Great Communicators and the Unspoken Secret

How many animals of each SPECIES did Moses take onto the ark?

Some months have 31 days; some have 30 days. How many have 28 days?

You go into a log cabin with one match in a matchbox. In the cabin is a wood-burning stove, a paraffin lamp and a candle. Which do you light first for maximum WARMTH?

Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?

How far can a three-legged tiger run into the woods?

For the answers, read on ...

How many opportunities do you have in your life to make a difference with your power of communication? Thousands! Dealing with your family, your friends, your business colleagues, suppliers, doctors, dentists - the list is endless. When you can communicate your messages to these people powerfully, persuasively, and passionately, your success by any definition will be assured.

In more than 20 years of research into communication, fascination with the subject, and practical application in my own life, I've discovered that all great communicators share certain distinct secrets in common. Begin using these secrets today and your communications will take on a degree of power and effectiveness that will absolutely amaze you.

The biggest such secret is actually listening.

Studies have shown that it is the great listeners who get the raises, promotions, and perks in life, not necessarily the great talkers.

Look, the purpose of the quiz at the start of this article was to illustrate this. If you haven't figured them out already, here are the answers:

It wasn't Moses who went onto the ark - it was Noah.

All the months have 28 days.

You'd need to light the match first!

Everest was the highest mountain on Earth even before it was discovered.

Halfway is the answer, because after halfway, it will be running "out" of the woods!

Any surprises? That's because in most of those questions I was using a technique that I call "sleight of voice." You've probably seen a stage magician, perhaps on TV, use sleight of hand to misdirect your attention. The same technique can apply to spoken or written communication. For example, when you looked at the emboldened word SPECIES, perhaps you didn't notice the name Moses quite as much as you might have if the word hadn't been highlighted.

This confusion or misdirection often occurs in everyday speech, sometimes deliberately, but usually the speaker is simply unaware of the effect of his or her words. Unfortunately, it is often the listener who is at fault, by engaging the "filters" in the brain and consequently mishearing what is said. Those filters are the paradigms through which they hear the world. Generalization of information and deletion of information are two other common filters that impede our ability to effectively listen, and therefore to successfully communicate.

One of the simplest and best methods for keeping your filters in check and improving your listening skills is called Rapid Repeat.

It works like this:

When someone talks to you, simply repeat what he or she says in your mind, as the person is talking. You'll hear a slight echo of the words, but in the sound of your own voice.

This has a number of benefits. Some scientists claim that every 11 seconds we engage in self-talk. It's no wonder that we don't always hear what someone else is saying.

When you use Rapid Repeat, you give your mind something to do. It doesn't need to wander off thinking about next year's vacation or whether you put the cat out before going to work.

You'll also find when you use this technique that your level of concentration increases and your recall of information improves dramatically. Just imagine having a conversation with a group of people at 7:30 a.m. and then meeting up with them again at 11:30 p.m. and being able to use their names and refer specifically to the detail of the conversation you had earlier. Wow!

Rapid Repeat will do that for you, and a lot more...

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