Persuasion: Convincing Others When Facts Don't Seem to Matter

Dr. Brené Brown, whom I mentioned in the discussion about vulnerability, encourages readers of her book Daring Greatly to make the shift to believing that everyone is doing the best they can with the tools they have. That ultimately it isn’t about whether they are or aren’t but about how simply believing that and approaching every encounter from th

Now, how do you find your One Thing? You take this sentence and go back to what matters most to the person or people you’re trying to persuade—and think about what’s in it for them.

Before we move into how to tell a story that sells, let’s take stock of your persuasion process thus far. You have a big vision you are excited to persuade people of and you know the person you need to persuade intimately and empathetically. You have crafted three pillars for your argument and a master narrative that makes your audience feel that y

Nike’s “Just Do It” tagline was an expression of their master narrative of bringing out the athlete in all of us. GE’s “We Bring Good Things to Life” was an expression of their master narrative that their diverse products make life good for everyone. Smucker’s “Choosy Moms Choose Jif,” is an expression of their master narrative of quality ingredien

We must remember: our target audience is the key to our success or failure. Without them, we are nothing. If our message doesn’t resonate with them—even if we have the best product, the best résumé, the best action plan, the right policy position, the cutest dating profile—it lands flat. Speaking to your target audience—and by audience, I mean whom

we say that there are two truths: yours and theirs. In persuasion, there is only one truth that matters: theirs. If you aren’t speaking to that truth, you aren’t engaging with them. And without that engagement, persuasion is impossible.

The bottom line is that pictures are worth a thousand words. And the more we can make our point with a visual that underscores our message, the more impactful and memorable it will be. Because often it’s the negative images that stick with us. Our job in persuasion is to replace those negative images with positive ones. To change the narrative. To

The fact is, the biggest decisions about you are going to be made when you’re not in the room. You won’t be there when customers make the final call on which product goes in their cart or who the new hire is or whether your email gets read or which name is circled in the voting booth. Which is why you must have a powerful master narrative, the thin

When you’re prioritizing which vulnerability to authentically address, it’s not about the sexiest—it’s about what’s most important to the people you’re trying to persuade.