Kicking your audience into action
I have had a slow puncture in one of the rear tyres of my car for a few weeks now. I kept noticing it but I kept putting off going to the tyre depot and getting it fixed. I thought I couldn’t afford the time or the money right now so all I did was pump it up every so often when i filled up with fuel. However on Monday I noticed it was almost flat again and I made the decision to go to the depot and get it fixed.
The fitter examined the tyre and told me the bad news. They wouldn’t be able to repair it because the tyre was critically damaged as a result of my driving on it when it was almost flat! So instead of a low cost puncture repair, I had to shell out a lot more for a complete new tyre!
Now you may we wondering what all this has to do with presenting and influencing. Well read on..
If you are in the sales or presentation game, you know that part of your job is to persuade your audience to take action. Now that action may be to buy your product or service, give approval for your marketing plan or implement a new way of working.
This is not easy at the best of times because the majority of people are conservative by nature and they tend to feel comfortable sticking with what they know rather than trying something new.
Couple this hesitancy with an economic downturn and fear of recession and your job is all the more difficult – but it isn’t impossible.
You have to tip the scales and find a way of showing your audience that the cost of not implementing your recommendations, costly though they may be, is nothing compared to what they will have to pay if they sit on the fence!
Hopefully you can now see the point of my tyre story. If I had realised how much my hesitation about fixing the tyre was going to cost me, I’d have had the puncture repaired when I first spotted it and saved myself a lot of money. As a presenter or influencer it’s your job to help your audience see the cost of inaction relative to the cost of action. This process can really kick a cautious audience into action. Go on try it out for yourself and let me know how you get on.
photo credit: Pat McDonald via photopin cc
“…it’s your job to help your audience see the cost of inaction relative to the cost of action.”
Love this quote! I’m going to remember it.