The Game of Inches

PART II It's more than just a process

As a young student at university I got myself a part-time job selling a speed reading course. It was only a couple of evenings a week and they sent me around the country, putting me up in hotels where I could study during the day (which of course I did!) and then head off to the meeting venue in the evening to deliver a two-hour presentation. At that stage of my life it was brilliant and I loved it.

The idea was that people would come along, test their reading speed, learn a few techniques and improve their speed dramatically that night, some even doubling it. Of course, after dazzling them with the technique (and yes, it did work) we would encourage them to sign up for a course. What was amazing to me was that this seminar sell was completely orchestrated, to the point that I not only learned the script word for word but learned where to stand at specific points throughout, when to pause, when to laugh, and when to change my tone of voice or speak more quickly. There was a short film and a couple of strategically placed reading tests. The entire presentation was constructed and delivered to a meticulous plan.

Within a year I had a pretty good closing rate within the group of presenters and was invited to start teaching others to deliver the presentation. Not a problem. Because the entire thing was laid out all I had to do was teach others the process. I would teach them to stand here when they said this, pause here when they said that, ...