The underlying, core foundation of Mr. Shmooze is that the ability of one person to make another person feel better is at the center of all successful communications.
From Ronald Reagan, Oprah, Tom Hanks to the world’s greatest salespeople in any profession, making the person you are talking to feel better is fundamental.
Remember, we are not advocating substituting intellectual competency with the art of elevating feelings, but the point we always make is that great salespeople are masters at both the intellectual and the emotional sides of the selling equation.
According to an article in Scientific American Mind titled: Laughing Matters: Seeing the Bright Side of Life May Strengthen the Psyche, Ease Pain and Heighten Social Bonds:
- Laughing can cause a drop in the blood’s concentration of the stress hormone cortisol.
- Humor strengthens the psyche . . . a benefit of a cheerful character is resilience, a psychic robustness that buffers against crisis and disappointment.
- Humor can have pain killing properties.
- Cheerful people have a lighthearted interactive style that facilitates bonding closely with others and social support.
- Humor can provide a balm to more calmly overcome the obstacles of life.
As salespeople, you already know all of this intuitively.
But it may be gratifying to also know that science is backing you up, and that your so-called “soft skills” may be much more valuable than you ever thought, particularly in these challenging and stressful times.
