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By Min Liu | Verbal Skills
In the TV show “Suits”, the corporate lawyer Harvey Specter has no equal, except for the one person who always knows how to put him in his place. Who dat?! It’s Harvey’s boss and partner, Jessica Pearson, who is an attorney but is actually a stone-cold killer. Jessica Pearson is the epitome of cool under pressure and is THE most unflappable character on Suits.
As managing partner of the law firm, Pearson Specter, Jessica deals with demands all day, every day. She has to deal with the demands of her firm’s clients, the lawyers she manages, and also the enemies of her law firm.
Oh and deal with them she does. No matter the demand, she is never shaken, always gets the last word in, and sends anybody crazy enough to confront her, crawling right back to where they came from.
WHY does Jessica Pearson have such amazing verbal skills? Well…watch this video.
The reason why Jessica Pearson has such dominant verbal skills is her extraordinary frame control.
What is “frame control”?
“Frame control” is the ability to control a verbal confrontation by manipulating and controlling the LENS by which the confrontation is viewed by its participants.
And Jessica is the MASTER of this jedi-like ability, an ability you MUST develop if you want to excel in verbal skills.
Verbal confrontations are not merely a battle of words; they are actually a battle of frames. In order to win a verbal confrontation, you need to ensure that you find a more DOMINANT frame than your opponent.
A “frame” is the LENS through which you view the verbal confrontation (example to follow below). Each “contestant” in a verbal confrontation has a “frame” (or if you have poor verbal skills, you may not even have a frame) and they clash in battle.
Your job is to find the more dominant frame. If you don’t have the weaker frame or no frame at all, there is no way you will win the battle of words.
Once you find a WINNING FRAME over your opponent’s frame, the right words will just flow from the dominant frame like fine wine.
As as example, in Season 3 of Suits (and at 3:23 of my video above), Jessica and Harvey lose control of the law firm to a British law firm who owns 51% of the combined firm (with Harvey and Jessica owning only 49%).
In a disagreement between Jessica and her boss, Edward Darby, Edward reminds Jessica that he controls the firm (his “frame” being that he is the majority owner of the law firm), and whatever he says goes.
At this point, Jessica can accept Edward’s frame that he owns 51% (by tacitly accepting the “minority owner” frame), but she refuses to.
Instead, Jessica takes a deep breath and searches for a frame that can dominate Edward’s frame; and that frame is the FACT that she just put $14 million dollars on her side of the ledger, thereby making Edward that much richer.
And therefore, while Edward may own 51%, Jessica is actually the one in control because her frame is that SHE “MAKES IT RAIN”. This “making it rain” frame dominates Edward’s weaker frame (majority ownership of the firm) and Jessica emerges victorious in this confrontation with her boss.
And, being in that dominant frame allows Jessica to deliver that final flippant line where she sarcastically tells Edward to “turn off the lights” when he leaves as if he’s just a janitor at her law firm.
Check out the above video and WATCH how a master of frame control does it. Enjoy!
For a FREE preview of THE HARVEY SPECTER GUIDE and learn how to develop Harvey Specter’s verbal skills, mindsets, body language, and strategic thinking, click here.
