You're irrelevant if you fail to fascinate

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will not forget how you made them feel. — Maya Angelou

You don’t control fascination. Fascination controls you.” That, in a nutshell, is the main thesis of the entertaining and engaging book, Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation, authored by Sally Hogshead, a multi-awarded advertising creative, and a prominent brand consultant.

Hogsheads’ lines — like “Fascination has little to do with what you say, and everything to do with what you inspire others to say about your message. Fascinating people, like fascinating companies, don’t try to explain why they’re fascinating. Explaining to people why you’re fascinating is about as effective as explaining to an employee why you deserve respect. Not so much” — make you think about your communication modes. Indeed you can’t verbally claim you are a good singer; you have to demonstrate your power to sing, and make your audience give you a standing ovation as they shout “Bravo!” That’s the concept of stimulus-response in action.

Fascination is the most compelling means to sway decision-making — from the brands you prefer to the dance you dance to the person you marry. As Hogshead claims, “It’s more persuasive than marketing, advertising, or any other form of communication. And it all starts with seven universal stimuli — passion, mystique, prestige, power, rebellion, alarm and trust.

The universal stimuli

Hogshead, using a number of investigations, has established that there are seven collective fascination stimuli, each of which is capable of flickering a physical, emotional or intellectual retort. Influencing these stimuli, she declared, “is a way to persuasion and competitive advantage.”

Lust. The Marquis de Sade said, “Lust’s passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes.” Lust is seduction by the anticipation of pleasure. You stop thinking and start feeling. You make the ordinary more emotional using your five senses — seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing and feeling. You taunt, flirt, drive passion, and create a desire in another person. Lust, as Hogshead proclaims, “can make people so enamored with a message that they’re temporarily willing to ignore everything else around, lower their defenses, and consider something they otherwise might not.”

Mystique. Salvatore Quasimodo expressed, “The poet’s spoken discourse depends on mystique, on the spiritual freedom that finds itself enslaved on earth.” You are intrigued by unanswered questions. You spark curiosity about you and your message, while you withhold information, build mythology, and limit access.

Alarm. “If you look at life one way, there is always cause for alarm,” Elizabeth Bowen mused. When the alarm is set off, you take immediate action to steer clear of off-putting consequences. You identify outcomes, establish targets and deadlines, amplify apparent threats, concentrate on the most feared effect, and bring into play anguish to push positive action.

Prestige. “There can be no prestige without mystery, for familiarity breeds contempt,” Charles de Gaulle once said. If you have prestige, you are a person to envy. You make others covet what you have and who you are. You inspire an envious eagerness to possess something, develop symbols, and set a new standard. Prestige is available in limited scale and, if it has to be meaningful, you have to earn it.

Feeling fascination: Sally Hogshead book, Fascinate, examines how brands inspire loyalty.

Power. “Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you know who you are and you are willing to work with power that is greater than yourself to do it,” Ella Wheeler Wilcox shared. To generate power, get people to defer to you and your message. Encourage others to follow you to allow you to control them, to dominate, to control the environment, and to reward and punish.

Rebellion. “It doesn’t take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause,” H.L. Mencken wrote. Act outside of your normal behavior, and get engaged in calculated rebellion. Encourage folks to view the world differently, to go against the status quo. Create taboos, lead others off track, define fixed ideas, and simply sparkle. A rebellious message encourages people to change their patterns and try something different: a most useful tactic for anyone who wants to change ingrained beliefs or behavior.

TRUST. Steve Jobs exclaimed, “Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, and karma. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” If people see you as a trustworthy person, they will find you safe and comfortable. They will confide in you. Trust is a fascination through comfort. You’re reliable and dependable and authentic, and as such you help others to be at ease, become familiar with you, to repeat and retell your conversations, and to be authentic in their relationships.

These stimuli seem basic and commonsensical. In truth, they really are. They are innately part of your persona. You’ve had them since birth, and the thrill comes from spotting when they are in use to drive your actions towards your goals.

Seals of fascination

In the tome, Hogshead likewise presents six golden seals of fascination. They are triggers for discussions and dialogues, and serve as foundations for the achievement of your goals.

Provokes strong and immediate emotional reaction. You respond to it with immediacy, and your response is either a like or a dislike; a love or a hate, just as you would react to brands like Fox News or Disney.

Creates advocates. And as they are created, you should provide vigorous and vocal support. You need to reward them, inspire them, support their communication, and help them become a part of your story. Take the case of Harley Davidson, the Twilight series and Lady Gaga. They are names that produced cult followings whose members became brand ambassadors because of the sustained inspiration and support they get from the brand.

Offers “cultural shorthand” for a specific set of actions or values. It’s your reference point to know yourself, and your universe. Home Depot reinforces your “do-it-yourself” world, while Target props up your accessible style. Louis Vuitton, Ikea, and Virgin Airways lay bare this principle.

Incites conversation. With this seal, you can get people to hook up with you, and help you generate chatty hum any way you can. Adidas, The National Enquirer and Grey’s Anatomy are good examples to illustrate this point. ??

Forces competitors to realign around it. It establishes a new standard, and because of this, you take notice, think, act and behave in a new way. Wal-Mart and Apple are maverick and fascinating brands that best demonstrate this hallmark.

Taps into (or even causes) social revolutions.  It accelerates word-of-mouth marketing, and amplifies your efforts without trying. It disrupts the status quo of established beliefs and teaches you to think differently. The Livestrong yellow bracelet, John Lennon and United Colors of Benetton exemplify this seal.

Messages that fail to fascinate will become irrelevant. It’s that simple. And fascinating messages, like fascinating people, have the potential to consume us as most nothing else can, sucking you into a whirlpool of passion. You want to feel fascinated by a product or experience, and will pay more for a brand that fascinates you.

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??E-mail bongosorio@yahoo.com or bong_osorio@abs-cbn.com for comments, questions or suggestions. Thank you for communicating.