The Power and Principles of Persuasion
What you'll learn
- Know why plants are often more persuasive than people
- Spot the ten worst and most popular methods of persuasion
- Recognize the motivations most humans have in common
- Understand how personality influences motivations
- Be able to give a two-question personality test
- Use questions and clarification to determine motivations
- Practice the Seven Physiological Steps of Persuasion
- Grasp the difference between Persuasion and Manipulation
- Develop the skills to delegate, negotiate, and set boundaries
Requirements
- I recommend, but do not require, that students visit my website to get a sense of my teaching style. They can find me at www.ariverworthriding.wordpress.com
- If students do decide to take this course, I recommend that they subscribe to my blog and note my e-mail address, DearNavigator@gmail.com, as this is my primary method for answering student questions.
Description
The Power and Principles of Persuasion are often misunderstood. People tend to confuse manipulating, demanding, complaining, and advising with persuasion. This course examines why people so often fail to persuade, and provides practical tools that you can practice in order to become more persuasive. We look at what motivates others, the power of questions, the psychological steps of persuasion, as well as when attempting persuasion is simply not worth your time.
Who this course is for:
- This course is designed for anyone who wishes to increase their ability to persuade, as well as understand why their attempts to persuade so often fail.
Instructor
- 4.5 Instructor Rating
- 183 Reviews
- 6,969 Students
- 1 Course
“You do know that we still have to update your Author's bio,” she reminded me before leaving.
I groaned, and rolled my eyes. “I detest writing bios,” I informed her. “Teacher for over twenty-five years, professional actress, author, world traveler, public speaker, improvisational comedian, online tutor, personal counselor, sales professional, entrepreneur, theatrical producer, computer instructor--blah, blah, blah. I have been all of those things, and more. I just want my books to stand on their own.”
“But your readers want to know about you. They need to know why they should trust you.”
“I just think my fourteen rules should speak for themselves.”
“Okay fine,” she agreed. “When did you first discover your rules?”
“I discovered them while teaching business courses in Los Angeles, way back in 1999. I learned a lot teaching those courses, mostly from my students. Eventually, I got tired of the books that the college wanted me to use. I thought that some of the authors made everything too complicated, so I began coming home each day, and writing down what I wanted to teach instead. And behold, in 2005, A River Worth Riding: Fourteen Rules for Navigating Life was born. It's my perfect course for building a worthwhile life.”
“And you've already told me why you decided to write your second book, Navigating Life in Turbulent Tides. You'd been thinking about updating your previous book for some time because so many of the dynamics within our country had changed. You also wanted to make the book more of a story and less of a lecture, so you personified your rules, giving them personality, character, even humor. You let them yell at you; not only reminding you how they worked, but also why they were still important.”
“More important than ever,” I amended.
“Right,” she acknowledged. “So what made you begin your third book?”
“The pandemic had been going on for over a year--a year that had been filled with political campaigns, civil unrest, and climbing death tolls. Misinformation was everywhere, and it occurred to me that a book on logic wouldn't hurt, and might even help. I had been tutoring online, so it made sense to invent a girl as confused, lonely, and angry as I saw the world around me. I would tutor that girl, and teach her how to recognize logical fallacies, give her a dash of critical thinking, and a few tools to empower her in this increasingly Whackadoodle world. Logical fallacies were all over the news, so my characters used real world examples. And so, Teaching Logic in a Whackadoodle World came into being.”
“And your fourth book, Finding Sense in a Whackadoodle World?
“That book began once I realized that logic wasn't enough. I used the same characters, but this time they discussed civics, alliances, accountability, influence; basically whatever was on the girl's mind. Together they tried to focus on finding answers, not just pointing fingers. Being empowered instead of exhausted and overwhelmed.”
“Bringing us to your most recent book, Navigating Life in a Wackadoodle World. Why, after only two years, did you feel that Turbulent Tides already needed updating?”
“Because after two years of pandemic, a second impeachment, a Capitol riot, a war in Europe, economic forecasts, mounting gun violence, and multiple weather disasters, the world was no longer merely turbulent, it was down right Whackadoodle. My student had questions, and she needed answers. I decided to have us read the original book together, and allow her to ask questions at the end of each chapter. It was my way of including the original book's full text, but with updates that made it more relevant to our current times.”
“Do you feel that you will be writing any more books in the future?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not, I decide a new book is needed.” I grinned at her. “In the meantime, I'll continue tutoring online with kids like you, writing blog posts about our lessons on my website Whackadoodle World. I'll keep answering reader questions through DearNavigator@gmail.com, speaking in public whenever I'm asked, and looking for ways to empower others wherever I can.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I think that will work as a bio,” she informed me. “But there is still one thing missing.”
“And that is?”
“I think you should remind people exactly what your rules are.”
“Well, I think that I'll let you do that,” I told her.
“And I think that I will,” she declared, taking up my challenge. “I will also remind them that the rules work best if people study them, practice them, and make them into a habit. I'm gonna give your rules their own page right after your bio, so they're easy to spot.”
And that is exactly what she did.
You can visit Lynn's website, and click on her About Page, to download the rules.