How Can I POP! the Question to Eliminate INFObesity?

"Is that your final answer?" - Reges Philbin, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

Do you remember Regis Philbin asking that question on the popular TV show? Those five simple words were repeated by millions of people around the world and achieved POP! icon status.

Imagine if Regis had simply told the contestants, "You need to make a decision."

Doesn’t POP!, does it?

Declarations sit on the page.

Questions engage.

When you make declarations, people keep their mental arms crossed. Declarations don't have the power to pull people out of a "Prove you're worth my valuable time/money" mentality because they're one-way communication.

Questions are more likely to capture/keep attention because they're two-way communication.

You may be thinking, "Makes sense, but how is this relevant to me?"

Good question. (Smile.)

I was working with a client to prepare for an important podcast. He self- confessed that he could be a bit "wordy."

I told him, "Good for you for recognizing what could be a fatal flaw. That's why you're going to limit yourself to two minute answers, and you're going to answer every question with an example instead of a declaration/explanation."

He said, "But some of my stories and points take longer than two minutes."

"I know. But if you take longer than two minutes, people will tune out. 

The good news is, there's a way to hack this. INTERRUPT yourself at two minutes and ask, "Would you like to hear the rest of that story?"

This gives the host options. S/he can say, 'Oh yes, please do!' or, 'Actually, I want to switch gears and ask you about ....'

Asking for permission gives the host (and the audience) vocal variety and a mental break. If the host is ready to move on, the audience is too. It's time to switch to the next topic because the host/audience have "had enough."

Amy Poehler said, "I get a little itchy if I don't have some kind of control."

Face it. We all get a little itchy if we don't have some kind of control.

Asking for permission to continue - instead of assuming people want to know what we want to say - is at the core of intrigue.

Why? Because it shares control of the communication.

The more we do this in our interactions - in person and online - the more people will want to listen to us.

This works with titles and taglines too.

Think about it. They didn't call the show "HOW to Be a Millionaire" which is a directive. They called it "WANT to Be a Millionaire?" which begged the question.

Dr. Phil didn't observe, "Seems like that's not working for you." He asked, "How's that working for you?"

Capital One commercials don't order, "Look in your wallet." They ask, "What's in your wallet?"

Want specific ways to POP! the question in different situations? Here you go:

1. How to POP! the Question in a pitch and elevator speech.
2. How to POP! the Question in a sales situation.
3. How to POP! the Question in an interview.
4. How to POP! the Question in a live or zoom meeting.
5. Ask more. Tell less. Einstein was asked for his most important lesson-learned. He said three words. "Never stop questioning." If it worked for him, it can work for us. How do you keep people engaged with ???