Neuroscience tips to master persuasion & pitching

Over the past few years, I’ve been immersed in the process of getting my masters in neuroscience. I’ve still got more to go, but I have something powerful to share. 

We all use persuasion in one form or another

Whether as leaders trying to drive action within our teams; as fundraisers and salespeople selling our wares; or as parents convincing our children to clean their messy rooms!

At the heart of persuasion is a neurological process called long-term potentiation or "LTP". 

When you experience LTP your neurons get so excited that they start firing, sending, and storing information at a much higher rate. And research shows that they can stay in this excited state for weeks or even months.

Because of this LTP is the basis for forming long term memories. 

And what is persuasion, if not the ability to make a memorable point? 

Consider this. If you’re a salesperson and your prospect forgets your pitch the next day, you’re probably not getting that sale...

But if you create LTP, your message will stay toward the forefront of their mind for weeks or even months. Essentially, automatically following up on your pitch for you!

So how does LTP work, and how do we become more memorable and persuasive?

Glad you asked...

EMOTION!

Emotion is the stimulus that creates LTP and memory. 

And LTP is like a light switch. It’s either on or it's off. 

You either create enough emotion in your conversation or pitch to drive LTP, or you get STP (short-term potentiation) and your message is forgotten in the next hour or two. :( 

It’s a ruthless process. The brain is incredibly efficient at weeding out information that it doesn’t deem relevant.

So how do we create more emotion and LTP in our persuasive conversations?

• The first step to creating emotion and LTP is being 100% present and connected with the person you’re communicating with. If you’re distracted, you’ve got no chance.
• Take a page from the book of politicians. Make a point, and then back it up with a relevant personal story. Well told stories drive more LTP than facts and figures.
• Lastly, be a little more vulnerable. When we humble ourselves enough to be vulnerable, it’s captivating and creates more emotion.

There are other drivers of LTP we can get into later, but this at least gives you a few things to consider!

P.S. Dreamfuel is kicking off MindFIT180 Q3 cohorts for elite executives and sales performers in July 2022. They’re about full, but we have a couple spots left.

P.P.S. If you'd like to read more neuroscience of sales and leadership posts like this, be sure to scroll below and subscribe for Dreamfuel updates.