I just heard a wonderful story from copywriter extraordinaire Harlan Kilstein.
Two excellent platform salespeople were selling to a group in the front of a room.
The first did his usual excellent performance, with an enthusiastic response.
The second invited the group to sit on the floor and have some milk and cookies while he told his sales story.
Guess who made the most sales?
It should come as no surprise the audience who enjoyed milk and cookies while sitting on the floor were much more receptive.
Why?
Eating milk and cookies while sitting on the floor is a hypnotic suggestion to regress to childhood, perhaps remembering doing this in kindergarten or some other setting. People are hardwired to listen to stories, and eating milk and cookies while sitting on the floor makes them even more receptive.
It might not be practical to have your audience eat cookies while seated on the floor. What other ways can you control the environment through suggestion to position them to be more receptive to your sales message?