Hook, Salting & Emotional Word Pictures One of my favorite books is Mentored by a Millionaire by Steven Scott. And according to Stephen Scott, there are three components of a persuasive message. The hook, salting and emotional word pictures. Let’s talk about these three items.

Hook A great hook successfully takes your mind out of the past or future and hooks you right into the moment and into the conversation. Now I’ve got your attention. Steven Scott tell this story in his book to help us understand a hook. Two neighbors were outside in their backyards. One was moving the grass and his wife was in the kitchen fixing lunch. He could smell the hamburgers cooking over the smell of fresh grass. The other was preparing for a fishing trip; he was testing his fishing gear and practicing his casting. In one particular cast, the line and hook went over the fence and hooked the other neighbor, the one moving his grass, in the nose….OUCH. Now, where is his lawnmower…who knows, right, at this moment all he cares about is the hook in his nose. ………….That’s a HOOK. Bring them present…to the moment…to you.

Salting Ever heard, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink?” Scott says, that you can make him drink. Just feed him a few oats beforehand and put lots of salt on the oats. Why? Because salt makes you thirsty! The purpose of salting is to keep an audience-member’s attention as our attention naturally waxes and wanes. Keep attention by creating curiosity or a creating feeling anticipation in the listener.

Emotional Word Pictures An emotional word picture is a word, a statement, or a story that creates an instant picture in listener’s mind and implants a feeling into their emotions. We connect with one another using words, so use words the other best connect to your audience. Use words to create pictures and stories. Here’s a list to help you in selecting effective languaging. Passions, hobbies, interests of the other person Memorable events or current events Everyday objects of familiarity to them Nature images Imaginary stories