You are young enough to be my son!
Being under 30 sucks.
In fact, not really. I love my job. You couldn’t pay me for NOT doing it.
But imagine this: You are about to take the stage to address hundreds, sometimes thousands, of seasoned business professionals who are twice your age, three times your knowledge, and four times your experience. They each look at you with skeptical eyes and crossed arms as if to say, “What ?! This kid is young enough to be my son! What the hell is he going to teach me?”
Oh! Talk about stage fright.
In this situation, what you are faced with is called Immediate audience concern. In other words, the answer to this question: “What skepticisms are going through the minds of my audience members before I open my mouth?”
Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is disarm that.
Now, this is not just about speeches. This applies to any form of interpersonal communication: conversations, sales presentations, interviews, appointments, and the like. The following list offers five strategies for disarming immediate audience concern so you can win over skeptical customers and prospects.
Honesty first
The arms of my interlocutor are crossed. You are questioning my credibility. You’re just waiting for me to show you that I’m not the right person for the job.
Tell the truth, say it all, and say it now. People will appreciate your honesty, especially when you offer it right away. In addition, it will validate the credibility of everything you say thereafter.
PERFECT EXAMPLE: Think of Peter from Office Space.
Provide social proof
My price is too high. They will never buy. My rate is VERY out of your budget.
Consider sharing testimonials from past clients who have paid the full amount and received an outstanding ROI as a result. Build confidence through social proof that working with you will pay off.
PERFECT EXAMPLE: Think of the (real) families interviewed in home security commercials.
You are young enough to be my son!
I just finished college. All the people I work with are twice my age. My clients will think I’m just a kid.
“A chicken is nothing more than a bird,” my dad always says. Likewise, age is nothing more than a number. You are as old as you act. Remember, you are a professional. Project maturity. And show (don’t tell) others your accomplishments that have made you successful. When they see that you know what you’re doing, they won’t care how old (or how young) you are.
PERFECT EXAMPLE: Tiger Woods. I think he won his first major at … um … 21?
Do your research
This is not my industry. This person or audience is completely different from me. I have no idea how they do business.
Google everything. Interview similar people and ask, “What is the one thing you could say to someone in your position that would totally piss you off?” Then say otherwise. Oh, and don’t forget to share your research BEFORE. Get people to think, “Wow, he did his homework!”
PERFECT EXAMPLE: Any Major League pitcher before the Big Game.
It’s not the years, it’s the mileage
I am new to the industry. I’ve only been working here for a few months. I am the most recent hire in the entire company.
And that. When he was new to the business, Tony Robbins would give three speeches a day for years in order to exponentially increase his speaking ability. My suggestion: Take an inventory of your experiences and find out what unique lessons you’ve learned and why those lessons benefit your clients. It’s like Og Mandino said: “Multiply your worth.” Remember, people don’t care what you’ve done, they care about what you’ve learned.
PERFECT EXAMPLE: Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men.
Look. Each audience (one to one, one to many) has some form of immediate concern. If you want to communicate effectively and project accessibility, on stage, in a meeting, or even on a date, your duty is to make your audience comfortable and safe by disarming that concern as soon as possible.
Let me ask you this …
What is the most common concern the audience faces?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS …
Using these five techniques, come up with 10 different ways to disarm that concern.