Chapter 52 TECHNIQUE 46 Power Delivery
I was speaking to 15 men at a corporate meeting recently.As soon as I stood up, I said to myself, "Okay, now it's 15 Martians against a Venusian".Absolutely no problem!I have read this book.I've also studied neurological differences in the brains of the sexes.I am more aware of all the differences in body language between men and women.And, I specialize in teaching people communication skills.I'm absolutely capable of talking to these men in a nutshell, and if they ask a question, I can fight them off.
It started off well, and I thought my presentation was clear and precise, with each topic being coherent and flawless.So I sat down and asked them to ask questions or make comments to discuss together.
From then on, everything changed.All I remember was that the questions they asked were all football metaphors, like a barrage of cannonballs coming at me mercilessly.
"Do you think we missed a good shot at that point?" one of them asked.
"Yes," replied the other man, "but we can save goals."
I can still understand these two metaphors. When they mention pass fouls and deliberate throwing touchdowns, I am completely confused.Someone said a goodbye long pass was needed to save that business, which is a complete shame on me.I had to ask, "What does that mean?" The men looked at each other in tacit understanding, smiled condescendingly, and then explained to me.
Our goal is to improve interpersonal communication.Therefore, the technique proposed now uses metaphors, and not just football metaphors!
Metaphors are very powerful communication tools—provided that the images they conjure up correspond to the lived experience of the person being spoken to.Men don't use football metaphors to complicate things and confuse women.They use the ball game analogy to hope that each other can understand the whole situation better.Sports metaphors can bring men's lived experiences into the conversation, since men clearly watch football more often than women.
Do your clients like gardening?Try the metaphor of reaping melons.Your boss has his own yacht?Tell him that your idea is watertight and reliable.Or does the other party have a light aircraft pilot's license?Talk about a plan that will skyrocket your company's prospects.She plays tennis?Then tell her what the sweet spot is.In short, you have to awaken the other person's interest or lifestyle, and then weave an image.If you want to be more powerful when explaining the point, you should use metaphors that the other party is familiar with.The technique of powerful delivery is to tell the other party that you and him are like-minded and have similar interests.
And then there are the sports tropes: "Take it this way and you'll never get struck out." Everyone understands what the speaker means, but baseball fans feel it more strongly.Metaphors like the catch, the slide, or the greased ball can also resonate with baseball fans. You've probably heard someone say, "That's the way to go." Everyone understands that, but it sounds more dramatic to someone who loves archery.If your conversation partner is bowling, you can use metaphors such as "washing the ditch" or "left and right goalkeepers (only the leftmost and rightmost two pins are left, it is difficult to knock down at once)" when talking.If your business partner is a basketball fan, the "hook shot" or "bread ball" analogy is sure to stick. It might feel a bit unnatural to say this kind of metaphor.But they are powerful communication tools that instantly bring familiar images to the mind of the person being spoken to.Why not use such powerful techniques to make a point and win the sale?I call this technique power casting.
Do your clients like gardening?Try the metaphor of reaping melons.Your boss has his own yacht?Tell him that your idea is watertight and reliable.Or does the other party have a light aircraft pilot's license?Talk about a plan that will skyrocket your company's prospects.She plays tennis?Then tell her what the sweet spot is.In short, you have to awaken the other person's interest or lifestyle, and then weave an image.If you want to be more powerful when explaining the point, you should use metaphors that the other party is familiar with.The technique of powerful delivery is to tell the other party that you and him are like-minded and have similar interests.
And then there are the sports tropes: "Take it this way and you'll never get struck out." Everyone understands what the speaker means, but baseball fans feel it more strongly.Metaphors like the catch, the slide, or the greased ball can also resonate with baseball fans. You've probably heard someone say, "That's the way to go." Everyone understands that, but it sounds more dramatic to someone who loves archery.If your conversation partner is bowling, you can use metaphors such as "washing the ditch" or "left and right goalkeepers (only the leftmost and rightmost two pins are left, it is difficult to knock down at once)" when talking.If your business partner is a basketball fan, the "hook shot" or "bread ball" analogy is sure to stick. It might feel a bit unnatural to say this kind of metaphor.But they are powerful communication tools that instantly bring familiar images to the mind of the person being spoken to.Why not use such powerful techniques to make a point and win the sale?I call this technique power casting.