Copyright 2006 Danek Kaus
Advertisers know that the best way to sell something is to reach people on an unconscious level. That is why so many products are tied to sex in one way or another. Beer commercials, for example, show men drinking their brand surrounded by beautiful women.
As the men in the audience watch, an unconscious link can be created between drinking the beer and sexual satisfaction, or at least the opportunity for it.
You can use this same principle to sell more of your product, not by using beautiful women, but by delivering commands directly to a prospect’s unconscious mind by using words that have double meanings. This technique is called “Punctuation Ambiguity.”
To create a punctuation ambiguity, pick a word that can be used as both a noun and a verb or at least a word that has two different meanings. This is your Pivot Word for the ambiguity. Once you have the pivot word, you work it into a sentence.
For example, the word address can mean the place where you live. It can also be what you do to an envelope. Address can also mean to speak to someone.
The punctuation ambiguity happens when the first part of a sentence seems to use the pivot word as a noun and what follows it makes it seem like a verb. This second part of the structure is phrased as a command.
Punctuation ambiguities can sound a little strange but the other person’s conscious mind tends to overlook that because it doesn’t fit into anything understandable. So it simply passes it by. This means the unconscious mind hears the command while the conscious mind does not.
Here are some examples:
Address “…you might remember how you found your latest address me with more respect.”
Benefit “… and you can easily see, simply hear and convincingly feel how this can be of benefit by making a decision to buy this now.”
Block “… and you may be able to understand this in chunks so let me give you the first block out any hesitation about doing this.”
Days “… and the beginning of that change may come about in hours or even days (daze) and confuse and eliminate any thoughts contrary to what I say.”
Work “… you can find that things can be done a lot easier when you use this type of work this deeply into your mind.”
Do you see how punctuation ambiguities work? Can you hear yourself saying them and feeling the benefits of using them? By themselves, punctuation ambiguities will not persuade anyone to do something. But when you combine them with your other sales skills they can give you profound influence.
Here are a few more Pivot Words. You can probably think of many more.
Debate Fish Fix Flower Fly Force Free Glue Happen Heat Home Index Land Lead Like Loop Love Make Map Mark Match Microwave Mind Name Open Pay Picture Pile Place Power Reveal Ring Seal Salt Shield Shoot Smoke Tease Tie Toss Understand Veil Write X-ray
The best way to incorporate punctuation ambiguities into your sales presentation is to create them ahead of time and practice saying them as if they are absolutely normal. So start using words with double meanings. They might just help you double your income.
