Tiêu đề Mirroring Handout.pdf ✅

1 Writing Proposals Mirroring Mirroring is an important soft skill for sales representatives to master. One study out of Stanford and Northwestern University showed that negotiators who mirrored their counterparts closed their deals two-thirds of the time, while those who did not leverage sales mirroring only closed one-eighth of the time. What is Mirroring? Mirroring is when two people display similar body language, tone of voice, or diction. Mirroring involves using the same phrases, postures, and gestures as the person you’re speaking to. It often happens organically in friend groups and with couples. In work contexts, mirroring is something an interviewee, salesperson or manager might do deliberately to help build a rapport with someone they’ve only just met. Why Is Mirroring in Sales Beneficial? Rapport is important because it builds trust, especially when there’s uncertainty in what’s going on (for example, when customers contact customer service for help). It creates instant rapport when you demonstrate understanding and empathy to customers by matching what they’re doing or what they’ve said in their words or body language. Mirroring makes customers feel heard and reinforces that what they’re saying matters to your company. Sales mirroring is a sales technique in which representatives intentionally mimic the verbal and nonverbal cues exhibited by the prospect. Mirroring is an aspect of active listening: an effective technique used to demonstrate understanding and empathy in conversations. How does mirroring work? This technique works because of a concept known as limbic synchrony. When people see someone adopt a posture or express an emotion, special types of neurons known as “mirror neurons” activate in their brain, triggering a response or feeling as if the watcher had performed the action themselves. This action is why some people find it difficult to be around those who are distressed and enjoy being around those who are happy. Mirroring in interviews or other business contexts can subconsciously make the person you’re speaking to believe you’re their friend. This approach makes it easier to win them over. Since job interviews are a two-way process, mirroring is something both the interviewer and the
2 interviewee can employ. When you practice mirroring as an interviewer, trainer, or manager, you make the person you’re speaking to feel at ease, helping your interactions go more smoothly. Tips for successful mirroring Successful mirroring requires paying attention to the other person’s posture and mannerisms and reflecting them subtly, for example: Reflecting their posture In an interview, performance review or training scenario, you’ll start with a formal posture and expect the interviewee or team member to behave similarly. As the meeting progresses, you may wish to adopt a more relaxed posture to make the other person more comfortable, and they could do the same. Pace and tone of speech Talking loudly to someone else who speaks softly can come across as intimidating. Matching their tone could put them at ease. The same applies to the pace of speech. If you’re leading a meeting and aren’t pushed for time, trying to reflect the other person’s pacing can give them a subconscious feeling of talking to a friend. If you find yourself rushing because you know the interview is at risk of overrunning, consider disclosing this rather than simply talking faster. This method will reduce the risk of the interviewee feeling dismissed or rushed by your sudden change in mannerisms. Use of language In job interviews or training scenarios, some use of jargon or formal language is expected. If you’re speaking to a prospective client or someone you’ve just met at a trade show, you’d want to communicate with them using similar language as them. That doesn’t mean dropping slang or emotive language. Staying professional is important. However, there’s little point in being stilted and formal or using language the other person would find confusing or intimidating. Gestures and mannerisms Pay attention to the gestures and mannerisms the other person uses. They nod or tilt their head while you’re speaking or wave their hands when they’re talking. Work similar gestures into your own behaviour during the conversation, but don’t overdo it. The secret to successful mirroring is to be subtle. If you copy everything a person is doing in an exaggerated fashion, they may take that as a sign of disrespect. If you’re normally someone who sits still while listening, nod only if you agree. If you don’t naturally use gestures but want to mirror someone who does, choose moments where it would make sense, such as gesturing for emphasis. Carefully selected motions will help you build a connection with the person you’re speaking to.
3 Overall, mirroring is an imitation technique. The purpose of mirroring in communication is to show the other person that you understand what they’re saying and how they’re feeling. Mirroring often manifests in matching the person’s physical actions or words. Mirroring can also involve repeating words or phrases to show that you are paying attention and engaged in what they are saying. Other rapport-building techniques Mirroring isn’t always appropriate. If someone is stressed or nervous, mirroring them could worsen the situation. Other rapport-building techniques may work just as well. Being mindful of your own body language and tone is the first step toward putting the person you’re speaking to at ease. Active listening is also useful. Make eye contact if the person seems comfortable with it. Ask questions to ensure you’ve fully understood what the person is saying. Even if you think you’ve understood their point, try paraphrasing it back to them. This method will show them that you’ve been listening and will also give them a chance to correct anything you misunderstood. In job interviews, note how your candidate responds to final questions. Have they been paying attention during the interview? Did they research the company before coming? Make conversations as interactive as possible. Look for areas of common ground, share stories that you think the other person may be interested in and try to use analogies that you’ll both understand. These minor changes could help make communication easier. The answers a candidate gives to casual questions in a job interview can often be more informative about their suitability for a job than their technical or skills-based answers.
4 Sales Mirroring How to Conduct Sales Mirroring? 1. Nonverbal Cues Body language, gestures, and even their positioning in the room can all be indicative of a prospect’s approach to the sale, and sales representatives who mirror those nonverbal cues can build trust with even potentially skeptical buyers. It isimportant to be subtle with your body language mirroring because it can come across as intense when prospects manage to notice it. And don’t ever mirror a prospect’s nonverbal cues if they’re angry or otherwise negative; this tactic only works with neutral or positive nonverbal cues. 2. Tone of Voice Pay attention to the prospect’s tone when you speak to them and try to mirror it back. Some customers don’t mind small talk (some even prefer to get to know you before moving forward with sales talk), but some want to get right down to business. Know the tone your target buyer will deliver and mirror it. 3. Volume Everyone knows at least one loud-talker and one soft-spoken introvert — sales is no exception. Despite a salesperson’s preference for personal conversation, reps should strive to match a prospect’s loudness level in the context of a sales conversation. 4. Language Quality Language quality refers to a prospect’s preferred language — their sentence structure, word choice, phrasing, vocabulary, slang and/or industry jargon usage, etc. Be careful not to outright copy a prospect’s word choice — this can get weird in a hurry — but if a prospect uses very technical language, it’s okay to meet them with your expertise. And, conversely, if they use a very casual tone in sales conversations, you may want to use bigger- picture language that describes the day-to-day benefits, rather than the technical ins and outs of the product. 5. Length A speaker’s length of speech refers to how long they speak without interruption. This is also known as their “talk streak.” Sales reps should pay attention to how long prospects expect to speak during their turn within a back-and-forth conversation. Some prefer to get a lot of their thoughts and ideas out at the