Preface
Manipulation, Seduction, and Persuasion

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Why I Wrote This Book

 

"Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I earn my living as a professional persuader. I am what some people call a hired gun. I sell my talents to corporations, governments, and individuals who need help to persuade, sell, or negotiate.

I love it. The bigger the challenge, the more the adrenaline runs. Along the way, I've negotiated on billion-dollar deals, aided the launch of some of the world's best products, and even helped politicians win elections.

It's much easier when your clients include companies such as Toyota, BMW, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Unilever. These companies appreciate what it takes to win the battle for hearts and minds against formidable competitors.

The Dark Art of Mysterious Influence

Nevertheless, I never cease to be amazed at how few people understand the art of persuasion. A large group of people - 25 percent, pollsters tell us - believe that persuasion is sorcery, a mysterious black art practiced by wizards who masquerade as politicians, advertisers, and spin doctors.

Vance Packard popularised the notion in his 1957 best-selling book The Hidden Persuaders. "Many of us are being influenced and manipulated, far more than we realise, in the patterns of our everyday lives," he wrote. He saw motivational research as comparable to "the chilling world of George Orwell and big brother." According to Packard, advertising agencies were tapping into the research of psychoanalysis to create a new type of suggestive and seductive ad.

A Canadian university professor, William Bryan Key, added to the fears when he claimed there was widespread use of what he called subliminal persuasion. He argued that advertisers were using subliminal messages in advertisements. Key claimed hidden messages urging you to buy were being embedded in pictures and print advertisements. At the movies, messages such as "Buy Coke" were being flashed secretly onto the screen at 1/3000 of a second - far too fast for the conscious mind to detect. Customers were being unconsciously manipulated.

Various governments added to the concern when they overreacted by banning subliminal advertising. However, in the over 200 academic papers that have since been published on the power of subliminal messages, not one has been able to show that subliminal messages influence what we do at all. Nevertheless, the fears haven't disappeared. In 1990, the rock band Judas Priest found themselves in court for allegedly recording the subliminal message "Do it" on one of their tracks in their 1978 album Stained Glass. Two sets of parents had filed suit claiming the message caused their two boys, fanatical Judas Priest fans, to commit suicide.

The band emerged victorious after a Canadian psychologist proved there was no evidence to support Key's ideas, which formed the basis of the accusation. Even so, persuasion for many remains a mysterious, irresistible force that unconsciously shapes their lives. Surveys tell us that 70 percent to 80 percent of people still believe advertisers use subliminal advertising.

Willing Accomplices in Our Own Seduction

The second reason why most people remain ignorant about how persuasion works is that they refuse to admit they are influenced by politicians, salespeople, and advertisers.

It is remarkable how many people believe they are immune to persuasion. They insist that they don't watch ads, that they never listen to politicians, and that they are resistant to all forms of persuasion.

Given that we are bombarded by as many as 1,600 commercial messages a day - that's 100 every waking hour - the claim to immunity is remarkable.

The fact is, none of us is immune to influence. Advertisers and other professional persuaders have long known how to get through to those of us who claim to be resistant.

Advertisers, for example, typically flatter those who believe they are too individualistic to fall for a pitch aimed at the mainstream. The simplest trick is to use flattery. The Nike ads or MTV tell the "rebels" they want to win over, "We understand you; you're special. Don't do what everyone else does. Be unique and join us."

There is a moment in Monty Python's The Life of Brian that sums up the approach perfectly. The messiah shouts to the crowd, "Don't follow anyone. Think for yourself. You are all individuals." And the crowd shouts back, in unison, "We are all individuals."

Ironically, because of their naivete, this "rebel" group is often the easiest to persuade - and in the process, they become willing accomplices in their own seduction.

I wrote this book to show that there is nothing inherently mysterious about persuasion. We can all be skilled persuaders if we are prepared to master the techniques and understand what works, what doesnÌt work, and why.

Moreover, I passionately believe that the best defense against manipulation, propaganda, and ultimately tyranny is a fundamental knowledge of how persuasion works. You only have to visit the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps to know the human price we pay for naivete, gullibility, and ignorance.

HARRY MILLS

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How high is your IQ?

O P T I O N S

1 Never 2 Seldom 3 Sometimes 4 Often 5 Always

Assess Your Skills as a Persuader

To give you a chance to assess your persuasion abilities prior to reading the book, I've included a simplified version of the Persuasion IQ Test I use to assess my clients' persuasive abilities. I recommend you complete the test before you read the book. I then suggest you redo the test after reading the book.

Assess your persuasion IQ by answering the following questions. Mark the option that best describes your performance. If your answer is "never," check Option 1. If your answer is "sometimes," check Option 3, and so on.

When you have answered all the questions, total your scores and turn to the "Interpreting Your Results" section to evaluate your performance.

1. I consciously establish my credentials or qualifications before I try to influence somebody.

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2. When persuading, I offer proof of how people have been able to trust me or my organization in the past.

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3. I consciously make a powerful impression in the first few minutes of any meeting.

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4. I consciously use body language to influence others.

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5. I constantly interpret other people's body talk.

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6. I use mirroring, pacing, and leading techniques to influence others.

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7. I monitor what other people say for signs of deception.

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8. I use a low pitch when I want my voice to project authority.

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9. I vary my vocal tempo and use pauses to create interest and impact.

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10. When speaking, I avoid using intensifiers, hedges, and qualifiers.

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11. I analyze the words and behavior of the people I want to influence in order to assess the type of information that will persuade them.

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12. I analyze the words and behavior of the people I want to influence in order to assess the way they prefer to make decisions.

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13. When I sell my ideas, I consciously speak in the language of benefits.

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14. When I persuade, I consciously choose powerful attention-grabbing words that have strong, positive, emotional appeals.

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15. I use antithesis when I want to create a particularly powerful presentation.

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16. As I persuade, I consciously sell what makes my proposition or ideas unique.

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17. I package my persuasive propositions to appeal to the other person's basic human needs.

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18. I use repetition in the words and phrases in my speeches to create added impact.

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19. I use lots of metaphors, analogies, and stories in my presentations to highlight my key points.

20. I use humor where appropriate to increase involvement and commitment.

21. I consciously limit the number of points I make in any presentation to no more than five.

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22. Where appropriate, I organize my ideas in a presentation around a thematic structure.

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23. In a presentation, I grab my audienceÌs attention with a dynamic opening.

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24. I finish my presentations with a dramatic climax and a call for action.

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25. I support my arguments with highly credible, well-researched evidence.

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26. I use novel, vivid case studies to create memorability.

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27. With important messages, I keep repackaging my ideas and repeating them whenever possible.

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28. I consciously use an argument strategy to refute competing ideas.

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29. I refute competing ideas before they have a chance to gain a foothold.

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30. I inoculate my supporters in advance against competing ideas.

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31. When I cite statistics, I package them for clarity and memorability.

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32. My audiovisual presentations never exceed 20 minutes in length.

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33. My audiovisual presentations are built around one central message.

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34. My visual aids follow the rule: one idea per visual.

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35. My visual aids use more graphics than words.

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36. I tailor the colors I use in my visual aids to my audience's biases.

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37. I vary my choice of media according to the message I want to communicate.

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38. I encourage lots of feedback in discussions to encourage self-persuasion.

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39. I use questions rather than statements to shape discussions.

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40. I deliberately use disturbing questions when I want to make the other person uncomfortable with the status quo.

41. Where appropriate, I use leading and rhetorical questions to influence a presentation or meeting.

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42. I actively listen to people to reflect the content and feelings of what theyÌve said.

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43. I analyze my audience in advance to determine my persuasion strategy.

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44. I alter my persuasion strategy and change my material and approach when persuading different audiences.

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45. When there is a strong opposition to my proposals, I plan for gradual, step-by-step persuasion.

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46. I consciously use a persuasion strategy that systematically promotes my strong points and downplays my weaknesses.

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47. When I am negotiating or selling, I always ask for more than I expect to get.

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48. When I am negotiating to buy, I offer less than I expect to pay.

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49. I consciously grant people favours knowing they will feel obliged to reciprocate in kind later.

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50. When I want someone to make a large order or commitment that I know will meet resistance, I start by asking for a much smaller order or commitment. I then build on this, asking for a much bigger order or commitment later.

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51. When I want people to stand by their commitments, I try to get them to make their commitments publicly or on paper.

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52. I consciously tap the power that comes from titles or positions of authority I hold.

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53. I consciously dress to communicate authority, competence, and professionalism.

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54. When I possess exclusive information, I sell its scarcity value to those IÌm trying to influence.

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55. When I promote something, I stress that what I'm selling is popular, standard practice, or part of a trend.

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56. I consciously associate myself with products, people, or companies that the people I'm trying to influence admire or emulate.

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57. I emphasise the similarities I share with the people I want to influence.

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58. I consciously use my friends as a referral network to build business or influence.

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59. I consciously praise and flatter others to increase my influence with them.

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60. I take advantage of situations where the person I want to influence is under pressure to "unthinkingly" agree with my proposals.

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Interpreting Your Results

The prime purpose of this assessment is to allow you to identify the areas you need to improve so you can refer to the relevant sections in this book to further refine your skills.

 

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PERSUASION IQ

S C O R E

280 - 300  Exceptional  240 - 279  Superior  180 - 239  Adequate  Under 179  Deficient

Exceptional: You are a persuasion marvel. If this was an intelligence test, you'd be a genius. If you're not in a successful career in sales, politics, diplomacy, law, or business, you should consider a career move. Watch out for complacency.

Superior: You are a talented persuader in many areas but lack the refinements displayed by exceptional persuaders.

Adequate: You know and practice many of the basics of persuasion. However, you can significantly decrease your number of missed opportunities by extending your skills and awareness.

Deficient: Your persuasion skills are weak. You struggle getting what you want. You are also likely to be vulnerable to exploitation by unethical persuaders. Life is full of missed opportunities.

© 2000 Harry Mills
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