3 posts tagged with "persuasion"

The Greeks uses those persuasive tricks (schemes)​

You are already familiar with many of the tricks:

1. Analogy (my love is like a cherry)
2. Oxymoron (pretty ugly)
3. Rhetorical question (do I have to explain this one?)
4. Hyperbole (the most amazingly great figure of all)
5. Coyness (Dad gifts me a new iWatch ... but I say "oh, you shouldn’t have")
6. Dialogue (teenagers are especially fond of this: Alice said what and then I sad what and then Charlie said what)
7. Speak-round (“He Who Must Not Be Named”)

The secrets lie in figures of speech​

Figures of speech - Making words presented differently by repetition, substitution, sound, and wordplay. Making words sound differently by skipping, swapping, etc.

1. Repeated first word: use a lot of “and” to start the sentence while thinking what to say.

   1. e.g., And God said, let there be light: and there was light. 2., e.g. Political figures substitute “um” or “you know” with “and” when thinking what to say.

2. Multiple yoking

   1. e.g., he gets it past two defenders, shoots … misses… shoots again… goal!

3. Idiom

4. Self-answering question

   1. e.g., “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”

5. Tropes: swapping

   1. Metaphor
   2. Irony
   3. Synecdoche: White House
   4. Metonymy

Twist a cliche​

Win the intelligent audience by twisting the expression. For example, adding a surprising end. e.g.

• Friend: it’s excellent book for killing time.
• You: sure, if you like it better than dead.

The Yoda technique of switching​

==The mighty ABBA sentences (chiasmus)==, e.g.

1. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
2. Let’s not settle for swimming with the sharks. Let’s make the sharks want to swim with us.

Or even more, ==inserting a pun into a chiasmus.== e.g.

• a birthday card for a friend who turns 40. Front: “what kind of party suits bob’s birthday?” Back with a photo of naked two-year-old bob: “the kind where he wears his birthday suit.”

How Churchill Got Rhythm?​

Dialysis: Either... or... e.g., George W Bush: you’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists.

Antithesis: Not... but... e.g., The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity.

Say yes and no at the same time​

• Edit yourself loud, which makes the narrative sound more fair and accurate. (Correction figure)
• No-yes sentence. (Also dialysis)
  • e.g.
    • friend: he seems like a real straight shooter
    • you: straight, no. shooter, yes.
  • e.g.
    • lover: you seem a little put out with me this morning.
    • you: put out, no. furious, yes.

We are not unamused​

• litotes 緩叙法 *, e.g. OJ Simpson’s appearance at a horror comic book convention: I’m not doing this for my health.
• climax *, e.g. A little neglect may breed great mischief…for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.

For fun: Invent new words​

Inventing new words is dangerous in high school or a government agency. However, it is impactful so we would better use it wisely.

examples of inventing

1. Verging. Turn a noun into a verb or vice versa. (e.g., Google it!)
2. *-like figure. (e.g., God-like!)

1. People make the mistake of focusing too much on the content of their argument and ==not enough on how they deliver that message==. Certain buzzwords only work for certain executives.
2. Finding the chief decision maker and then tailoring the arguments can vastly improve the chances of success.
3. There are five decision-making categories…
   1. Charismatic: exuberant about a new idea initially but make decisions based on balanced information.
   2. Thinker: may be contradictory and need to be cautiously worked through.
   3. Skeptic: make decisions based on ==gut feeling==.
   4. Follower: make decisions based on their trusted executives or their past similar decisions.
   5. Controller: focus on pure facts and analytics because of their fears and uncertainties.

Style	Target Characteristics	Pursuader's Strategy
Charismatic	easily enthralled but make decisions based on balanced info Emphasize bottom-line results	Focus on results be straight-forward benefits w/ visual aids keyword: proven, actions, easy, clear
Thinker (Xing Wang)	toughest to persuade needs extensive detail	presents market research, surveys, cost/benefit analysis. keyword: quality, numbers, expert, proof
Skeptic	challenge everything and make decisions based on gut feelings	establish credibility with endorsements from someone they trust. keyword: grasp, power, suspect, trust.
Follower	rely on past decisions late adopter	Use testimonials to prove low risks. present innovative but proven solutions. keyword: expertise, similar to, innovate, previous.
Controller	unemotional, analytical only implements own ideas	present highly structured arguments ==make listener own the idea==. avoid aggressive advocacy. keyword: facts, reason, power, just do it.

These keywords and templates of sentences help you influence people.

• I’m not sure it’s for you, but ...

  • recommend in a non-intrusive way

• Open-minded

  • "Are you open-minded to do something?" this encourages people to do something.
  • or if you are criticizing something or someone but still want to show the empathy, you can say "I am helping someone be open-minded."

• What do you know about

• How would you feel if?

  • How are people motivated?
    • Avoid a loss
    • Aquire a potential gain
  • Emotion comes first than logic
  • People make decisions based on what feels right first. ==Interestingly, when we make decisions for ourselves, we should avoid harmful emotions. (By Ray Dalio)==

• Just imagine

  • Creating pictures in the minds of others is done by telling stories.

• When would be a good time?

  • One of the biggest reasons your ideas fail to get heard is that others tell you they just don’t have the time to consider them.
  • The preface prompts the other person to assume that there will be a good time and that no is not an option.

• I’m guessing you haven’t got around to

  • By pushing for the negative scenario, you get people to rise to the positive or to tell you how they are going to fix the thing they said they were going to do.

• Simple Swaps

  • Do you have any questions? => What questions do you have for me? When emphasizing “questions”, instead of “you” (the audience), then the audience will ask less questions.

• As I see it, you have three options ... Of those three options, what’s going to be easier for you?

• There are two types of people, ...

  • This may help people make final decisions.

• I bet you’re a bit like me

  • It often results in the other person comfortably agreeing with you.

• If … then …

  • people like to hear something with logic behind, no matter if it really makes sense…

• Don’t worry

  • it’s particularly useful in high-stress scenarios, when confronted with someone who is panicked - it puts people at ease.

• Most people

  • When you tell people what most people would do, their brains says, “I’m most people, so perhaps that is what I should do too.“

• The Good News

  • “The good news is ….” causes people to face forward with optimism and zap any negative energy out of the conversation
  • by bring more positivity to situations with “the good news is …” and responding with, “that’s great,” you soon start shifting the balance in people’s thoughts.

• What happens next

  • finishing a process with a question that is effortless to answer is the key to gaining a rapid response and a positive outcome.
    • the easier the question is to answer, the easier you gain your decision.

• What makes you say that

  • success in negotiating is all about maintaining control in a conversation, and ==the person in control is always the person who is asking the questions.==
  • so when we get objections like
    • I haven’t got the time
    • It’s the wrong time
    • I want to shop around
    • I haven’t got the money right now
    • I need to speak to somebody else before I make a decision about this.
  • by treating every objection you face as nothing more than a question, you can quickly regain control of the conversation by asking a question in return.

• before you make your mind up

  • fight for the last chance before you say “no”.