Discover Steve Jobs' masterful techniques of persuasion and professionalism, including key strategies for handling difficult questions and reframing discussions to align with your vision.
A 5-Minute Break-down of his Technique -
Here’s a break-down of 5 key techniques that turn this into a masterful, persuasive statement of his vision.
⚔️ Don’t debate the argument point for point.
It’s a very easy trap to fall into, especially if we feel attacked and want to defend. But it makes a really key mistake. It accepts the person’s framing of the situation, and that is what you don’t want to do.
👏🏼 Acknowledge the point as having some sort of validity. “People like this gentleman are right, in some areas…”
This eases tension, but more importantly, it confers credibility on Jobs. People who seem balanced in their perspective, acknowledging both sides of an issue, GAIN credibility. Whatever he says next will be MORE CREDIBLE than the questioner’s snide attack.
🧐 Ask a provocative question. “How does that fit in to a larger vision that will allow you to sell $8b of product.”
This is a tough question. It makes everyone stop and think. Why? Because it’s almost unanswerable, if you start from the questioner’s framing. Your natural response was likely, “yeah, thats a good question.”
🖼️ Reframe the issue by revealing a blind spot, and a key missed idea. “One thing I’ve always found is, you have to start with the customer experience..”
The heart of Job’s approach is to address, not the point made, but the “frame” it’s sitting in. The insight Jobs bring is really piercing and comes at the issue from a different angle.
🤷🏼♂️ Admit your own susceptibility to the blind spot. “I've made this mistake more than anyone else in this room…”
Again, this might seem counter-intuitive to admit a mistake. But what jobs is saying is “I’m like you. I was once where you are now.” It normalizes the mistake, making it ok for everyone else who might have thought the same way, but more importantly it claims a similar identity with everyone in the audience who was struggling with he unanswerable question.
🎬 Tell a powerful story that applies the new idea. “I remember with the LaserWriter…”
To finish, he then makes the point real by telling a story that uses the idea. Neurologically, we are wired for stories. When we hear a story we automatically put ourselves in the heroes position. We feel what he feels and we think what he things. He takes us through the a-ha moment he had, and in doing so, we feel it too.
Until next week,
Kendall -
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