| |
| |
|
Attraction Information brought to you by personals4all.com |
|
|
|
Grab Their Attention
In the movie, "The Player" during a scene at a Hollywood studio executive meeting Mr. Levy shows Reeve, the central character, how to pitch a potential movie story. Levy holds out a newspaper, saying, " Here, read a headline, any headline." Reeve responds : "Um . . .'Immigrants Protest Budget Cuts in Literacy Program.'" Levy: "Human spirit overcoming economic adversity. Sounds like Horatio Alger in and the barrio. You put in Jimmy Smits, you got a sexy 'Stand and Deliver.' Next?" Robert Kosberg, a Hollywood producer convinced a studio to make the 1993 pets -gone-wrong movie "Man's Best Friend." His pitch was "Jaws on Paws". How quickly can you attract someone's attention and interest? See the power of spare, specific details over speed and volume of speech? The stories we tell about each other - and the people with whom we want to share our stories are where we create meaning and friendships. As you speak vividly about your experiences with others you make those stories more meaningful and memorable for them to recall and repeat. You become a more central part of their lives. Here's some ways to talk and write so other repeat what you say - with pride and joy. Each are easy to practice. 1. Be brief. If your characterization is sufficiently short then you can repeat it, as an aside or reminder throughout a conversation. Others are more likely to remember and repeat it. Here's some ways to be pithy: A. Use a familiar word in a new way and you might even capture a trend: Example: Futurist, Faith Popcorm, predicted five years ago that people would want to be "cocooning" in their home. B. Be catchy, using one or more of these devices: ? Alliteration: "Peak performance" and "high tech/high touch." ? Rhyme: "Jaws on Paws" ? Repetition: "First things first", Steve Covey's advice. ? Puns: Tongue Fu!, title of book by Sam Horn. C. Employ an unexpected turns of phrase: To connect with people upon first meeting, I suggest "going slow to go fast." 2. Make favorable comparisons with familiar objects When people in your work world are immersed in their jargon, your remarks can stand out when you make a comparison with a well-liked product, person or situation from outside your profession or industry. Example: At the high stakes Quist H & Q Healthcare conference, venture capitalists hear 20-minutes talks by CEOs of start-ups and public companies who seek funding or favorable stock analysts' reporters. The tension is high and the schedule is packed. Most presenters speak fast, using a mix of highly technical scientific and finance language. The speaker from bio-tech company, Amgen, walked past the podium to the center of the stage, pulled up one suit and shirt sleeve to bare his raised forearm. He opened his talk, saying, " You will feel the effects of this medical patch faster than it takes a Porsche to go from zero to 90. " 3. Hijack a familiar slogan to use in a new way. After a company has spent millions to make a slick slogan well-known, twist it in a new direction for your intended meaning. Example: Redwood Hospital in Northern California used this billboard variation of the popualr milk slogan to ask for blood donations: "Got blood?" 4. Anchor your suggestion in a relevent story To pull people into hearing and remembering your view, set it up with a brief anecdote. Example: What if you wanted to suggest that people were looking at a problem from the wrong perspective? Consider offering this story first: There is an old joke in Soviet Russia about a guard at the factory gate who at the end of every day saw a worker walking out with a wheelbarrow full of straw. Everyday he thoroughly searched the contents of the wheelbarrow, but never found anything but straw. One day he asked the worker: "What do you gain by taking home all that straw?" "The wheelbarrows." 5. Bungle your translation to bring humor If you are with a worldly group, offer your variation of a well-known expression in a foreign language. Change a single letter and provide a definition for the new expression. Share these rules and your expression with your colleagues and ask for their contribution. New York magazine held such a contest in 2001. Here's some of the winning contributions: HARLEZ-VOUS FRANCAIS: Can you drive a French motorcycle? 6. Veil the truth in humor So much of life is fast-paced and tense. Consider opening a meeting with mock- serious inspiration or admonition, then grinning. You'll find true life, Dilbert-like examples everywhere that you can keep for your dry humored use. Here are some of my favorites, gathered by Accountemps one year: "What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter." (Lykes Lines Shipping) "This project is so important, we can't let things that are more important interfere with it." (Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service) 'We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division) 7. Encapsulate a Situation Example: In late 2002 a book by Jenny Lee will be released, entitled: I Do. I Did, Now What?: One Woman's Musings on Married Life, which the agent characterized thusly (after getting our attention): "a rant that (almost despite itself) ends up as a celebration of marriage." Financial analyst, Alan Parisse shared this perhaps apocryphal newspaper advertisement with me: "For sale. Infant shoes. Never used." Kare Anderson is the author of LikeABILITY (see Grand Store at http://www.SayitBetter.com), Make Yourself Memorable and SmartPartnering. A popular speaker on SmartPartnering and on how to be more frequently-quoted to become your kind of customers' top- of-mind choice, she also publishs the SayitBetter newsletter, with 32,000 subscribers in 28 countries
MORE RESOURCES:
Attraction - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
If Youre in a Hole, Stop Digging If you find yourself in a difficult situation, don't continue doing what you are doing. Although, it might seem like simple advice that should be common sense, remember common sense isn't. Get More Personal Most folks who know me, know that when people write me I always like to write back and show how much I appreciate the message. I do stay busy, but taking the time to write back is something that's very important to me. Dealing with Mr.Charisma Do you ever find yourself in situations where you feel overwhelmed by the person who is speaking to you. It is as if their charisma and enthusiasm takes over and you just cannot seem to think for yourself. Are You Killing Your Beautiful Dream? And the real sad part is that the people involved give in to their fears and kill their beautiful dream. Any chance of experiencing a fulfilled happy life, of living the life they truly want, evaporates. If You Want Others to Like You, Like Yourself First! Many of us mistakenly believe that it's wrong or conceited, to think we have any good qualities. We may spend a lot of time berating ourselves for our negative qualities, thinking that self criticism is the key to improving our performance. How to Create a Thriving Prosperous Life You only have to look around you at your friends, family and colleagues to see that there is an abundance of people who have talents, yet many are held back by a mortgage, a family, lack of confidence or some other reason.Deep inside us we all have a dream of living a thriving, prosperous life, but often we're unsure of how to navigate our way through the issues that come our way, and too many people, too often, give up and start making excuses to themselves about success being for others. Life Focus: What Does Your Life Say? "Imagine a funeral. The preacher's giving the eulogy. What the Samurai Can Teach Us About Self-Improvement A Seventeenth Century Samurai maxim states:"A man who has attained mastery of an art reveals it in his every action"This saying is one of my personal favorites. There is so much depth to its meaning. Who are You Listening To? Have you ever noticed that there is no shortage of people willing to give you advice, whether or not you asked for it? I've developed some simple rules about from whom I will accept advice and suggestions. I do not ask for heath advice from people who are sick, I do not ask for financial advice from people who are broke and I do not ask for business advice from people who are not in their own business. Dreams When I was a kid sitting in school I can remember looking out the window daydreaming of mountains, and skiing. These were just a few things I dreamed of doing. How To Influence People Most of your success in life will come from your ability to deal effectively with other people. Your success will be determined by the number of people you know, and who know you in a favorable way. Bad Luck ... Or Blessing In Disguise? There was a woman who was in such a hurry to go to the airport.She told the cab driver to step on it. The Power of Desire- Part 2 Let's continue where we left off in Part 1.. Lottery Winners Lose It All You have heard it time and again. Lottery Winners lose it all and trust fund babies waste their parent's hard earned cash. Want to Feel Rich? Shop Til You Drop... Just about everybody gets them.. Theres No Glory In Being The Richest Man In The Graveyard! What was your energy level like today? Did you wake up this morning like Tony the Tiger feeling Grrr---ate?.? Did you jump into all your activities today with enthusiasm? Were you rarin' to go at the first chance? Did your "get-up-and-go" rare up and roar, or, did it get up and went?Down For The Count!Well, if your get-up-and-go got up and went, let's see if we can do something about it. What You Habitually Think Becomes Attracted to You Are you frustrated with a certain area of your life? Want to make a change? You can change it as soon as you decide to change it.You might say, "It can't be that simple. How To Invite Positive Change In Your Life Gnothi seauton,, said Socrates. "Know thyself. How To Master The Art of Conversation The art of conversation is a skill shared by most successful people. Good conversation promotes an image of self-confidence, intelligence, and wittiness. Who Do You Want to Meet? One of the goals that I encourage my clients to work on is to create a list of people they wish to meet.What kind of people?People who inspire them! (a religious leader)People who they admire! (a person who gives with all their heart!)People who they would love to interview! (a newsmaker)People whose books they've read! (who is YOUR favorite author?)People who they'd love to cook dinner for! (a famous chef maybe?)When I heard about this technique I wasn't really sure I believed it, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try - so I made my list.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
