Communicate like Christ: 5 ways to be more persuasive
How can learning about our brain’s hardwiring enable us to be more
persuasive? Steve Adams explains
Jesus had a tough ask when you think about it. Join an intangible kingdom
led by a man predicting his own death and claiming to be God. Yet he still
persuaded people to follow him. And it wasn’t just the twelve disciples (or even
the 72 who were sent out in Luke 10). Thousands gathered to hear Jesus speak and
the Gospels record how “large crowds” followed him
everywhere.
Jesus managed to be persuasive and communicate God’s message with power
using the same Holy Spirit he gave to us. Yet it somehow seems harder today.
What are we missing? Is there something in our communication in church, society
and culture, which we should have clocked by now – something about how Jesus
structured his communication to trigger his listeners’
brains?
That Jesus was God incarnate obviously made all the difference to his
communication. But, if the persuasiveness of his preaching was only down to God’s power and
presence, then Jesus needn’t have built his communication around some very
specific prompts. Prompts which interacted with, spoke to and triggered the
action part of his listeners’ brains. But he did.
I want to introduce you to these five brain-prompts and ask: ‘If Jesus
understood and used these triggers, shouldn’t we?’ Of course, framing
communication around these prompts doesn’t mean people will respond, but it does
allow you to present your message in the language that the brain understands.
And the way that the greatest communicator all – Jesus – modelled for us
too.
What triggers you?
Your Centre Brain (or Limbic brain) – so called because it’s in the
middle of your brain – is the bit that makes decisions and prompts action. But
it does so at such speed and is such an intrinsic part of who you are that you
rarely evaluate it. For example, what is it that triggers your Centre Brain to
warm to someone? To throw money in a homeless person’s cup? Or to volunteer for
the church coffee rota (or not)?
It’s perfectly normal to not think about these prompts. Not many people
explore them and even fewer harness them. But they are important. Because when
the right prompts are used (the ones that speak to and trigger engagement and
active response), then communication becomes effective in prompting activity.
It’s interesting to see how Jesus himself framed his communication around these
five prompts.
1. The ‘why’ makes the ‘what’ interesting
If I tell you what I’m doing today – digging a hole in my garden – it’s
unlikely to prompt deep interest in you. If I tell you that the Met Office
predict an unusually long, dry period and a total hosepipe ban, and that I’m
digging until I reach water, for the sake of my garden plants, then knowing
‘why’ I’m digging begins to make the ‘what’ engaging. It brings it into your
space.
‘Why’ takes any issue and provides a way in which others can engage with
it.
For example, what about the wedding at which the host had underordered
the wine? It was getting late and guests were shocked when, apparently out of
nowhere came lots of top-end vintage. True, it was served unusually – from some
open water containers – but no one cared. But what if someone asked why it
wasn’t in carafes or bottles but in water jars? “Because this ‘vintage’ wine was
water until ten minutes ago, when that man, Jesus, turned it into wine” (John 2)
would be the answer. When you start with what you’re dependent on your listener
either having an interest in the subject, or being polite. Start
with why and
you'll get your point across much more effectively.
Let me offer a breakfast example: “Shredded Wheat is healthy” declares a
TV advert. That’s what it is (and what it offers) which will interest the
segment of viewers interested in healthy eating. But why should you buy that
healthy cereal rather than another?
An advert on TV recently answered this question not by focusing
on what the
product is (Shredded Wheat is mentioned only once), but on why you need it.
Because if you eat it, you’ll start “Shredding Life” – as the dad in the ad does
when (having had his morning bowl of wheaty goodness) he dives, impressively,
from the high board, watched by his admiring son. Why eat Shredded Wheat?
Because it will enable you to grab life by the horns and own
it.
Similarly, Jesus kept turning his disciples’ focus towards
the why and
answered the what through that
lens:
What: Do not worry about your life, what you will eat…Consider the
ravens: they do not sow or reap… yet God feeds them…do not set your heart on
what you will eat or drink…
Why: But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well
(Luke 12:22-31)
When Jesus told the Good Samaritan parable, the expert in the law knew
the ‘what’ around inheriting eternal life and answered Jesus well (“Love your
neighbour”). But it was still theory. Jesus used the ‘why’ to bring it into this
man’s front garden and make it actionable. Jesus’ ‘why’ question – which I’ll
paraphrase as ‘Why was the Samaritan a neighbour?’ (Luke 10:36) led the expert
in the law to point to the Samaritan’s practical outpouring of mercy (v37). To
which Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.”
2. You think in pictures
The second action-prompt involves pictorialising your point. Think, for a
moment, about your pastor. Then about a table tennis table. And now about your
best friend. Although words appear to be the currency of our
age, the primary language of our brains is pictures: you just saw ‘pictures’ of
your best friend, pastor and a table tennis table – rather than those things
spelt out as words in our mind.
Our brain’s primary language is pictures. When information comes in as
pictures, it awakens and speaks to the action brain.
Jesus pictorialised all his points. Think about your most cherished
stories Jesus told. I’ll wager they’re stored in picture form in your mind: A
man who sowed seed – some on good soil, some on rocky soil; a wise man who built
his house on the rock; Jesus as the true vine and his Father as the gardener;
Jesus standing at the door and knocking. And so on.
Pictorialising points doesn’t necessarily mean showing an actual image or
photo. Think of a great novel. Your pictoral brain naturally visualises it as
you read the words – so much so that there’s sometimes a disconnect when you see
the film version (“That’s not how I imagined it!”). Your words, written or
spoken, can create pictures. And when they do, they awaken the action
brain.
Applying the Centre Brain in a sermon
- Ask yourself: what is my primary message? Then define an idea around that. You may find it helpful to use Jesus’ template. He said, “The kingdom of God is like…” Swap out your message and finish the sentence. For example: “[Your sermon subject] is like…”
- Apply your idea into a picture – something you can talk about in tangible ways and which your listeners will be able to visualise. Ideally it will relate to their world.
- Ask yourself why this matters, to these people, in this place, today? And use that as the lens through which you present the what and how.
- When you invite them to respond, ensure you use contrast: offer them two ways to respond.
- Emotional connection: You can build this connection during the sermon by being vulnerable and speaking of your own experience and engagement in the subject.
3. Turn your message into an idea
In the 1970s IBM launched personal computers, and marketed
them using the
products to sell the product. Ads carried images of the machines themselves,
with headlines pointing to the machines: ‘Presenting the IBM of personal
computers’, and later, ‘Introducing the IBM personal system
2’.
Around that time, a competitor, Apple, also began marketing personal
computers. But not with the machine. They marketed the idea. In one classic
Apple ad there were no pictures of the product. No mention of the computers at
all. In fact, just an idea:
‘Think Different’. The advert invited people not to buy the product, but to buy
the dream, to embrace the vision to think different: “Here’s to the crazy ones,
the ones who see things different…we see genius, because the ones who are crazy
enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who
do.”
Today Apple is a thriving company, whereas IBM never succeeded in the PC
market. That’s because Apple applied this principle of the Centre Brain – where
action germinates – which deals in ideas.
“Don’t sell products, sell dreams”, Steve Jobs said. It’s a lesson he
could have learned by reading Matthew 13. Here, Jesus introduces the kingdom of
heaven through a variety of ideas. The kingdom of heaven is like…“a man who
sowed good seed” (v24); “a mustard seed” (v31); “yeast” (v33); “treasure…in a
field” (v44); a merchant seeking pearls (v45); a net catching all kinds of fish
(v47); the home owner bringing out of his store both new and old treasures
(v52). Notice how Jesus brings out a different idea about the kingdom in each
picture.
In my work with organisations and churches, the most common barrier to
growth is that they are selling their product with their product – rather than
with an idea. It’s a worthwhile half-hour, looking through your church’s
communications, website, sermons and outreach events and asking whether they’re
selling the raw message, or the idea behind the message. Are you advertising a
worship service…or an encounter with the living God? Are you inviting people to
a prayer meeting…or inviting them to change the world? Or, in Steve Jobs’ words,
“the product or the dream”?
4. Use contrast constantly
Here’s a fun fact. If you’re in a cycle shop thinking of buying a bike
and the sales assistant offers you two to compare, you’ll actually decide faster
than if she had offered just one and asked whether you want it. This is because
your Centre Brain makes a decision by contrasting.
Jesus used contrast constantly to enable his message to land in the
brain’s action-area. Think of these parables: the seed falling among good soil
and bad soil; a tiny mustard seed becoming the largest tree; the landowner who
paid the workers who laboured an hour the same wage as those working a full day;
the foolish and wise builders constructing on rock and sand; the end times
judgement of the sheep and the goats – and so on.
But why is contrast so important? Because the Centre Brain weighs what
it’s offered. Imagine you are a church leader who wants your members to come on
a church weekend away. Each person in your church congregation and youth group
has a set of weighing scales and places your invitation on one side of the
scales: “We’re going away together to a beautiful country location, with
fantastic speakers for youth and adults. Our dream is to come to God, to meet
him, dive into his word and rest in him…sign up and be part of
it!”
But the brain needs something on the other end of the scales to weigh
your offer against. If you offer nothing, they’ll add their own balance: “Sounds
good, but work is very busy, and life seems breathless. It’ll cost some money
and I’m not sure we can commit right now.”
Are you advertising a worship service…or an encounter with the living
God?
But, if you are the one to offer the
contrast for the other end of the scales (in picture form, of course), then
you’ll be speaking to the action-area of their brain: “If you’re thinking you’re
busy – too busy to make it – then it’s you this weekend is for. Because
Jesus said, ‘Come to me when you’re heavy laden.’ So take his invitation
seriously…”
5. Emotional connection
The human brain is built to connect. Your brain is the only organ that
changes as a direct result of and in response to, the connections made. The
mirror neurons in your brain are looking for connection. To do this they mirror
the emotions around us. It’s the emotion you feel rising as a friend tells you
their son is being bullied; the tears you feel coming as a church member passes
you some money for your food this week, knowing you’re struggling financially.
Connecting emotionally is essential to influence.
Jesus allowed himself to connect. He inhabited all the emotions, from
anger to compassion, from zeal to sorrow, from grief to groaning and feeling
weary, from joy to deep pain. All because he loved the people he was with.
Imagine if he had not connected emotionally. He’d have made zero impact. Every
encounter Jesus had demonstrates connection.
Learn the prompts
Jesus was probably the world’s most gifted, connected, persuasive and
compelling communicator. His words, storytelling and actions made such an impact
on those who first heard him that his words are still changing the world today,
2,000 years later.
If you’re a church leader wondering why some sermons are not delivering
what you hope they will; an evangelist who wants to present faith in a way that
connects; an employee wanting to persuade your boss; or a young person preparing
for an interview, then mastering the five prompts of the Centre Brain is
essential. It worked for Jesus, and it still works today.
Steve Adams works with churches and organisations on brand, story and
communication. He is the author of The Centre
Brain: 5 prompts to persuasive power (SPCK) and loves nothing
more than camping by the sea with his wife and four children. For more
information about the book visit centrebraincommunication.com
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