State of Mind Coaching & Training

Welcome to Smart Start À La Carte. This is your à la carte path to linguistic excellence. Each edition includes an impressive array of ways to make an impression. Some are simple specific spoon-fed examples that you can slide into your daily dialog. Some are a description or definition of a pattern, concept or category of persuasive communication with an example, of course.

Goofy | I don’t know of a top sales person that doesn’t have a great sense of humor.  Mainly, I think, because I would avoid them to begin with.  A sense of humor comes in real Handy.  Especially, when laughing off rejection.  In How to Get Common Ground, I talk about one easy way into humor.  And, it’s the same thing that Keith Cronin calls the language of the cinema. 

Basically, him and I put out the idea of quoting movies.  Particularly funny ones, at that.  We both basically invented doing this.  How funny is that?

But, seriously, folks, there is a saying that if you can make a girl laugh, you can get her to do just about anything.  The same is true for persuasion, influence and their application…sales. 

If you can make a girl laugh, you can get her to do just about anything.

Now, I’m not going to go into the specifics of the exceptions to this rule, you get the point.

If you aren’t funny, and most of you aren’t, then you’re screwed, basically.  But, you can still become more funny than you already are.  For some of you, this is as simple as staying silent during moments you’d normally say something and immediately afterward notice you lost them.  Lost in translation, I guess.

For those of us capable of learning, pick up Comedy Writing Secrets, The Comedy Bible, and any book in the comedy writing section of Amazon.com.

If all else fails and you can’t become well-read, watch a bunch of movies and become well-watched.

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And, now for a 2nd helping. Open wide.

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Greek Figure of Speech | paraprosdokian:  I’m about to let you in on the biggest secret I have…not.  Why would I do that?  I don’t know either.  Get a clue. 

Groucho Marx was pretty good at this pattern…according to Wikipedia, anyway.

For More examples and the definition, read Grace O’Connell’s Paraprosdokian and Graden Path Sentences or Michael Hacker’s Paraprosdokian.  If you still don’t get it, read Heather Hollick’s Shoeless Paraprosdokian.

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Not exactly biased source of quotes:

Here’s how to keep us separate.  It’s Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.  It’s shallow thoughts by Jade Handy.  -Jade Handy

Photo Credit:   By margolove Margo Conner on Flickr

Welcome to Smart Start À La Carte. This is your à la carte path to linguistic excellence. Each edition includes an impressive array of ways to make an impression. Some are simple specific spoon-fed examples that you can slide into your daily dialog. Some are a description or definition of a pattern, concept or category of persuasive communication with an example, of course.

We | There are posts out there, whole blogs, actually, that will explain the togetherness and “community” of the word.

Here, we are going to talk about when it switches to something else.  And it’s usually to ”you.”

Here, let me explain.  Recently, my wife partner (vs. my wife or life partner) said, “We need to take this downstairs.  When can you get that done?”  Ever felt like the other shoe is dropping?

The easiest way to internalize this pattern is to notice when someone’s language switches from “we” to “you” and you end up doing the work.  Then, use that exact same wording with someone else.

For example, “John, we are considering taking on the Johnson project.  Can you handle this with your current schedule?”  Then, when you get home that night, try “Honey, we really need to do something about the garbage, can you do this.”  You’ll get a response.  Learn from it.  Then, learn how to soften it and do it in a way that doesn’t feel manipulative to you and those around you.

And, now for a 2nd helping. Open wide.

Greek Figure of Repetition | antistasis: Hypertrope.com will explain how antistasis and hyperlinks make love, but we’re not going to go into that with this post.

Let’s start by learning how to use this pattern, visually.  See these two logos below?  Read the text.

The first “it” refers to LoJack.

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Now read the second one.

The second “it” refers your stolen devices that LoJack can help you recover.

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Another example? ”While you’re working on your cereal, I’m already working on getting you more customers.”

Is this black and white enough for you?

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Dasani – The water that makes your mouth water.

Photo Credit:  Caro Wallis on Flickr