The best punch…

Today, I asked a couple client what’s the best punch any fighter can throw. I used the example of Ali vs. Frazier and probably showed my age.

One client told me the best punch was the uppercut and another concluded it had to be the jab. I kept asking them why they believed what they believed and why. I drove ’em both nuts with a barrage of questions. I kept hitting them with question after question and watched their faces redden and then redden some more. Finally, after nearly getting punch drunk, they got it right. The best punch any fighter can throw is the one that the “receiver” does NOT expect. You see, the only punch that gets through a good fighters defense is the “unexpected” one.

The same is true with your receivers.

Want your message to find a sticky landing? Surprise your “receivers.” Deliver something CCD and something unexpected.

Unexpected.

Master  connectors, it turns out, vary their cadence, their tone, their intensity, and their language. Sometimes they pierce via the question. Sometimes they use a simple statement. Sometimes they hit us with a question to our question. Sometimes they show us that their way IS the highway. Sometimes they hit us by telling us that they haven’t a clue. Sometimes they say nothing and simply lean in. Sometimes they raise their voice and sometimes they slow it down and take it down a notch.

Master connectors know how to throw a punch that finds its mark. And, master connectors know how to sear their receivers.

Today, I landed a couple good ones and a couple clients got better as a result. Today, I used curious George and my way IS the highway. How ’bout you…