Blog

  • What is your Cash really worth? The Law of Diminishing Returns

    We’ve all been asked to donate to our favorite causes.

    School events, charities, public radio, and politicians have all asked for our cash. They each promise the biggest bang for our buck.

    Politicians ask for small donations not because it makes a large difference, but because you'll remain consistant. Image "Bernie Sanders - Caricature" by DonkeyHotey, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    Politicians ask for small donations not because it makes a large difference, but because you’ll remain consistent. Image “Bernie Sanders – Caricature” by DonkeyHotey, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    How about you, have you donated small amounts of cash to any politicians? (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    "Engineering Department employees, 1962, Item 74240" by Seattle Municipal Archives, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    Cultivating Pride with Gratitude and Compassion keeps your team working happily. Photo “Engineering Department employees, 1962, Item 74240” by Seattle Municipal Archives, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    #emotions #outsideview #memory #phones #nudge

    (more…)

  • Inside View vs. Outside View

    Most problems are not unique. Chances are, what is happening to you has happened to many others. It will happen again to others.

    What's the outside view? Photo "001102" by my new favorite photographer Alexey Gaponov, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    What’s the outside view? Photo “001102” by my new favorite photographer Alexey Gaponov, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    • New restaurants often fail within five years
    • New love often is blind to incompatibilities
    • ‘Good enough’ mentality often overlooks opportunities

    What can you learn from those who have traveled this path before you?

    (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    Photo "001597" by Alexey Gaponov, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    Photo “001597” by Alexey Gaponov, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    #stupid #questions #everythingisrelative #comparisons #convenience #information #scarcity #time #socialproof

    (more…)

  • I Smell a Rat! The Prisoner’s Dilemma

    Did you know the original Universities were designed as Prisons to keep unruly young men caged up while their hormones drove risky behavior that threatened the local social harmony?

    Rather than allow young people to take risks that help them to grow and experience life, we continue to indoctrinate them with social rules to help keep the order.

    The risks available to busy students are far less violent than what may be the alternatives.

    I don’t remember everything from University. There certainly weren’t a lot of dangerous risks in the small town where I studied.

    Dorm life was a party — and we could smoke indoors! A “career” after graduation seemed a lifetime away. Econ 101 taught me the benefits of Free Trade.

    I hated this class! Photo "Amherst63-012" by NealeA, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    I loved this class! Photo “Amherst63-012” by NealeA, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    And while I learned a lot I’m sure, there is plenty that I didn’t learn.

    Maybe you, too?

    •We didn’t learn how to start a business in university — the mindset of an entrepreneur.

    •We didn’t learn how to create and maintain a budget — the mindset of habit.

    •We didn’t learn to negotiate — the mindset of persuasion.

    This is the reason I’ve started PersuasionReadingList.com — to learn what I should know to understand what moves the human mind, and to share these concepts of influence with you. (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    "Brain" by the Lovelorn Poets, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    “Brain” by the Lovelorn Poets, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    #rapport #confidence #conversation #science #drugs #meditation

    (more…)

  • Use This Easy Visual to Help Build Rapport

    Here’s a shocker that you may have heard from me beforePeople want to help other people that they like!

    "Friends :-)" by @BK, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    Do your friends make you feel good? “Friends :-)” by @BK, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    When people like you, they want to help you. They want to spend time with you. They want to do business with you.

    So how do you get people to like you? How do you build that rapport? (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    "Brain" by wyinoue, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    “Brain” by wyinoue, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    #medicine #persuasion #judo #food #universe #truth #media

    (more…)

  • “Verbal Judo” and 10 Things You’ll Learn from George J. Thompson

    People hardly ever say what they mean. Most people are driven by emotions, especially in highly-charged circumstances. Their words reflect those emotions, even if they act otherwise.

    The kid (or coworker) that grumbles throughout a task — is still doing that task (even though she’s not framing it in a positive way).

    "Verbal Judo" teaches you to redirect verbal aggression as a Professional
    “Verbal Judo” teaches you to redirect verbal aggression as a Professional

    The spouse, during an argument, who throws out the incorrect idea that (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    Photo "Cars on I-90 floating bridge" by Seattle Municipal Archives, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    Photo “Cars on I-90 floating bridge” by Seattle Municipal Archives, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    #exoproject #podcast #defaults #personality #happiness #anxiety #habits

     

    10 Things I Learned from Andrew DeYoung, author of “The Exo Project”

    Notes from my interview with Andrew DeYoung and the Persuasion Play Podcast episode 002.

     

    The Praise Paradox

    Praise the efforts of children, not their outcomes. Works on adults too!

     

    Cure your bad habits with “Sludge”

    The opposite of Nudge, which sets beneficial defaults, Sludge makes compliance as difficult as possible. The idea is to intentionally add friction to your transactions to lessen their likelihood.

     

    Study links decline in teenagers’ happiness to smartphones

    Smartphones steal our focus, give us a short-lived feeling of social connections, and cause us to compare our boring moments with photos of the amazing lives of people we know.

     

    Scientists Just Identified The Physical Source of Anxiety in The Brain

    More evidence that animals like you and I are controlled by our wiring.

     

    How To Get Your Point Across To These Five Personality Types

    Five ways to present your argument.