Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less - Nicholas Boothman

Probably you've heard that "the first impression remains" at some point in your life. And it is precisely about this that the summary will talk about: how to use the first impression to convince someone.

Here, you will find that only 90 seconds is enough to persuade a person about some idea. The two initial seconds form the first impression and the other 88 serve to confirm the opinion.

Are you curious to know how to create a great first impression?

So let's get down to business!

The book "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less"

Originally published in 2002 as "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less", the book brings a detailed study on how to use your body, your speech and your attitude to create lasting connections and convince people.

It shows different techniques, which will allow you to sell, interview and lead much more easily. For this, each following overview will address the recommendations for you to develop your communication.

Who is Nicholas Boothman?

Nicholas Boothman worked for 25 years as a fashion and advertising photographer. It was during this period that he learned and developed all his ability to establish an empathic relationship with complete strangers instantly.

Today, Nicholas is an expert in interpersonal communication, a master in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a speaker at universities such as Harvard and large companies such as Coca-Cola and Suzuki.

Author of bestsellers, he was defined by The New York Times as the "new Dale Carnegie (author of" How to Win Friends and Influence People ")", that is, when it comes to communication and persuasion, Nicholas Boothman is a reference.

Who should read this book?

If you constantly deal with presentations and meetings, you are a salesperson and need to convince your client to buy your product, or if you would like to develop your communication skills, this book is for you.

Here you will find the "golden pot", to be a better communicator and to create relationships easily.

Which are the key ideas of the book "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less"?

The book presents as main ideas the following topics:

• People have the first impression of you in the first 90 seconds of conversation;
• You need to conquer these people in that time frame;
• To convince the public, you need to consider four aspects: basic knowledge of communication, connection with human nature, connection with personality and relationship building.

From now on, let's dig deeper into these issues!

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Basic Knowledge

The Muldoon Rules

As discussed at the beginning of this text, the first impression of a person is made in the first 2 seconds of the meeting.

Therefore, the author presents in the work "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less" the "Gospel According to Muldoon", which are initial and fundamental tips for success in communication.

Francis Xavier Muldoon was advertising manager for one of the UK's largest magazines and reached the top of this competitive market in just 3 years.

The author states that Muldoon was a person gifted with great social skills and it was with him that the author learned a lot about his techniques.

This "gospel" brings three points that we must use to kick-start a good first impression and guide our path to success:

1. Eye-to-eye and smile: eye contact is essential to generate trust with the interlocutor and the smile conveys that you are a happy and confident person;
2. Adaptation: no one is equal to another. Always understand the people you are talking and adapt your speech and body language to create a better connection;
3. Imagination is important: use sensory language to stimulate your senses, in addition to hearing, that is, use images and other devices to stir vision, smell, and taste.

KFC Method

Whether your communication has worked right or wrong, you are responsible. So it is important to understand the formula of successful communication. Thus, the KFC formula, which encompasses the following aspects, appears:

• K - Know what you want: define what is your goal, because through it you can delineate other characteristics;
• F - Find out what you're getting: learn from your mistakes and successes, pay attention to all the feedback you receive, trying to identify what is contributing to your goal and what is hindering you;
• C - Change what you do until you get what you want: we can not insist on the error. If something goes wrong, do not be afraid to try new approaches.

According to Nicholas Boothman, with KFC, you can develop a "roadmap" on how you can get the conversation going.

In the course of your experience, understand what is working and what is going wrong, and thus, make the necessary changes in your selling style, so you can perform better conversions.

Connecting with Human Nature

Human nature has several peculiar characteristics that we need to learn to get around or take advantage in our daily lives, in order to create a better connection with who is on the other side of the conversation.

Fight or Flee Reaction

Whenever we establish the first contact with someone, our brain makes instantaneous judgments, subconsciously, and thus decides whether to "flee or fight."

This is the first impression and this will influence how the rest of the conversation will develop.

It is essential that the fight or flee reaction is well controlled, or, as Nicholas Boothman says, that it encourages others to make instant judgments about you.

In order to create this good impression, the first step is to be alert to body language and personal image, because people are usually attracted to those who present a good image, with attitude, posture and visual contact that transmit positive energy.

Also, pay attention to your voice tone, it should be in line with your body expression and show that you are open to the other person.

Be careful with personal space. Getting too close to someone can trigger the escape response, just as intrusions can affect the smooth running of the conversation.

Attitude and Body Language

A good communicator needs to have an attitude. The book "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less" says that for this you need to develop that trait and know what attitude to take according to the timing.

But why do we need to have an attitude and how to use it?

• Attitude is contagious. If people perceive you, they end up replicating this characteristic;
• The attitude is formed by the union of body language, tone of voice and words. According to the attitude you choose, these aspects should be aligned with it;
• You can define the attitude you want and adapt it to the conversation;
• Know which attitudes attract people and which attitudes push away (arrogant, impatient, nervous).

So, define your attitude and style and what will be the image you want to project to other people.

The book introduces us to two types of body language that are perfectly applicable to the business world.

According to Boothman, the first is open-body language, which means that you are open to business, where the arms and legs are uncrossed, there is good eye contact and a smile on the face, and the body leaning forward, showing interest.

The second is the closed body language, which means the opposite, so, you are closed to business. In this type, the attitude is defensive, with crossed arms, hiding the hands, looking away and removing the body.

It is very important to understand these models to understand the people with whom you are negotiating with and to know how to follow the negotiation.

Feedback

Feedbacks are at the heart of continuous improvement. In order to be always growing and improving, you need to know how and where to improve.

Also, when you give a well-grounded feedback, people realize that you are paying attention to them and that they are generating some impact.

When you're getting feedback, show interest and respond, not just with speech, but with the body, showing how important it is to you.

Sensory language

According to the book "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less" sensory languages are:

• Visual language: figures and images are fundamental to stimulate visual people. You have to show how something looks;
• Auditory language: auditory people will be stimulated by sounds. They need to listen to better absorb the content;
• Synesthetic language: who is a synaesthetic needs to feel, to know what is the sensation of what is being evaluated.

Connecting with Personality

In this part of the book Nicholas Boothman addresses the topic of how to understand and adapt to the different personalities to have a better connection.

Business Personalities

The author says that in the business world, it's possible to find 4 personalities who have particular characteristics. They are: dreamer, analyzer, inductor and controller.

• The dreamer is the creative person, who has ideas, always looking for new things. Space and encouragement must be given so that these people can "dream". But there are weaknesses that affect this personality, such as the indecision occasioned by seeing the situation from different angles, because he/she requires personal space to think;
• The analyzer is the one who will make sure that the idea will work. So they watch out for details, are well organized and stick to the facts. In order to carry out their analyzes, they evaluate different points of view, but being too perfectionist they can end up losing great opportunities;
• The inductor will appreciate the idea. So to create a relationship with them, always show enthusiasm and let the details clear. Inductors can be exaggerated in their animation, generating focus problems and drawing attention from helpful feedbacks;
• Finally, the controller will ensure that ideas are put into practice. To stimulate them, value their qualities and be direct, without wasting time, give alternatives and options so they can decide and implement the options. But beware, controllers can be stubborn and do not accept feedback very well.

Building Relationships

The book "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less" states that building relationships is essential in the corporate world.

This way is important to meet people, expand networking, write down contacts and allow these people to help you boost your career by offering business, inspiration, promotion and other forms of cooperation.

Make an Appropriate Presentation

To create relationships, people need to know you well, to know who you are. In other words, make a proper presentation so you can be recognized and valued for your qualities.

The first step is to compliment properly, showing an open attitude, making eye contact, then, give a nice smile and be the first to speak, introducing yourself and saying your name.

The author Nicholas Boothman advises to always remember to be aligned with your speech and body language and adapt to the characteristics of the people around you.

A Good Talk

Now that you've introduced yourself, you now need to make the conversation flow. To do this, Boothman gives the tips below:

• Stay focused and listen to everything that is being discussed;
• Ask open-ended questions that need to be thought out to answer and that do not just have "yes" or "no" answers;
• Ask for the opinion of another person. This strikes the imagination directly;
• Stay tuned for answers and ask new questions about them;
• Answer questions with other questions. This develops the conversation even more and creates a sense of harmony in the discussion.

More books about selling

In the book "The Psychology of Selling", Brian Tracy warns that the impression you make is important. Successful salespeople project a relaxed and confident professional image.

The book "The Sales Bible", Jeffrey Gitomer, advises: be able to listen to your customers well. As the author says, this is related to the first rule of the sales world. Also, let the customer decide, do not force his response as this will make him uncomfortable.

Finally, the book "Influence: Science and Practice", by Robert B. Cialdini, presents the concept of mental triggers. They allow you, in the process of persuading someone, to activate "shortcuts" in people's brains, facilitating the process of convincing.

So, how can I make a good pitch?

We already understood the techniques of communication in theory. But how do we apply this in practice?

Imagine that you have a great idea and you need to introduce it and convince people that it is a good idea. You need to summarize it and its qualities. You need to make a pitch.

To make this pitch, you should use all of the communication strategies that we presented previously:

• Know well your audience;
• Introduce yourself;
• Show credibility and authority on the subject;
• Show a little of your personality;
• Present your point in the first 90 seconds;
• Be quick and straight to the point;
• Address three aspects of your point: what it is, who it is for and how it will make people's lives better.

So you'll be on the right track to convince people quickly!

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