Episode 14 - How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less – Nicholas Boothman

Are you hesitant to approach strangers on the street to ask them to take their picture? Do you need to immediately connect with potential clients? Would you like to improve your ability to make your models feel comfortable in your studio?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, you'll really enjoy our guest, Nicholas Boothman, author of How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less."

According to Amazon.com. "The average person's attention span lasts about 30 seconds. That means first and immediate impressions count, and big. In this modern-day update of Dale Carnegie's classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, former fashion photographer Nicholas Boothman instructs you in how to mold those 30 seconds to your greatest advantage and connect with others at business and social functions.

Boothman, now a lecturer and licensed master practitioner of neurolinguistic programming (the art and science of how the brain affects human connections), says that the key to making others like you quickly lies in establishing a rapport: you have to find out what you have in common or, if you seemingly have nothing in common, purposely try to become like the other person for a short time. He then goes on to offer simple techniques for getting a rapport going: adopt a positive attitude; make sure your words, tone, and gestures are all saying the same thing; synchronize your attitude and body movements to those of another person's (which makes the person feel comfortable with you--although he or she may not know why); and ask lots of open-ended questions. Boothman also describes how to figure out a stranger's favored sense for receiving information about the world--some rely on visual cues, others on auditory or kinesthetic (touch) input--and use it to your best advantage.

If discovering how to connect with others is the secret to business and life success, as Boothman contends, then employing the strategies in this book will make you instantly likable and give you a leg up on the competition."

Boothman's suggestions are very helpful, and you'll really enjoy hearing his thoughts. Not only will his techniques improve your rapport with your photographic subjects, but they'll be helpful in other areas of your life, too.

We also welcome Lensbaby as a new sponsor of Digital Photography Life. They have a great deal for our listeners - a free  0.6x wide angle/macro conversion lens with the purchase of a Lensbaby Composer from any retailer. Check out this great offer at http://personallifemedia.com/pages/lensbaby.

And thanks always to SmugMug for their sponsorship, too. Find out how you can get a free camera strap and half off the price of the first year of their great service at www.scottsphotoblog.com.

And, if you get a moment, please take a moment to light a candle for Michael's ailing Nikon D200. Thanks for listening and we'll talk again soon.