Persuasion, what is it              

4 Insights you can use            Click here for a PDF File

 

The street is empty as she walks towards a green truck parked by the curb. The man crossing the street carries two cases and wears a security uniform. As she approaches, her mind races, her body is reacting; “Down on the floor!” she commands as the gun is pulled from her pocket. “Down on the floor!” as the guard drops to the street. “I will shoot you!” she commands.  

 

She grabs the cases of cash and runs down the street! 

 

How could this be, only a few weeks earlier this mild, conservative woman in mid management could not even conceive of doing such a thing; and yet here she has just pulled a heist!  

 

What has happened is…… an experiment in persuasion and influence. A film clip by Darren Brown of England(Google Video) takes you through an experiment that started with a group of ordinary mid-management people, not unlike you or I, and ended up with 4 in the final stage. I will warn you this is extreme influence and persuasion, but does show the power of this science.  

 

The 48 minute clip on Google displays a myriad of persuasion methods that slowly transform the groups individual beliefs which allows them to behave as they never had before.  

 

So what is this Persuasion and Influence that I keep writing about! Unfortunately it is a study of human nature that is rarely taught in our schools, universities or training programs. Yet if anyone of us were to study this science in depth, we could do as Darren Brown did!  

 

As you view the “Heist” clip you can observe how Darren works on four areas that sort out and move the group to the conclusion.  

 

1. The first is their beliefs, or as Socrates would say, “what they view as “truth” in their view of the world”. As stated in previous articles, our beliefs drive our behavior. Alter the belief and you have a different outcome or behavior. Watch how Darren leads the group to change their beliefs about themselves.  

 

2. The second area deals with “values” that people have. The woman was honest and had never really broken a law before. Yet here she is going against values she previously embraced. Often times you and I have seen people do things that just did not seem to follow proper thinking. The truth is, they probably were not, but had been influenced and values were overridden.  

 

3. A third are is one’s perceptions, this is how information is filtered by our brain. We take experiences, knowledge, values and beliefs and filter everything that comes into our daily experience. Usually we filter out that which is in conflict with our present beliefs and keep that which tends to support our beliefs. Today many of us have a difficult time even comprehending the Al-Qaeda way of thinking. They have a very different filter than we do, thus a very different perspective. What influences us would probably not influence them.  

 

4. Now the fourth area we hear a great deal about, motivators. These are the emotions that move us to action in some way. One of the strongest is fear of loss. We tend to hesitate on new ideas or concepts because of the unknown result and what if we lose what we already have. Think about what keeps you from saying yes to things. Bet you find out that it is fear of losing the status quo most of the time!  

 

Now think for a minute, what is it we hear so much about? Every manager wishes they could “motivate” their people more. The employees need more motivation! What we miss hearing is about beliefs, values and perceptions. Yet, as you view Darren’s video you will find he works on all four; beliefs, values, perceptions and motives to get his results! What has been your focus? 

 

In actuality if you can alter, influence or change any one of these four areas in another persons’ thinking, you can get a different outcome from them. What if you could work on all four? 

 

You may be thinking that this is BS, this is all hokey magic, psycho babble type stuff! Well maybe, yet illusionist, magicians, and highly paid persuaders have applied these ideas for years. Madison Avenue applies it to you everyday. 

 

Another clip by Joel Bauer(Google Video), a world known “Perceptionist” uses everything that Darren used. Both of these men have taken the understanding of Influence and Persuasion to a high mastery skill. In Joel’s short clip he applies hidden language, the laws of persuasion, works on beliefs, values, and perceptions and reads minute body language. He does this in just a few short minutes. See if you can pick them out! 

 

So after all this what is Persuasion and Influence?  

 

Let me explain it this way. Many of us are familiar with the concept of “Emotional Intelligence” which is understanding the reasons behind our behavior and being able to control that behavior in situations. Emotional Intelligence uses the same four keys, but to keep you in control of yourself. 

 

Influence and Persuasion uses the four keys to help you assist others in creating new thinking. Then you can affect a positive change and move them forward for their benefit. 

 

So someone asks me, “What is it that you do?”  

My response, Guaranteed “Different Thinking!”   

 

Because the bottom line is, to be more Persuasive and Influential you most likely have to change your thinking.  

 

That is why we have pursued the concept of Influence and Persuasion and developed the Influence and Persuasion Program for Leaders and Sales Pros. It is designed to get participants “thinking differently” so they can have different outcomes.  

 

With people like Darren Brown, Joel Bauer, Kevin Hogan, Eric Knowles, and Dave Lakhani as sources and mentors, we can pass their knowledge and experience on to you.  

 

Check out their books and web sites, and then check out our site and info. If you would like to start thinking differently, give a call.  

 

Up to a challenge? There is several persuasion tools applied in this article, can you pick them out?