Have you ever faced an audience that was predisposed to just the opposite of your proposal or viewpoint? It can be very uncomfortable.
Convincing people to do what they don’t want to do can feel like an impossible challenge. But sales presentation training offers a few tools to disarm a negative audience and thoughtfully convert them to your way of thinking or at least to consider a more broad perspective.
- Be vulnerable. Melt their resistance by admitting your own initial skepticism, struggle or confusion.
- Anticipate objections. Briefly cover the arguments against your position and refute them. Give your audience reasons why their point of view may be faulty. Avoiding statements that are biased in your favor builds your credibility.
- Put your central message into a narrative. Coax your audience to lose themselves emotionally in a compelling “story” as you lead them toward the meaning you want them to derive from the tale.
- Broaden the conversation. Despite conflicting positions, there may still be a need for action. When all is said and done, you may only be able to say that whatever is true and however they disagree with you, the bottom line is that something needs to change. This can be the start of a broader and more productive discussion.
