Dictating the frame

Harvey Spencer is flawed and fictional, yet his portrayal can teach you about confidence and power.

Much of learning to convey a deep sense of confidence and power has to do with frames.

Frames are the unspoken context that dictates the rules of any interaction.

The unspoken frame is that others are lucky to be working with you. When others treat Harvey as inferior, he quickly asserts that he has the power to leave them. 

If you’re in any kind of sales role or client-facing role, you will do much better if you shift your mindset from “I’m selling t...

That way you can make people feel like you have total control over the situation. In reality, you only have control over the menu. The person who controls the menu controls the outcome. 

Harvey is savvy enough to recognise that there is always another option that suits him ...

In any negotiation, the person with a better second option will win.

Harvey knows that he can always get another client or another job or find another way. He doesn’t need anyone specific to do anything for him. Instead, he can get what he wants and needs from various sourc...

Challenging the content would imply that you’ve accepted their frame and need to defend yourself. Shifting the framing is a verbal way of taking back control.

The simple act of not being so concerned with defending yourself when someone makes a joke about you will take you a long way. The l...

Harvey often surprises people by entering big and bold. He established the frame that the other person will react to his emotional state.

You’ll often see Harvey respond slower and subdued when somebody directs him to do something. He takes his time which communicates that he doesn’t need t...