Power Persuasions

A huge majority of us are, to a certain level, hyper-active and lack the ability to focus on things for long. In some ways we resemble a flock of birds chirping away at nothing and for this we can happily blame it on the nature of our creation. In many ways we are affected by the fast changing, constantly chaotic, circumstances which surround us. The bottom-line, though, regardless of whether it is nature or nurture that makes us, is the fact that we are always in a state of flux.

To give positive direction and constructive shape to the change that is constantly happening to us requires that we develop skills to navigate or anchor ourselves at a deeper, primal level closer to our identities and emotions. To give positive direction and constructive shape to change in others we must also develop the skills and abilities to create a shift for them at a deeper and a more emotional level in them…read more

Dr Robert Cialdini, known for his popular book on persuasion and marketing, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion makes claim to six laws that can create a shift in others and these, very quickly, are;

• Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor for a favor. Thus giving the power to one who does the first favor.

• Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment.

• Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing.

• Authority - People will tend to be influenced by authorities and celebrities.

• Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people that they like.

• Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand and therefore give power to the one owning title to the things in demand.

These laws are good and make a lot of social sense. I agree with them absolutely and would add to these facts the current research from the fields on Nuero-psychology. What support and enshrouds all these laws is the fact that deep change occurs at the levels where our emotions and memories reside. It is the images, the sounds and the feelings of past experiences of joy and sorrow which become a powerful driving force behind the choices we make today, behind the actions we take today and destiny that we shape for our tomorrows.

Change at and around the seat of our emotions and past experiences is brought about a careful construction and morphing of the verbal and non-verbal language that we use in our day to day interactions with our family, friends and colleagues. Those that recognize the power of the words we weave have learned the art and science of it over time, through deliberate effort and razor-sharp awareness of their own thoughts, mental processes, ideas and emotional shifts. Those that master these skills and develop intuitive competencies stop being like a bunch of sparrows atop a tree but become soaring eagles in the sky that fly down sharp and swift for a purpose and then fly back into the echelons of personal performances and achievements.