Copyright Inﬂuence Mastery Inc. Page 1 of 33 · Communication is the Foundation of Persuasion At the heart of influence and persuasion is communication—communication between you

Introduction to Maverick Communication

Copyright © Influence Mastery Inc. Page 1 of 33

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Maverick Communication—a body of knowledge that is slightly unconventional when compared to traditional methods of communication.

The Birth of Maverick Communication

For years I dominated in sales. I saw firsthand how a person could be moved from "No, absolutely not!" to "Yes, where do I sign?" simply by knowing what to say, how to say it and when to say it. I could succeed in closing a sale, gaining compliance, and persuading someone to do what I wanted them to do. I then became curious as to why the sales process worked so well for me, and I started digging really deeply into the psychology of sales.

I wanted to understand the psychological underpinning of what led to my great success in sales. I became interested in the subjects of influence, persuasion, NLP and



gaining compliance. I wanted to see what the subject-matter experts had to say. I began to do some serious study.

Something was missing, however, from these studies done in the ivory towers of our great institutions of learning. None of these experts had worked in the streets of New York City. They never had to deal with a customer saying, "Get lost!" They never found themselves face-to-face with a hostile person trying to get something for nothing. They never had to elegantly and cleverly craft a close to a deal that made the customer say yes and walk away happy.

By that point I had became fascinated with the art of persuasion but I realized something was missing; and during the last ten years I developed the concept of maverick communication—-a street smart approach to traditional psychological compliance gaining—using everything I've



learned about the human psyche from textbooks and journals and publications.

Communication is the Foundation of Persuasion

At the heart of influence and persuasion is communication—communication between you and someone else or even the way you talk to yourself. Today I'm going to talk about how to master basic communication skills.

The first thing I want you to realize is this: whenever you engage in a social interaction, you are completely responsible for the outcome of that interaction. You have to accept 100 percent responsibility for what you communicate to others and how you influence the minds of others.

And when you accept 100 percent accountability for what you choose to



communicate to others and how you choose to communicate it, you gain instant power. Conventional belief tells us that when two people interact, both are partly responsible for the outcome of that dialogue. I'm here to tell you that that's not the case. You shoulder full responsibility for the transmission and decoding of the message. And when you're engaging someone with the intention of persuading them or influencing them, you have to remember three facts about human communication:

1. The full meaning of any message can only be determined by the outcome that the message elicits from the subject or the audience.

This theory is from Milton Erickson, the founder of conversational hypnosis. NLP (developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder) was developed from this foundation that Milton Erickson built. The



intent of any communication is less important than the results that the message elicits from the audience.

I'll give you an example. If an insane person walks into a crowded train station and tells everybody who will listen he's in love with them (because he wants their attention) the words that person uses (I love you) become irrelevant when compared to the reactions of the people waiting for the train (he's insane). You want to use this principle to your advantage. A persuasive speaker is one who is able to elicit the exact response from his audience he wants, and can do so as often as he wants.

2. When your messages aren't getting through to your audience and you're not generating the desired responses; you have to change your course of action.



3 . Peop le who a re f l e x ib l e when communicating with others have the greatest chance of influencing others. Behavioral flexibility means your ability to adapt; to constantly change your message to fit the appropriate situation.

How do you transform yourself into a master communicator?

Researchers have identified the three most common characteristics that influential people use when interacting with others. Write these down.

1. Master communicators know exactly what they want and won't stop until they have created a plan of action that will get them what they want.

2. Master communicators listen and observe more than they talk.



3. Master communicators never stick to a single plan of action.

Master communicators pay close attention to the responses of their audience. This allows them to measure the effectiveness of their communication. They gauge the results and immedia te ly change the way they communicate, if necessary. If what they're doing is not producing the desired outcome; they slowly shift to another approach. If that approach works, they will use it to their advantage. If that newer approach doesn't work, they will shift their technique again and measure its level of success. They will do this over and over until they find the one approach that produces the outcome they're looking for.

The Role of the Brain in Communication

In order to acquire the three traits of a maverick communicator, you have to



understand the essential elements of human communication. Before we do that, however, I want to talk a little about how the human mind works and how people process information.

As exceptional as the human mind is at problem-solving and analyzing things, we do not have unlimited cognitive (thinking and analytical) resources. Because of this, the brain will conserve these resources as much as it possibly can. One way the brain does this is by filtering information. (We've talked about this in other programs—RAS filters and how the brain uses them to filter input we receive from the environment).

How does the brain process information? And what does this have to do with influence and persuasion?

The human brain handles between five and nine bits of information at any one time. On



the lower end of the scale people can only handle five bits of information at a time. People at the higher end of the scale can handle nine bits of information at a time. The average person will retain seven bits of information at any given time if he's paying attention to what's being said.

How does the human brain whittle down so much sensory stimuli to only seven bits of information? The process of reducing information overload involves three sub-processes: delet ion, dis tor t ion and generalization.

Deletion

The first process is deletion. This occurs when the brain pays close attention to one piece of information and excludes everything else taking place in the environment. This happens when you focus



on one particular task. Time seems to fly by. We call this phenomenon hyperfocus.

Deletion also occurs when you need to accomplish one activity right away. The brain begins to siphon off and get rid of information unnecessary for the task at hand. This is what causes you to lose your house keys or your wallet. Your brain is focused on something completely different. During the deletion sub-process you are so focused on one specific task that everything else becomes secondary and the brain weeds it out.

Distortion

The next sub-process is distortion. It involves the modification of information or stimuli. Distortion occurs when you consciously or unconsciously misinterpret stimuli or information that you're getting from other people in you environment.



Examples are the presence of negative emotions like anger, anxiety, fear or nervousness. You may not fully comprehend the behavior of another person and may think that person is extremely hostile. When a family member complains, the person on the receiving end may feel unappreciated. That's distortion. It's important to note that when a person distorts information, deletion of information can also take place.

Generalization

Generalization occurs when a person uses old knowledge to comprehend present and future experiences. For example, a person who was able to drive in a snowstorm may think he can dr ive in a bl izzard. Generalizations can also be a good thing because they help us comprehend everyday th ings tha t take p lace around us . Generalizations help us preserve our cognitive resources.



The down side of generalizations is they can be very limiting. For example, if you have a bad meal at a restaurant, you may never return to that restaurant. Generalizations create core beliefs about people, places and events. This is really important for you to unders t and because unders t and ing someone's beliefs is like having a key to their mind. And when we generalize information, we use distortion and deletion to lock in that generalization and make it stick. (An example is driving a person to a hospital at a high rate of speed).

It 's important to focus on positive generalizations so you'll always be on a positive track. You'll get better results from your actions because you're expecting a good outcome. When your generalizations are negative (people don't like me) the outcome is likely to be negative because your mind is working on the principle of the



self-fulfilling prophecy. You want to keep your generalizations positive.

Interpreting the Behavior of Others

Let's shift into how we can use this information to better interpret the actions of others.

I was recently reading Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior by Leonard Mlodinow. It's an amazing read for anyone who wants to understand how the subconscious mind rules the majority of decisions we make. People process information differently, and as a consequence they have unique responses or reactions to interactions shared by others.

Mlodinow tells us about an experiment that proves this. People were shown pictures of the same venue (the Statue of Liberty, for instance). An MRI was used to take pictures



of each subject's brain while looking at the same picture. The experiment proved that people interpret the same information differently because people process information differently. This is a good example of why a person may or may not produce the particular reaction you're looking for during an interaction.

Meta Programs and Patterns of Behavior

A meta program is a fancy term that comes from the science of neurolinguistic programming for a pattern of thought—a pattern of how we process information. Meta programs are used to identify existing patterns of behavior in order to change those behaviors, if necessary. A person's brain can use several meta programs at one time—as many as needed to adapt to a particular situation. In order to help you better understand the concept of meta programs, I



want to talk about two of them: introversion and extroversion.

Introversion

A n i n t r o v e r t h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g characteristics. They prefer to be alone most of the time, particularly when they feel weary. They don't want many friends—they prefer to stick to a few close friends who really understand what they're all about. An introvert may choose to act extroverted in the presence of his closest friends. An imagined or actual problem that takes place in their life might affect them deeply. They might use that problem as proof that other people are undesirable. They have very specific interests and they usually indicate mastery of those particular interests.

Extroversion



The extrovert has a completely different set of characteristics. They like to be around people that make them feel relaxed and refreshed. They have lots of friends, but they don't really have many deep connections with any of them. They may have experienced a problem in life but they're willing to overlook it and it won't ruin their day. They have a broad range of interests; but they don't aim to have as much knowledge on a particular subject as an introvert. They're typically more gregarious. An extrovert can feel intimidated by new people and may choose to show his introvert side until he feels more comfortable around new people.

Values

The second factor that influences how people react is their values. Values are taught to people by society at large and authority figures, including our families. We



create values for ourselves as we enter adulthood. Values are learned and maintained because they give people a semblance of stability in a complex and changing world. Values also help people focus on the things that matter to them the most. They help people identify with those things that are most important to them.

Sometimes traumatic events can lead a person to create negative values that may have a severe impact on how they conduct themselves in their future lives. These negative values can impede a person's personal and professional growth. A close reexamination of personal values may be in order if that person thinks there's a block to their gaining something really important.

When examining the values of yourself or others, it's important to differentiate between the different areas of one's life and relating that value to the area it comes from. The



rank or level of importance of a value changes depending on the area of life you're focusing on. You can easily identify and modify values in each area of your life. Here's a modification exercise that will help you analyze if a particular value of your life is preventing you from accomplishing something you really want.

An Exercise to Identify Your Values

What area in my life needs improvement? Write down the general area of the value on a piece of paper. Then write down all the things you consider important in this area of your life. For example, if you choose work as a value, you might list things like getting projects done on time or being a good team player. List as many of your values as you can. Just make sure the ones you're listing are important to your life.



Reread the list. Ask yourself if something is missing. If it is, add it to the list. Next, rank the values that you've listed from the most important to the least important and then reread the list once again. But this time, try t o d e t e r m i n e i f y o u ' r e m a k i n g a generalization, a distortion or a deletion. After you categorize the values, ask yourself if these values are stopping you from pursuing something that you want in life. This will give you a bird's-eye view of how generalization, distortion and deletion work.

Beliefs

Beliefs are especially important when you're communicating with other people because beliefs directly influence how a person understands the various situations they face in life. If a person has a strong set of beliefs about something, they're going to do everything in their power to defend those beliefs if they feel those beliefs are being



attacked. They'll also make sure that all of their actions reflect their core beliefs. Before a piece of information can be accepted by the human mind as a belief; there has to be some sort of validation. Validation comes from the people around you, from society or from self-validation through experience.

Attitude

The next factor is attitude. There are two definitions of attitude that I like. One is a position assumed for a specific purpose. Another definition is a mental position with regard to a fact or a state. A person's attitude is a determinant of their response to specific situations.

Now, attitudes come from many different factors (like behaviors, beliefs, and values) all combined into one. Attitudes are also formed from your collective experiences in different situations. You can detect a



person's attitude by examining how they speak and how they act. You can help modify their attitude by making direct statements regarding whatever that person is addressing with his attitude.

If you have a friend who whines about paying taxes, you might remind him about what it's like to live in a country with no social services. If someone you know is constantly complaining about work, you might want to remind that person that the unemployment rate is very high and that there are many ways he can reduce stress at his job.

Memories

Memories are created by the brain for use in either the present or the future. Memories are created with your own unique set of mental filters. Your memory of an event is likely to be different from the memory of



another person who witnessed that same event. This goes back to the experiment of people looking at the same image while their brains reacted to that image in different ways. Memories are primarily used to predict what will happen in given situation.

Like beliefs and values; memories can help you move ahead with your life or they can serve as barriers if they have a lot of negative emotions attached to them. That's why it's so important to address negative and traumatic memories so you don't end up creating limiting beliefs.

Decisions

Decisions are made using your values, beliefs and memories. Many of your decisions help you to create a comfortable state for yourselves and your families. There will be times when your decisions will limit what is deemed appropriate or achievable in



your life. For instance, a person who did not go to school may believe they'll never amount to anything and not even try to succeed. Limiting decisions will definitely stop a person from pursuing new avenues of growth and personal excellence.

It should be noted that many of the limiting beliefs we have are part of our subconscious mind. The conscious mind rarely creates beliefs that directly impede personal growth because it wants the self to develop and progress. The subconscious mind, on the other hand, can sometimes create negative beliefs based on the emotions and thoughts that it receives. The subconscious mind doesn't purposely sabotage anyone; but it will create limiting beliefs and decisions if it receives a lot of negative affirmations and thoughts.

The Senses



Your senses take the input you receive and affect your ability to maximize your influence, tactics and strategies. They affect your thought process. Senses, themselves, can act as filters. If your senses didn't have filters; you'd have a really tough time processing all the different stimuli in your environment. You wouldn't be able to comprehend the complexity of a good meal, for example. You'd be assaulted with the smell, flavor, and appearance of the food and you'd become overwhelmed.

VAK and VAKOG

In neurolinguistic programming, we interpret the filters we use to comprehend the world using the VAK/VAKOG theory. VAK stands for visual, auditory and kinesthetic. VAKOG is used when the olfactory and the gustatory dimensions are included in an analysis. The VAK/VAKOG model takes into consideration all known



sources of stimuli. Each letter represents a channel or filter that we use to understand the world around us.

VAK/VAKOG is very important because not everyone uses all filters. Some people are more interested in the visual aspect of the world. Some people may be more concerned with the auditory dimension. Others recall events and other experiences through their sense of touch. Now it is possible for a single person to use a variety of filters to comprehend a given situation. Although they might use visual, auditory and kinesthetic filters they will still utilize one particular filter more than the rest; especially when it comes to past events.

Take, for example, several witnesses to a fire. Visual thinkers will say, "I saw massive flames erupting. Everything was so black when the firemen arrived." The auditory thinker will say, "I heard a lot of explosions



inside the building as it was burning down." And the kinesthetic thinker will say, "I felt a lot of heat coming from the building. It was like the air was on fire. I couldn't breathe." As you can see, one single event can be recalled and described differently by people depending on the sensory filter they use.

As a maverick influencer, it's important that you start accessing all three major sensory filters so you'll have a deeper, richer and broader experience of the world around you. You won't usually focus on a specific sensory filter while you're involved in something. The choice is subconscious. The situation itself may force you to choose a more logical sensory filter; but that may not be the choice of your subconscious. You may use all three sensory filters when learning something new or changing the way you perceive a common situation.



You can learn a lot about someone just by listening to the way them speak verbally or through interpreting their nonverbal body language. It is important to keep in mind that just because we use the same linguistic conventions doesn't mean we necessarily understand what other people are telling us. None of us think or speak in exactly the same way.

The VAK theory illustrates how different people react to specific sensory filters. The following lists will show you how visual thinkers, auditory thinkers and kinesthetic thinkers process their thoughts differently.

The visual thinker will say things like:

• It's very bright outside. • I need to focus. • I have a vision. • I have a new insight about our problem. • It's a very colorful idea.



• It looks like I have to go. • I'll be looking after my children. • This is a nice, bright day.

The auditory thinker is going to say things like:

• Are you deaf?• Let's just discuss the problem. • The colors are so loud.• There's harmony all around us. • This belief resonates with me. • Don't say that. • It sounds like I have to go now.

The kinesthetic thinker will say:

• He appeared to be a very cold man.• I feel for you.• I'll be firm when disciplining my child.• Let the ideas flow.• Don't be so pushy.



You can get a lot of insight as to how a person sees the world by just paying attention to how they speak. If you have a large audience, you can use this knowledge to create presentations and arguments that will help all three types of thinkers understand what you're trying to say. When I write sales copy, for example, I incorporate writing styles that appeal to all three (the auditory, kinesthetic and visual thinkers).

By the way, not every word is linked to the VAK and VAKOG models. For example, the words "walk," "book," and "eating" are devoid of any sensory attachments. You should also remember that conscious sensory filters are not always used when relating to other people.

It's well-known that people who are in information technology and programming are very concise and logical when talking about their activities. A programmer isn't



going to say, "This code is sweet" in front of others in a meeting. He would say something like, "The new code that we're using has now improved our infrastructure greatly and the teams have responded positively to these new changes."

Now, it's very important that you pay attention to the types of language that people use. Being aware of your own VAK preferences in specific situations will make it easier for you to persuade others, because you'll have the ability to adapt your communication style to harmonize with the other person; and this is so very important to the strategy of influence. Harmonizing with the other person is so important to the underlying principle of rapport, which is the first step in hypnosis and covert influence.

That wraps everything up for today. I'd like you to go back and listen to this call. Read through everything and get a good handle on



it; because next we're going to talk about accessing thoughts through body language.



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Copyright Inﬂuence Mastery Inc. Page 1 of 33 · Communication is the Foundation of Persuasion At the heart of influence and persuasion is communication—communication between you