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How to Persuade People Who Don't Want to be Persuaded
Book

How to Persuade People Who Don't Want to be Persuaded

Get What You Want - Every Time!

Wiley, 2004 more...

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Most books about developing effective persuasive techniques are based on traditional debate methods and on fine-tuning ethos, logos and pathos to convince people to do things your way. Authors Joel Bauer and Mark Levy acknowledge the benefits of earlier approaches, but entertainment and fun are their attention getters of choice. The authors advocate "infotainment," adapting pitching techniques used by flamboyant non-business people, such as gamblers, carnival barkers and magicians. They may have a point. Some of their techniques, including the use of tricks and props, might help you seize an audience. (Warning for the fumble-fingered, some of these magic tricks literally require sleight-of-hand practice.) Determining if these games would work in most traditional corporate settings, or on a repeated basis, is another question. getAbstract recommends this book to particularly adventurous marketing and sales presenters. Only certifiable extroverts need apply.

Summary

Make Them Look and Listen

Step right up! How long can I juggle? What’s under my hat? Don’t take your eyes off my hands! Intrigued already? That is an "infotainment" teaser, an evocation of one of the most effective persuasive tactics, the "Theatrical Persuasion Model." It is based on the tactics of the world’s greatest persuaders: carnival barkers, gamblers, magicians and sideshow hypnotists. Their time-tested customer luring methods work for a simple reason: if they did not work, the person wooing customers at the street fair did not eat. That reality check helped these entertainers develop a very attention-getting approach. Their pitches were often effective, entertaining, amusing and emotional. By establishing a bridge directly to people’s feelings, these performers created a fertile environment for persuasion.

Build a persuasive bridge to any audience by devising your own "Transformation Mechanism," the label for any demonstration or device that wins the audience’s attention. Once you get the audience involved, your Transformation Mechanism serves as a link to your main message. It sets the stage for your major points. To put people in a receptive mental state ...

About the Authors

Joel Bauer is a public speaker and "infotainer" who addresses about 200 corporate audiences annually, mostly at trade shows. Mark Levy is the founder of Levy Innovation, a marketing strategy firm. He has written or co-created four books, including Accidental Genius and Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing, which has been translated into five languages.


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