Maximum Influence the 12 Universal Laws of Power Persuasion

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Maximum Influence the 12 universal laws of power persuasion [ Kurt WMortensen ]

1. Law of dissonance

2. Law of obligation

3. Law of connectivity

4. Law of social validation

5. Law of scarcity

6. Law of verbal packaging

7. Law of contrast

8. Law of expectations

9. Law of involvement

10.Law of esteem

11.Law of association

12.Law of balance

The 5 P of success

Psyche: believe you can achieve goals; have a plan; know your goals

Persistence

Personal development: read 30 mins per day; educational CDs for your car

Passion

Persuasion

The hierarchy of persuasion

Long term

Commitment [Respect Honor Trust]

Cooperation [Convince Encourage Coax]

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Compliance [Incentive Benefits Rewards]

Coercion [Pressure Manipulate Intimidate]

Control [Force Fear Threats]

Short term

The 2 ways to persuasion are:

Conscious: you and the audience make an active attempt to understand,define and process and argument

Subconscious: the listener spends little or no time processing information;

instinct and emotion drive decisions

The laws of persuasion mainly operate below conscious thought

1. Law of dissonance (internal pressure)

People will naturally act in a manner consistent with their beliefs, attitudes andvalues. If they dont, there is dissonance. They will feel discomfort that requiresadjustment.

Foot-in-the-door: first, ask for a very small favor (e.g. can I have 30s of your time). This create a self-perception of helpfulness with your counterpart. Then, increasewith your 2 nd and 3 rd request.

Foot-in-the-door approach:

Determine end goal

Create several steps to get there

o First request: largest possible request that will be realistically accepted

o Consider your prospects viewpoint. They should not sense that you areacting in your own interest

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o External incentives for the first request reduce this techniqueseffectiveness (self perception then is acting for an incentive rather thanacting out of helpfulness)

o It can be effective to use different persons to make the different requests,

so prospect

Applying the law of dissonance

1. Get a committment

Ensure that commitments are public, affirmative, voluntary and effortful.

Public: get written commitment and make it public, involve family and friends

Affirmative: close with a series of questions (ideally 6) that will all end in a yes

Voluntary: start small and build up to larger commitments; long-term approval hasto feel like it comes from your prospects own will

2. Create dissonance

Show prospects they have not kept their commitment (e.g. you said you needed thisright away why do you have to think it over?)

3. Offer a solution (this is what you ultimately want to accomplish)

= call to action. Your presentation should be prepared around this (e.g. if youdonate right now, we can continue to feed the homeless children in Africa)

2. Law of obligation

When others do something for us, we feel a strong need to return the favor.Sometimes, the return exceeds the original debt (e.g. thats why car salesmen offercustomers a soda during negotiations). Some marketers effectively use pre-giving(e.g. free sample or service).

Applying the law of obligation Create the need / obligation in the mind of your counterpart (e.g. service,

information, concession, secret, favor, gesture, compliment, smile, gift beforea negotiation, invitation, attention, time) any combination will work as longas it is perceived as altruistic / unselfish

Examples

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o Concessions: you know what, you are right about .

o Secret: I shouldnt tell you this, but . Off the record, I think you shouldknow

3. Law of connectivity

A sense of connectivity makes you more persuasive. It requires sincerity and trueinterest.

The 4 aspects of connectivity are:

Attraction: has a halo effect; one characteristic influences the overallperception (appearance, clothes, hair, accessories, fitness)

Similarity: we like people who are similar to us in terms of attitude, morality,background, appearance (people like to buy from people like them)

People skills

o Goodwill: be interested in other people, be caring, kind, compassionate,focus on positives

o Bonding: use & remember names, chance of persuasion increases if nameis used at start and end of sentence

o Humor: people like you better if you use appropriate humor, use with

caution though

o Smile: give away freely

o Respect: when your audience respects you, your chance of persuadingincreases, show gratitude, dont talk about your problems other peoplewant to talk about themselves and their problems

Rapport

o Body language

o Mirroring and matching (builds rapport)

Language (words, rate of speech, tone)

Breathing

Voice and tone

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Mood (e.g. I think I would feel XYZ too if I were)

Energy level

4. Law of social validation

There is an inner desire to be part of a group

We change opinions and act according to group norms, e.g. tip jar with money in it,referrals from friends, canned laughter in comedy shows, bystander apathy, waitinglines at night clubs

In marketing e.g. companies claim that a product is best, most popular, etc

Application of the law of social validation

The larger the group the better

The greater the familiarity the better

The clearer the principle of social validation the better (what works best? Bestselling, used by experts, fastest growing ??)

5. Law of scarcity

Scarcity increases value and the urge to own an item

Scarcity = threat of loss of freedom to choose leads to action

Availability of product, timing or price

TV shops: clock counting down offer

Application of the law of scarcity

use of deadlines

limited space / access

potential loss (fear of not having something)

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restricted freedom (we want what we cant have signs for soonunavailable, sold sign at close-out sales

6. Law of verbal packaging

Oral communication has immense power

Word choice: adjust your word choice to the situation

Repel words Superior

contract Agreement

sign here Autograph / ok the paperwork

sell Get involved

cancellation Right of recision

sales person Business consultant

commission Fee for my services

cost investment

Credit card Form of payment

Problem Challenge

Objection Area of concern

Expensive Top of the line

Cheaper More economical

Service charge Processing fee

Double speak

Replace offensive words with less offensive words to reduce sting

Offensive repackaged

Fired Let go

Downsizing Rightsizing

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Used car Pre-owned

Interrogate Interview

Fail Not passing

Garbage man Sanitation engineer

Package your numbers

Play your numbers up or down: more than three quarters; almost 8 out of 10, lessthan half, fewer than 2 out of 10

Positive and negative word choice

To create a feeling of happy/safe/confident or anxiety/depression etc; positive wordsput the listener in a more persuasive state of mind

Emotion packed words

Consider the emotional impact of each word that you use; use non-emotional wordsto downplay events; shorter words are generally more direct / blunt / harsh

Word choice in marketing

Marketers frequently use weasel words such as: helps, may, improved, up to,almost, about

Use of silence

After a sales pitch, be silent do not oversell, give prospect a chance to think theless you talk, the smarter people think you are

Vivid language

Use vivid language to paint a picture (your prospects will become part of themessage if you paint a picture with words)

Powerful words

o Because: prepares brain for a reason

o You: makes people listen

o But: creates conflict do not use. Use And instead

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o Use can instead of could, and will instead of would

o Use lets to create cooperation

Use simple words and structure (everyday language will make you seemfamiliar) Also use verb driven language

Complex Simple

Annually Every year

Comprehend Understand

Assistance Help

Cultivate Grow

Accomplished Did

Essential Necessary

Utilize Use

Persists Continues

Respond Answer

Disseminate Spread

Use attention grabbing words

o Benefit, money, easy, new, free, now, fun, proven, guarantee, results,health, safe, how to, save, love, you/your

Vocal techniques

Pace: faster, louder, more fluent, varied vocal frequency = more persuasive

o Slow pace: give impression of thoughtfulness, working through process,respect, important point

o Faster pace: create excitement and energy

Vocal fillers: must be eliminated

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Pitch: the lower the better

Pauses: use before making an important point; use high pitch before and lowpitch after pause

7. Law of contrast

The human mind looks for benchmarks for comparison.

This law deals with how we are affected when we are introduced to 2 vastlydifferent alternatives in succession distorts or amplifies perception

Time-critical, i.e. alternatives must be presented simultaneously or within shorttimeframe

Categories:

Sweetening the pot

o Triple value (infomercials: added bonus, free shipping etc)

o Price tags with previous price strike-through

Reducing it to the ridiculous: create perspective

o Cost per day / minute = can of soda

Shifting focus

o 75% lean vs 25% fat results in different rating of burgers

Door in the face

o Make an initial huge request that will be turned down

o Follow up with second, reasonable request

o

Second request now has a higher chance since social norm is to meetconcession (allowing rejection of first request) with a concession (secondrequest)

Example: home is on market for $500, builder tells and agent to big$350 anonymously, this offer gets rejected; builder then bids $420 andoffer gets accepted

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Comparison effect: taking their temperature

o E.g. present billiard tables: low scale to high scale first: average sale$500; high scale to low scale: average sale $1000

How to use:

Starting high: make an initial request that is certain to be denied follow upwith a reasonable one

Timing: delay between the 2 must be short

8. Law of expectations

Expectations affect behavior and become reality

e.g. when a baby falls, it cries if parents act concerned laugh instead

Pre-supposition: assume the sale youll love how this car drives in themountains

Placebo effect

Time expectations: a project will take 3 or 6 months, depending on what theexpectations are; it is therefore good to set sub-deadlines

Reputation expectations: people are likely to act as expected

o youve always impressed me with your ability to

o Ive always liked how you people will come through for you

First impression expectations influence perception

Embedded commands

o e.g. have a pepsi day

o most effective when they are short and concise (2-4 words)

o e.g. become wealthy, how good it feels, use this skill, buy now

Goal setting & visualizing: goals must have the power to stretch and inspireand be realistic

Environment : broken window theory: building with broken window = nobodycares = more vandalism

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9. Law of involvement

The more you involve the audience the more persuasive you are

increasing participation: make it their problem

o store placement (having to go through entire store to get to groceries,having to go through entire mall to get from one department store to thenext)

o role playing

o asking for advice: people have a desire to feel wanted / needed

o visualization: how your product or service will help them

o physical movement (especially nods: in advertising: repetitive verticalmovements such as bouncy balls)

o contact e.g. by store employee

o the power of yes: use wouldnt, shouldnt, doesnt

creating atmosphere

o music

o

aroma e.g. in stores or at worko rushed vs relaxed (tension in the air)

o hands-on experience: e.g. test drive, introductory offers, have customerfill out the sales contract

maintaining attention

o use questions, quotes, change mediums, speak in first person, make themfeel important, give tips, keep your body moving, avoid excessive detail

using the art of questioning

o skilled negotiators ask twice as many questions

o questions involve and elicit response

o be careful what words you use when you ask, as it has an impact on theresponse: how fast.. vs how slow

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o use unstructured questions to get lots of information

telling mesmerizing stories

o use specific details to make stories tangible, pack stories with emotions

repeating and repackaging

o in order to increase retention, repackage the same message up to 3 times,so it does not seem repetitive

building suspense and distraction

o distraction: food, sex appeal

o suspense: unfinished thought / idea / story timing of TV commercialbreaks in movies

generating competition most people like competition, it involves them

engaging the 5 senses

10. Law of esteem

All humans need and want praise, recognition and acceptance

Symptoms of low self esteem: inability to trust others, aggressive behavior,

gossiping, resentment of others, criticism of others, inability to take criticism,defensiveness, procrastination, inability to accept compliments

Pride vs self-esteem

Pride Self-esteem

External security Internal security

Scarcity mentality Abundance mentality

Comparisons to others No need to compare

Value in possessions or positions Value in self

Tears others down Lifts others up

Concerned with who is right Concerned with what is right

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Enhance your prospects ego

Ingratiation: make others feel important (gain favor by deliberate effort compliments , flattery, etc, e.g. I normally dont do this but for you on anexception I wil)

Sincere praise praise the act, not the person

Acceptance

o Unconditional

o Never criticize people you want to persuade

o Give genuine thanks

11. Law of association

Endorsements

Anchors

o Smells

o Music

o Symbols

Affiliation

o Advertising (puppies, babies, etc)

o Sponsorship

o Color triggers (communicate and trigger thoughts, moods, emotions)

Red: strength, power, anger, danger, aggression, excitement

Blue: coolness, trust, loyalty, harmony, devotion

Yellow: brightness, cheerfulness, intelligence, wiseness

Orange: brightness, unpleasantness, sun, warmth, bravery,invigoration, radiation, communication

Purple: royalty, passion, authority, stateliness, integrity, mysticalness

White: plainness, purity, coldness, cleanliness, innocence, hygiene

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Black: desperation, wickedness, futility, mysteriousness, death,evilness

Gray: neutrality, nothingness, indecision, depression, dullness,technology, impersonality

12. Law of balance

Balance between emotion and logic is needed to maximize persuasiveness

We are persuaded by reason but moved by emotion

90% of decisions are emotion based

4 forms of evidence

Testimony (quote, interview, endorsement) can be implied with someonespresence, picture, signature

Statistics Analysis Examples

Do not provide too much evidence but focus on the strong evidence

Use expert supported evidence Statistical evidence is more convincing if combined with individual case

studies Document testimony sources Use new / updated data as it is more relevant Use evidence consistent with the audiences beliefs Build credibility by acknowledging the other side

Emotions

Avoid negatives in the persuasion process or provide a solution to it

When using emotions in persuasion, consider:

The nature of the experience (funeral, party, meeting) The audience (male, female, age, religion)

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The likely emotion that is being created

Pre-persuasion checklist:

Discover what your prospects want and need to hear Design and structure a winning persuasion argument Deliver the message with passion, compassion and purpose

Checklist

Beliefs and values of your audience Change (how resistant to change is your audience) Acceptance (knowledge, interest, background & demographics, support for

presenters views, and beliefs of the audience) Listening Personality directions Persuasion structure & engineering

Audience types and how to handle:

Hostile: find common beliefs and values; use humor; dont start thepresentation with attacking their position; dont give them a reason to not

like you; build credibility; express you are looking for a win-win; meet thembefore the persuasion situation; show youve done your homework; respecttheir feelings and values; use reasoning; use the law of connectivity andbalance

Neutral or indifferent: spell out the benefits of your proposal and point out thedownside of not accepting your proposal; grab attention with a story; makethem care by showing how the topic affects them; avoid complex arguments;identify why they should care; make them feel connected to the issue; usethe law of involvement and social validation

Uniformed: encourage them to ask questions; keep the facts simple andstraightforward; find out why they are uniformed; use examples and simplestatistics; quote experts the audience respects; stress your credibility such asdegrees; make your message interesting to keep their attention; use the lawof dissonance and scarcity

Supportive: increase energy and enthusiasm with inspiration; prepare themfor future attacks by inoculating them against other arguments; get them totake action and support your cause; let them know what needs to be done;use testimonials to intensify the commitments; use the law of esteem andexpectation

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Listening: focus, dont think about your response, dont conclude

Give them your undivided attention Look the directly in the face while they are talking Show sincere interest in them (nod, uh-hum) Ask questions to keep the conversation going Use silence to encourage them to talk Pause before replying / continuing (3-5 seconds)

Personality directions

Logical vs emotional

Introvert vs extrovert

Motivated by inspiration or desperation

Assertive or amiable

Structuring:

1. create interest = reason to listen2. state the problem how does it affect the audience3. offer evidence4. present a solution5. call to action (the most important aspect of your presentation)

a. what do I want to accomplishb. what will make my message clear to the audiencec. what will increase my credibility and trustd. what laws of persuasion am I going to usee. what do I want my prospects to dof. who is listening to my messageg. what is their initial mindseth. when will the call to action worki. why should they care

j. in what areas of their lives does it affect themk. how will they benefit

Call to action

Should not come as a shock, should be smooth and seamless

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Maximum Influence the 12 Universal Laws of Power Persuasion