Principles of Persuasion

Principles of persuasion relating to the receiver of the message 

1. The first and paramount principle of persuasion can be stated clearly: Persuasion is "self-persuasion". We've been mislead to believe that persuasion is some sort of a technique that one can learn and once mastered can persuade people at will. Just run a search on Google on "persuasion" and you'll see what I mean.
   
   Persuasion is a complicated matter. If the receiver does not persuade himself, no persuasion will take place.
2. The second principle of persuasion is that this process of self-persuasion takes place within the frame of reference of the receiver. This is a complex system involving things like knowledge, beliefs, values and perceptions. On top of this, other factors like gender, age, level of education and personality types should also be included. All these factors constitute his frame of reference and have a direct impact on his behaviour. (Get Larson)

Principles of persuasion relating to the persuader 

i.e. the one who delivers the message

1. The third principle of persuasion states that the persuader is merely the facilitator of self-persuasion. Instead of trying to persuade someone/people, he should rather focus on what he can do to help the receiver persuade himself. this represents a major shift in the way people have been thinking about persuasion.
2. Traditionally the main focus has been on the persuasive message, based on the assumption that an excellent constructed message will virtually secure persuasion. The fourth principle of persuasion entails the persuader shifting his focus from the message itself to the receiver of the persuasive message. Only once he has a basic understanding of the frame of reference of the receiver, he can shift his focus to the message itself, since self-persuasion takes place within the frame of reference of the receiver.
3. The fifth principle of persuasion requires that the persuader recognizes that an issue usually has two sides. To put it another way: Usually there's another side to any story. Recognizing this principle will bring some modesty to the persuader's attitude. He will realize that there are more gray areas in the world than purely white or black. In antiquity a student in rhetoric had to prepare a speech from exactly the opposite view than the one he held, once his own speech had been completed. Once he had done that, he then realized how relative things really were and that his arguments were not as compelling as he had thought.
   
   Another benefit of applying this principle is its contribution towards enhancing the credibility of the persuader. The receiver(s) of his message will regard him acknowledging opposing views to his own not as a sign of weakness, but of strength. They will also appreciate him sharing this with the receiver(s).
4. In the sixth principle of persuasion, which is the credibility of the persuader, Larson heavily leans on contributions from antiquity, in particular from Aristotle. If the persuader is perceived as not knowing what he's talking about, he might as well stop talking, and if his personal integrity is perceived as not being unquestionable, he will not be trusted either.
   You will have noticed the words "perceived". This is important: the credibility of the persuader is a matter of perception, not of fact: How is he perceived by the receiver of his message. (Get Larson)
5. The seventh principle of persuasion requires the message delivered in a professional way. The receiver should also pay attention to relevant non-verbal forms of communication.(Get Calero, an authority on non-verbal communication)