The Art of Drinking from A Fire Hose

I'm so happy when a new "school year" begins. Every year around this time I begin a new cycle of classes and open the program up to new students. And every year around this time I'm thrilled to find so many people so eager to learn persuasion and eager to begin to put it to use in their lives. And every year around this time I get a few students who are so eager that they work themselves into a bit of a frenzy. As one client put it, "I kind of feel like I'm drinking water out of a fire hose."

To those students, I say, Stop! Take a deep breath. . . and let it go.

Persuasion is a process, just as living is a process.

This program can feel intense and content rich. That's because it is. And when something is as intense and content rich as this, people can choose to become overwhelmed. Here are some suggestions that I think are helpful.

For students just starting out (and this holds true across the board from learning a new language to learning an instrument to learning persuasion), the first thing I suggest is LISTEN. Open your ears and let it in. Even for topics that are vast, which you don't believe you are absorbing, be assured, if you listen, you are absorbing.

As we are learning about human nature, information is ongoing and constantly evolving. Do not fret if you don't absorb something as fully as you'd like the first time around. Play it back. Get it at the level where you get it. Don't cram or force or work yourself up into a frenzy.

In studying human nature, we are not working with exact, predictable science. Everyone is different (though we have some similarities). As we learn, we improve our techniques, we expand and evolve. . . even this time around I'm teaching things in a way I've never done before.

This kind of progressive learning keeps us on the front lines compared to those unfortunate folks who receive typical sales training as a background. People are individuals with different criteria, with different ways of interacting, and as such, the keys to unlocking their particular patterns are all going to be different as well.

Some of my students have been with me for years, others, just a few weeks. I'm thrilled that in the months to come I will be expanding classes to new groups and I'm working diligently to stay at the top of my game, at the head of the pack, on the forefront of persuasion.

Many new students have the expectation that there should be a level of mastery. But I'll tell you what, I haven't mastered this, none of my students have mastered this, and that's because human nature is constantly evolving and with it we evolve and learn and reach and strive for more excellence, and that's all that we need ask of ourselves.

Obviously, it doesn't hurt to do your homework. Learning is going to happen in a variety of ways and the homework helps to install this information. So to my new student who was drinking from a fire hose, I said, "If you step back and have perspective on this, imagine yourself able to catch the spray from the fire hose instead of having it aimed straight at your face."

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to sell to affluent clients using persuasion strategies. He runs unique public and private seminars and offers home study courses, audio/visual learning tools, and coaching programs in persuasion techniques. Find more free articles at www.MAXpersuasion.com/blog. Be sure to sign up for his free report entitled "Yes! Persuasion."