The Chat Code: Pattern Interrupters
You may have heard of patter interrupters from marketers.
Marketers use pattern interrupters because people are bombarded with ads every day they have learned that 99% of people tune them out.
Honestly, I pass probably 50 adverts on my way to the office.
If you were to ask me to name 1 advert on my commute, I honestly couldn’t.
You try it.
What adverts do you remember?
Probably very few,
Yet my guess is that there are 1 or 2 that have stayed in your mind for years.
What made these ones stick? (Spoiler: It was not the catchy jingle)
They used Pattern Interrupters to grab attention.
When they do this, the adverts are more memorable.
You will find that people lose interest when you are talking to them.
They go into ‘auto pilot’ just like when you are seeing adverts.
People ask you the same 3 questions:
“Where are you from?”
“What do you do for a living?”
“Any hobbies?”
People have been so used to being asked the same questions, over and over again; they go into autopilot.
This kills your charisma.
Their brain disengages, and you just fade away.
We can use pattern interrupters to grab their attention and keep them in the moment.
People will love you for it.
When we ask interesting questions that get people to think.
It releases a chemical in the brain called Dopamine
And humans LOVE IT!
It’s not complicated
It simply requires creativity.
Rather than asking the same old question, think of new ways to ask it, for example:
“What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?”
“What’s something you’re looking forward to at the moment?”
“What’s something that surprised you recently?”
“What’s the most random job you’ve ever had?”
“If you had tomorrow completely free, how would you spend it?”
“What’s been the highlight of your week so far?”
These questions may give you the same answer as the ‘boring’ questions
But, they may give you something new
Perhaps someone will share something about themselves that you would have never guessed.
This works because of something called the Expectancy Violations Theory.
Expectancy violations theory is a concept in communication and behavioural science.
It explains how people react when someone’s behaviour in a social situation differs from what they expect.
So when someone breaks social norms, it can impact how a person feels about us.
The theory developed by Judee K. Burgoon, explains what happens when someone behaves differently from what we expect in a social situation.
By asking interesting, thought-provoking, or insightful questions
We increase our likability and become more memorable to the other person.
Use this as a guide:
Predictable = Comfortable but boring
Slightly unexpected = Interesting and charismatic
Too unexpected = Weird or uncomfortable
Use pattern interrupters to make people LOVE talking to you.
I enjoyed putting together this week’s email,
It’s great when I hear back from people that they applied the techniques or used the methods.
If you would like to work with me to develop your charisma, then book a FREE discovery call with me below:
FREE CHARISMA COACHINGDISCOVERY CALL
Looking forward to next weeks email,
Kind regards
Sebastian from Art of Charisma
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