Do you understand the motivations of your audience? Can you identify their emotional hook?
Or do you load your argument with as much ammunition as you can find?
We‘d like to tell you a story that we feel will help you come to the right conclusion. We’ve borrowed it from “Life’s a Pitch” by Roger Mavity & Stephen Bayley. It’s worth a read. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lifes-Pitch-Roger-Mavity/dp/0552156833.
A successful British businessman, Gerry Robinson was persuaded by Tony Blair’s UK government to take on the chairmanship of the Arts Council and use his tough business skills to slash their budget.
“When Gerry got stuck into the job, he soon realised the budget needed to be increased not slashed. That was a hard sell to the government that had put him in the post to do the opposite.
So he went to see Tony Blair and his chancellor, Gordon Brown.
He simply said to Blair: “Every civilised country funds its arts properly”. No spreadsheets and analyses – just a powerful appeal to Blair’s vanity.
Then he said to Brown: “It’s a tiny amount of money we need. Only about £200 million – that’s barely the cost of a F11 fighter jet.”
Gerry had understood the motivations of his audience perfectly, had made an emotional appeal over the logical and had presented his case with utter simplicity. He got his money.
So when you’re faced with presenting your case in 2017, remember what Gerry said.
Posted by Barry Graham on Tuesday, December 6th, 2016 in Features › News ›
Tags: emotional hook, emotional intelligence, motivating your audience, persuade, persuasion