Welcome to the How to Fascinate Library of Terms. This is a resource for you to find up-to-date knowledge on all you need to know.
Advantage: The way in which you are most likely to add distinct value. There are seven Advantages: Power, Passion, Mystique, Prestige, Alert, Innovation, and Trust. Each of these speaks a different “language” and has a different way of standing out in business and life.
Anthem: The tagline for your personality. This quick statement is only two or three words, yet instantly communicates how you add value. Your Anthem is shorthand for how your personality is primed to create value for your team or organization. You can create your own Anthem today with the Ultimate Personal Brand™ playbook.
Archetype: Your Archetype is how the world sees you, at your best. It reflects the combination of your primary and secondary Advantages. For example, if your top two Advantages are Prestige + Alert, then you are The Scholar. If your top two Advantages are Mystique + Trust, then you are The Wise Owl.
Archetype Matrix: The complete collection of. It includes 42 Archetypes and 7 Double Troubles, for a total of 49 Archetypes. This Archetype Matrix is your main piece of reference when comparing Advantages, and creating your Anthem.
Dormant Advantage: This is the form of communication that’s least likely to play to your Advantage. In this area, you do not have a competitive advantage over others. You do not need to increase your use of the Dormant Advantage. Instead, you should avoid being evaluated purely on the basis of this form of communication.
Double Trouble: When you use one Advantage to an exaggerated degree, it becomes a disadvantage – a Double Trouble. For instance, when you feel highly stressed, overwhelmed, or fearful, your combined abilities get thrown out of equilibrium, and you “double up” on one Advantage rather than keeping a healthy balance.
Fascination: Fascination is a state of intense focus. When you fascinate your listener, they become completely engrossed so that they’re not distracted. In this neurological state, they are more likely to listen to you, remember you, and take action.
Fascinate® Test: The Fascinate® Test measures the highest and best use of your personality brand. This is the first science-based assessment for your personality brand. After answering 28 short questions, you’ll immediately receive your in-depth customized results. You’ve probably done tests such as Myers-Briggs® or StrengthsFinder. This is different. This test measures how the world sees you, so you can attract the right clients, grow your business and persuade and influence those who matter most.
Heat map: A one-page visual summary of a team or organization’s Advantages, mapped out in the Archetype Matrix. The heat map makes it easy to see where your group’s Advantages cluster in certain areas. It also indicates where you have a lack of Advantages.
Pitfall: In certain situations, you will have a disadvantage in communicating with others. Your pitfall describes your disadvantage. It’s the potential downside of your personality Advantages. To avoid pitfalls, focus on those opportunities that maximize your Advantages. In your Fascinate® Profile, you can find your Archetype’s pitfall in your report. It’s described as “What’s not the highest and best value.” You don’t know it yet, but you have certain blind spots when it comes to how the world sees you. Those are not necessarily negatives, and the key is not to “fix” those, but instead to be aware of the areas where you are least likely to have leverage.
Primary Advantage: The way in which you are most likely to impress and influence people when you communicate. Your Primary Advantage is your strongest Advantage, the one that makes you most able to uniquely add value. When you communicate using your Primary Advantage, people are more likely to hear and remember you.
Quicksand: A type of interaction in which a positive outcome is difficult and exhausting for your personality. In these situations, you feel awkward, or even trapped. Situations become quicksand for you if they don’t allow you to play to your Advantages. (See also: WELLSPRING)
Secondary Advantage: Every person mostly uses two Advantages. Your Secondary Advantage is the one that describes how you use your Primary Advantage. Together, your Primary and Secondary Advantage form your Archetype.
The three threats to your communication:
– Commoditization: The threat of becoming so similar to your competition that you are no longer distinct. Once commoditized, you’re in a vulnerable position, because you’ll probably have to compete on the basis of price.
– Competition: The threat of losing in a crowded environment in which others are competing for the same resources, recognition, or rewards.
– Distraction: The threat of divided attention. Today, shortened attention spans make it increasingly difficult to capture and retain the attention of your listener.
Distraction, Competition and Commoditization are your three biggest threats. To learn more about the three threats, read Sally Hogshead’s best-selling book, How the World Sees You.
Trigger: A hardwired response in communication. When you feel fascinated, something or someone is triggering this response. In my previous book, Fascinate, I described how brands influence behavior with Triggers. When applied to your personality, your “Triggers” become Advantages.
Twin: Your Twin is the Archetype that’s most similar to your own. It has the same top two Advantages as you do, just in reverse order. (For example, The Victor is the Twin of The Maestro.) By learning about your Twin, you gain a more dimensional view of how others see you.
Wellspring: A situation that allows you to fully apply your natural Advantages, so that you can become your most valuable. In these moments, you feel energized and focused. (See also: QUICKSAND)
