by Ashar Mohammed
To become an effective network marketing professional, you need to eliminate distracting behaviors.
Have you ever said to yourself, “I know my network marketing presentations could be more effective?” Sometimes we aren’t even aware why the presentation didn’t go as smoothly as it could have. One of the things that can get in the way is our own default habits. By getting feedback on our body language, we come to understand the gestures that take away from our message and create barriers from magnetizing more multilevel opportunities.
The more deliberate we are, the more effective our presentation will be. Rather than being on automatic pilot, the focused network marketing professional shows the prospect she’s fully in charge of every action she takes. Imagine watching a top-networking producer. She has laser-like focus, warmly looks at you, pauses, and then makes her comment. It’s much easier to get the message this way than watching someone who has an uncontrollable habit, such as wringing his hands or darting his eyes around the room.
Imagine you are watching a TV show and a fly lands on the screen. It could be the most interesting movie, but you just can’t help looking at this little buzzing thing that appears out of place. With the fly on the screen, it’s nearly impossible to focus on the movie. At first, we look at it and try to figure out what it’s doing there. Then we might become annoyed with it. Then all our attention goes into getting rid of it.
With the fly, we can get up and swat it away. It’s not that easy when someone is presenting a network marketing opportunity and has a distracting habit. How polite is it for your client to swat at your tapping foot? Make it easy for them by only using body language that enhances your message!
Eliminating distracting behaviors is a three-step process.
1. Become aware of the distracting behavior, through self-observation or caring feedback.
2. Understand why you behave this way.
3. Make a deliberate choice to let it go.
As an example, a network marketer came to me wanting to overcome her difficulty in maintaining eye contact with others. Like peeling back the layers of the onion, we took it apart. It went something like this.
Me: “Why do you feel you have a hard time with eye contact?”
Her: “I don’t know, it’s just scary to me.”
Me: “Can you tell me what’s scary about it?”
Her: “I don’t know, maybe they’ll disapprove of what I have to say.”
Me: “Have you ever been disapproved of before?”
Her: “When I was younger the only time my mom wanted me to look at her was when she was reprimanding me. She’d sternly say, now LOOK at me when I’m talking to you.
“Wow, so that’s where it comes from!”
Understanding why we have a certain habit is a powerful step in eliminating the behavior. It no longer has power over us.
Do you notice any of these common default programs in network marketing professionals?
- Pacing back and forth
- Excessive ums, ahs and you-knows
- Touching or moving eyeglasses
- Leaning on one leg
- Hands in the fig leaf position
- Clenching fists
- Pointing with their index finger
- Adjusting their hair
- Wringing hands
- Anxiously tapping their leg
- Jingling change in their pockets
- Lack of eye contact or “hard” eye contact
Have you experienced other habits that could be added to the list?
There’s almost always an unresolved issue causing the default gesture. When you find one in yourself, breathe into it and get a sense of where it originated. Take some quiet time to reflect. Get to the root cause. The Delphic oracle of ancient Greece could have been speaking directly to network marketers when it said, “Know thyself.”
Ask yourself if your nonverbal communication is adding to your presentation or if it’s more like a fly on the TV screen! Make a plan to eliminate it and have fun at the same time. If your humor is authentic and comes from the heart, your audience will know and identify with you. Then deliver magnetic presentations and watch your network marketing business grow beyond your wildest expectations.
Ashar Mohammed is Nutritionist, Networking Business Coach, NLP Practitioner, Life Coach, and the author of Home Work Out Bible and Healthy Eating. After earning a MBA, Ashar worked in business for his family and on his own for 13 years, until becoming a coach in 2015. Now pursuing his true passion, Ashar has helped thousands of people around the world to achieve their freedom—freedom from disease, freedom of time, and travel and financial freedom. For more information, visit his blog at ashardxn.blogspot.se.