Posted on: 02 December, 2001
Author: Ron Sathoff
Think back about some of the most ... ... in ... What comes to mind -- a bunch of WORDS, or a ... picture? Well, unless you are a robot who thinks in ... your fa Think back about some of the most memorable experiences in yourlife. What comes to mind -- a bunch of WORDS, or a completemental picture? Well, unless you are a robot who thinks in binarycode, your favorite memories are probably rooted in rich images,tastes, smells and sounds. It's the richness of this"visualization" which makes our most cherished experiences trulymemorable.You should take this same principle to heart when you are tryingto reach an audience with a persuasive message. Your customerswill react much more strongly to a message that "conjures" upstrong images and emotions. Customers don't really buy benefitsor features -- they buy an IMAGE of themselves using the productand getting those benefits and advantages. If you can help makethat image into a positive one, one that creates feelings ofhappiness and satisfaction, they will probably buy your product.To capture these kinds of feelings, you want your words to painta picture in the minds of your audience -- a picture that theycan keep with them long after the exact words of your messagehave faded from memory.But how can you do this? The key here is creating the image inyour mind FIRST, and then using your language to evoke that sameimage in the minds of your customer. Here are some tips for howyou can make your words create that kind of mental picture:* Use expressive language. Don't be afraid to use adjectives orphrases that describe the EMOTIONAL aspects of your product orservice. Try to describe to your customers how using your productor service will make them feel.The best way I have found to evoke feeling is to think about howI felt when I used the product and then turn my experience intocustomer-directed "imagine feeling like this" statements. Forinstance, if you were promoting a reading comprehension coursefor children, you could look back at your own experiences as aparent and say something like, "Imagine the feeling of quietpride you will have as you watch your child read their first bookby themselves."* Be specific. Brevity might be the soul of wit, but details arethe spice of life. Details provide nice reference points forvisualization. They are like little clues that help the customercreate the desired image in their mind. "Imagine yourself on aboat" does not have the same evocative feel as "Imagine yourselfon the deck of your sailboat, gazing at the sunset as the breezeblows through your hair." The latter sentence might be hokey, butit creates a much fuller picture, doesn't it?* Be clear. Nothing will ruin a mental image faster than aconfusing or unclear idea. I don't know how many times I've beenreading about a "business opportunity" and found myselfwondering, "what in the world are they talking about?" When youtry to figure out a question like that, you are using most ofyour mental capacity to analyze, NOT to visualize.* Use the audience's experience to help you. Remember that youraudience has a wealth of experiences that you can draw upon. Thisworks well because you can create a lot of detail with just a fewwords. The "trick" is knowing what your audience has experiencedand using that knowledge appropriately.For example, if you were trying to evoke the great, yet scary,feeling of starting your own business, you could call upon youraudience's experiences by saying, "Think back on the day on theday you first rode your bike without the training wheels" --since most of us have had this experience, we would just fill inthe mental picture with our own details -- Presto! A completevisualization created in only 17 words!Being able to help your customers visualize is the differencebetween writing text that is simply informative, and writing textthat is truly provocative. A picture may be worth a thousandwords, but remember that a few words can often cause youraudience to paint a picture in their minds -- a picture that youcan use to show the qualities of your product or service. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com