27 Powers of Persuasion: Basic Methods to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies

3 Responses to 27 Powers of Persuasion: Basic Methods to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies

1. Thomas Duff "Duffbert" says:

   August 2, 2011 at 2:19 pm

   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

   Excellent ideas on how to bring others over to your side…, October 9, 2010

   By Thomas Duff “Duffbert” (Portland, OR United States) –
     

     

     

   This review is from: 27 Powers of Persuasion: Simple Strategies to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies (Hardcover)

   How frustrating is it when you have a great idea or an important viewpoint, yet people don’t seem to be rushing to support you? Persuasion is an elusive skill, and it relies on more than just being “right.” I found that the book 27 Powers of Persuasion: Simple Strategies to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies by Chris St. Hilaire with Lynette Padwa does a good job in offering up suggestions on how you can do much better in bringing people over to your side without resorting to physical violence. Contents: Focus on the Goal; Evaluate Egos; Soothe or Sidestep Other Egos; Manage Opposition by Giving It Nothing to Oppose; Make Your Weakness Your Strength; Find One Thing to Like About Everyone in the Room; Use the First Five Minutes to Make People Feel Safe; Stay in the Present; Recognize Their Reality; Make It About Choice, Fairness, and Accountability; Keep It Simple; Own the Language; Use Emotional Language; Make Sure Everyone’s Invested; Get Third-Party Validation; Get a Couple of Numbers; Arm Your Advocates; Aim for the Undecideds; Avoid Absolutes and Hypotheticals; Learn How to Use Silence; Get Physical; Don’t Say No, Say “Let’s Try This”; Release Bad News Quickly and Good News Slowly; Challenge Bad Ideas by Challenging the Details; Play Devil’s Advocate; Don’t Change, “Adapt”; Be Your Own Pundit; Notes St. Hilaire brings his experience in jury analysis as well as his Eastern philosophy and attitudes into play here. He has managed strategy and messages for political campaigns, as well as founding a company that consults on jury selection. These are obviously two areas where persuasion is a critical skill, and St. Hilaire has been successful at it. Each “power” listed above is a separate chapter, which makes it very easy to pick a method and focus on it. I appreciated the blend of explanation and example in each chapter. It made for an effective approach for understanding the skill along with a instance of how it plays out. 27 Powers of Persuasion avoids something I was a bit fearful of before I started reading. It’d be very easy to go down the path of manipulation over persuasion, as the two can sometimes be dangerously close to each other. But I didn’t get that sense at all. Yes, you can make people react in predictable ways with language and actions. But that’s just a basic reality of life. You can try and convince people by yelling at them, or you can show that you understand their points and work to answer their questions. Guess which one will be more effective? You need to understand that if you want to succeed. The book is also useful in giving you insight as to others may be trying to persuade you. For instance, if you understand how owning the language predisposes you to think about a company or product, you can be more objective when it comes to making your own decisions. And I can’t help but think that FAR too many people and organizations have ignored the technique of releasing bad news quickly and good news slowly. Trying to let bad news trickle out to avoid a “hit” only feeds the story and the media frenzy for a longer period of time. If you take the hard hit up front, then the story can start to die down for lack of new information. Then you can get on with resolving the situation. 27 Powers of Persuasion is a book that can pay for itself in a single critical situation at work when you have a lot at stake in a particular outcome. I learned quite a bit from it, and I’ll be returning to various chapters over time… Disclosure: Obtained From: Author Payment: Free

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2. ChitownChica says:

   August 2, 2011 at 2:35 pm

   5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

   Applicable to Any Industry, September 18, 2010

   By ChitownChica –

   This review is from: 27 Powers of Persuasion: Simple Strategies to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies (Hardcover)

   A friend gave this to me on Wednesday, and I really just started it because I needed a book to read on a long drive. I’m not in any of the industries this author is in, so I was skeptical how I could use any of the tips to improve my success as a schoolteacher. But I ended up finishing the book the same day I started it — that’s how blown away I was by the suggestions and tips contained inside. ”Persuasion” can be kind of a dirty word, but I really think all of the techniques involved are about improving communication between people rather than some sort of manipulation. For me, these tips have helped me get other people (including kids!) to listen and respond more effectively, improving the entire interaction. I can definitely see how the techniques in this book could be implemented in many, many situations. I came on to Amazon to buy my own copy and ended up buying three others for my parents and sister!

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3. Louise Wallace says:

   October 24, 2011 at 11:10 pm

   Thanks for the blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.