POWERFUL TOOLS TO ANCHOR A THOUGHT
In communicating, we want to be powerfully effective at "anchoring" certain key words, thoughts, impressions or visualizations in the subconscious as well as the conscious mind of the individual or individuals whom we are trying to convince or influence. There are a number of ways to do this, all of which are surprisingly simple, and easy to master. The techniques described in this brief post are derived from a variety of mind control and therapeutic disciplines, including hypnosis, NLP, creative visualization, and certain of the more arcane martial arts and meditative approaches. You can demonstrate, to your own satisfaction, the viability of these tools by experimentation; each of us has a certain natural affinity (and ability) toward one or more of these anchoring techniques, and we only find out which ones are most suitable for our own use by actually practicing. Practice builds confidence...and confidence inherently builds pursuasiveness. Put these tools into practice today, while they are fresh in your mind.
Remember: THE WORLD IS YOUR LABORATORY. EXPERIMENT CONTINUOUSLY.
DO NOT READ ANY OF THE SMALL PRINT WHICH FOLLOWS...
USE REPETITION: Repeat the words of your key thought continuously throughout your conversation or presentation. Combinations of three to five words are most effective. The longer the "catch phrase", the less significant it becomes in the context of a whole communication.
SLOW DOWN AND ENUNCIATE EACH SYLLABLE OF THE KEY PHRASE: Whether it is "I have a dream," or "death before dishonor", you must deliberately slow the speed of your speech and clearly prounounce each word when the critical words are spoken. People are apt to pay more attention, and your words will carry more magnetism and gravity when prounced slowly and deliberately. An enhancement to this approach is to hesitate, with a brief, expectant silence, immediately prior to reciting the key phrase. Another enhancement is to say the key phrase very, very quietly, at first, and be louder with each successive repetition. Yet another enhancement (a personal favorite), is to stop your speech, suddenly look down at the floor (breaking eye contact), and then re-establish riveting eye contact when when delivering the key phrase.
PAUSE BRIEFLY AFTER DELIVERING THE KEY PHRASE: Let the important words be further segregated from the context of the rest of your casual speech, and allow them to implant themselves and echo in the listeners' minds.
PUNCTUATE EACH KEY WORD WITH A HAND GESTURE (if speaking before a group): A clenched fist, used in gavel fashion, or a pointed finger (in the skyward direction) are both very effective.
USE PHYSICAL ANCHORING CONTACT (if appropriate in an individual situation): The classic physical anchoring forms are placement of one hand lightly, but lingeringly, on the other person's shoulder or forearm (in mirror image fashion, such that you would put your right hand on his/her left shoulder, etcetera). THE BEST ANCHORING TECHNIQUE -- Clasp the persons's right hand in your right hand (palm to palm), with the other person's hand on top of yours, e.g., in the dominant position, and gently press your thumb on the top of the other person's hand at the nerve center point between either the first and second fingers, or between the second and third fingers, as you make your critical point. Some practitioners of NLP and various types of clinical hypnotherapy actually shake the other person's hand slightly with each critical word in order to further enhance the firmness and longevity of the anchoring effect.
USE A CONTRARIAN SUBCONSCIOUS CUE: At the end of your discussion, simply invite the person not to think, or to avoid thinking about your key message. The subconscious deletes negative suggestions such as "not" and "don't", and reinforces precisely what it is told not to reinforce, visualize or remember. The perfect example is when a unsophisticated but well-intentioned friend tells you, "Try not to think about your speech tomorrow," or "Planes hardly every crash," or "Don't worry about him/her." Remember: The other person's subconscious will delete the negative suggestion and reinforce the positive one. When she was a little girl, I would tell my middle daughter when she was worried about something, "Whatever you do, don't think about Elmo!" It never failed. Sadly, she eventually caught on.
GET OUT THERE AND PRACTICE. MUSCLES GET STRONGER WITH EXERCISE!
I will look forward to our next visit together. And by the way, don't bother trying to remember any of this. Don't even think about it...
Faithfully,
Douglas E. Castle
NOTE: THERE ARE FOUR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS IN THE ABOVE POST. CAN YOU FIND THEM?
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