Persuasion

[L. persuasio; Cf. F. persuasion.]

1. The act of persuading; the act of influencing the mind by arguments or reasons offered, or by anything that moves the mind or passions, or inclines the will to a determination.

For thou hast all the arts of fine persuasion.

2. The state of being persuaded or convinced; settled opinion or conviction, which has been induced.

If the general persuasion of all men does so account it.

My firm persuasion is, at least sometimes,
That Heaven will weigh man's virtues and his crimes
With nice attention.

3. A creed or belief; a sect or party adhering to a certain creed or system of opinions; as, of the same persuasion; all persuasions are agreed.

Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.

4. The power or quality of persuading; persuasiveness.

Is 't possible that my deserts to you
Can lack persuasion?

5. That which persuades; a persuasive. [R.]

Syn. -- See Conviction.

When Persuasion was published posthumously in 1818, only a small circle of people knew of and admired Jane Austen's novels. Since that date, however, Austen has come to be one of the world's most widely read and most beloved authors. She claimed once to her nephew, who would later write her biography, "the little bit (two inches wide) of Ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush produces little effect after much labour." Scholars and readers, however, have overwhelmingly disagreed with her assessment that her work produces "little effect," finding her to be a conscious artist and astute social critic. In Persuasion, her last novel, Austen continues to present in minute detail the daily lives of her characters, upper-middle-class men and women living in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This novel perhaps is her most romantic, centering on postponed but enduring love. Anne Elliot, the story's heroine, suffers from a decision that was forced upon her several years ago — to break off a relationship with the man she deeply loved. As Austen examines the causes and consequences of this action, she offers a penetrating critique of the standards of the British class system and the narrow-mindedness of those who strictly subscribe to them. The novel's witty realism helped guarantee Austen's position as one of the finest novelists.

Quotes:

"Who speaks to the instincts speaks to the deepest in mankind, and finds the readiest response." - Amos Bronson Alcott

"To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them." - St. Thomas Aquinas

"Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power to persuade, there the life -- there, if one must speak out, the real man." - Marcus Aurelius

"The truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what your saying, and they can't know what you've saying if they don't listen to you, and they won't listen to you if you're not interesting, and you won't be interesting until you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly." - William Bernbach

"Let one who wants to move and convince others, first be convinced and moved themselves. If a person speaks with genuine earnestness the thoughts, the emotion and the actual condition of their own heart, others will listen because we all are knit together by the tie of sympathy." - Thomas Carlyle

"Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world." - Thomas Carlyle

See more famous quotes about Persuasion

For other uses, see Persuasion (disambiguation).

Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people and oneself toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means.

Contents 1 Methods 2 List of methods 3 See also 4 References

Methods

Persuasion methods are also sometimes referred to as persuasion tactics or persuasion strategies.

According to Robert Cialdini in his book on persuasion, he defined six "weapons of influence":^[1]

• Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing and advertising. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1937.

• Commitment and Consistency - Once people commit to what they think is right, orally or in writing, they are more likely to honor that commitment, even if the original incentive or motivation is subsequently removed. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy.

• Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.

• Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.

• Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people whom they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed, but generally more aesthetically pleasing people tend to use this influence excellently over others. See physical attractiveness stereotype.

• Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.

Propaganda is also closely related to Persuasion. It's a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience. The term 'propaganda' first appeared in 1622 when Pope Gregory XV established the Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith. Propaganda was then as now about convincing large numbers of people about the veracity of a given set of ideas. Propaganda is as old as people, politics and religion.

List of methods

By appeal to reason:

• Logical argument
• Logic
• Rhetoric
• Scientific method
• Proof

By appeal to emotion:

• Advertising
• Faith
• Presentation and Imagination
• Propaganda
• Seduction
• Tradition
• Pity

Aids to persuasion:

• Body language
• Communication skill or Rhetoric
• Sales techniques
• Personality tests and conflict style inventory help devise strategy based on an individual's preferred style of interaction

Other techniques:

• Deception
• Hypnosis
• Subliminal advertising
• Power (sociology)

Coercive techniques, some of which are highly controversial and/or not scientifically proven to be effective:

• Brainwashing
• Coercive persuasion
• Mind control
• Torture

Systems of persuasion for the purpose of seduction:

• Seduction
• Love System (formerly known as Mystery Method)
• Venusian Arts

See also

Look up persuasion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Communication
• Regulatory Focus Theory
• Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Social psychology
• Inoculation theory
• Persuasion design
• Rafal Ohme
• The North Wind and the Sun

References

1. ^ Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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