Table of Contents
To Rich Petty of The Ohio State University for his friendship, his character,
and the ELM.
Introduction
If reading this book doesnt start a persuasion fire in you, then your woods wet. Youll encounter astonishing, useful, surprising, novel, compelling, beguiling, and practical knowledge about how and why people changesimply through words and words alone. You have no idea what awaits you, but its good.
After reading this book, you will know how to change people with your words, enhance your ability to see persuasion attempts directed at you, and grasp persuasion as a fundamental element of human nature.
All this weaves into one huge advantage: skill. Through this book, you will explore, test, and strengthen your skills as a persuasion communicator in the real worldin real time, with real people. You will acquire the knowledge, desire, and action needed to improve your persuasion skills. While learning about ideas tested from Satan to Aristotle to the Ivory Tower and through Madison Avenue, you will arrive at the state of the art in persuasion.
How This Book Is Organized
The Complete Idiots Guide to Persuasion is divided into four parts. You can read every word in the order I wrote them if you want to be a good boy or girl, you can skip to specific chapters. I wouldnt want to influence you or anything like that, but you might find this book makes more sense if you read the Part 1 chapters in order first. Ill use common words that have an ordinary dictionary meaning but give them a unique meaning for the world of persuasion. Even the term persuasion has a special meaning in this book and if we dont communicate on that word, were in trouble! Whatever approach you choose, dont worryI wont test you over this. Of course, youll be tested during your own life on your persuasion skill.
Part 1, The Setup, explores the fundamental network of basic persuasion concepts and their links. Youll discover the key definition of persuasion, the advantages of persuasion, and the essential comparisons with power. You then move upriver and upgrade your knowledge of all things communication: the crucial elements, how they relate, then the Communication Cascade, intention, and its three key drivers: easy, fun, and popular. Last but certainly not least, youll arrive at the rules of persuasionbut not laws. Even if laws of persuasion existed, no one would tell you about them! These rules will complete your setup in the fundamentals of persuasion.
Part 2, Persuasion Plays for Beginners, propels you into a seemingly familiar world of common sense and common experience persuasion plays. These are the ones everybody knows (or at least thinks they know). Youll initiate your action sequence with respondent conditioning, operant conditioning, and modeling theory. Youll discover new insights into these old persuasion plays as you take a close and unsettling look at obedience and authority. Then, youll find a remarkable new way to think about persuasion with Thoughtful and UnThoughtful Persuasion and the persuasion light bulb, the two routes, and arguments and cues. Last but not least, youll dance your way through the Two Step with a foot in the door and a door in the face.
Part 3, Advanced Persuasion Plays, blows away the mist and mystery surrounding four of the most interesting, compelling, and amazing persuasion plays youll ever find. You think you know a lot about change, but this section will astonish you. Learn to play the Why? Because! game with attribution, then discover the weirdest play of all: dissonance (and how people come to love that for which they suffer. Then, were onto the play that doesnt change but rather strengthens by attacking receivers with inoculation. Finally, youll see the man behind the curtain with the most beguiling and troubling persuasion play: subliminals. What you dont see is what you getor, at least, thats the claim. The science will surprise you.
Part 4, Payoffs, completes your journey through the world of persuasion. Learn the basic tools of testing all those persuasion claims you see on TV or on bookshelves (or in this book!) with the four forces of science. Next, youll get fitted with a cool practical concept: the Persuasion Script. Heres a sharp template for building any persuasion play you want. Persuasion Scripts will give you the structure along with easy operation to get the edge you want. Then, we present lessons learned: a quick series of high-level perspectives on persuasion that pull everything together with the persuasion toolbox, practical principles, and finally a revealing look at how persuasion proves our human nature.
Extras
Throughout this book, youll find four types of boxes filled with definitions, gems, tricks, spells, cautions, rarities, quotes, and other subtleties of persuasion.
The Sizzle
These boxes offer tips, insight, perspective, and contemplation.
definition
Check these boxes for definitions of key words and terms.
Wise Lines
Here, youll find quotes m great minds that offer from great minds that offer illumination on all things persuasion.
Unintended Consequences
Check these boxes for cautions that may save you from yourself, or at the least, prevent misunderstandings.
Acknowledgements
I wish everyone who publishes a book had the great fortune of working with people such as Jacky Sach, my literary agent; Randy Ladenheim-Gil, executive editor at Alpha Books; Lynn Northrup, development editor; Janette Lynn, senior production editor; and Lisanne V. Jensen, copy editor. Each made me a better writer and made this a better book.
The content of this book flows from my lifelong interest in using words to change the way people think, feel, and act. My understanding of persuasion, however, truly began when I read the ideas of people such as Rich Petty, Shelly Chaiken, and the late Carl Hovland. Many others influenced my thinking, and you can find that long list in Appendix A. On a practical basis, much of my understanding of how to persuade came as a result of the actions of Fred Butcher, then at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center; and Al Munson of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Both men gave me opportunities to apply my ideas in large, complex, and practical situations. Each also provided friendship, collegiality, and mentoring.
Finally, Melanie Booth-Butterfield has loved me for more than 30 years. Its impossible to imagine this book or my life without her.
Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Alpha Books and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
