When I give you an incomplete word like SO_P, it probably wouldn’t mean anything. But if I were to mention a sumptuous meal, lunch or dinner, you may think of SOUP, filling up the black space with the letter U. Alternatively, when I mention shower or bath, you may think of SOAP.
In psychology, this effect is called Priming.
Priming is a nonconscious form of human memory concerned with perceptual identification of words and objects.
– Psychology Today
And here’s the funny thing – priming doesn’t only affect how you think, but how you act too. A study of this phenomenon was when a group of participants were exposed to words associated with being old, such as “old folks home”, “wrinkle” and “grandkids”, they started to walk at a slower pace than normal!
With this knowledge, let’s put it to some good use. In other ways, let’s (positively) psycho yourself!
Before a presentation, meeting a client or closing a deal on the phone, expose yourself to the voices and communication styles of great communicators like Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie or even Tony Stark! Just pick one that you resonate with and like, play back their speeches a couple of times or watch their videos, and before you know it, you start emulating your idols and speak like them!
Audio priming is just one of the ways you can unleash your richer, more expressive voice. If you’re in for more power-packed tips, or even have a voice specialist to work with you, why not join news and radio veteran Richard La Faber in his signature Power Voice workshop?
Maverick Foo is the founder of Plaseed Training, a results of his experience being in the personal development, conference organising and organisational psychology industries for the past decade. He has worked with and market speakers and trainers such as Dr. John C. Maxwell, Philip Kotler, W Mitchell, Dr. Billy Kueek, Dr. George Bien, Bob Pike, Roger Hamilton, Brad Sugars, Dave Rogers, Wayne Berry, Richard La Faber and many more.
Kinda like a ‘corporate plumber’, Maverick’s natural knack in finding and fixing problems is an asset to his clients as they come to him with people performance issues. With a talent of linking solutions and opportunities, he works with clients, trainers and coaches to come up with training programs and coaching initiatives to solve those problems, bringing performance levels up a few notches in the process.
