Want to sell or secure support? You’ve got less than a minute,
experts say. Much less it turns out. With the first three to five words,
listeners instinctively tune in or tune out.
To compound the problem, you may know too much. The deeper your expertise, the less able you are to offer the vivid detail up front that motivates them to listen longer.
Instead we start with background, qualifiers and other “underbrush.” Meanwhile they go on a mental vacation.
To make your idea or product stick in their minds, here are two tips and examples that have helped me:
Two tips
1. Hot Button: First offer the point that most matters to this listener
Craft the sequence of words in your first sentence like a string of pearls, with each word solidly connected to the next. That way you build the briefest, “most valuable benefit” statement. Add supportive points if:
• They relate to the main point, and
• Can be said in three words or less.
2. Memory Anchor: Say it so they can see it
Offer the vivid, supporting detail that evokes a relevant and positive mental picture and thus anchors the benefit in their mind.
Two examples
1. Hot Button:
The natural fertilizer that outgrows the leading synthetic
fertilizer, doesn’t burn plants and comes in recycled packaging.
Memory Anchor:
Terracycle's fertilizer is made
from worm poop.
2. Hot Button:
Because they are made of dried fruits and nuts bound together by
honey KIND bars are healthier than other health bars. We
use whole natural ingredients -
not paste.
Memory Anchors:
• Mango Macadamia is a favorite.
• A Yale pilot study found that eating two KIND bars a day can help people lose weight.
