Highlights from Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact by Jones, Phil M on Kindle
Magic Words are sets of words that talk straight to the subconscious brain. The subconscious brain is a powerful tool in decision-making because it is preprogrammed through our conditioning to make decisions without overanalyzing them.
Magic Words you can use to introduce something to just about anybody, at just about any point in time, that is completely rejection-free. The words in question are, “I’m not sure if it’s for you, but…”
The word “but” negates everything that was said prior, so when you say to somebody, “I’m not sure if it’s for you, but…,” what the little voice inside your listener’s head hears is, “You might want to look at this.”
I’m not sure if it’s for you, but would you happen to know someone who is interested in (insert the results of your product or service)?
I’m not sure if it’s for you, but this option is available for this month only, and I would hate for you to miss out.
Knowing that people like to see themselves as open-minded, you can easily give yourself a fair advantage within your conversations. When introducing a brand-new idea to a stranger, friend, prospect or team member, using the words, “How open-minded are you?” and following up that sentence with a scenario you want them to opt into allows you to naturally attract people toward the very thing that you are looking for their support with. This preface shifts you from having fifty-fifty odds of them agreeing with you to odds of ninety-ten in your favor. Everybody wants to be open-minded.
How open-minded would you be about trying this as an alternative? Would you be open-minded about giving this a chance? How open-minded are you about increasing your monthly income? Would you be open-minded about seeing if we could work together? Each of these options makes it very difficult for the other person to reject your idea, and it at least makes them feel obligated to explore the possibility. It seems like you are giving them a choice, when really you are heavily weighting the only option you are giving them. Put simply, “How open-minded are you about at least trying it?”