By Victor Antonio, Sales Influence
You’ve Got to be
Believed to Be Heard by Bert Decker
The books opening chapter really
signals what this book is really about; why are some communicators more
effective than others? There are
new communicators who understand the language of connecting and old
communicators who simply don’t ‘get it’.
People have and will continue to buy on emotion and then use
rationalizations to reaffirm or stay ‘consistent’ with their decision. Selling isn’t only for people who are
selling a product, it’s also about people (leaders) who are trying to sell a
vision, goal or plan and want others to ‘buy’ into it. The fact is, we’re always
selling and how you sell it is what this book is about.
The author used a non-biased
term, Preconscious (Not present in consciousness but capable of being recalled
without encountering any inner resistance or repression) to denote the recorded
impressions and value judgments people make but aren’t aware of at a conscious
level. We have two channels of communication:
- Writing
– if you simply want to transfer information; single channel
- Action
– speaking conveys a multi-layered richness of information based on: posture,
facial expression, energy level, etc.
People buy into you on an
emotional level conveyed by your actions.
The gatekeeper’s name is the
first brain. A new communicator is
one that knows how to message to the first brain, not the new brain. The first brain (300M + years
old) and the new brain (3M+ years old).
Our environment is filtered through the First brain whose job it is to
ensure our survival. The first
brain doesn’t understand words; it speaks a language of ‘behavior’. The new brain (neo cortex) processes
language, symbols and concepts.
Likeability is something the
first brain interprets based on gestures, tone of voice and so on. People don’t buy from someone who ‘data
dumps’ them, they buy from people they like and who can relate to them; an
emotional gauge, not a rational measure.
The author covers 6 ways to make
a ‘personal impact’ on your audience (or client): Eye communication,
posture/movement, dress/appearance, gestures/facial expression, vocal variety
and words, including using the silent pause.
Interesting Note: When vocal and visual components are inconsistent
with the verbal content, people believe the vocal and visual and reject the
verbal. The ‘degree of
consistency’ between the three will determine its believability according to
Professor Mehrabian (Verbal 7%, Vocal 38% and Visual 55%).
Notable Facts:
- Visual
aids increases retention by 14%-38%
- Time
required to present is reduced by 40% when using a visual
- For
effective eye communication count to five
Four Stages of Speaking: Stage
1-The Non-Speaker, Stage 2-The Occasional Speaker, Stage 3-The willing Speaker
and Stage 4 – The Communicator.
What does it take to be a SHARP
Communicator: Stories, Humor, Analogies, References
and Pictures.
