Intermediate Techniques I
Once you feel confident that you have developed your basic technique skills, you can begin to explore the process of using intermediate persuasive techniques. These techniques require a bit more time to learn and may require some time to practice and improve. Likewise, most of these techniques are usually most successful on adults as children are not always capable of the type of thinking that makes these techniques effective at persuasion.
Charisma
When we have talked about people who are naturally persuasive, one of the most common attributes that these individuals share is that they are charismatic. When a person appears to be full of confidence and is bold, we are naturally inclined to believe that person. This type of persuasion builds upon the insecurities that we each have as individuals; the idea is that if we feel insecure in our lack of knowledge or conviction, we are likely to believe that someone acting with confidence does have the answers. If you pay attention, and try to look at a situation objectively, you can usually pick out the people that are naturally charismatic in almost any setting. The popular kids who are not so talented or may not be very good looking are typically very charismatic. Highly successful politicians tend to be very charismatic. A gifted charismatic person projects an energy and a feeling of being alive that other people are attracted to. Those people often wind up believing what the person says simply because the charismatic person seems to believe it and we find that person appealing in some way.Euphemism
Using euphemism is an age old tradition and a form of persuasion that requires little mastery to use; you must, however, have a good understanding of when to use it. Euphemisms are most commonly used when something has to be done or talked about that is unpleasant to most people as the main goal is to modify people's emotional responses. For example, putting the dog to sleep sounds a lot better than killing the dog even though it means the same thing. When having to deliver bad news, using euphemisms may help ease the process for both you and the person on the receiving end of the news. However, you want to be careful not to use euphemisms in an inappropriate situation or when the euphemism might be misunderstood. Some people are not as culturally aware and may misinterpret a euphemism; sometimes it is better for everyone to just say the correct words than having to use several euphemisms, none of which the person understands. If somebody is using euphemistic terms with you, consider whether or not they are using the words to soften the blow for you or if they are using the words to temper your response to make their lives easier.Extrapolation
Simply put, extrapolation is when a large conclusion is made based on one or two very small pieces of evidence or indicators. Imagine a dramatic 13 year old who has a fight with her best friend. She may cry to her mother exclaiming, "Oh my God, my life is over and everything is ruined!" While this example is not persuasive to anyone over the age of 13, you would be surprised at the frequency with which this same concept is used to persuade huge groups of people. News media, politicians, business executives, and so on will use extrapolation to manipulate individuals by boiling down a huge issue into one very simple statement. Slogans are typically all about extrapolation because they discredit or ignore the complexities of an issue and focus everything on the conclusion they want you to draw.
Imagine issues regarding gun laws. A fervent gun rights activist may be likely to say things like, "You can kill someone with a knife; are we going to ban knives?" This individual has taken what is actually an extremely complex social issue and tried to boil it down into one statement that seems to be logical. In reality, what he is not telling you is how much faster guns kill, how many more people guns kill, and the difference between the psychological makeup of people who use knives compared to people who use guns. That is not to say that his position is wrong or even that his statement is inaccurate; rather, it is an incomplete statement based on ignoring the complexity of the issue. No matter how good it sounds, if a bumper sticker seems to summarize a position on a complex social issue, it usually is too good to be true.
Also consider that extrapolation can come in the form of optimism. While optimism itself is a great thing, we are talking about the kinds of ads that claim a product will achieve a particular goal when it has only achieved one step or aspect of that goal. This type of extrapolation is often paired with exaggeration. There was an ad campaign for particular prescription drug to treat fibromyalgia. In clinical studies, a significant portion of program participants found that this drug did lessen their symptoms of pain. Consequently, the ad campaign features individuals with fibromyalgia gardening, running a restaurant, and performing other tasks. Almost any person with this condition will tell you that taking this prescription may help, but it does not give them the ability to perform those types of tasks. By taking one finding of the study, the company extrapolated that people suffering from chronic pain would be able to completely change their lifestyle based on this drug.
Flattery
The old saying goes, "Flattery works every time;" this may not be quite accurate, but flattery certainly rarely hurts the situation. Everyone likes to be told that they are smart, beautiful, wonderful, and so forth. The problem is that when people are able to convince us to believe or behave certain ways because we want to appear to be all of those wonderful things that they already assume we are. Flattery should be done in measured doses as it can be very easy to see through, especially by people who receive flattery all the time. Consider a charitable foundation. The foundation is run by a business CEO who reviews thousands of grant applications every year for deserving nonprofit organizations throughout the country. This type of person is more likely to respond positively to a factual representation of what the a charity does rather than a proposal that continually mentions how wonderful the CEO or his company is. It is easy to use flattery on people but you must be careful under what circumstances you use it and in the size of the doses.Name Calling or Bullying
This type of persuasion is exactly what it sounds like, the use of bullying tactics to get a desired result. In the United States, despite how society has pushed for anti-bullying policies and programs the past few years, a commercial break watching TV will show you that students are not the only ones engaging in this type of behavior. Commercials just as frequently use insults (whether explicit or implied) as individuals do. Ads may state or imply that something is unattractive, undesirable, lazy, passive, rude, fat, ugly, and so forth. Longer ads such as infomercials are particularly bad as they often rely on this type of tactic. Pay close attention to any time that someone, even if they do not directly call a name, implies that you are somehow inferior unless you buy their product or agree to their thought process.
Not all name calling or bullying is directed towards the individual. Many companies and politicians will have negative ads where they attack the merits of a competitor. When there is a real difference in quality or merit, it is perfectly okay for that difference to be pointed out. However, be very wary of individuals, groups, or companies that cross the line into being bullying or hateful towards those that disagree with them.
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