by Rhody » Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:10 pm
When I first started, I would avoid sets like this. I would think, "they're into a heavy conversation, they don't want me to interrupt them." But then I made myself open one. And it flew open.
I was thinking about a concept I call "state inertia," so this is as good a place as any to throw it out there. I think states have tendency to remain at the same level unless you guide them, or even jolt them. When a set is already in a high energy state, that's the best time to open them. Just match their energy and you're in! The state inertia will be your friend. They're all having a good time, then you come in asking about dental floss and guess what? They're STILL having a good time.
There's a trap here, though. If you come in with lower energy than theirs, the set might go well at first because of their state inertia. However, you will eventually bring their state down, and they will intuitively know it's YOUR FAULT. You walk away thinking, "huh, that set was going well and then it just died. What happened?" The answer is that it wasn't going well at all; it just took a while for your low energy to overcome their state inertia.
Still on the topic of state inertia, but not on the original topic (sorry), if you see a set that is down, you can bring their state up. However, the low energy state will have inertia too. My theory (and please let me know if you disagree because I'm talking out my butt here) is that it is better to suddenly change a low energy state with a state interrupt. You want it to be like a pool ball collision. You don't want to go in and say, "what's wrong? Can I make you feel better?" You want to open with, "WE NEED A PARTY OVER HERE STAT!" For example, if you see a girl who's distracted, you put your hand out, she grabs it, you make her do a little spin, you give her a big smile. It's a state interrupt. It breaks her state inertia and immediately lifts her energy.