|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Make a sudden move. If you're sitting in the doctor's waiting room reading a magazine and somebody beside you stands up, you automatically look upeven if you know who that person is and why he or she is standing up. Movement attracts attention. If you want someone who seems preoccupied to listen to you, stand up and move across the room to speak. Lean forward at the table to present your ideas. If you're standing in the hallway, ask the person to follow you to a seat. Just move. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Repeat. If you're puzzled by a road sign, you reread itmaybe several times. People sometimes need more than one hearing before things sink in. Repetition is the backbone of commercials. Repeat several times in several ways what you want to be heard. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be novel. People have short attention spans. If you want to extend their attention beyond the typical 20 seconds, you have to get your point across in a unique way. Be flippant, make a joke, startle them with an aggressive statement, make a gross overstatement or understatement, use a unique analogy, or carry on two sides of a dialogue. Just be novel to expand their attention to your idea. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be emotional. What people let slide when spoken softly they'll hear when underscored with a little emotion. Raise your volume, soften your volume, plead, cry, or laugh. Emotion attracts attention to straightforward statements. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 88: When constantly interrupted, stop talking immediately and abruptly to make the interrupter aware of what he or she is doing. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also use courtesy and lightly call attention to someone's habit of cutting you off with statements like: "Pardon me, I'm not finished." "May I finish this thought?" I didn't get to finish what I was saying." ''I need another few seconds to explain why I feel that way." "I didn't get to elaborate a moment ago about my reasons." Making people aware that they're crowding you makes a dramatic impact on them without sounding rude. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 89: Don't step on others' sentences. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sometimes we're so closely identifying with or confirming what the other person is saying that we want to jump right in while they're expressing themselves. That rapport-building identification should not concern you. But you want to watch habitually crowding others when they speak: not giving them an opportunity to respond, interrupting them when they're clearly not finished, talking over them with an intent to dominate. |
|
|
|
|
|