After seeing David Mamet’s play Race on Broadway, Sharon and I had half-an-hour until our train left New York’s Penn Station for our home in Montclair, New Jersey.
We went to a bar. I ordered a Heineken and she a glass of wine. We were sitting next to a drunk who began to sing, so we picked up our drinks and paper napkins and moved to a banquette.
When I put the napkin down, I looked at it. And as soon as I saw it, I got curious.
(Don’t click here)
I am sure psychology has a name for why I got curious, but I don’t know it.
I have heard that Google banner ads that say something like, “Don’t Click Here” drive a lot of traffic.
I have a friend named Gary Forman, a great speechwriter. Go to his site and see his clever use of the technique. When I visited the site for the first time, I looked at the navigation bar along the top. Guess where I clicked?
I’ve heard that children instructed to not touch a particular toy will almost always touch it when left alone.
Is this the power of the forbidden? And if so, could we begin our speeches and presentations by saying, “You must not listen to a word I say. Turn around and face the back wall. Talk amongst yourselves. Because what I have to say is far too powerful to be heard by the likes of you.”
And then could we jump into our content and remind them now and then that they should not be listening.
Getting attention is important for all of us. If we couldn’t get attention, we would die—wither on the vine, go hungry, and perish—psychologically and physically.
So this is worth our consideration as speakers. It’s a technique to be explored—this technique of forbidding— and it seems to be effective because it taps into the craving to do what is forbidden.
(Don’t open the napkin)