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How to Reach A Larger Audience

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Reading books and browsing the internet are exercises in very visual mediums that are only rarely accompanied by sound, touch or smell. If you're trying to communicate through either of these mediums, you are immediately handicapped out of three senses.

So what does this mean on a practical level?

Unless you communicate using a person's primary mode of learning (called "submodality"), you won't be speaking in his language, and so probably won't be able to persuade him.

Moreover, studies show that communications which rapidly switch back and forth between visual, auditory and kinesthetic cues best help the listener focus on the message.

Therefore, the world's top communicators will frequently and rapidly switch between "seeing", "hearing" and kinesthetic words.

Some examples of visual words and phrases are:

"I see what you mean."
"Look at what's happening."
"Can you picture that?"
"What's the big picture?"
Some examples of hearing words and phrases are:
"I hear you."
"If you listen carefully, you'll notice . . ."
"Can you hear their cries for justice?"
"That's the sound of democracy."
Some examples of kinesthetic words and phrases are:
"What would that feel like?"
"Pulled the rug out from under us."
"Tearing a hole in the Constitution"
"Getting tripped up on . . ."
"They're stabbing us in the back . . ."
An example switching submodalities could be as simple as: "I want to talk with you about the stories that we tell ourselves, the way we view the world and the way we feel as Americans."

Obviously, multimedia is necessary for a website. Pictures which convey other senses are also effective. For example, photos of people smelling things will trigger the olfactory part of your readers' brain.

"You" Statements

The unconscious mind hears any statement using the word "you" as being directly at that particular listener.

Using a "you" statement when you are in a confrontational situation with someone will usually polarize the listener and destroy any possibility of influencing him.

A trick for getting around this is to use an "indirect you"; that is, speak in the third person. Here are some examples:
"[third person] was saying ..."

"He said "you wouldn't believe' . . ."

"She said "you can't imagine how difficult . . ."

"He said "you would have to be, you know, disconnected from life to ignore . . ."

"She said "you'd have to be almost criminally disconnected from humanity to . . ."

"He said "you wouldn't believe' . . ."

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George Washington


As a political activist for decades, I have rejoiced in victories for the people and mourned in defeats. I chose the pen name "George Washington" because - as Washington's biographies show - he wasn't a (more...)
 
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