“You can’t tell any kind of a story without having some kind of a theme, something to say between the lines.” – Robert Wise, Born Sep. 10, 1914. “Storytelling” has been a buzzword in marketing for a few years now. I’ve taught two courses myself, focused on using story to sell. But this is something… Read More →
How To Talk to People So They Feel Like You’re Instantly Friends (And Then Sell Them Stuff)
“Candor is a compliment; it implies equality. It’s how true friends talk.” – Peggy Noonan, Born Sep. 7, 1950. In times past, social interaction required a facade of formality. Especially in a business context. Gentlemen wore suits of clothes, and exchanged handshakes and cards and engaged in small talk, followed by queries and responses about… Read More →
Your Memories Are Imaginary (And Easily Altered With This One Trick…)
“Recalling a memory is not like playing a tape recorder. It’s a creative process.” – Susumu Tonegawa, Born Sep. 6, 1939. This little secret Susumu shared above is one reason why persuading and influencing people like we do can be so dangerous. See, when you recall a memory, you’re not accessing a permanent record. You… Read More →
You Already Have a Built-in USP – You’re Just Suffocating It
“I have a different constitution. I have a different brain; I have a different heart; I got tiger blood, man.” – Charlie Sheen, Born Sep. 3, 1965. How are you different from every other boring jerk out there? What makes you unique? Your history? Your style? Your point of view? You need to know. Because… Read More →
Your’re Not a Classical Composer – You’re a Punk Rock Shredder
“I really don’t think records should be made in the manner where you sit and write, and when you’re finished writing, you start recording. That just seems conventional and old-fashioned to me.” – Jay Reatard, Born May 1, 1980. Writing for the internet, for yourself, is pretty fucking punk. You don’t have time to engineer… Read More →
Make Them Believe You Would Tell Them All Your Secrets, And They Will Love You
“Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowing more than they do.” – Harper Lee, Born Apr. 28, 1926. When you’re trying to position yourself as a trusted advisor, your audience can’t ever feel like you are holding out on them. They can’t feel like you’re keeping secrets or withholding valuable knowledge for yourself. Countering… Read More →
To Be InterestING, BE interestED. Enthusiasm is Contagious.
“I’ve always worked on the principle that if it interests me enough to write about it, then it must interest a lot of other people.” – Morris West, Born Apr. 26, 1916. First, cultivate the ability to muster a genuine interest in absolutely any topic. Next, figure out the topics your target audience cares about…. Read More →
Escapism Motivates: Where Will You Go When You Get Away From Here?
“All the best stories are but one story in reality – the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape.” – A. C. Benson, Born Apr. 24, 1862. We tell stories. Stories about the reader. Stories they haven’t heard about themselves yet. The ending… Read More →
Repetition is the Mission… Repetition is the Mission… Repetition is the Mission…
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” – Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin), Born Apr. 22, 1870. This is a statement that sounds sinister because of how specific it is. If you make it as general as it is in reality, it’s not so evil-seeming. Anything repeated often enough will eventually be believed. This works… Read More →
The Art of Sinking Your Persuasive Fishhook Right in Your Prospect’s Face
“For to tempt and to be tempted are things very nearly allied – whenever feeling has anything to do in the matter, no sooner is it excited than we have already gone vastly farther than we are aware of.” – Yekaterina Alexeyevna, Born Apr. 21, 1729. If persuasion is a fishing pole, emotion is the… Read More →