The Leading Edge Ep:17 – A Simple Trick to Avoid Being Too “Sales-y”

When I was a younger leader, my mentor, Pat Kirkland, pulled me aside after watching me deliver a message to a group of people.  She said,

“Scott.  Your message is fantastic.  But you are coming across as earnest. Even though your points make sense, people feel like you’re trying to sell them something.”

I had always prided myself on my ability to capture an audience with energy, but didn’t realize I was taking it too far. Luckily, Pat has always been a committed, courageous coach with a special superpower that gives her x-ray vision into the tiny things we do to jeopardize an interaction.  And I love her for it.

“It’s your forehead.  When we are trying to convince others, we humans tend to open our eyes wide, raise our eyebrows, and ‘punch’ certain words with a head bob. The energy is great, but it takes away from the authenticity of the message and creates a tiny bit of skepticism.”

Then, I watched myself on video, and it was right there.  Clear as day.

Funny enough, it didn’t take a ton of work for me to be able to feel when I was arching my eyebrows and over-emphasizing points to my detriment.  Eventually I was able to step into a relaxed place.  Don’t get me wrong, I can still get this “forehead crinkle” when I get excited about my message and give my audience a sense that they just stepped into an info-mercial.  But I’ve also done enough practice to know how to turn it off when I need to.

So, if you’re looking to make a recommendation and want to avoid sounding too “sales-y,” check yourself out on video to see if this might be a tip you could use.

And, if you’d like come coaching on how to come across as confident and collaborative under pressure, let us know. We’d love to help!