No need to persuade

One of the things that I found interesting during our stay at the beach was that nobody is forced to be here.

We don’t need to persuade people to come at the beach. They just choose to. You can make a brilliant business out of just resonating with that choice and making their stay as pleasant as possible.

For example, someone put up a beautiful lounge with some chairs that are free to use and some chill music. Of course, no one needs to be persuaded to use those chairs. People just choose to because it makes them feel good.

They also opened up a bar where you can buy food and drinks. No ads. Nobody needs to be persuaded to go there. When people sit in the lounge, sooner or later they will choose to buy some drinks and food. It just feels good to have a cocktail sitting at the beach looking at the sea, doesn’t it?

Everything about that place was chilling. No pushy ads. No screaming sales strategy. Just resonating with the chill feeling that people naturally have. In fact, everything was designed to amplify that feeling.

I think that’s a profound lesson: What if you chose to persuade less and resonate more?

What if you didn’t try so hard to convince your audience of your take and instead watched closely to understand how your offering amplifies something that they already resonate with?

So … what in your message resonates strongest with your audience? Zero in on that and amplify it as much as possible.

Check out my new book
The PATH to Strategic Impact

Get The Art of Communicating in your inbox.
Short and actionable posts on how to find words that drive action.

I value your privacy. No spam. Just “Great stuff, brilliantly articulated” (to use the words of longtime reader David).

Read More

Change

Today marks the end of Angela Merkel’s period as Germany’s chancellor. Three attitudes she brought to the office: Keep calm.Be respectful.Listen. Put together, these three

Read »

Wanna marry me?

Most websites feel like proposing on the first date, something like this: “Look, I’m really awesome. I have a Ph.D. and I’m super successful. I’m

Read »