In this episode of “Movies with Michael,” Michael Grinder illustrates how the power of a whisper can calm the other person and lower the recipient’s metabolism.
TRANSCRIPT: The Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Just before that, there was a spray-painted graffiti saying on that wall that has moved me and motivated me since then. It said, “We are in love with the influence of power. We need to be in love with the power of influence.”
For some time, I’ve tried to find a clip, a movie, or a segment that would show the difference between power and influence, and I found one. We’re going to look at a clip twice from a movie called “Deep Impact.”
[Mikhail] We have to go get Gus.
[Spurgeon] There’s no time for that. Re-pressurize the cargo bay.
[Mikhail] He’s going to die out there! We can still find him. He has a beacon.
[Spurgeon] I don’t have time to argue with you. Just sit down, be quiet.
[Mikhail] Turn on the f***ing locator!
[Jenny] We’ve used most of our propellant to get us out of the coma.
[Mikhail] We can’t just leave him. We have to go back!
[Spurgeon] If we go back for Gus, we all die.
[Mikhail] We can’t just leave him in space!
[Spurgeon] Sit down, Mik. Sit down. It’s okay.
Just a couple of notes so that you understand the context of what we’re watching. This is an international exploration. They go into outer space from several different nations. The fella in white is coming up the staircase, and when he says, “We have to go back and get Gus,” he’s talking about one of the colleagues that is outside of the shuttle right now. He’s not talking about G-A-S. He’s talking about someone’s name.
The second thing that’s important to understand is that the person in blue is the commander, and the person in red is one of the fellow shipmates. She’s the navigator. Now, go back, and watch it again. Watch how the person in blue, the person in charge, initially uses power to try to settle the person in white’s metabolism down. Doesn’t work.
Switches to influence, wow. Great flexibility. And notice the metabolism, how the person in white does settle down.
[Mikhail] We have to go get Gus.
[Spurgeon] There’s no time for that. Re-pressurize the cargo bay.
[Mikhail] He’s going to die out there! We can still find him. He has a beacon.
[Spurgeon] I don’t have time to argue with you. Just sit down, be quiet.
[Mikhail] Turn on the f***ing locator!
[Jenny] We’ve used most of our propellant to get us out of the coma.
[Mikhail] We can’t just leave him. We have to go back!
[Spurgeon] If we go back for Gus, we all die.
[Mikhail] We can’t just leave him in space!
[Spurgeon] Sit down, Mik. Sit down. It’s okay.
So we’ve studied something that is under 40 seconds and represents a spray painting on a wall in Berlin. Now, we’re going to go back. This time, we’re gonna stop it right when the person in blue, commander, switches from power to influence.
[Mikhail] We have to go get Gus.
[Spurgeon] There’s no time for that. Re-pressurize the cargo bay.
[Mikhail] He’s going to die out there! We can still find him. He has a beacon.
[Spurgeon] I don’t have time to argue with you. Just sit down, be quiet.
[Mikhail] Turn on the f***ing locator!
[Jenny] We’ve used most of our propellant to get us out of the coma.
[Mikhail] We can’t just leave him. We have to go back!
[Spurgeon] If we go back for Gus, we all die.
[Mikhail] We can’t just leave him in space!
The Nonverbals of Power are:
- Talking loudly
- Turning the head
- Direct eye contact
- Often talking very rushed
The nonverbals of influence are:
- You slow down
- You don’t have to make eye contact
- And it’s even more effective when you whisper.
Want more Movies with Michael? Check out his breakdown of power versus influence from the 80s classic, The Breakfast Club.
Are you an educator who wants to learn how to raise and lower your classroom’s metabolism? Check out our online course Metabolism, available for continuing education credit.
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