Successfully connecting with a new prospect takes more than a compelling message. Your verbal communication with that prospect accounts for less than 10% of your total communication process.
We are feeling beings who have learned how to think – we’re not born as thinkers who feel. The genesis of what we feel is a set of neurological impulses created through interactions with our five senses. These impulses are our only inputs and we react to them.
The most effective communications trigger an emotion – they touch all five of senses and make us feel. In most businesses, only three of our senses are typically engaged: sound, sight and touch. This is one reason why it’s so challenging to productively connect with prospects using social media or the phone. These methods eliminate the input from one or more of your senses so the efficiency of your communication process is degraded.
The reality of effective communication is that more than 50% is nonverbal, and almost 40% is related to how you sound when delivering your message. Your nonverbal communication involves the actions or motions you use while you are speaking or listening. Your body language can help a listener feel comfortable with you and want to connect with you.
Why? Since each of us is most comfortable with the way we act or move, we tend to feel most receptive to those who act or move like we do.
The most effective communicators match or mirror the motions of the person they are addressing. This makes a prospect more comfortable and open to their message. If the prospect moves towards you, you move towards the prospect. If the prospect backs away, you back away just slightly, but not so much that you send the signal that your message isn’t important.
Part of putting a prospect at ease also involves how you sound when delivering your message. What applies to motion also applies to sound. To increase the reception of your message, speak like your prospect is comfortable speaking. Listen to how your prospect sounds when speaking to you. Is their rate of speech fast or slow? Is their speech volume loud or soft? Speaking rapidly, and with a louder voice, to a prospect who speaks more slowly and quietly will not build trust. The tempo of your conversation is important, as is repeating words or phrases that you hear your prospect use. This makes it easier for your prospect to hear your message.
Maximize the productivity of your communication process by adapting your communication style to your prospect and touching as many of the prospect’s senses as possible.
How much of your message is your prospect hearing?
How can you optimize your communication process?
