I would never say that politicians are like salespeople, but others would make the argument that they are. Nevertheless, a politician is always selling something, and the real question is – how do we offer constructive suggestions to the political class on how to improve upon their craft? Let’s give it a whirl
The best way to break it down into bit size pieces is as follows:
The professional politician, like the enterprising salesperson, is always looking to close the deal and make the proverbial sale. But how do you chart the progress during that journey? How do you improve the odds for success? The simple answer is to get familiar with the Gauchais Reaction and get connected to the concept of mirroring.
What is that?
In simple terms, mirroring and the Gauchais Reaction are one in the same. They are a nonverbal technique that is utilized in an effort to be persuasive to the listening public and to win over the audience.
In short, matching body language, facial expressions, limb movement, blink patterns, or head nods, are ways to start and gain alignment with the audience. I know it sounds trite, and even stupid, but smarter people than me suggest that this technique actually works.
When having a call, conversation, or discussion, sociologists instruct us to employ some simple measures to help create empathy as you activate the mirror neurons of your audience.
According to the experts, the mirroring can’t be obvious and you shouldn’t mirror negative behavior or negative body language. The reflective behavior should be drawn out and time should separate the acts so the obvious copying isn’t revealed. I’m not suggesting that you act like a mime. To the contrary, the voice tone and volume and speed should be comparable to the target. There should be a developed rhythm and pattern. If in a one-on-one, watch the movements of your colleague and try and subtly slip in watched body movements and speech patterns—the key word is subtly.
Stepping back for a moment, I have written about when a speaker holds the room and knows their audience. You know when you have the room, when you see the nods of the heads and the quietness of the rapt audience, and you just feel that your cadence is landing well. The eyes are following you, they are pausing when you pause, and laughing when you extend yourself. You know the feel of holding the room, holding their attention and really making your point. The key to success is to be focused, compact, dynamic and please don’t drone on.
It is all about connectivity.
I hope this column landed well and something positive was developed, I only wish I could read your body language for a clue.