“These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed.”
- Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon), the prosecuting attorney in the movie A Few Good Men
“Santiago was leaving for the rest of his life, and he hadn’t called a soul, and he hadn’t packed a thing.”
- Lieutenant Danny Kaffee (Tom Cruise) in the same movie
#4 – Words matter; how we deliver them decides the impact. Kaffee won the case in an over-dramatized portrayal of how it likely would have played out. Both characters, though, were written exceptional lines and delivered them compellingly. Sometimes we get so “good at winging it” that we undervalue preparation, rehearsal, and preparation. Stop it! (I promise I will, too!) If it’s worth saying, it’s worth preparing to say it right.
#5 – Before we deploy our words, listen in context. During the lunch meeting in Cuba, when Kaffee asked Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson) for the transfer order, we see an example of a great, instinctive, intuitive but thoughtful and in-context question. Had Kaffee not listened in context to Jessup’s arrogant, self-aggrandizing answer, he would have never had the courage to ask the question that we all remember, and he likely wouldn’t have gotten the answer that made the movie memorable. Listening in context puts us in a position to handle the truth.
It’s a great session for any B2B sales team. If you’d like me to prove it, shoot me a note. I’ll give subscribers a 50% discount!
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