How's your Latin? And what about your Greek? Because to answer the question in the title, we need to go back to the Ancients. Aristotle, to be more exact, and his book Rhetoric. Rhetoric means 'ars bene dicendi' - or, in translation, the art of speaking well. Not 'correctly' (that's grammar), not 'truly' (that is … Continue reading What is Rhetoric? Age-old Sources of Persuasion
Tag: persuasion
Narratology – How Stories Work and Why They Matter
We live in a world of stories. Stories shape the way we think about reality. Stories are what we tell ourselves about ourselves. When the human brain wants to make sense of events and data in the environment, transform them into actionable insights, and share them with others, there is no way around stories. We … Continue reading Narratology – How Stories Work and Why They Matter
Your social media feed and the snow job technique
Motto: "Indignation is still bondage."Bertrand Russell In negotiation, there is a hardball technique called "the snow job", which consists of flooding the other party with so much information as to overwhelm them and make it nearly impossible to sift through it all. The consequence? The other party will no longer be able to tell which … Continue reading Your social media feed and the snow job technique
Need to Communicate Change? 5 Key Ingredients To Consider
In our lives, change is inevitable. It's always on the prowl, in the background, hiding behind an illusion of stability and safety. When 'black swan' events such as the Covid-19 crisis occur, companies are forced to implement changes to their work environments and their business model at the drop of a hat. But how to … Continue reading Need to Communicate Change? 5 Key Ingredients To Consider
Information and Persuasion: 3 Features of Conspiracy Theories (reloaded)
"Most people reason dramatically, not quantitatively" (O.W. Holmes) In light of the recent anti-Corona demonstrations (Stichwort #Aluhut), I feel almost compelled to post an older article I wrote about communication and the psychology of conspiracy theories. CRISES AND INGREDIENTS In times of crisis and upheaval conspiracy theories abound. When people experience unease and doubt, when old … Continue reading Information and Persuasion: 3 Features of Conspiracy Theories (reloaded)
Language and Logic: Deconstructing Political Discourse (II)
(Read the initial article here.) An interesting ramification of communication and persuasion science is the line of study concerned with manipulation strategies and manufacturing consent. The study of media manipulation, persuasion, and propaganda has several theorists, of which Noam Chomsky - the great MIT linguist - is perhaps the best known. Media manipulation often uses a … Continue reading Language and Logic: Deconstructing Political Discourse (II)
6 Features of Captivating Messages
Going back to Aristotle, rhetoric is the practical faculty of observing and deploying, in any given case, all the available means of persuasion. What then, makes a message persuasive? A lot lies in the logical argument itself, the demonstration. But, quite importantly, Aristotle himself notes that knowledge does not automatically produce conviction! In his words, … Continue reading 6 Features of Captivating Messages
Information and Persuasion: 3 Features of Conspiracy Theories
In times of crisis and upheaval conspiracy theories abound. When people experience unease and doubt, when old answers no longer seem to function or are challenged by societal change, when suspicions are born and everything seems relative and ambiguous, our brains yearn for unequivocal, clear-cut, black and white answers. It would also appear that the decline … Continue reading Information and Persuasion: 3 Features of Conspiracy Theories
Communication Insights from Social Psychology
Did you know? Simply introducing yourself (mentioning your name before making a request) improves the odds of people complying with your request? When fund-raising, adding a short "even a penny can help" after your pitch actually gets people to donate more? By making your request so minimal, you make it almost impossible for people to say "no". … Continue reading Communication Insights from Social Psychology
6 Secrets of Persuasion
If you need to communicate professionally, you've probably read your way through tomes of sales and negotiation literature by now. There is a plethora of tactics, techniques and tricks out there which purport to help you sway partners over to your side. But what is the underlying foundation of all these techniques? How can they … Continue reading 6 Secrets of Persuasion