What does science tell us?

Whether you are keynoting at your national meeting or presenting your million dollar sales pitch or trying to chat with your disenchanted teenager your message must engage, be sticky and persuade them to take action.

According to Chelsi Nakan, Prezi’s B2B Content Strategist, there are three neurological factors that will contribute to your success 🙂 … or failure 😬.

1️⃣  The important role that vision plays ►

• 90% of the info you take in comes to you through your eyes. Presentations using visuals are 43% more persuasive than those without.
• It takes only ¼ second for your brain to process and attach meaning to a symbol.
• On the other hand, it takes you 6 seconds to read 20 to 25 words.
• Earl Miller, MIT Neuroscientist, says, “When people think they’re multi-tasking, they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly.” You cannot simultaneously read and listen.

🎤  Relevance to you ➜  Use visuals but stop using bullets/paragraphs on your visuals!! Visuals need to be visual! Bullets kill.

2️⃣  The biological predilection for stories ►

• You hear stats. You sense stories.
• A Wharton Business School study found that people donate twice as much when presented with relatable stories rather than stats alone. That means stories are two times more persuasive than raw data.
• Your audience’s brains are designed to respond to stories.

🎤  Relevance to you ➜ Use stories in tandem with your data in order to bring your message alive.

3️⃣  The powerful brain response to two-way conversation ►

• The top two habits of successful sales people, according to their customers: 1) getting educated on new ideas/gizmos and 2) feeling included as a collaborator.
• By making your audience feel like you’re working together you build trust and rapport.
• Collaboration, listening and connecting personally wins the sales pitch.

🎤  Relevance to you ➜  Include your listeners when you speak/sell/pitch. Ask questions, listen, use the info that they share and be conversational.

Your scientifically proven guide to being even more persuasive, memorable and engaging 😎

• Use visuals.
• Use stories.
• Be conversational and collaborative.
• You’ve seen these concepts in my many blog articles… it’s nice to be supported by science! Plus, my editor, Judy Dedmon Coyle, loves scientific studies, and for good reason. These studies prove it all!

photo copyright: 123RF, yupiramos