Invisible Influence: The Power to Persuade Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere

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Absorb Them into Your World

You need to develop the skill of capturing, holding, and focusing the audience’s attention until they have been absorbed into your world.

A state of captivation occurs when a person has lost connection with the real world and is completely wrapped up in what you are saying. This is what you experience when you are fully engrossed in a movie at the theater.

You have created a bridge between you and your listener. You will meet them on their side and bring them to your side.

What captures this kind of attention?

• Something they passionately agree with you about (pro-life/pro-choice, handguns/ban handguns, etc.).
• Something controversial that creates a significantly attention-getting emotion in them (anything that causes emotion that is not so great to take attention away from your story … nor too dull so that they pay no attention).
• Peripheral things that have nothing to do with the actual later content of the story (the camera focuses on the cheerleaders between plays to hold attention in commercial breaks).
• The setting or environment: where the story is being told (the restaurant you are in) … or if you are good … where the story takes place in the mind of the person you are talking to.

Imagine you and I are having a conversation, and you need to persuade me. You ask yourself, “What grabs Robert’s attention about me?” Or “What am I trying to influence him to do or think?”

You want to wake up your listener. Meet them in their world, then walk them ...