Jonathan Altfeld is an internationally known trainer of communication skills. He recently released his latest creation, the 4-CD set “Creating the Automatic YES”. In this program, Jonathan teaches how to elicit and influence emotional states in elegant and natural ways. Although the program focuses on one-on-one communication, all of the skills and knowledge taught can be applied to product demonstrations and group presentations as well.
The program starts out with the two modules The Power of Context and People Only Take Action in Action States. The listener will quickly understand why emotional states in communication are key to getting a message across. The course then continues to educate the listener about the importance of emotional awareness in all of our communication — and especially in our persuasive communication.
In the track Our Ability to Influence is Proportional to EQ, Jonathan says: “Lead your audience to an Action State in a way that aligns with their values and beliefs.” With that sentence, he sums up what you will get from the program: the ability to elicit and influence emotional states in your audience.
“Creating the Automatic YES,” not surprisingly, is all about emotional states. You will learn how to lead someone from an Encounter State to an Action State — not in one big step, but through the chaining of smaller state changes in between. This is a skill that will set you apart from other presenters. Thinking about how your audience will feel when they watch your product demo will most certainly help you add great stories — and sequence them for maximum impact — when preparing your demo script.
Although I didn’t plan on it, I listened to the entire course in one sitting. It takes a little under four hours and the quality and logical order of information, bundled with Jonathan’s entertaining presentation style, makes this program seem shorter than it actually is.
For me, this program is a keeper! I recommend it to any product demonstrator as a secret weapon. Armed with it, you will be able to elicit and change the emotional states of your audience with elegance. I consider this the main ingredient that will lead to truly memorable demos. Here’s a link to Jonathan’s online shop.