How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate

automatically trust you, have confidence in you, and want to be persuaded by you. In short, they will want to do what you want them to do. It is a common misconception that only individuals involved in sales, marketing, or leadership positions need to learn the Rules of Persuasion. This is simply not true! Sales professionals, business managers, parents, negotiators, lawyers, coaches, speakers, advertisers, and doctors can all use these skills. Everyone needs persuasion skills, no matter their occupation. What people don't realize is that everyone uses the techniques and tactics of persuasion each day. People constantly study one another, trying to figure out how to get someone to do what they want them to do. Needless to say, mastering communication and understanding human nature are essential life lessons if we want to effectively persuade and influence people. We can't get anywhere in life unless we are able to work with other human beings. It is through our dealings with others that we achieve success. No one is self-sufficient. Everything of any value that we accomplish in life is achieved through the support and help of the people around us. As a society, we are interconnected, and the ability to make those connections is vital to our success. [1]Amanda Bennett, "Economist plus meeting equals a zillion causes and effects," Wall Street Journal, January 10, 1995. Used for You or Against You Advertisers spend billions of dollars researching and analyzing our psycho-graphics and demographics to figure out how to subtly persuade us. Roselli, Skelly, and Mackie point out that "even by conservative estimates, the average person is exposed to 300 to 400 persuasive media messages a day from the mass media alone."[2] We are bombarded with thousands of persuasive messages each day through a myriad of sources, including newspapers, magazines, billboards, signs, packaging, the Internet, direct mail, radio, TV, mail order, catalogs, coworkers, management, sales professionals, and even parents or children. The question is: Are these tactics being used for you or against you? Thousands, even millions, are persuaded against their better judgment every day, simply because they are unequipped to accurately interpret and effectively respond to the advertising barrage we perpetually face. In this case, what you don't know will hurt you. Persuasive influences flood our daily existence and are inescapable. It is without question in our best 173

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