Engaging the reader through controversy
How many times have you listened to a school teacher or someone in an uninspired position that will read to recite material ad-nauseum without so much as one ounce of enthusiasm (or dare I say personality)?
Even now I am remembering many times during my education scouring through the material being painted in the air, looking for tidbits to jot down should I be tested at a later date… only to find no such remnants present.
Those fortunate enough to fall asleep would have missed the searing pain as one realises only ten minutes had passed and you still had another hour of the lecture.
So what is it that helps a person to actively learn the materials, and why haven’t the education “powers-that-be” cottoned on to learning principles that any entry-level NLP practitioner is well versed in?
In a recent experiment, I posted to a community of several thousand, a typically stale article about how they could improve their practice. Titled “How to improve your business in 7 days”, the material in question was laser-targeted to this group of soon-to-be-unemployed practitioners. Out of over 2100 people, only 13 took the time to even check the material. Quite frankly, they just couldn’t be bothered.
The following week, I contacted the same individuals with the same material but a different approach. This time I renamed the article and reworded the first and last paragraphs slightly to reflect the new title. “How I cut the throats of my competitors by stealing all their business – in under a week” attracted 421 clicks compared to the previous 13.
Sean D’Souza posted an article about controversy and testimonials that looks at how adding a slightly unbiased tone to a testimonial automatically increases believability.
Is it the same part of us that slows down to watch a horrific car accident that encourages us to slow down and pay attention when something provocative and controversial is being discussed? Here’s a tip, to learn how the experts use this approach, scan the covers of any of the top selling women’s magazines on the market. “What did Angelina Jolie do that was so _____?”, “How Brad destroyed the hearts of millions…”, “Why Yellow causes people to go insane more than green…” (well you get the idea).
How could you use controversy in your language to get more attention from those you are communicating with?
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