|
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
Nothing can turn
your audience or prospect off faster than using fat words when they're
hungry for skinny ones. Or vice versa. I learned this exciting concept
from Dr. David Palmer, a Silicon Valley negotiations expert. In his talks
on negotiations, he describes "levels of abstraction." Unless you can
match your message to the expectations of your audience, or talk at the
same level at which they are listening you won't connect as well as you
would like to. This is true whether your audience is one person or one
thousand.
Suppose you write
the word "automobile" on a pad. A simple concept. Going up to the next
level of abstraction, you could write above it that the car is a "wheeled
passenger vehicle," then "surface transportation," then "major force in
the world's economy." This is making the word "automobile" fatter and
fatter, larger and larger. These big ideas and abstractions are "fat words."
They are great for conveying the big picture, inspiring ideas, motivating.
Now, let's make
the word skinnier. Underneath, you might write "sedan," "Ford sedan,"
"red four-door Ford sedan." Eventually, you would be talking about a specific
car. Those are "skinny" words. They are essential for conveying instructions
and solving technical problems. No one holding a screwdriver, camera,
or have a blank screen on their computer wants "fat" words. You'll just
frustrate them, maybe make them furious. They want to know minute details
and specific who, what, when, how.
Many of my clients
hire me to coach their sales teams. After giving them the automobile illustration,
they learn to be more effective by evaluating each other by saying, "your
words are too fat" or "those words aren't skinny enough." "When you are
presenting a sales overview to an executive or senior management," I ask,
"Should your words get fatter or skinnier?"
Upper management
needs fat words. After a successful initial interview with an executive
you will be invited to present your offerings to a middle management team.
For this group, your ideas need to be brought down the level of abstraction
by using "skinner words and phrases."
Let's assume you
were very effective and persuasive. You made the sale. Now you are dealing
with the individuals that make the technology work. That is when the words
and phrases need to get "skinny." The who, what, how, where do I turn
it on?
At what level should
you present your information so that you get your message across? It all
depends on the audience.
As a professional
speaker and trainer I ask my clients, "What do you want the theme of my
remarks to be. What is the purpose of the meeting?" For years I have been
hearing, "Get them to sell more," or "Motivate them?" My reply would be
"How much are they sell now? How much more?" or "Motivate them to do what?"
Can you see the
challenge? Their words are too fat for me to get a clear picture of how
to meet and exceed their expectations. With my questioning I need to drive
their comments and expectations down the level of abstraction by saying
things like, "Can you help me understand specifically what you mean by
that?"
Thank you Dr. David
Palmer for this idea. This simple concept has made my training more effective.
(554
words)
We
offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint
or repost this material as long as Patricia Fripp's name
and contact information is included.
PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800-634-3035, http://www.fripp.com |
