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A popular theory, frequently quoted at various training courses, says that there are three main aspects to communications:
- 7% of the message is transferred by words
- 38% by the way the words are spoken and
- 55% by body language.
I researched the work of Professor Albert Mehrabians, the author of this theory, and discovered that it has been formulated in a context of feelings and attitudes, and not the content of a message.
Mehrabians' findings state that:
- 7% of message relating to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken
- 38% of message relating to feelings and attitudes is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said), and
- 55% of message relating to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression.
Finally, my doubts were substantiated. Let's face it, if words represented just 7% of the message transfer, why are so few of us fluent in other languages?
Magical words
Words play a huge role in everyday communications and in the way we express our preferences and value system. The representational system that forms part of the NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) communication model, assumes that we filter and store information in a preferred way.
Using the preferred words and vocabulary with someone you are talking to helps to enhance your rapport with this person and to achieve faster outcomes, ie a sale (you may wish to refer to the previous article on this subject in the April '09 issue of IER; page 30).
Certain words play a major part in enhancing communication. A huge part of successful selling is the ability to identify current and future needs of the customers together with creating desires. None of these can be achieved without using a selection of carefully chosen words. It is commonly known that open questions, which deliver desired information begin with such words as who, what, where, when, how and why, and closed questions that produce confirmation start with would, if, can, and do, to name a few.
Words can be used to the most powerful effect when carefully selected. They can encourage the customer to think under your instruction. I like to think of this bank of words as 'magic words'. Magic because they create desires for customers and ‘desires' mean the difference between selling a higher priced product or those all important essentials, which deliver additional revenue for you.
They are words which once heard take the listener to a different place in their thoughts. One of my favourites is ‘imagine'. "Imagine being able to ..." Your customer is encouraged to think about something they may never have considered and in most cases when it is linked to their initial needs, future needs or lifestyle, the outcome becomes irresistible. It is important to remember that many customers looking to replace electrical goods are possibly unaware of new technology and the benefits that technology will offer them. To coin my favourite phrase ‘they don't know what they don't know'. Enlighten them!
Easy mistakes
This week, I had reason to doubt the power of words in a sales presentation directed at me. The salesperson outlined a list of benefits related to his products. The first benefit was: An inexpensive solution...
In an attempt to convince me that the product first of all was affordable they failed to interest me. I spent the next few minutes wondering how much it actually would cost me. My second thought was: what prompted them to make reference to price as the first benefit on the list? I thought about how he could have improved his offer. For example he could have said: "You will own an amazing cost saving solution..." I may have found such an offer irresistible. Such is the power of words, and in this instance it represented far more than 7% of the communication process. Choose your words wisely; they can be the difference between a major sale and no sale at all.
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