Mar 25 2009

Brain Leaders and Learners- Practical Tactics from Neuro Discoveries with Dr. Ellen Weber

I found this fantastic Brain Leaders and Learners blog when I was surfing the Internet for interesting information to share with you guys. What I saw was an elegant web page containing great, insightful and knowledgeable articles related to “practical neuro-applications to facilitate changes you want to realize”. I was highly impressed with the project that I saw, and the effort that the writers are putting into this site, so I thought I should hash out its details on our Mind Power Blog.

The Award-Winning Founder

According to their About page, the blog is owned and administrated by Dr. Ellen Weber; CEO and President of MITA International Brain Based Center for Renewal in Secondary and Higher Education, an author, lecturer and columnist. She’s also a reputed Radio & Television guest and has received the Greater Rochester Quality Council’s 2004 Award for Excellence.

Using Roundtable Learning

In her most famous work “MI Strategies in the Classroom and Beyond: Using Roundtable Learning”, Dr. Ellen provides a collection of practical secondary- and college-level classroom applications of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences to free students’ learning potential and enhance creative expression.

What’s Inside

Brain Leaders and Learners is a blog that discusses interesting topics including, but not limited to, the practical Tactics from Neuro Discoveries. If you ask me, I liked the “Brain Surgery on Twitter”, “Myths that Shape Secondary Schools”, “10 Tragic Traits in Mind of a Cynic” and “Social Media Helps or Hurts Brainpower” articles the most. What I think the powerful content featured on this site is a blend of Dr. Ellen’s unquestionable experience, brilliant expertise, consistent arguments and commitment in debating motivation, brain power and productivity.

Visit the blog and let us know what you think!


Mar 19 2009

2 Hypnosis Techniques to Break Bad Habits

How to break your own bad habit

According to Wikipedia, “A bad habit is a negative behavior pattern”. If you are having a bad habit – for instance fidgeting, comfort eating, lying, overspending, smoking or an addiction to poker or alcohol, then you can possibly call this into question for yourself. The vast majority of us simply can’t give up a bad habit on their own. Most of us are inclined to say “It’s because we don’t possess the willpower to effectively pull it through.

The Anatomy of a Bad Habit

In reality, any sort of bad habit captures both your psychological and physical sides. Therefore, when you attempt to give up that habit yourself, you must deal with a great deal of mental depression, tenseness and physical fallouts that can really cause you to be confused emotionally. However, for many people, it’s less complicated to arrest the bad habit again to terminate those unwanted symptoms.

This thing doesn’t lessen our strength or imply that we lack willpower but it simply explains that our bad habit has acquired such a hold we require external help to cope with it once and for all.

Hypnosis helps…

There are countless types of methods you can employ to cure a bad habit. Most of these will seek and invoke to call your brain habits on a conscious level. Therefore, for instance, you might join a ‘Quit Smoking’ group where you interact with other smokers and help each other on the negative effects of smoking and vice versa. On an entirely rational level, you will leave a meeting suddenly assuming that smoking is unhealthy for you and that you wish to quit.

However, it is not that comfortable to hold. Actually, the rational side of your brain is ordering you to quit but your subconscious might still be advocating that you are a smoker and could be enjoining you to visit the store nearby and purchase a pack right away! Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, hypnosis deals with the subconscious thus making it far easier for you to quit effectively.

Using hypnosis techniques to kick a bad habit will simply help all of your mind focus on the goal of giving up. The methods employed by expert hypnotherapists, however, vary. A few of them use some sort of aversion therapy that makes you feel slightly queasy at the idea of smoking while others merely tell your subconscious that you are not a smoker. So, with hypnosis, you’ll live like a non-smoker because your brain is telling you to.

Smoking Cessation and Hypnosis

Hypnosis is possibly the best method of smoking cessation. Most of the issues that have to do with nicotine addiction are psychological so this form of therapy works almost perfect. As a matter of fact, expert hypnotherapists can help you quit smoking in just a single session or you can try this for yourself…


Mar 9 2009

7 Steps to Sell Anything to Anyone

For Sale

It’s astonishing to me when I have a discussion with most copywriters, marketers and entrepreneurs and they desperately look for the best approach to communicate or market a written message – when the most obvious tools are staring them right in the face.

What’s even more bewildering to me is that many of them have to look for the “best way” to motivate prospects to purchase their product or services – instead of first understanding what automatically actuates them to act.

If you haven’t judged what the most noticeable tools are that’s staring you right in the face, its unconscious psychological devices – more particularly, the thinking habits of every brain on the face of the planet earth.

Actually these Unconscious psychological devices are “motivations” of the mind that are engrafted deep within a person’s brain, and need only a simple “push button” trigger to set off an automatic response action from their brain in the form of placing an order, a demand for more information (generating leads), and/or a phone call or visit to the store or other place of business.

The idea of mind control has always been tempting to copywriters, salespeople, marketers and entrepreneurs. Why? Obviously, it gives the person who understands these psychological devices the privileged benefits to “push button” automatic fortunes.

If you’re a copywriter, in business or in the marketing arena who’s interested in specializing in this million dollar knowledge, you’re in luck because I’m going to share seven of them with you right here, and here they are:

1. Story– Everyone loves a good story

Everyone loves a good story

There’s something magical that occurs when you tell a story. The reader or listener has to become a participant in the story, in order to make sense of it. This is where you get them to FEEL, and almost realistically experience – in their imaginations, what you’re telling them. Unconsciously, this creates a memory and it is more difficult to overlook. Finally, it helps you make a bond with your prospect.

Practical application: Relate to your prospect and come up with a story that gives them imaginative reasons to use your product or service.

2. Time Distortion – “Pretending They Already Are”

All are Buying

Here’s the posture: “You already wish for and own this product and let me explain you what it’s like to.” Actually, what you’re doing is future
pacing their thinkings as if they are holding your product or service in
their hands. Employ simple descriptive phrases that enlighten a “sense” or “touch” response, and it instills in the mind of your prospects that they already own it. They will embark on to visualize the benefits of doing so all on their own.

Practical application: If you sell books, they are flipping through the pages. Electronics, they are applying this neat gizmo (pushing the buttons, twisting knobs etc). Cars, boats, anything – get in and drive it, grab the wheel.

3. Credibility – To Project Authority

Credibility

Make what you say credible, and nothing hideous. Who is endorsing
your message? Do you have satisfied buyers of your products or services? What do they have to declare? Express that in your message. Show them experts approve your products. If it’s not authentic, your prospects are going to “pick up” on that. Reliability instills what you’re asserting is true, period. Just provide evidence.

Practical application: Request your clients for testimonials, even if you have to decently bribe them for one. Offer a discount, free sample, bonus, or report. In a sentence, the more credibility you create for you and your product or service, the more authentic the message becomes, and the less resistance they have when it comes to make a buying choice.

4. Urgency – To Act Now

Urgency

Even if your sales message is expressively driven and potent — making
them feel like they want to buy, put a sense of urgency to emphasize
them to buy it now, and to not wait, period. Limited time offers, discounts won’t last, this deal won’t last long. No matter how commanding your sales message is, if they get away – after so long, the feeling and their buying decision erodes away their desire to buy now, until it’s gone.

Practical application: Bring forth a forceful reason to get your prospect to feel so compelled it’s totally necessary they must buy it now, because it’s urgent. Maybe employ “fear of loss.”

5. I Gave It To You Free, You’re Guilty – To Create The Return Effect

Guilty Dog

Ever found an offer in the mail of a free sample of a product? Ever visited a website and got 3 free chapters of a book? Giving away something to someone for free produces guilt, the feeling to return. If your friend buys you dinner, you might feel you should pay for the next time. It’s a natural instinct. When something’s given, the desire to give back is produced.

Practical application: Give away a free sample or freebie – anything for free. Make sure it is something of real value. After, suggest that you’ve given them something and how they’re one tuff nut to crack, because you’ve provided them something for free, and you haven’t heard back from them. Sit back, and watch them purchase…

6. Commit then remain Consistent – To Create Long-Term Friendships/Action

friendship

Here’s the posture: “If you’re purchasing from me now, we’re friends;
you’ll order more from me too.” You’ve acquired the customers’ confidence once you’ve laid down the first sale, and once they’re happy; make them happy again, and again. Buy something from the television and you’re almost always expected to buy more, it’s easy. Then, two months later, another offer from that same company rings on your phone in the other room, or the offer is waiting in your mail box when you get home. Normally, being a much higher priced product or service. Why not ask? You’re obviously qualified.

Practical application: If they buy once, get them to buy again and again. If you sell information memberships, sell all the tools and products that the membership consists of (improving your golf game membership website – sell golf clubs, balls, clothing, shoes etc.) If you sell them a book, sell them a home study course that’s more expensive.

7. Curiosity – To Keep Your Prospect Tuned In

Curiosity

Early in your sales presentation, promise what will happen when they
finish and complete your sales presentation, and keep them curious.
Curiosity is a powerful tool you can use to keep your prospect in suspense, and to search out the answers to satisfy that strong desire to “fill in” the missing information. Leave out certain information in your benefits that “trigger” the thought “What will happen if?”
Practical application: Instill and arouse curiosity early in your sales
presentation to cause your prospect to want to complete your message (i.e. tell them there’s a misspelled word in your sales copy, and if they can find it – they get a special deal. Ask them if they want to compelling benefit, and tell them they’ll find the answer as they continue to read, or pay attention to you.

As you’ve probably noticed, it’s infinitely more powerful to apply
these psychological devices in your presentation when you realize they all open the flood gates of a person’s brain, and deliver compelling emotions and complex thoughts and meaning. Anyone who comes across one of these seven applications will “undergo” the spell of this covert influence because it sparks response below a person’s surface awareness.

So, the only question to ask yourself is: “Are *you* going to use them?

To find out, simply go through the following checklist, and count the
number of items that apply to you.

1. You want more sales

2. You’re willing to look through your sales presentation making sure
each of these devices are applied

3. You prefer to *use* powerful knowledge over just “knowing it”

4. You want more power in your ability to influence others on
undetectable brain levels

5. You are curious and interested in creating more powerful
“unconscious” influence

6. Covert persuasion and influence doesn’t scare you and you’ll use it
to your advantage in ethical and judicious ways

7. You are willing to sit down and brainstorm how you can apply these
psychological devices to your sales presentations, even if only applying one device a day, because you know it’ll bring your more sales, and consequently, profits.

If at least 5 of the 7 above statements are true for you, then you’re
ready to use the most powerful form of undetectable communication that exists today. This is the best time to break into the covert persuasion and influence segment of communication.