Why Pacing and Leading is for Wimps!

by Peter Murphy


Okay, you have read some books on body language and they
all said you must mirror and match, pace and lead....

And you failed miserably when you went out into the real
world.

Let me tell you why and what you need to do instead. But
first a story that illustrates my point...

A few years ago I moved into a very well paid position in
the company where I worked. And in my new job I was dealing
with company directors, business owners and senior
executives -- face to face.

And to make it all even more challenging I would meet them
on their territory - in their offices.

Teachers of pacing and leading would tell me to pace these
executives and then to gradually lead them.

However this is the 21st century where everything happens
at warp speed. You need to take charge of social
interactions within the first 5 seconds or its all over.

First impressions do count.

This applies in business and in your social life. If you
hesitate, wait and even... pace and lead the game will be
over before you know what has happened.

Here is what you need to do:


1 Take Great Care of Yourself.

Get enough sleep, eat well and take exercise that makes you
feel good on a regular basis.

Neglect your body and your emotional state will slide too.

And before you know it you will not have the energy to rise
to the occasion.

Having tons of energy is absolutely crucial if you want to
excel. When you feel fantastic it gets easier and easier to
be at your very best whenever you choose to be.


2 Lead and then Pace!

Instead of pacing and leading do this...

Get yourself into a great emotional state FIRST. The other
person will then follow your lead.

The more energetic you are, the happier you are and the
more confident you are --- the easier it is to lead the
other person.

You can lead in many ways including....

- being abundantly happy

- smiling and genuinely caring about the other person

- exuding enthusiasm and excitement


If as you read this you think - hang on, what has this got
to do with communication?

It has everything to do with it.

93% of communication is non-verbal. Remember that.

That is why I place so much emphasis on mental and emotional
states - if you don´t grasp this, knowing what to say will
not matter because you will be gripped by fear, indecision
and insecurity.


3 Take the Discussion Where You Want it to Go

Many people are far too passive when it comes to making
polite conversation.

Why?

Because you have unconscious rules that dictate what is
acceptable. You may even have old patterns running in your
mind that are no longer appropriate e.g. only speak when
spoken to; don´t talk to strangers.

I hereby give you permission to break these rules!

The way to get started with being more adventurous is as
follows...

First of all, notice that you have a habit of letting other
people dictate the flow of conversation.

Then, in a small way start being more proactive and suggest
new topics of conversation or new directions to go in.

At this point do not concern yourself with whether or not
the person you are talking to follows your lead.

Just get comfortable with making suggestions.


If you are already living these principles you are having
great success in all your dealings with other people.

If you are not -- you have room to get even better.

Listen!.

I was really not much good at dealing with people
until I committed to mastering this crucial life skill.

You can get better and you will when you aim to improve
even a little each and every day AND you apply proven techniques.

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently
produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to
Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because
it is available for a limited time only at:
http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm