John Cleese

In a perfect world, a friendly gesture is just what it seems. In the real world, what a prospect says may not match what he or she expresses nonverbally. In the following PSP exclusive, John Cleese demonstrates how to read nonverbal cues and respond to them successfully.

Although Cleese is best known for such highly successful comic escapades as “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” “Fawlty Towers” and A Fish Called Wanda, he has made an equal success in the business world. In fact, Video Arts, the training film company that he co-founded in 1972, was sold for 50 million British pounds. Cleese has created wealth by teaching us how to laugh at ourselves.

With his guffaws on hold and his keen sense of the human spirit at work, Cleese models some of the poses prospects strike while trying to avoid making the decision to buy.

John Cleese may have gotten his first instinctive lessons in the art of persuasion from his father who sold insurance.

“I got the impression from him that there was a lot of psychology to selling. Sometimes, to tease potential customers who had been a little bit rude or insensitive or something like that, he had very subtle ways to confuse them. I can remember driving down a narrow country lane once and a car came screaming around the corner – very much on the wrong side of the road – it came screaming to a halt. To our astonishment, the guy leapt out at us and started shouting all sorts of abuses and accusations at my father who was a very careful, orderly driver. When he finished, there was some silence. My father looked at him and with a big smile said, ‘Ah, I see you are a fine old English gentleman.’ The guy’s expression absolutely changed. He stared at my father for about 15 seconds and then said, ‘As a matter of fact, I am, yes!’ And then he got back in his car and drove off. When customers gave my father a difficult time, he could deflect their difficult behavior in much the same way.”

Cleese once described himself as a gawky, very uncomfortable teenager, especially when he started growing so tall (he is six-foot-five). When he realized that he had a unique way of using his body – a way that was funny to people – he began to develop a presence around that skill.

“The only way that you can develop your own presence is to get out and do it. And then try to get people to give you honest criticism.”

To get that essential feedback, Cleese has developed questioning techniques that reveal more than a simple, “Oh, I liked it just fine.” In his structured and precise method, he has created a way for his critics to help him build a better mousetrap.

“You have to ask people in a crafty way. You see, they don’t want to hurt your feelings. So it’s very hard to get feedback. The way you ask for the criticism is very important. If you want to hear that it was fine, you will hear that it was fine. I’d have a question like, ‘If I were shooting this movie again, what two things would you advise me to change?’ And somehow then it becomes a positive act…a helpful act rather than a criticism.”

Many salespeople feel that if you look good – look like you’re in control – you’re going to be successful. Some coat themselves with motivational techniques to fend off the feelings of inadequacy that often accompany selling rejections. Cleese relates that to a theatrical performance and how an actor first develops the role.

“I immediately think of some actors who work inside out and some work outside in. I can somehow just imagine all of these salespeople sort of coating themselves because they’re scared and they want a kind of armor. And then if you’ve got to act just to get along, it becomes more and more obvious.

“I think also that as you get older, you get a bit more comfortable with yourself and then your own presence. You just say, ‘Well, this is who I am. It’s not perfect, but it’s fine.’ In my case I think it’s come from analysis. The more you know about yourself, the more you accept yourself.

“Anyone who is doing cold calling has got to have some sort of personality to present to the people that he calls on. It’s just too tough to go in naked. And, at the same time, the more they use that, the more it’s going to repel. My opinion is you have to regard a presentation to people as a bit of a performance. But at the same time when you’re writing it, try to write it in your own language.”

Director Cleese has coached many talented performers in structuring a particular bit or character. On when and how to drop the rehearsal text and improvise he is, as ever, practical.

“It’s a question of personality. I mean some people can improvise and it’s marvelous if you can do it. But I think most people can’t. I would always try to structure it as much as possible. Unfortunately a lot of people who think they have a facility for talking are simply people who talk too much.

“But the final thing that we keep coming back to, which is so fascinating and so difficult, is how do you become better and more spontaneous? Through practice… and the rest comes down to your self-confidence.”

Cleese knows how to get that special performance out of an actor. A great performance is not something that automatically happens. It’s a subtle combination of acting skill and the director’s expertise at drawing it out.

“If you sit down with someone, you have to make them feel as secure as possible because the more secure they feel with you, the more they feel that you’re accepting them, the more they will give you the unbiased truth and the more you can then discuss how to solve the problem. The less secure they feel, the more they will try to conceal their problems. So the harder it will be for you to find out what they really need and how you can help them, what they need to work on. Whereas the English are far too indirect, in my observation, Americans are often very aggressive in their business behavior – in a way that I think is counterproductive. They may want to be tough. They may want to look like sort of tight-lipped, granite men.”

In Cleese’s view, managers who subscribe to the Rambo management school accomplish less than their more intuitive, sensitive counterparts. For certain types of salespeople, he also recognizes the value of a stronger hand with a shove in the right direction. A sales manager, it seems, must be all things to all salespeople.

“Of course, if you behave like Rambo, everyone’s going to behave back to you like that. I think you have to give people the security of knowing that you value them and basically that they’re a valued member of the team. That if they are therefore valued, they will be valuable.

“Now it’s harder if you inherit the team. And it would be difficult to manage someone that you don’t think is very good. But I still think that

the way to make progress with him or her is ultimately to talk it through and not to do this Rambo management type of thing, which is to try to make yourself feel good by making the other person feel bad. Also maybe by trying to find out what is good in that person even though you may not respond to that person immediately. To recognize that everybody has some potential. Say, ‘All right, is he as bad as I think?’ I mean I find it very difficult sometimes to assess the people.”

Cleese, whose career began when he was hired fresh out of Oxford University to write comedy for BBC radio, is not motivated by traditional show business values.

“I think sometimes you find something deeply satisfying because you basically got it right. For me personally, the thing that gives me the most satisfaction is the sense that I’ve understood something that I never understood before. When I work with people, if I don’t feel like I’m learning, I get very bored.

“Finding meaning in that daily grind is a challenge for all of us. We tend to think of the glamour of show business and we forget all the repeated rehearsals, failed shows, repetitious performances and dark, dusty dressing rooms where none of the thrill of cheering crowds greets the veteran performer. Professionals can’t say, ‘Well, I’ve had enough of this,’ and walk off the set, any more than a salesperson can walk out of a prospect’s office when the going gets tough.

“I’m not talking as a trainer but I think meaning has to come out of the personal relationships you have with the people that you work with. I mean when I’m getting ready to do my 81st training film after 17 years with Video Arts, going on the floor and seeing all my old friends, enjoying working with them, that’s what motivates me.”

Any manager who has struggled to motivate a team of salespeople has pondered the problem of how to get each one going. You must be a coach to this one, a mentor to that one and a pest to the other. One is motivated by dreams of riches, another looks for the satisfaction in the job and someone else likes dealing with the people. For Cleese, motivation is not a matter of cheering and singing company songs, but of commitment.

“You know, I don’t think of it so much as building up a corporation. I don’t think in those terms. To me, it has a lot more to do with the particular faces of the company. And a sense of commitment to them. I have the feeling that I will go on working with them because these people do this job well and they enjoy doing it and it’s a good deal for everyone concerned.

“As far as the motivation, it has more to do with the idea that we’re putting out ideas and training. This is a general culture which, in our own small way, may make slight improvements in the way people work.

“We think it’s much greater motivation to teach people skills that make them that much better at their jobs than to just give them a cheering session that will fade in a short time.”

As a manager who has worked with businesspeople, a director who has worked with actors, a writer who has worked the production end of the business and a comedic genius who has enthralled audiences, Cleese is in a unique position to talk about what motivates people to give their best.

“My policy with people who work for me is always to be very supportive and encouraging and I’m told that this works very well with introverts. Whereas extroverts work much better if you cheer them along a bit.”

For managers who have difficult situations to deal with, either within the sales team or with disgruntled customers, Cleese offers these words of advice.

“I would suggest to sit back – sort of take the pressure off – so he doesn’t feel that he’s being pursued and almost deliberately say, ‘Can you talk a little bit about what’s bothering you?’ or ‘It’s very helpful to me, it may be helpful for our business, if I know what your problem is.’ He may say, ‘Oh, I don’t like this, I don’t like that.’ Then you say, ‘Can I ask you why?’ Always ask them an open question.

“You see, if you are getting a difficult response, or if you can’t make any sense out of the nonverbal cues you’re getting, you just fiddle with the picture that you see in front of you. If you don’t get it or you can’t understand, try to find out.

“Don’t put him under great pressure, and ask open questions. Keep asking the open questions until you really understand him. It may be an objection that is actually nonexistent. It comes out of misunderstanding or something that you can fix and they didn’t think you could fix it. Try to get a real picture of where they are. It means that you have to be open and relaxed yourself and not the driver or the pusher.”

If you use humor to make a point, use it with caution. It can be a dangerous tool when applied with too much force or at the wrong time or in the wrong circumstances. It takes finesse to be able to wield a funny ax.

“I think it would be quite incorrect to use humor as a way of scoring a customer or making them feel smaller. I think you could laugh at almost anything except the customer.”