Outside-In Thinking
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There are four key principles of Practical Eloquence which I will be stressing repeatedly in episodes to come. They are:
- Outside-in thinking
- Content is king
- Preparation, preparation, preparation
- Be yourself—with an asterisk
In this episode I share the story of how I learned by accident about the most important principle of all persuasive communication: it’s not about you, it’s about the other person. Continuing our cooking analogy from Episode 1, the chef prepares what the diner wants, not what he or she likes to make.
Three key points, borrowing from what others have said:
- Seek first to understand; then be understood (Covey)
- “Don’t think less of yourself; think about yourself less.” (Green)
- Platinum Rule (Alessandra)
This means you have to trigger and strengthen your natural ability to take another’s perspective, to put yourself into their minds so that you can get them to do things for their own reasons. Before every important communication, ask yourself:
- What do they care about?
- How are they measured?
- How do they like to receive information?
- How can you find out?
Links and resources:
Four Pillars of Persuasion Power
Clueless: How I Stumbled onto the Secret of Selling
Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, by Daniel Goleman
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