Better Meetings Day #14: You Sell More Ideas by Teasing

I’ve got one word for you . . .

Plastics.

There is a great future in plastics. Will you think about it?

Of course you will. Why? Because you’ve been hooked with that timeless teaser.

Research shows there are seven types of Meetings and the purpose of many of them is to persuade- or in other words, ‘sell’ an idea or information. However, before you can sell. You need to get your audience to listen.
So how do you do that? Well, you begin by focusing on your audience’s needs.

The teaser is “I’ve got one word for you. Plastics.” It’s not “There’s one thing I care about. Plastics.”

This section is all about your favorite topic.

Let’s face it your favorite topic is you. Your needs. Your interests. So in order to get them listening to you; you need to tease them with their favorite topics.

Three Types of Teasers

Good in a Room by Stephanie Palmer (a book I recommend) lists three types of teasers:

• Startling statistics
• Purposefully nonspecific phrases
• Long-term benefits (for meetings, I typically stick with aspirational benefits)

So when introducing a meeting that announces a re-organization you might say something like:

For most of you in this room, 70% of your work is spent collaborating with groups that have almost no input in your annual review. This quarter, we’re going to change that.

Alternatively, at a team meeting:

We’re meeting today. Because for you- today is tomorrow. There are a few housekeeping items first, but later on this meeting I’ll tell you why this matters so much to you.

For a client meeting:

So, today we’re going to share our strategy for getting you your next promotion.

What teasers can you come up with?

A couple of key notes (get it? keynotes?):

• Generate many teasers before deciding the right one.
• Say it out loud. Practice delivering it, if you can’t say it out loud casually- and comfortably. Don’t attempt in a meeting.
• After teasing, stop talking. Generate their interest- then stop. Allow your audience to react; if done right the next sound you hear is an audience that’s ready to buy your idea.