From Dull to Dazzling
I was momentarily thrown by the surprise response I got when I called the operator at the W Hotel in LA this week to order a wake-up call for the next morning. She said, “Hello, Mrs. Miller. This is Terry....
“What is your wish?”
What is my wish? My immediate reaction was, “How about a 40% bounce in my portfolio, world peace, and thinner thighs?” However, I restrained myself, and, in a tone of voice that suggested I was accustomed to talking to tooth fairies every day, I simply asked for a 7AM wake-up ring the next morning.
So, this little exchange made me think about you, the readers of this blog. What would my “wish” be for business people at both large and small companies whose job it is to sell, present, or otherwise influence various groups of people? I think it would be that you get beyond the facts of your information and more creatively use language to bring your products, services, and ideas to life for your listeners. Consider these comments made by William Safire, who, until his death in 2009, was a political columnist for The New York Times, and also known for his popular “On Language” column in that paper’s Sunday magazine section.
“Suppose I’m describing the reaction of baseball fans on that unforgettable evening when Henry Aaron hit the home run that broke Babe Ruth’s lifetime record. I might say, ‘Aaron was given a standing ovation by fifty thousand fans. The tribute continued for at least five minutes.’ That’s accurate. It’s what happened. No doubt about it.
“But compare that description with this. ‘Fifty thousand fans sprang to their feet, clapping, screaming, cheering wildly in a pandemonium that went on for a full five minutes.’ That’s also what happened. Is there a difference?
"You bet there is. The first version tells what happened all right, but it doesn’t involve the listener. There’s no fire, no passion. …The second version paints a word picture that puts the listeners right in the stadium, making them part of the clapping, cheering crowd.”
Grant Them Their Wish
No matter what you sell, use the richness of language to put your listeners smack in the middle of the experience your products, services, or ideas will give them. Let them “see” what it will mean to use what you are selling. Use vivid language to describe the results of what your dry facts, features, metrics, analytics, or processes, mean to them. Let them get excited by the possibilities of that experience. In short, let them see their "business wishes" coming true when they work with you..When you do that for your listeners, then, your wishes for greater success and increased bottom-lines will come true as well
Execution is everything: Make What You Say Pay!
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News: My new bookt Make WhaT You Say Pay! is finally done! It will be available in hard copy as well as in an ebook version. As soon as the finishing touches on the website are done for it, I will let you know how you can sample some chapters and get a copy for yourself.
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