The Ultimate Truth in Persuasion
by Colin G Smith
Published on this site: July 27th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
OK, so you want to improve your persuasion power right?
Why? What's your intention?
As you know your intent directs the flow of energy in your
interactions with others. So doesn't it just make sense to
have in mind a really clear and strong intent before you engage
in your powerful persuasion mission.
If you were to think about the person(s) you want to persuade
what comes to mind in regards to the benefits they will gain
from your persuasion?
Of course your 'persuasive pitch' will be received much more
receptively if your intent is strongly biased to their benefits.
So stepping into their shoes what benefits can you perceive
from their angle and looking at the situation as if you were
watching a movie what other ideas come to mind?
Having some idea of what the other person(s) want and keeping
that positive intention nice and strong in mind when interacting
with the person(s) will automatically create a 'good vibe'
between you, thus creating that well known fundamental persuasion
skill - Rapport!
Now in your interaction with the other party you would increase
your persuasion parlance greatly by asking well focused questions.
Basically you want to ask questions that get the other person
to open up so that you can discover one of the very powerful
motivators-to-action in humans known as 'values.'
This is another aspect of the very fascinating way in which
the human mind works because you find yourself becoming increasingly
curious about people's values as your persuasion power increases,
doesn't it.
Now an important point to remember in this curious adventure
is when you have got them talking: You Shut Up! AND Listen!
Isn't that cool, you just sit there and listen as they give
you loads of high quality information that you can then use
to powerfully persuade and guide them!
By paying attention you will notice that people use certain
words which have a lot of emotional value for them personally.
You could call these words their personal trance words.
Let me give you an example to clarify what were talking about.
Let's say you are helping someone make a change in their life.
Now presuming the person has asked you to help them you can
make the change process happen even more smoothly by asking
them certain questions.
So during conversation with this person you could ask them,
"Why exactly do you want to make this change?" And,
"What would having made this change, give you?"
And also you could ask, "Why is that important to you?"
As you ask these questions you will notice that they have
to access deeper parts of their minds. So by paying attention
and listening carefully you will discover some of their personal
trance words.
Some possible examples of their personal trance words might
be: inner peace, better energy, assertiveness. Keep in mind
the important fact that these words could have a deep and
powerful feeling associated with them in their internal experience.
Now what do you suppose would happen if you were to then
describe and incorporate those wonderful personal trance words
into your persuasive change 'pitch'?
That's right, they would be much more likely to go along
with your persuasive intervention because you are using words
which stimulate powerful feelings inside them for the changes
that they really want!
So just what is 'the ultimate truth in persuasion'? Well
the fact is in the art of persuasion, or indeed anything,
there are many ways of doing things, many perspectives, techniques,
methods and tools. The point being, by using it and paying
attention to feedback, will it get you the results you want?
Colin G Smith is a licensed Master Practitioner of
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and author of 'The NLP
ToolBox', a personal development book that enables the reader
to master any area of their life with amazing speed. Complete
information on Colin G Smith's books are available at his
website, including a FREE personal development eBook. http://www.NLPToolBox.com
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