So say you're face to face with a brand new prospect. They've heard a little bit about you, your reputation, what kind of a person you are and yet, maybe they still have some defenses which you are going to need to overcome before rapport has been established and they can feel good trusting you completely.

There's a simple way to dramatically speed up the process of trust and rapport and to help your prospects really understand who you are: storytelling.

Many times, relationships (of all kinds), take a while to unfold. We reveal a little information and then a little more, until it builds up into a whole picture of who we are. Stories accelerate this process, eliminating that build up, and when they're told well and, most importantly, with a lucid, pertinent point, they can reveal your true essence in a brief time.

Think of how you get sucked in when you watch a movie. Stories do this to us. They fit into the indirect permissive model not the direct authoritarian model and therein is one of the most significant powers of stories.

There was a recent New York Times/CBS news poll which I found fascinating. It said that sixty three percent of people believed that you have to be very careful in dealing with other people. Sixty three percent.

Thirty seven percent believe that most people would try to take advantage of you if they had the chance.

Thirty seven percent. Over one third of the population. One out of every three people believes you have the potential and/or interest in taking advantage of them and three out of four people believe that you have to be extremely careful in dealing with others.

Seems like we're a cynical, distrusting bunch of folks.

Here's the strange part: the very same poll asked, 'Of the people you know, what percentage would try to be fair?'

The outcome: 85% said yes.

This means by getting people to know us, we cut down on the distrust dramatically. Our powers to influence and persuade increase.

By telling stories, we increase these odds from more than three fourths of the people distrusting us, believing 'you just can't be too careful' and over a third of them thinking you would, given the opportunity, take advantage of them to eighty five percent thinking you would be fair with them.

Triple your trustworthiness with a story.

Business Products on our marketplace

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of wealthy prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.