Harper Lee wrote in "To Kill a Mockingbird", "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." We've all heard that you can't truly know someone until you walk a mile in his shoes. . . .well, this technique is another figurative exploration in working with the energy of our prospects.



By climbing into the skin of our prospects, we have more of a handle on experiencing the way they think and make decisions.

Our other-than-conscious minds are goal seekers. They recognize patterns with incredible brilliance and can pick up characteristics in others so that when we intentionally step into someone else's skin, we've already formulated what we are going to experience.

This is all about imagination. The way I do it is I look at my prospect and I jump in, simply imagining. My unconscious has already created a map, constructed a model of who this person is and I simply begin to mirror and model powerfully creating an instant rapport.

Is it real? I don't know. I don't really care. It's a mental construct. I am making it up in my mind. I'm making up that I'm now in your body looking through your eyes.

One of my students told me an alternative option that they've experienced with good results. They build a picture of the person they're becoming. And then they turn around and face the same way as that person and step in that way. It's a lot like mirroring.

I've experienced this as one of the quickest ways to gain incredible rapport. When we're working with the affluent, it's likely we're working with people who have more wealth than we do. By assuming their mannerisms, as we do when stepping into their skin, we have a very powerful simulation of them where they emulate the level of affluence which their client has.

What if you work with people on the phone and you have no idea what they look like? Could you do the same thing anyway? Sure. What is it that you know about that person when you're talking to them? They've got a phone to their ear, and they've got a voice, and their voice has characteristics, and those characteristics have conditions that your unconscious mind has seen before.

Using personality traits as an example, we see that there are a finite number patterns that exist. If we chunk up, and put it into a system, like the twelve astrological signs, we can fit those traits into those categories, depending on the system you're working with. There are all sorts of frames and ways to classify, limiting the potential combinations.

Of course, humans are infinite. However, wouldn't it be interesting to know that your unconscious, in its vast experience of dealing with all the people it has dealt with, has come across most all of the major patterns and major characteristics of the people that you're dealing with? It knows what that other person can be like. Could you build an image of that person? Sure you can, you absolutely can, and you can step right in, even if you're just on the phone.

This is a mental construct and as such, it will be imperfect. Even imperfect is okay. Because we're only hearing them and not seeing them, our construct is going to be different. Every minute we speak with them, however, our mental construct gets stronger, whether we are in their presence or on the phone. We are locking on to what that person needs and wants and seeing how we can best blend it with what we have to offer.

What are their physical characteristics? How does it feel to have those characteristics? Notice when you step into the other person, where you feel the connection to them. Do you feel the connection in your stomach, in your feet, in your hands, in your chest, in your head? Where do you feel the connection? By asking yourself these questions you'll deepen the rapport.

Before trying this, here's something to keep in mind: if the person's sick, if they have something considerably wrong with them, if you know that they're not a particularly good person or they are someone you just don't like, you might not choose to use this level of rapport, because you may not be able to shake it all the way off.

This exercise, even if you're not particularly in touch with energy, can still be used effectively.