Perfect Pitch: Enter the Dragon (in three easy steps!)

In learning martial arts such as karate and judo, a basic technique is known as kata, the Japanese word for “form.” Kata involves the practice of a certain move or series of moves over many repetitions. Eventually the sequence becomes natural, an automatic reflex. The student has done it so many times that it happens all by itself. And an opponent is drawn into the sequence simply by the force of the student’s total familiarity with it.

You can put the principle of kata to good use in any encounter where persuasion is your goal. It’s just a matter of having a sequence of steps so clearly in your mind that they flow naturally and irresistibly. Your client or customer gladly follows along behind the force of your presentation.

So what is the very powerful kata you can use to become so persuasive? What technique can you employ to create connection, motivation, and action in the shortest possible time? The answer is an amazingly simple three-part formula.

First, tell a brief but emphatic personal story that describes a positive change in your life. It can be a transformation that took place over an extended period of time, or it may have happened suddenly as a result of some turning point event. You should relate this event with passion and energy. Ideally, you should almost re-live it. To the extent you’re able to do that, your listeners will live it with you. When you finish the story, the listeners should be energized, engaged, and eager to learn where you are now going to take them.

Part Two of the kata sequence takes much less time than the personal story, but because it’s so brief it should be very hard hitting. This is when you ask listeners to take a single, tangible, simple positive action – and that action should flow naturally from the personal story they’ve just heard.

If you need funds for a charitable endeavor, for instance, ask them to write a check – but ask them to do it writer then and there, and keep the focus on the physical action. In their own minds, let them make the connection between this action and your story. If you’ve told the story effectively, that’s exactly what they’ll do. Just keep it simple and clear. In the fewest possible words, ask for the positive action you want them to take.

Part Three of the kata may take even less time than Part Two. Now you’re inviting listeners to look through the other end of the telescope. The time for the third stage is short, but the focus is much broader. You’re showing your listeners the benefits they’ll gain by taken the action you’ve asked for. Ideally, you refer specifically to only one benefit – but it should be broad enough so that people see why it’s important and worthwhile.

For example, if in stage two you asked a group of students to sign up for a summer school course, in stage three you tell them that this will assure them of college admission. You don’t need to say anything more. In just a few words you paint the picture of a single major benefit that has very broad and positive implications.

That’s all there is to it. So use this three-part kata technique, practice it, and a Black Belt in persuasion will be yours.