Framing Good Idea!
So, how can you start to practice framing as a skill and turn it into an art that benefits your leadership skills?
Step 1
Make sure the underpinning quality of working relations is there - gain peoples respect and trust
Step 2
Observe your colleagues as much as possible - learn about their decision making criteria
Step 3
Select your choice of words carefully - think and plan your communications, connect the brain with the mouth!
Step 4
Develop your vocal skills - use of emphasis, pitch, tone and pace
Step 5
Make use of options available where framing can be used:
• Stories – to frame a subject by anecdote in a vivid and memorable way
• Metaphor – to give an idea a new meaning by comparing it with something else
• Quotes – from people the recipients respect and admire that back up your own message
• Research – to give back up evidence or proof from experts
• Slogans or catchphrases – to frame a message in a memorable way
• Well known song lyrics – that help highlight the message in a familiar way
Step 6
Keep a log of what worked and what didn’t - when you delivered a framed message, did it produce the outcome you were expecting? If not, try to find out why not. This will make you better armed for the next occasion.
I will end this article with a recent example of when someone got it entirely wrong...
I received a sales call. They were offering me a way of getting my website further up the rankings in google search. When I told him the price was too much he responded by saying (I quote) “I really think your business would do well from this and you should have more faith in it”.
He might have been saying I should have more faith in the service he was offering, but it sounded like he was suggesting I should have more faith in my own company! Either way, he had done nothing to build up my trust.
His seemingly scripted message may have worked more positively had he been talking to a start up business, but he was talking to someone who has run a business for over 20 years and which has a good level of on-going repeat assignments.
The classic mistake he made was that he didn’t find out anything about me or my business. He didn’t even attempt to discover anything about my decision making criteria, so he would have no idea how to frame his message to me in a personal influential way.
I simply told him I knew my business better than he did and said goodbye!
Framing skills can be used in a huge variety of situations including meetings, presentations, webinars, sales and marketing activities, public relations, media interviews, client visits, telephone calls, documents and emails.
Good luck with your framing skills and let me know how you get on.
Michael Westland-Rose is a presentation specialist with 20 years experience working with an international client portfolio. He is director of Presentation Partners Ltd based in the UK.
http://www.presentation-partners.co.uk
The Art of Framing Feature
28 | TRAINING MAGAZINE EUROPE MARCH 2015