(by 4 people)
Do you really think people can be persuaded?
If you think you can persuade someone making use of a few so-called "techniques of persuasion", you should think again. People don't get persuaded that easily. As a matter of fact, if a person doesn't persuade himself, no persuasion will actually take place - particularly considering that persuasion not only means a change in how you think about something, but also how you behave.
The man that has to get a lot of credit for this radical new approach to persuasion, has to be Charles U. Larson. He does acknowledge contributions of a number of people, going back as far as the classical Greeks, who were the first to theorise on persuasion. Although Larson does not explicitly name a number of principles of persuasion, his book clearly reveals eight principles.What will be discussed in this article
- Summary of the Eight principles of persuasion
- Principles of persuasion relating to the receiver of the message
- Principles of persuasion relating to the persuader
- Principles of persuasion relating to the message
- Vote on principles of persuasion
- Four books I recommend you read
- Any comments?
- Links to recommended sites
- New Del.icio.us bookmarks
Summary of the Eight principles of persuasion
The principles of persuasion can be divided into principles relating to
1. the receiver of the message,
2. the persuader (the one who delivers the message) and
3. the message itself.
1. the receiver of the message,
2. the persuader (the one who delivers the message) and
3. the message itself.
Principles of persuasion relating to the receiver of the message
- 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. - 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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). - 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) - 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)
Principles of persuasion relating to the message
The eight principle of persuasion entails a well-constructed message. Larson is adamant about the message being constructed in such a way, that the receiver will have no problem in identifying with it in terms of his own frame of reference and will then proceed to persuade himself in his own time in terms of his own frame of reference. (Get Larson)
Vote on principles of persuasion
In another article of mine, one on review on lawn movers I delibertately applied the principles discussed in this lens. Down below five of the principles have been selected for voting. After reading the article, rank the principles from more important to less important aas applied in the article.
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Four books I recommend you read
I've the theory of persuasion really interest you, you should consider reading the following books.
The Rhetoric and the Poetics of Aristotle (Modern Library College Editions)
Amazon Price: $9.67 (as of 08/21/2008)
On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse
Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)
Internal Rhetorics: Toward a History and Theory of Self-Persuasion
Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)
Fundamentals of Argumentation Theory: A Handbook of Historical Backgrounds and Contemporary Developments
Amazon Price: $56.18 (as of 08/21/2008)
Any comments?
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Forgiven
Asking people to think!! Who woulda thunk it. I am gonna scratch my head, actually read the other lens and answer the poll now... =) Posted August 14, 2007 |
Links to recommended sites
- Course in Persuasion
- This link takes you to Auburn University Distance Education, where a Course in Persuasive Discourse is presented based on CU Larson's book and is highly recommended.
- Credibility
- This link takes you to an excellent article by William A Haskins from McKenree College on one of the principles of persuasion: the credibility of the persuader. This article has been retrieved more than 12 thousand times since 2000.
New Del.icio.us bookmarks
- Changing minds and persuasion -- How we change what others think, believe, feel and do
- Theories about persuasion
- Eight ways to get exactly what you want - being-human - 07 May 2008 - New Scientist
- Article: Why Do People Say "Yes?" The "6 Weapons of Influence"
- PILOTed: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
