The One Sentence Persuasion Course - 27 Words to Make the World Do Your Bidding

by Blair Warren

You will have discovered that the most magical things in life, on and off the stage, are often the result of the correct application of the most basic principles imaginable.

People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their

fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.

But there are those who do realize this and pay special attention to our fears. They do not tell us not to be afraid. Instead, they work with us until our fear subsides. They present evidence, they offer support, they tell us stories, but they do not tell us how to feel and expect us to feel that way. When you are afraid, which type of person do you prefer to be with?

When another person confirms something that we suspect, we not only feel a surge of superiority, we feel attracted to the one who helped us make that surge come about.

No matter what you may think of this, rest assured that people have enemies. All people. It has been said that everyone you meet is engaged in a great struggle. The thing they are struggling with is their enemy. Whether it is another individual, a group, an illness, a setback, a rival philosophy or religion, or what have you, when one is engaged in a struggle, one is looking for others to join him. Those who do become more than friends; they become partners.

But one thing people rarely resist is someone trying to meet their needs. And when ones needs have been met, a bond is often forged and a natural desire to reciprocate has been created.

And depth is based on the fulfillment of our deepest needs, not on the duration of dialog. Notice, I haven’t said you should ignore your wants. I simply said you should focus on the other person, not forget yourself. Or to be more specific, when you are with another person you want to influence, your primary focus should be on that person. Do not look past him or her by focusing on your intentions. The time to focus on

So being told that we are wrong about an issue often becomes far more important than the situation actually calls for because once again our sense of stability is threatened.

This need to be right often overtakes our desire to be well thought of, and even our desire to be treated well. This may help explain why some people are seemingly inexplicably drawn to people who treat them like crap. If we secretly feel unworthy, we will unconsciously be drawn to those who will confirm this “fact” for us, even though we will outwardly complain about it. We will dismiss people who try to praise us while fawning over those who denigrate us. Again, it isn’t that we enjoy feeling like crap.

since it’s through engagement that we experience and through experience that we are changed, those who engage us hold the keys to our hearts and minds, and from there, our actions.

those I studied seemed to view it as the only stage of persuasion. The

when our attention is captured, our conscious judgment and self-awareness recedes and suggestibility takes their place.

Perhaps the greatest irony of all when it comes to validating these needs is that when we are allowed to have these needs and even indulge them, we often don’t. The very fact that it is okay for us to feel a certain way encourages us to stop fighting to maintain and justify our feeling that way. When we’re told it is okay to dream, we tend to be more flexible with our dreams. When we’re told we’re not responsible for something, we often find that we’re more open to accepting responsibility for it. When we’re told that it’s okay to be afraid, we often feel less afraid. When we’re told that we’re probably justified in being suspicious, we tend to become less so. And when we’re allowed to throw rocks at our enemies, we often tire of it very, very quickly.