence shows you are interested in your
audience and stimulates interest in the conversation.
6. Pause before replying or continuing. Wait three to five seconds and
reply thoughtfully. Don't leap in, even if you know the answer.
When you pause, it shows the other person you consider what
they are saying is valuable. If you apply your listening skills, you
will be able to glean golden nuggets of information from your
audience. Because you must adapt your message to the person
you are talking to, there is nothing more crucial than listening.
Monitoring Personality Directions: Fine-Tune Your Persuasion
Radar
The more we understand personality directions and personality types, the
better we will be able to customize our persuasive presentations. A
personality direction is the way we lean most of the time in terms of the
way we act and react to most stimuli. We hate to be put in a box and
categorized, but the reality is that (most of the time) we are predictable.
Sure, people can never be 100 percent predictable, but you will be amazed
at how predictable they actually are as you become a student of human
nature.
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