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TIME TIMER Funnel Effect
THE FUNNEL EFFECT.
We all know how a funnel works: you pour into the wide end a liquid or fine powder and the shape of the funnel focuses the ingredients into a smaller nozzle so you don’t spill or waste any ingredient. The Funnel Effect is just a new name for people situations that I am sure you have experienced. It can happen when you are working with one or more people on a project/game and the teamwork just seems to “jell”. The planning is paying off, each person is carrying out their individual job and there seems to be an “energy” that the project/match is going to be a success. Everyone seems to be more inspired and enthusiastic and it feels good.
You can achieve this in a discussion with one person where they seem to get the ideas of what you are trying to put to them. This applies especially in one-to-one counselling of many sorts, psychological, disciplinary, and the selling situation for “products” such as life assurance.
In most of these situations the leader, although he or she may not always be so designated, and this may change over the time of a meeting, has an objective. And this objective may or not be revealed to everyone. The leader then uses their skill to bring about the acceptance of their objective. He or she will use all their skill of persuasion, backed up by “facts” from other sources. I think you know all this process as applied to various settings and the use of techniques such as voice pitch, vocabulary, seating arrangements, gestures, voice volume. etc.
TIME as an element of Persuasion.
In the above process, we have not considered TIME as an element because we have not been able to easily include it. But as much as we would like to get away from being ruled by TIME and it’s constraints we just have to come to terms with the whole concept of “Time is Money”. And if this is true in our modern society, where the skills of the competent ones are all in short supply, then we should all be aware of the problem and really make and effort to be more TIME efficient.
I suggest that with the silent TIME TIMERS, billed in the US as Tangible Time Management, we have a way of building TIME into the Funnel Effect. Here follows some suggestions on how to do it.
TIME TIMER Funnel Effect in a Counselling Session.
Let’s take a counselling session with a female therapist and a male subject/patient/client, Johnny. The therapist has a goal for the session, which may or not be expressed to the client. She will use her professional knowledge plus her experience of the particular client to help her achieve her goal. (Let’s say it is to encourage Johnny to take his medication because it will help him feel better and enable him to be “good” at school and not get into trouble.)
Usually, but not always, Johnny has been through this sort of discussion before with parents and teachers and although this therapist does not “carry on” the way the others do he suspects that the outcome, for him, will be similar. So Johnny decides: “Let me agree with her so we can get this session over with and I can get out of here and go play.” The therapist, in addition to her professional training uses such techniques as: modulating voice pitch, using appropriate gestures to enhance bonding, using language suited to the client’s age and understanding of language, etc.
Another factor seldom realised in this mix is Time. The therapist has limited time, usually, to get over her message. (A therapy session usually, but not always, lasts for 40/45 minutes. She is familiar with this timing and by checking the clock she has situated on the wall behind the client is able to keep track of how she is progressing so she can wrap up the session in the period.
But Johnny has no such indication of how time is passing. All he thinks about is how much longer “this dame is going to continue to pester him to take his medication.” Even if he does have a watch if he looks at it she will immediately question him as to why he is looking at it. Another moan!
But if you add the presence of a TIME TIMER to the session, and place it in a way that both can clearly see it, (on the side of the desk, for example), a couple of subtle but important changes take place. Both therapist and client can see, at a glance, “How much time is Left”. There is no need to look at a clock or watch and calculate this. And both will use this information differently. The therapist to hurry along or slow down if necessary and this particular client, Johnny, to say to himself: “Nearly there. Just hang in there for a bit longer.”
We now need to consider a few factors based on studies of people in factory performance. In routine manufacturing jobs the actual number of piece-work items processed by a worker varies over the day. People, being people, find it difficult to keep exactly the same pace all day even though they may try to. We all know about the drop of energy just after lunch-time. But what these studies showed was that there was an increase in production near the end of the shift. It seemed as if the worker said to himself: “Well, its almost home time, let me give it a go, give it a bit of a spurt.”
I’ve felt this reaction myself in a lecture situation where I am battling to keep concentrating. But then finding out that there is just another ten minutes of the period left I find I perk up and appreciate this effect. It was in fact is such a situation that I first was exposed to the TIME TIMER used by Dr John Taylor while he lectured on ADHD on his SA visit in 2002. It was that personal exposure, and feeling how effective it was, that drove us to eventually import the TIMERS and become agents in SA. (Thank you Dr John!)
Applying this concept to the counselling situation I suggest that because BOTH therapist and client are easily aware of the passing of time they make better use if it. Accepting that they both have different “goals” for the session they become more congruent as time passes. And the therapist’s objectives can more easily be met. They are experiencing the TIME TIMER Funnel Effect.
TIME TIMER Funnel Effect in a Selling Situation
Let’s probe whether such an effect could be found in a typical selling situation, say, for example, the Life Assurance Salesperson (although these days they are Financial Consultants, so let’s call her FFC) She is trying to persuade Mr Abel that even if he considers that he has good genes and a healthy diet, he could still die soon and then where would the money come from to look after his family. Surely not from his brother?
Now the problem with life assurance selling is that it is a painful idea to the person being assured. No-one, especially the well-off, like think of their own death. And thinking about the wife and kids enjoying the proceeds without them makes it even worse. So it is usually, but not always, a tricky sell. The Client, Mr Abel wants to get rid of Ms FFC as soon and as cheaply as possible Ms FFC wants the sale and her commission.
If I was Ms FFC I would say: “Mr Abel, you are a busy man and I have further calls to make. How much time can you spare me for this important talk?” Let’s say he says 15 minutes. She takes a Personal TIME TIMER out of her briefcase, does not say anything, sets it for 15 minutes and places it where they both can see it. She then proceeds with her selling pitch (15 minute version).
As the TIME TIMER’s red face get smaller so there is pressure on Mr Abel to make a decision. Not a final one, but a decision to get more figures and information or to stop the whole Assurance matter altogether. This is a similar goal to Ms FFC and they are in the TIMER Funnel. When the TIMER show no red face there is no more time left. Mr Abel can either agree to set the TIMER for another time limit or schedule another appointment. It is likely that he does not feel cheated or pressured and he respects the professionalism of Ms FFC. They are now on the same side wanting to care for his family. They are experiencing the TIMER Funnel Effect.
We will pursue these Funnel Effect ideas as applied to various settings such as: meetings, conferences, class rooms, exams, tests etc. |
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