The Art of Persuasion: Uncovering the Psychology Behind Influential Communication.

Picture having the ability to captivate minds, imagine having the power to influence decisions and shape the course of action of those around you with nothing but the letters of the English alphabet or whichever language, and some charisma. This is the magic of persuasion. In a world choking with ideas and inventions, the ability to persuade and influence can be described as nothing short of a superpower. Some may refer to persuasion as the “art of subtle manipulation”, some may call it “toned down deception”. However Persuasion is an art, a craft, a skill, that sets you apart giving you an edge over others. It is the science of cooking words to present an idea as incredibly appealing. This age long art is the blend of logic laced with emotions that makes your purpose so desirable, others easily buy into it.

The fulcrum of persuasion lies in guiding someone’s thoughts or actions toward a specific outcome. It involves a delicate balance of reason and emotion, logic and charisma. The study of persuasion has evolved over the centuries, attracting the wisdom of classical philosophers and modern psychology. However in this article, we will go through five practical strategies to step up your persuasion game!

Five Incredible Persuasion Strategies to Step Up Your Persuasion Game!

1. Understand your Audience

Understanding your audience is very crucial to any effective persuasion. It is important to know who you’re talking to, what they care about, and what motivates them. Without this understanding, your words will likely fall on deaf ears. All humans beings are primarily selfish. We gravitate towards what will most likely solve our problems without taking a lot from us. This is why any strong persuasion must stem from a deep understanding of the prospect or person. For example, it would be a futile attempt to persuade a lady whose kids are in college to buy an academic program for high school kids. In the art of persuasion, the ability to understand your audience is a foundational skill. It involves a deep appreciation of the diverse backgrounds, needs, and perspectives of the individuals you aim to persuade. Effective persuasion is hinged on your capacity to streamline your message and approach to resonate with your audience on a personal level. It is important to consider the demographics of your audience. Factors such as their age, gender, interests, education etc can influence how your message is perceived. Besides this, it is doubly essential to understand their psychology and belief system. It would be a vain attempt to convince a core African traditionalist to invest in Artificial Intelligence. It goes against his basic belief systems and values.

• Pain: A proper understanding of your audience will reveal the pain your audience is experiencing and how that pain can be solved. Pain in this context need not be physical or emotional. It may be a need which your audience has. We live in a world brimming with distractions and noise, scuffling to get our attention. The result is that we easily tune out of things that don’t relate to us. However a master persuader is able to convert this to his advantage. He firsts discovers the pain his audience is experiencing, he understands the pain, lives the pain, then walks his audience through a detailed analysis of this pain. He attempts to make such pain larger than life. Following from this, the master persuader adapts his message as the perfect panacea to such “great” and “mighty” malady. A popular saying which more than half of the world appreciates is “no one cares how much you know till they know how much you care”. This is the bedrock of persuasion. Your audience is initially nonchalant towards your message/idea till they realize you deeply care about their pain/need and you want to see it resolved. This will make them care about how much you know in relation to their need.

2. Authority And Influence

Have you ever wondered why you stopped when a uniformed man told you to? Or have you ever wondered why you took drugs you had no idea existed simply because some random person with the title “Doctor” told you to? That was the principle of authority playing out. Authority is also why we trust the waiter’s suggestions about the food at a restaurant. We trust he knows what he’s talking about because he’s an authority on the food he serves. As individuals we possess limited knowledge. We are not omniscient, else we would become gods. The result is we often seek out expert opinion on areas where our knowledge is deficit. The interesting thing is we don’t even have to be completely bereft of knowledge in such regard. Once we come across a person who seemingly possesses more knowledge in a field of interest, we naturally defer to such person. In order to fully maximize the principle of authority in persuasion, it is important to follow these steps:

• Dress prim and proper. We naturally place people who are dressed properly in high esteem. This first step will pique the interest of your audience first before anything else.
• Sidestep your gain while persuading your audience. Besides being selfish, everyone looks out for what the other gains from a discourse, sales pitch, argument, etc. A master persuader however understands the technique of ascribing his views and ideas to some higher calling. He does not outrightly deny his gain, neither does he acknowledge such gain. He only places the focus on some higher purpose everyone can appreciate. Doctors save lives. Don’t they? But do they do it for free? Relate to a higher purpose both parties agree.
• Don’t shy away from the weaknesses that surround your stance. Every idea has loopholes. Regular persuaders try to scream the positives of their ideas while circumventing the weaknesses that bedevil their ideas. This only belittles their authority. You show more confidence in your idea, sales pitch, etc by pointing out the loopholes associated with the concept and how other features exist to make such loopholes insignificant. The key to doing this is to admit the flaws but undermine it so critically that it seems like nothing in the face of the numerous benefits your idea poses.
• Use titles and cite other authorities. This may seem ridiculous but research has proven that three out of every five persons defer to persons with titles. The good thing is such titles need not be academic in nature. Titles as “chief strategist” is a good start. Find your area of specialization and revamp the regular title so you sound like a brand! In addition to this, tie your idea to an authority your audience appreciates. This will make your idea seem larger than life. Be careful to use authorities your audience are familiar with and have regard for.

3. Reciprocity

Robert Cialdini in his book “Art of Persuasion” emphasized that human beings are naturally wired to return favours. Even the most malicious of persons feel some form of indebtedness to persons who have done them some good. This tool of persuasion is centered around this principle. We hate to feel indebted to people, so once the opportunity comes to repay the debt, we are often quick to maximize it. Remember that person’s birthday you strived to remember simply because said person wished you a happy birthday? That’s the principle of reciprocity in action. This principle is incredibly effective when played out properly. In order to apply the principle, you should be the first giver, that way the other party gets enmeshed in the feeling of indebtedness. Imagine you’re running a popular blog that offers readers free practical hacks to improve their lives. Based on the principle of reciprocity, your blog makes site visitors more likely to feel obligated to buy something from your site. Next time you visit any awesome personal development or sales YouTube channel, watch how you feel like you’re losing out if you don’t eventually sign up for the paid class they advertise. You can also apply this principle in your day to day persuasion. Praise and sincerely compliment your audience, co-workers, neighbors beforehand. This would make them more amenable to your concept. Remember that these principles work best when they are done sincerely and subtly. Don’t appear too artificial in your compliments or good service. Do them selflessly and watch how this principle works magic!

4. Consistency and Commitments

When last did you feel like a traitor because you deviated ever so slightly from a perspective you once held? As humans, we are wired to stick to our standpoints. We like to conform to whatever positive perception people have of us. This is the principle of consistency. Persuasion as an art is all about leading persons to appreciate and agree with a concept. Master persuaders are experts at doing this very subtly such that the person being led doesn’t realize what’s happening. This is usually achieved with the principle of consistency. If I have been labelled a strict christian, I definitely wouldn’t want to hang around perceived miscreants. This is because I want to be consistent with my label. To fully appreciate this, you would rarely see a diehard soccer fan deny his club even if his club experiences the worst season. In order to effectively apply this principle in your persuasion game, get the other party or your audience to agree with a minor standpoint. Something subtly related to your standpoint. Any obvious relationship will reveal your plot and ruin this principle. Once your audience acquiesces to the initial, minor standpoint, it would be difficult to retract from your idea when presented, in a bid to be consistent. For example, if you get your supervisor to agree that “Ideally, some flexibility in working patterns is a good thing”, then such boss is much more likely to agree to your proposed 4 day working week when you eventually ask for it. Commitment is another related principle that makes persuasion far easier. Get your audience to make a small commitment that appears negligible. Doing this will make it easier to get them to do something bigger. This type of behavior is consistent in the marketplace with things like introductory offers which are really cheap and easy, though they turn to a doorway for something bigger.

5. Leverage social proof and acceptance

Ever tried wearing a dinner suit to an afternoon beach outing? Why should you right? That’s the exact same principle master persuaders employ. No one ever likes to feel odd. Peer pressure is probably about the biggest influencing factor in the world we live in. We want to conform to acceptable norms and practices. You definitely wouldn’t opt to buy a Peugeot 504 today. Yes, the design and style is outdated. But an underlying reason we cannot deny is the fact that riding such car will make us feel out of place and sort of ridiculous. The principle of social acceptance simply entails we have to make our concept or idea socially desirable. Demonstrate that others have used and approved your idea. Employ measures that show that your idea has been accepted and is very desirable. Social proof as a principle of persuasion hinges on the principle that people will look to others around them for cues on how they should behave in a given situation. In as much as this principle is very difficult to practice, it is very possible to creatively come up with instances where your idea is seen as socially approved. A typical example of this that you definitely may have seen is that of hotel towels. A sign that says “8 out of 10 hotel guests choose to reuse their towels” is always more effective at persuading than signs that simply say “reusing your towel helps to save the environment”.

At a glance, as humans we have values, goals, and truths we uphold, and sometimes we need to make others see the light in our seemingly better truth. This is why persuasion is a concept that permeates every facet of life. Try these persuasion tips and watch how people gravitate towards your idea!