Page 23 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

14 THE SPEAKING GAME

That’s why this is the guy we really want to be talking to. And
there are only two ways we can get through to him as he sits out
there in the audience:

1. Through ourselves (Does he like me?)
2. Through direct appeal to the emotions (stories and anecdotes
that touch his heart and poke him in the gut)

TALKING TO INSTINCT MAN

The good speaker is always on the alert for opportunities to appeal
to common sense and our deepest needs. Advertising people under-
stand this principle better than most:
They’re not selling soap. They’re selling sex.
They’re not selling perfume. They’re selling love.
They’re not selling cars. They’re selling excitement.
They’re not selling jeans. They’re selling adventure.
They’re not selling cigarettes. They’re selling freedom.

And a corporate person isn’t selling just strategic plans or making
budget proposals or giving quarterly reports. The corporate person
is selling confidence, a sense of well-being, of goodwill. In other

words, the corporate person is forever selling himself or herself. To
enlist the support of listeners, the corporate person has to try to
know the listeners’ most basic needs.
Every member of every audience will silently ask the question,
“What’s in it for me?” Profit sharing? Safety? Wisdom? A chance

for promotion? A way to be recognized? To get rich? To fi nd satis-
faction? To grow intellectually or spiritually? Try to answer that
question. Then shape the path to your own objectives around the
Instinct Man. History is full of people who have done exactly that.