Unlocking the Power of Persuasive Language: Adding more Magic to Your Presentations

On an earlier blog we covered some very powerful words & phrases that we can use to draw our audience in. Handily there are more. Now these may only be short words but because they are short, they are familiar, non-threatening, even comforting words to hear. They are the sort of words you may have heard read aloud or seen used in children’s books but that is what makes them so powerful.

Lets take a look at 5 more phrases and where they could be used –

Before you make your mind up

This is strangely disarming. It’s a great set up if you are telling a story or if there is an issue with a right or wrong if there is blame or not. For example: I’m going to tell you about a new way of doing something, you can decide if it’s for you or not – but before you make your mind up you should know this. We’ve heard all about this and I know you are thinking there is no way I’m spending that amount on this but before you make your mind, up take a look at it from this angle. Instead of beating the audience over the head, you are inviting them to to take a moment to consider a new viewpoint.

Enough

It’s a small but powerful word that can be used to draw a line under a topic or to question. You can use it to create a group ‘we’ve all had enough’ or to put a line in the sand ‘I say enough is enough’ – which is often used by politicians. I think its power comes from being used early on in our vocabularies from the stern ‘you have had enough’ to the enquiring ‘have you had enough?’. In a sales context you might say ‘how much is enough’ as part of an assumptive close where its not whether you will buy but how much. Similarly in a catering situation ‘will that be enough’ or beloved of Christmas food shoppers with a stacked trolley ‘do you think we’ll have enough’. Enough can be used in many ways. It just isn’t used enough.

The good news is

The TV companies know there is a lot of bad news and so do the ‘and finally’ funny bit at the end of the news. This phrase can be used setting up a change of tone in a presentation. You built things up to go in one direction, but the good news is, there's a solution. You build up a problem on one hand and then you offer the way around it. You outline all your arguments as to why something is going to happen but the good news is, it is still possible to change. This is often used in presentations around climate change, where it's important to underline how pressing the need for changes is but always leave the audience with hope that there is still time to change.

If I can, will you

This is a classic negotiation technique. Based around get / give. The idea is that you introduce a bargain into a conversation just by putting some terms around. If I can do this for you, will you do this for me? It creates an even exchange of ideas, at least in your mind, but it does set up. Reciprocity. From the listener. It's also a very subtle way of saying I'm doing something for you, so I expect something in return. Very handy around the time of any sales negotiations. Where one party is being asked to step out of their comfort zone towards the other with a compromise.

Don’t worry

This is a great phrase to bridge from one topic to another. Particularly, you've taken the audience in one direction or described an overwhelming challenge. The use of the reassuring ‘Don't worry’ can act as a full stop as you pivot to a solution. You can also use it to put yourselves in the audiences’ shoes, handy if you're presenting right before or after a break. Don't worry, I understand, I'm the only thing between you and the afternoon break. This is going to be worth your attention. Then you've built some camaraderie with the audience, shown some understanding and built a bridge, which tends to make people sit forward and listen a little bit more.

Just one more thing

In classic Columbo (70’s TV detective for younger readers) adding just one more question would crack the case. In a presentation, one more fact or piece of data,  if timed right, can really land your message. It’s a great way of adding an additional convincer to your case – you’ve already won over your audience by stating your key messages but just add the clincher at the end. Now it’s important that this is used at the right time – you don’t want to rely on the one more thing or run out of time and therefore undermine the coherent message you have just successfully delivered by gabbling to get to you one more thing. Detective Columbo used to trip up his murder suspect with one off kilter question right at the end where they would invariably give away one vital detail that would incriminate them and sometimes in a presentation it’s the one more thing that you add as a take away that can help to land your message.

I hope you have found this blog useful, and I encourage you to give these phrases a go. If you liked this, there is a first part to this blog with another 5 phrases on the website.

At Smooth Communication, we are passionate about coaching professionals to deliver effective presentations and communicate clearly. We offer customised workshops and one-on-one training to help you enhance your public speaking skills and get your message across.