Summary

I will begin by saying that it took me a lot of time to study these techniques and for the most part they have worked out very well, people ARE - unfortunately - just like sheep, we are indoctrinated, we are succumb by argumentum ad populum and the dunning kruger effect. We are all hypocrites, and we are hardly different, some of us consider ourselves wolves and yet bluntly portrays it in strength and a lack of empathy, that is not a wolf, you are not a wolf. You must learn control, set yourself aside from the rest and become a dragon, or at the very least, a master silver tongue.

Anchoring

 It doesn’t matter whether it concerns pocket money or bartering: studies show that whoever puts forward the first demand or offer during negotiations strengthens their position of power and gains the clear advantage over their opponent. This is known as anchoring.

Framing

 A persuasion trick that is frequently used in everyday life is known as ‘framing’. In the process issues are presented so that the victims make a decision that has no logical basis. A study of german doctors came to the conclusion that 49% of all patients would agree to an upcoming operation if 99% of these ran without complications. But if the patients recieved the information that one in 100 cases caused complications, agreement sank to just 27% - although the content of both pieces of information is identical. Depending on the manner in which information is presented, it is possible to steer the decisions of your opponent.

Eye Contact

  Intense eye contact is one of the most emotionally effective strategies of manipulation because it ignites the brain like a firework. The emotional centre, the amygdala, is particularly susceptible to this method. Scientists found that persuasian was much easier if the person doing the convincing looked into the eyes of their counterpart for at least 55% of the conversation. Anything below this length of time decreases the chances of convincing your opponent. But beware, holding eye contact for more than four seconds at a time runs the risk of unnerving your counterpart.

Counter-Arguments

 Before a debate try to imagine possible counter arguments that your competitor might use, and consider how to weaken these contradictions. This allows you to take control and can determine the course of the conflict by robbing the opponent of their main arguments (”you might argue this… but to that i say...”).

Loaded Questions

 ”Have you stopped hitting your wife?” if a person responds to this question too quickly, they are likely to lose the conflict. Thats because: if the opponent answers prematurely and intuitively, it can only frame him in a bad light - the question implies a (negative) assumption. If the person answers ”yes”, they are admitting to having hit their wife in the past. If they answer ”no” then they are involuntarily admitting to still hitting their wife. During an interrogation police use this method of questioning in the hope that suspects intuitively give themselves up.

Conscience

 If someone tells you a secret, you might anticipate that they’re expecting you to entrust them with a secret soon after. Humans instinctively strive for close and balanced relationships. Persuasion professionals bypass this balance and demand no return for their small favours over a long time period. They make an advance payment to their customers, so to speak. At the end they can then demand a massive favour, which their counterpart is unable to refuse without a bad conscience.

Humour

People who present their message by incorporating humour are often more convincing. One beggar in london managed this famously: instead of holding a sign stating ”hungry, can you spare some change?” he carried a sign with the message ”collecting for beer money”. With this sign he not only got the most laughs, but nobody could accuse him of being dishonest, either, the result of this humour strategy? By the end of the day the beggar had more money in his hat than ever before.  

Repetition

 Repetition increases the likelihood of the message being rooted in the brain. ”Repeating yourself is even more powerful than the truth”, says mind coach Jochen Mai. ”our brain will eventually start to believe that the statement is true” according to the studies by the institute of social research at the university of Michigan. A simple habit is behind this - at some point the association automatically enters our memory.

Probing

 Whether its during a conference in the office or a lecture at school - those hoping to persuade others are often subject to verbal attacks. An example: someone tries to present an idea. Instead of listening, colleagues begin to heckle. In this kind of situation, rhetoric experts advocate a simple counter-strategy: the person being attacked should acknowledge the heckles and turn them into questions. ”A simple ‘what do you mean by that?’ or ‘can you repeat that please?’ is enough to gain the upper hand again. This ‘hearing loss’ method is one you can always deploy” says rhetoric expert Rolf Ruhleder.

Worst Case Scenario

 ”The drinking age should be lowered from 18 to 16” - ”and what next, 14? And then 12? 10? And soon children would be drinking beer! Do you want that?!” to deconstruct your opponents credibility, establish a worst case scenario. To do so, chip away at your opponents argument gradually until the ‘final product’ sounds so terrifying that even your opponent would not want to defend it. As a result of this domino effect the main thing that your opponent will remember is the last thing that was said: the worst case scenario. Nothing will remain for your opponent but retreating and voluntarily withdrawing their argument.

Keywords

 So you’re on the back foot and have already used all of your arguments? Out of ammunition? Turn to keywords that trigger emotion in your opponent (”conspiracy”), paint pictures in their mind (”terrorist attack”) or can be broadly defined (”social responsibility”). The buzzwords divert the opponent from their argument, if this war of words is precisely implemented, the opponents subconscious will focus on the meaning of the keyword. They will be distracted, weakened and on the defensive.  

Time Pressure

 This technique is the very last exit strategy, in this last ditch attempt the manipulator confesses they have a very short amount of time available - virtually no time at all. After all, as soon as people are put under time pressure, they give in much more easily. The gist: ”you can decide. I have to go in five minutes, and you wont be able to contact me when im gone”. Studies reveal that these sorts of statements will generate negative stress in the person being confronted. They will feel under pressure and in most cases will decide in favour of the person questioning and berating them.

Setting

 Like yawning, failure is highly contagious. Studies at american universities prove that those surrounded by successful people are more likely to achieve success later on. And vice versa. If you’re surrounded by losers, there’s a danger that you’ll never achieve your potential.

Censorship

 James greets his new work colleague Frank with a serious look: ”welcome on board, it will be extremely difficult for you to build contacts in the firm here, most people hate being spoken to while working. But if you need help, just ask me.” what sounds like a friendly offer is, on closer inspection, the opening gambit of James’ strategy to manipulate Frank so that he will be able to control him in the future. In the process James uses the censorship technique: the manipulator tries to prevent the victim from receiving information from other sources and only reveals certain facts.

11 Powerful Manipulation Tactics

 

 

• Because of (LOGIC): These words satisfy the human expectation of a reason, no matter how absurd the argument. This was shown in an experiment: in a queue to use the photocopier, only 7% of those waiting refused the request ”can i go first because i have to copy something?”.

 

 

 

• Only (DOWNPLAYING): Using words ‘only’ and ‘just’ weakens the effect of negative statements aimed at the opponent.

 

 

 

• Yet (HOPE): If you incorporate ‘yet’ into a sentence (eg. I don’t know YET), you generate trust in the listener and the feeling that it is only a matter of time until something is achieved.

 

 

 

• Statistics (SCIENCE): If you underpin your arguments with statistics you have a bigger chance of getting your listeners to believe you, but watch out, too many figures can overwhelm the persons listening.

 

 

 

• We (UNITY): The word portrays communal values, belonging and generates agreement in your opponent.

 

 

 

• Immediately (URGENCY): ‘Quickly’, ‘immediately’ or ‘instantly’ are words that affect the brain like drugs. Brain scans show that the prospect of immediacy triggers joy in the listeners subconscious.

 

 

 

• Meanwhile (UP TO DATE): ‘In the meantime’ or ‘meanwhile’ suggest current knowledge and that you are up to date.

 

 

 

• Exact (PRECISION): Precise details convey a high degree of credibility and the notion that the opponent can rely on this information.

 

 

 

• Name (PERSONAL): Using a persons own name has a subtle effect. ”Alongside the word ‘please’ nothing sounds as good to the listener as their own name”, according to the rhetoric expert Rolf Ruhleder.

 

 

 

• Yes (POSITIVE): Agreement generates trust automatically. An important basis for convincing others.

 

 

 

• Good (PRAISE): Praising someone makes them more likely to agree with later statements, even when these do not match their own opinions.

 

 

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 11.01.2019

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