Review of Little Voice Mastery

Self-Help Book Combines Sales and Affirmation Techniques

Sep 21, 2009

Sales guru Blair Singer says that daily decisions are often guided by secret little voices. He explains what they are, where they come from, and how to manage them.

Blair Singer's "Little Voice" Mastery: How to Win the War Between Your Ears in 30 Seconds or Less and Have an Extraordinary Life! blends aspects of self-help books with the author's own sales management techniques. The “little voice” to be managed is the amalgamation of doubts, fears, and negative thoughts which can cause businessmen to talk themselves out of ideas which may have been perfectly sound. Singer explains that these voices come from the mentors and experiences which come from life's experience, and lays out strategies for overcoming these internal objections to success.

Identification of the Little Voice

The little voice is internal, and thus appears more credible to the “listener.” A confirmed skeptic will seek to verify information given to him by other individuals, but if the information is in the form of internal thoughts it may not be so rigorously checked. Singer explains the origins of these little voices, which include:Opinions of parents

For example, experiencing a painful relationship breakup may lead a person to have a knee-jerk reaction to intimacy; this is evidence of a “little voice” telling the person that the same thing will happen again. It may manifest more narrowly, such as a negative reaction to a specific name or physical characteristic. Advice and warnings may lurk in one's brain for years until an appropriate situation manifests, and only then will the opinion manifest full-blown and without apparent justification.

Symptoms of Little Voice Activity

A number of behaviors can point to the silent manipulation by the little voice, and the author takes time to detail several in the book. For this discussion, procrastination as used as an example.

Singer identifies procrastination as an unwillingness to move forward with a given idea because of the fear generated by one or more little voices. Because the fear's source is not overtly identified, the mind associates it with the present situation. “It's one of the most devastating little voices inside each of our minds, and I”m sure you recognize it,” he states in the chapter on procrastination. “If you aren't careful,” he goes on, “you end up going through a systematic process of devaluing yourself and your project, until your energy is sufficiently low enough to NOT take action, and you procrastinate one more time. You never get around to writing the book, starting the business, or conquering the mountain.”

The author identifies his own expertise further down the page by pointing out that he delayed finishing that very chapter by answering emails and performing various errands. Throughout the book, Singer uses his personal experience to make the premise of the “little voice” relevant.

Management of the Little Voice

The premise of the book is management of the little voice, not silencing it. Little voices may raise valid objections, but because they are internal the mind tends to give them undue weight. Singer lays out a series of exercises to be used in various situations to manage the little voice. He draws upon his own experience, the writings of others in the field of personal development, and various sales training techniques that he is familiar with in creating these exercises, which include:

Assessment of the Book

The techniques themselves involve a considerable amount of introspection, and may be difficult to attempt for people that are indeed experiencing emotional turmoil. The subtitle of the book, “How to Win the War Between Your Ears in 30 Seconds or Less,” is probably possible for a small number of its readers, but overly ambitious for most. They certainly will work with consistent application, but it's unlikely that many readers will achieve that level of success quite that fast.

However, the author provides an online assessment tool which he recommends using both before reading the book and immediately thereafter; other readers may find that such a swift transformation is indeed possible.

The copyright of the article Review of Little Voice Mastery in Business Books is owned by Terence P Ward. Permission to republish Review of Little Voice Mastery in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.