Persuasion Techniques You Can Try Today

Have you ever tried persuasion techniques to get what you want? Consciously, I mean, because smiling and many other simple persuasion techniques are used unconsciously all the time. You might think that intentionally using a technique is somehow unethical, but I would argue that it depends on the purpose and the circumstance. In any case, here are some you can try at your discretion.

Mirroring and Matching

The technique of "mirroring and matching" involves changing your verbal and body language to more closely match the person you are with. You slow or accelerate your speech to match his or hers, and sit in the same position. You use the same facial expressions, and laugh when he or she laughs. Done well, you can use this technique to establish rapport quickly and easily with most people.

You can try this on anyone. With practice most people won't notice you're doing anything unusual. People will simply feel like you're like them, that you can "relate" to them. We tend to trust those who are like us. A bond develops between you, and you can test this bond by "leading."

NLP Techniques

NLP or "neuro-linguistic programming" has produced some great persuasion techniques. For example, according to NLP, if you hear a person saying, "I see," a few times, they're most likely primarily process information visually. In this case, you would use phrases like, "You can see how..." or you would actually show the person things. More auditory people would be influenced by, "I hear what you're saying," or the word "Listen."

Note the words a person uses. Are they visual, aural, or kinesthetic? Use the same. For example, to convince your spouse to go to the Bahamas, you could say "We'll be feeling that sun on our backs," or "We'll see sunny beaches and mountains," or "We'll listen to the waves at night." Of course, you can use all three ways to describe something, but one of the three types of words will most influence the person in front of you.

Some More Persuasion Techniques

Use the person's name a few times. Salesmen use and abuse this technique. In fact, a statement like "Look Bob, you can see the benefits here..." might just turn you off. However, using a person's name IS a powerful persuasion technique, if you do it right. Use it how a person wants to hear it, for example. Ask him or her how they prefer to be addressed. Steve may not like "Steven," and Daniel may be irritated by you calling him "Dan."

Also use the person's name at the right time. If you are great at reading people and know it is okay, you might say "Hi Joan!" the moment she walks into your office. Otherwise wait until there is a bit of rapport, and maybe even ask permission ("Is it okay if I call you Joan?").

Use more motivating words. If you tell a person to "think about it," they'll often do just that. This certainly is not a call to action. On the other hand, words like "today," and "now," and "do this," have been shown to make people more likely to act.

Other words like "happy" and "feel good" simply address the unconscious mind and put the person in a more receptive mental state. These are more directly subliminal. Some subliminal persuasion experts will even tell you that the words "by now," as in "By now you can see the advantages," is subconsciously taken as "buy now."

Use the person's most common words, whatever they are. If a man uses the word "efficient" often, then it's an important word to him. An boat salesman (if he's paying attention) should be saying something like, "You can see how efficient this boat is in it's use of space." Pick out any words a person uses often, so you can speak the same "language." This is one of the easiest persuasion techniques to try.