How to Transfer Your Enthusiasm to Others Without Looking Like a Creepy Freak

“Sales is Nothing More than a Transfer of Enthusiasm”

-Brain Tracy

Have you ever had an idea, a product, a cause, or a topic that you really wanted others to learn about, believe in, or buy into? Were you able to do so, or did you seem to repel people whenever you brought it up? In either case, you might be able to pick up a tip or two from an experience I had while visiting a national monument…

Not too long ago, I visited the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. The last time I was there was during a sixth grade field trip, a time when I was more concerned with how much candy I could acquire and eat while away from home than I was with appreciating history. I have to say, seeing it now, as an adult, I very much enjoyed my visit.

I was there with a few friends, and after taking in the Memorial for a little while, we started chatting. Someone raised a question that none of us knew the answer to (For the life of me, I can’t remember what the question was, but it was probably along the lines of, “what the heck is that thing on the statue??”).

Luckily, the memorial has an “information office,” which seems like a logical place to get information. The office held a large wall display with information about the memorial’s structure and history.

The display showed six pictures potential memorial statues. We started commenting on them, and yes, making fun of some of the sillier looking designs (one made Jefferson look like one of the aliens from Signs)

Suddenly, a loud voice from behind us started speaking:

“Close your eyes for a moment and imagine if you will…”

Uh-oh. I live in downtown Philadelphia. If I hear someone begin talking to me by saying “close your eyes,” my first thought is, “My God, I’m being mugged.”

It didn’t take me too long to remember that I was not in downtown Philadelphia, but in an information office of a national monument that was manned by two armed guards.

My next thought was, “oh no, we’re being chastised for making fun of the rejected Jefferson statue ideas.” That would be an odd sort of humiliation that would hearken back to my elementary school days.

The voice continued:

“…a Jefferson Memorial designed by Frank Lloyd Wright with a statue by Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali.”

We turned to see who was putting this freakish image in our minds. It was the designated Jefferson Memorial park ranger, sharing with us his knowledge of the history of the memorial.

Ah. So we were not being chastised. We were being educated. Hmm, I’m not sure which is worse…

He rose from his chair and came over to my group and continued to share with us tales and stories of both Jefferson and the memorial.

This experience was simultaneously informative, creepy, and entertaining, like watching a financial advice film written by Warren Buffet, directed by James Cameron, and narrated by Willem Defoe. Informative, creepy, and entertaining, all at once.

Later on, as I thought about “Mr. Jefferson Memorial Park Ranger,” I felt confused. On the one hand, I appreciated the information, and some of it was interesting. On the other hand, I wasn’t looking for a Jefferson lecture, and I found the guy a bit annoying. But at the end of the day, I was genuinely interested in Jefferson and the memorial.

I even asked the ranger which biography he would recommend. He answered, “In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson”

Basically, he had done his best to transfer his enthusiasm about Jefferson to me and my friends, and to some level, he succeeded.

The ability to transfer enthusiasm is a valuable skill. As speaker and sales trainer Brian Tracy says, “Sales is nothing more than a transfer of enthusiasm.”

Whether you are selling a product or service, or merely trying to get others to go along with your ideas, your ability to transfer your enthusiasm to other will directly impact your level of success and the ease with which you attain it.

We can learn some lessons, both good and bad, about transferring enthusiasm from the park ranger:

1) Have Passion and Enthusiasm

You can’t transfer enthusiasm to someone else unless you yourself have it. Sounds obvious, right? And yet, I know I have tried to sell products and services in the past that I was not super enthusiastic about – I just thought that “there was a market for it.”

Let me tell you, that doesn’t work well at all!

There are some people (the ones we consider “natural sales-people”) who can get excited about anything. This point is not meant for them. This is meant for people who are more hesitant promoting their product or service (or their company’s).

If you fall into that category, then your best bet is to find a product or service (whether your own or someone else’s) that has two qualities:

1. You have enthusiasm and passion for it
2. There is a market for it

If the first is missing, you may make some money for a while, but you will lose interest (and frankly, never reach the heights of success you could otherwise). If the second is missing, you’ll have a lot of fun for a while but you won’t sell much. You need both.

Find something you have a genuine enthusiasm for, and you will make your selling life much easier.

2) Let Your Passion Through

It’s not enough to simply have passion and enthusiasm. If you want to transfer it to others, you have to let other people see it!!

Passion can be infectious. If you let it out, others may be swept up in it (or they may laugh at you – more on that later). If you keep it bottled up inside, they’ll never know.

Years ago, I read “Pour Your Heart Into It” by Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks. I was reading it to see if I could pull out any business lessons, but by the end of the book I found myself getting swept up in Schultz’s passion for the coffee.

I remember saying to myself, “wow, this guy is so passionate about Starbucks coffee, I really want to go try a cup and see for myself.”

Bear in mind, I had drank many Starbucks’ coffees before this. But now I wanted to retry it because I was swept up in his enthusiasm.

Normally when I drank Starbucks I would add cream and sweetener, and I would read a book or do some work while drinking it. That day, after finishing his book, I ordered a coffee, drank it straight black with nothing added, and just sipped it with no distractions to appreciate the flavor.

All that because of Howard Schultz’s passionate writing about the coffee.

Once I drank it that way I can’t say I took on the same level of passion. But he made the sale, simply by transferring his enthusiasm to me.

3) Be Briefly Annoying

Those of us who hate selling will often point to our desire to not interrupt, bother, or annoy people with a message they probably don’t want to hear.

Here’s the thing though: if you want to really succeed in life, you’re going to have to put yourself out there. You’ll have to interrupt people. You may even periodically annoy them.

This doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk, you just have to realize that some people will be initially annoyed by interruptions.

Your level of willingness to be a little annoying will vary. Some people have no problem. Some hate interrupting to try to sell. Some people are so afraid of bothering others that they hate calling a restaurant for reservations even asking someone for information at an information desk (no joke).

This ranger could have kept his mouth shut and just waited until someone asked him a question. Instead, he was willing to be the annoying guy, just briefly, to engage us in dialog.

Be willing to slightly annoy at first. If people don’t respond, back off. But if they do, good for you! Your interruption paid off.

4) It’s Ok to Be Laughed At

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone that seemed so ridiculous that, even though they were being 100% serious, you found yourself trying to not to start laughing out loud? That was me for about half the conversation with the park ranger. I managed to hold it together, but just barely.

And now here I am, somewhat mocking this man. And you know what? It’s ok. He succeeded.

His job was to inform us and get us more interested in Jefferson and the memorial. He succeeded. I came home from that trip and got a couple of books about Thomas Jefferson from the library.

If he had kept his mouth shut because he was afraid we would laugh at him, he would have failed.

Some people will disapprove of or laugh at just about anything you do. Let them. As long as you keep achieving your goals and are happy with your life, who cares?

If you have a deep passion for what you do and let it show a bit, some people will think you are weird, some will hate you, and some will laugh at you. Let them. You can laugh back at them while you are living the life you want.

5) Understand Context

In this situation, we were tourists at the Jefferson Memorial, and he was a park ranger whose job was to share information about the memorial. It made total sense for him to wax poetic about Jefferson and the Memorial.

If we had been at a bar having drinks, not talking about Jefferson or his majestic memorial, and some random dude came up and said, “close your eyes for a moment and imagine if you will a Jefferson Memorial designed by  Frank Lloyd Wright with a statue by Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali,” that would be weird. And creepy. And might potentially lead to violence.

To put it in your terms, understand the context of your passion. If someone calls you inquiring about your business, let your passion out. If you meet someone at a networking event and they politely ask about your business, let some enthusiasm out, but save some for if and when they ask follow up questions. If you are at a dinner party and no one asks about your business, don’t randomly inject your business promotions into inappropriate places (“Mmm, these mashed potatoes are so good they remind me of my new business venture.”)

The people whose enthusiasm seems a little creepy are the ones who talk about their interest all the time, with full on enthusiasm every time. If you’re a four year old who can’t stop talking about Toy Story no matter where you are, that’s understandable. If you’re an adult who can’t stop talking about supply chain management no matter where you are, that’s socially awkward.

Adjust your approach based on your environment. When the time is right, let your passion fly. Otherwise, pace yourself a bit.

In Conclusion

Passion, enthusiasm, missions, etc. are all wonderful things. However, what’s at least as useful (if not more so) as having that passion is having the ability to get others swept up in that passion with you. Follow the lessons from out friendly park ranger and you will be well on your way to effectively transferring your enthusiasm…
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