Robert Moore - Persuasion: The Key To Seduce The Universe!

Firstly, it is important to understand that there is a vast difference between persuasion and manipulation. It is perfectly possible to manipulate people into doing something they may not want to do but in the long term they will resent you for this and the result may well reduce your ability to persuade that person at a later date. A classic example of this comes from pressure selling techniques where customers are coerced into buying a product or service that they dont really want or need. The retention level of both the sales and customers drops off considerably and accounts for the bad reputation that some salesmen acquire.

Ideally persuasion is most effective when it leads a person toward something that both you and he want even if the final outcome may mean you getting something of more benefit to yourself than he does. The fact that you have both benefitted, even if not in equal amounts, means that the source of resentment is removed.

In this chapter we will look at some of the basic techniques which you will need to understand if you are going to become more effective at persuading others. In the following chapter we will look at some of these techniques in more depth.

Empathy:

In order to persuade anyone of anything you first need to understand who that person is and what his or her basic needs and motivations are. That is equally important if you are a politician, a salesman or you are trying to persuade someone to go out on a date with you. Developing you ability to empathize with others will pay dividends in many aspects of your life and go way beyond just giving you greater persuasive powers.

Credibility:

It is far easier to persuade someone if they trust you and believe that you are competent in the area in which you are attempting to take them. People go to doctors who are qualified and even if they dont fully understand those qualifications the assumption is that the doctor knows what he is talking about.

Similarity:

We prefer to deal with people we like and one of the best ways of establishing friendship is to establish commonality with that person. Whilst we may visit a doctor based on the fact that he has certain skills, we are more likely to start looking around for another doctor if we find the first one unpleasant to deal with or lacking in empathy.

Reciprocity:

The fact that we do something for someone else creates an environment in which they are more likely to do something for us in return. It is strange, but by giving, in some way we open a door whereby that person subconsciously owes us and is therefore likely to be more susceptible to our persuasive efforts in order to repay that feeling of indebtedness. Of course in order to do this we need to be the one who first gives something. That something can be as simple as a compliment for a job well done or a helping hand with a difficult task and need not cost us dearly: obviously the more it does cost us, the greater degree of indebtedness we acquire.