CHAPTER FIVE

PQ Skill #3

Instant Rapport and Social Synchronization

We’ve all been told, “Never judge a book by its cover.” Yeah, right. Everyone is judging everyone else. Intentionally or not, people are constantly judging and categorizing others, compartmentalizing them into boxes. There are many boxes—sharp, strange, weird, intelligent, dense, geeky, powerful, annoying, and more. But here’s what my research has shown: When you create a positive perception, you have an 85 percent chance of persuasion. With a negative perception, you have only a 15 percent chance.

A great persuader can connect with anyone in thirty seconds or less. First impressions take only seconds to form, but they last a lifetime. This is a critical skill to develop because ...

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