5-Step Process: Use Trigger Words to Influence Others

Photo by Art Lasovsky on Unsplash

Do you get frustrated when you spend precious time creating communications that people don’t take the time to act on? Wouldn't it be amazing to become empowered with the skill of attracting attention without overthinking? Consider using trigger words to gain the attention of the people you are trying to influence.

What are Trigger Words?

Trigger words are words that evoke specific emotion from your audience. They resonate on a level that makes them feel a certain way. If used properly, you can captivate your audience, build trust faster and sell products or ideas with greater ease. 

Step-by-step Process for Using Trigger Words to Boost Engagement & Sales

Step 1: Determine Your Own Trigger Words

Below is a process used by marketing and branding Expert Julie Solomon:

1. Close Your Eyes.

2. Think about words that your family and closest friends would use to describe you. These can be adjectives or other words that describe elements of your personality. 

3. Think about words that your peers would use to describe you. Words that define our performance, your enthusiasm, your passion. 

4. Think about words that excite you, make you happy, challenge you.

5. Think about words you see other people use that connect with you and draw you in to want to follow them. These are words that are triggering you, so equally important to note.

Example:

Here are some of my personal trigger words: empowerment, flexibility, freedom, fulfillment, clarity, growth, balance, consistency, honest, practical, challenging, inclusive, fun, ease, confidence, psychology, proven, collaboration, productive, thought leader, trust, connection. I could go on, but you get my drift. I'd aim to start with at least 10-20 values that resonate for you. 

Step 2: Determine Your Audience's Trigger Words

Formally or informally survey people who fit the description of your ideal target audience using the following questions:

1) How do they describe their problems that are relevant to the content of your communication?

2) What are specific pain points they are experiencing?

3) If they had a solution to their problem, what would that give them?

Listen carefully and capture each value word- positive and negative. Pay attention to their energy and highlight or make special note of the words that evoke emotion or a distinct energy. If you are surveying online, ask follow-up questions to ensure you are clear on the most evocative words for them. 

Step 3: Decide What Trigger Words Align to Your Communication

Distill down the words from steps 1 and 2 into the ones most relevant to your communication and your target audience's description of their problems and values (apprx 15-50 words should suffice).  

Step 4: Make it Visible

Take your trigger words from step 3 and have them visible on a sheet of paper or board in your workspace for whenever you create any communication or program for your target audience.

Step 5: Take Action

Now, what are you waiting for? Get started now. When creating content, start with the words that you know will captivate your audience. If you need an example, go back to the first paragraph of this blog post. You'll notice I've used some of my personal trigger words, plus negative trigger words that I hear from a lot of my clients (like "frustrated", "overthinking", and "time"). Play around with it. Pay close attention when you're getting engagement from people who belong to your target audience.

Good luck, and let me know what changes you notice!  

P.S. I have been working on a simple, effective program for attracting anything you want. Subscribe to become a Dialogue Insider today and you will be one of the first to hear when it's live. Trust me, you won't want to miss out.