How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 382

8. Factual evidence is particularly persuasive when the audience
consists of highly intelligent people.
9. Evidence is more persuasive when you provide not only the
sources, but also their qualifications.
10. Evidence is more persuasive when you confirm an audience's
beliefs.
[3]Gerard Tellis, Advertising and Sales Promotion Strategy (Reading,
Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1998), p. 138.
[4]George Miller, "The Magical Number of Seven," Psychological
Review 63, 2 (1956).
[5]Charles Larson, Persuasion (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth,1995), pp.
222– 225.
[6]J. C. McCroskey, "A Summary of Experimental Research on the
Effects of Evidence in Persuasive Communication," Quarterly Journal of
Speech 55 (1969): 169–176.
Emotion: Winning People's Hearts
Whereas logic is the language of the conscious mind, emotion is the
language of the unconscious mind. We know that emotions are reactions
to perceived and imagined stimuli, not based on logic, but on one's own
personal experiences. Emotions often outweigh our logic. Imagine placing
a plank of wood on the ground and walking its length a few times. Easy
enough, right? But suppose you placed it a hundred feet in the air between
two buildings. You know you can walk that plank — you just did it over
and over again. Yet now, emotions and fears outweigh logic. Your "whatifs" and your imaginat