photo of tunnel to depict `light at the end of the tunnel' or optimism

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The compelling Bear Grylls


TV and real-life adventurer Bear Grylls engages with his viewers in a pretty compelling way, maybe we can learn something from it.
He’ll be wading through a mangrove swamp in central America and will suddenly say something like this: `If you’re ever in a mangrove swamp keep a sharp lookout for crocs’ etc.
The inference is clear - you might someday feel like wading through a mangrove swamp. The possibility exists. Life is unpredicable, it’s better to be prepared for any eventuality. You might develop an obsession for mangrove swamps, you might wonder if it’s safe to wade through them, and if you ever do, well, keep a sharp lookout for crocs.
Let’s face it, hardly any of his viewers will ever find themselves intrepidly wading through a mangrove swamp. They are more likely to find themselves intrepidly wading through a bag of potato chips. And it’s possible that he realises this - that when he says `if you ever’ etc. he’s just being nice to them, he’s flattering them a little. But maybe more importantly, he’s compelling them to believe that something which is extremely unlikely might in fact be possible.

It occurs to me that the  `if you ever’ phrase could be applied to other fields of endeavour, other pursuits, as well as mangrove-swamp-wading.
Maybe it could be used to attract a partner or mate, ie. `Oh by the way, if you ever find yourself on vacation in a luxury hotel in the Bahamas you’ll need plenty of suntan oil.’ The inference is clear - stick around and maybe I’ll take you to the Bahamas.
Or maybe it could be used in business, maybe to persuade a particularly talented employee whom you suspect is planning to desert you for another employer, ie. `Oh by the way, if you’re ever promoted to CEO you’ll need an attractive secretary’ etc.

Bear is a public speaker as well as an adventurer. As part of his public speaking he motivates people, he motivates them to believe that options, choices, courses of action which seem remote and unachievable are in fact achievable. 
That’s pretty normal, most public speakers do this.
But what most public speakers don’t do is apply their motivation techniques to TV adventure series.  
*Grylls hosts a documentary series known in the U.S. on Discovery Channel as Man vs. Wild. This series is titled Born Survivor: Bear Grylls for Channel 4 and Ultimate Survival for Discovery Channel in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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