The Foundational Principles of Persuasion
2.
Persusasion Must Have an Audience
The art of persuading and influencing others always requires
an audience. This component is constant, so it is critical to
know how to adapt
quickly to your audience’s needs, wants, fears, and desires.
Knowing how to research and read your audience will help you determine
which tools or techniques of Magnetic Persuasion will be the most
effective in any given situation. Using the wrong techniques and
tools, on the other hand, will automatically create barriers between
you and your audience, which in turn will diminish your potential
to persuade them. When you effectively integrate the principles and
laws of Magnetic Persuasion with the characteristics of influence,
power, and motivation, your audience will always be friendly and
desirable results will be the outcome. In the Pre-Persuasion chapter,
I will spend more time on analyzing, adapting, and reading your audience.
3. Effective Persuasion Requires the Adaptation of Skills and
Techniques.
Have you ever tried the same approach with a customer that your
boss uses on you and have it bomb miserably? Becoming a Master
Persuader requires more than mimicking other persuaders. You must
not only fully understand the wide variety of persuasive techniques
available, but you must also be ready to use the techniques best
suited for any given situation. Acquiring this level of skill demands
a commitment to watch, analyze, study, and apply the concepts of
Magnetic Persuasion.
As mentioned
earlier, “everyone is not a nail.” Human
nature is as varied as the colors of the rainbow. Human actions
and thoughts are never perfectly predictable because each of us
has different emotions, attitudes, beliefs, personalities, and
traits. A beginner’s tendency is to find one persuasive technique
that works and stick with that. Unfortunately, you cannot use the
same persuasion tool on everyone. Depending on the situation and
the techniques you use, people will agree, refuse, or be indifferent
to your efforts. The Master Persuader has many tools and can therefore
adapt and customize them to suit any situation or personality.
4. Effective Persuasion has Lasting Impact.
Do you want short-term temporary results or long-term permanent
results? Effective Magnetic Persuasion has lasting impact, but
it requires dedicated study and long-term commitment on the part
of the persuader. The Hierarchy of Persuasion sheds light on
how the world uses different levels of persuasion, ranging from
control at the most short-term level to genuine commitment at
the long-term level.
The qualities
listed at the base of the pyramid are the most easily and commonly
used,
but they achieve only temporary results. Such
results are temporary because they do not address a person’s
genuine wants or desires. Persuasion based on the qualities listed
at the top of the pyramid is effective whether pressure is perceived
or not. Such a method creates lasting results because it taps into
and involves a person’s true interests. Determining whether
you want short or long-term results dictates what area on the pyramid
you should focus your efforts.
Imagine the
CEO of a large corporation calling his vice president to a meeting.
At
the meeting, the vice president is informed that
he must raise $20,000 for a foundation the company is going to
sponsor. The CEO is not concerned with the means the vice president
uses as long as they result in a check for $20,000. It is determined
that such a sum would be equivalent to getting $100 from each employee…a
daunting endeavor!
The vice president considers the various ways he could accomplish
this task. It would be both easy and quick to approach the employees
using control. He could use physical force or threats on their
life to obtain the money. This do-it-or-else mentality would get
immediate results. The long-term impact, however, would likely
involve rebellion, revenge, resentment, etc. What about coercion?
Surely the employees would provide the requested donation if they
were told doing otherwise would negatively affect their next job
evaluation. Would this tactic get immediate results? Sure. Again,
however, the long-term effects would be resentment and rebellion.
The vice president decides control and/or coercion do not provide
the best outcomes. Next, he considers compliance. If he offered
incentives, benefits, or rewards, it would be a win-win situation,
right? Suppose each employee offering to donate $100 would get
an extra two weeks of paid vacation. The problem is, once the incentive
is gone, compliance will also disappear. He might get the $100
this time, but what about the next time he asks for a donation?
This method is still only a temporary fix because the employees
will be conditioned to always expect a reward for their compliance.
The vice president
next considers cooperation. He could spend time with the employees,
explaining why this charity is so important
and how it would be a great honor for them to participate. He could
convince, encourage, or “sell” with logic, emotion,
and information to donate to this worthy cause. Now, armed with
the tools of effective persuasion, he’s onto an approach
that will have lasting, positive results. As long as the employees
feel he is telling the truth and acting in their best interest,
they will be open to his proposal.
Finally, the vice president considers the top form of persuasion:
commitment. If he has a great reputation and relationship with
his employees, there will be mutual respect, honor, and trust.
These conditions will enable the employees to comfortably make
out their $100 checks. They know the vice president is a man honor
who would never ask them to do anything that would not be in their
best interest. They can commit to him because they feel he is committed
to them.
Commitment is the highest ideal of Magnetic Persuasion because
its impact is the most permanent and far-reaching. Regardless of
whether or not you are actually present, your reputation as one
possessing integrity, honor, trust, and respect will continuously
inspire commitment from everyone you have ever had contact with.
The Formula: Five Key Factors to Becoming a Master Persuader
Getting people to do what you want and, at the same time, to enjoy
it is not an accident or coincidence. You must use proven laws
and techniques to achieve such results. As you master these techniques,
you’ll experience predictable control and influence over
others. The five key factors to becoming a Master Persuader are
as follows:
1. The 12 Laws of Persuasion
2. The 10 Characteristics of Influence
3. The 5 Structures of Power
4. The Motivation Equation
5. The Pre-Persuasion Checklist
Professional negotiators, sales professionals, and upper management
professionals around the world use these laws and principles. They
are the same principles that help thousands of people gain control
of their lives and their financial futures. Mastery of all five
areas is crucial for Magnetic Persuasion. I promise that if you
read this book and act upon your newly acquired knowledge, it will
not be long before you find yourself in a completely different
position than you are today. You will act instead of being acted
upon. You will speak and be heard. You will lead and be followed.
Go to www.magneticpersuasion.com to find out the 10 steps to perfect
public speaking.
Excerpts
taken from Magnetic Persuasion
by Kurt Mortensen
www.magneticpersuasion.com
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