Persuasion From Within the ZoneThe first time I heard of being in 'the zone' it was from an athlete who described a run they had taken where everything was perfect -- the speed, the temperature, their breath, their body with ease and elegance, moving down the path. The zone can be achieved in all things -- sports, writing, selling -- and is something we all would do well to strive for.

I've had experiences teaching and giving seminars where I am so in the zone. I really feel the synergy I create with my students, and feel how I am affecting them with my words deeply and meaningfully. This is something I strive for every time I teach and speak, and on occasion, I fall a little short of the zone. Instead of wallowing in a oh woe is me mentality, I pick myself up and dust myself off and accept the 'off day' as a learning experience.

I have a friend who is a certified massage therapist. She recently told me a story about how after years of doing massage, she finally felt she had given a really amazing massage for the first time recently. She said, "I have known on several occasions when the massage I'm giving is awful, where I'm not going to see the person again under any circumstance because I'm absolutely not connecting with them or they aren't connecting with me, but I never could tell when I was giving a really good massage and I think that's because I wasn't giving really good massages. I think I was giving mediocre massages that people were appreciative of just because most of the time when we're touched in a healing way, it feels good whether it's amazing or not."

This shocked me and intrigued me. I had to know what had changed. How, after nine years, did something switch from mediocre to phenomenal. I asked, "What did you do differently?"

"It's the strangest thing," she said. "I didn't have my mp3 player in the office. And usually when there's no music, the client wants to talk, but I made a conscious decision to have it be completely silent. And then I imagined myself on the table, almost as if I slipped into their skin, and simply listened to what their body wanted. And when I was done, I felt I had been in a trance for an hour."

In my mind, she achieved the zone. And whats more, she achieved the persuasion zone. Because what does this sound like but rapport? She figuratively slipped into her client's skin. She could feel what they needed and knew how to meet them at that level.

The zone is easily replicated once you know how to get there. Just as she was comfortable giving mediocre massages, she is now even more comfortable replicating the phenomenal massage and reaching that level with each of her clients.

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to sell to affluent clients using persuasion strategies. He runs unique public and private seminars and offers home study courses, audio/visual learning tools, and coaching programs in persuasion techniques. Find more free articles at www.MAXpersuasion.com/blog. Be sure to sign up for his free report entitled "Yes! Persuasion."