Note:  SIFTT stands for symbols, imagery, figurative language, tone, and theme.

The Baronetage is a book we are first introduced to in chapter one, a family tree book of sorts to document Sir Walter Elliot’s lineage.  We are initially notified of his pretentious, superficial character of luxury and extravagance through the narrator’s description of his vanity.  We are also aware of his favoritism with Elizabeth above his other daughters, Mary and Anne.  Mary gave up her prestige and honor to a poorer family (assumedly, or perhaps the family was just inferior in status).  Anne was not that pretty but favored by Lady Russell, her mother’s best friend, and was seen as the smartest and most like her ill-fated mother.

We are also notified about the Elliots’ monetary problems, Elizabeth’s singleness, and Elliot’s heir’s philandering with another woman (since it seems he is uninterested in Elizabeth).  So far, the chapter is building up to the conflict and climax.  Major characters are introduced:  Lady Russell, Mr. Shepherd, and of course the whole Elliot family.

Reaction: This book is really becoming quite good and scandalous!  A pretentious father, a girl who can’t get a husband, two girls the father doesn’t like, and now in money troubles they still want to live a life of luxury and pride.  So far so good!

S – Baronetage could be seen as the symbol of family’s past struggles, past scars, blemishes.  Although totally objective book of dates, it carries connations with the dates:  mother’s death, younger daughter’s marriage, a high status yet financial troubles.

I – No imagery pertaining to the senses can be recalled.

F – No metaphors, similes, personifications just yet.  It is mostly straightforward setting up the plot.

T – The tone for this chapter could be described as objective, casual, only stating the opinions of the characters, not imparting any true bias

T – n/a

Put a classically trained actor, an award winning director, and a clinical psychologist together and what do you get?  Why a book that should be on every seller’s bookshelf, of course.

David Booth, Deborah Shames, and Peter Desberg, the authors of Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, & Get Results (McGraw Hill: 2010), are not the typical authors you’ll run across when looking for a book that can help you increase your sales and income.  I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that none of the authors can define the Puppy Dog Close, write a top notch cold calling script, or coach you through the negotiation process with a tough customer. 

They don’t know sales; they know people, they know presentation, they know how to connect with others.  They know how to use words, body language, voice, props, and silence—all the things that we sellers use every day, usually with little grace and less control—to gain and keep someone’s attention.  More importantly, they know how to turn attention into genuine interest. 

Own the Room isn’t going to close deals for you, but it is going to give you the opportunity to close deals by showing you how to really engage your prospects and make presentations that will bring the prospect along with you; and frankly, you can’t sell if your prospect has turned you off and is daydreaming about what they’re going to have for lunch—or the relief they’d feel if they could throw you and your damned PowerPoint presentation out the window.

From your opening sentence—you’ve got 30 to 60 seconds to grab (or lose) your audience’s attention—to your closing remarks, Own the Room gives solid, tested and proven guidance.  Guidance is what you  get in Own the Room, not just tips and tricks, and because the authors are giving guidance and I’m dense, I sometimes wished they’d been more concrete and said “Thou shalt do this in exactly this way” instead of giving an example of the concept and leaving the rest up to me.   

Booth, Shames, and Desberg take on all aspects of the presentation from preparation to dealing with stage fright to using PowerPoint to using physical movement to make your point to how to make effective team presentations.  The book seeks to be comprehensive in scope without smothering you with needless detail.

Whether your make presentations to a single potential buyer or to a room of thousands at a formal dinner, you’ll walk away from Own the Room with some very practical guidance that will make your presentations more effective—or very likely, transform them altogether.  Either way, you’ll sell more of whatever you’re selling.

We have a long way to go before the healthcare debate is over. In a tight vote last week the Democrats in the Senate managed to avoid a Republican filibuster. Both Democrats and Republicans seem to be waging two wars: one on the floor of the Senate and the other over the airwaves. The battle to win the health care debate will all be for naught if public opinion isn’t also won in the process. Whether it be via television, radio, or the internet politicians are going all out to reach as many voters as possible. Are these attempts to persuade the public successful? Recent work by Ziegler & Diehl (2003) has shown that people are more persuaded by unambiguous strong positions relative to unambiguous weak messages. More interestingly, when messages were ambiguous participants relied on their source preferences to determine their endorsement of the message. Ultimately it appears that those who already like and support you don’t need to hear much of substance to be persuaded by you. Those against you or your position aren’t likely to be persuaded at all, but the only chance you’ve got is to state your message in unequivocal terms and hope that it gets through. In the current political climate this seems to indicate only a greater and more extreme level of polarization without much real or significant debate.

Ziegler & Diehl (2003)

After the Health Vote, Republicans Plot Attack Strategy

One of the most effective ways of thought reform is sleep deprivation. When we are deprived of sleep, we become tired and weak, physically and mentally. It has been scientifically proven that exhausted people don’t have much of the will or mental capacity necessary to decide wisely. We just accept any statement, true or false, without analyzing them.

Fatigue, as well as distraction, can occlude critical thinking and lend us vulnerable to persuasion. Sometimes the persuasion may be bad, but often, it is of deceptive nature. How do you prevent this? First, sleep well and put off high-stakes decisions until the time when you feel you are most awake – that is, early in the morning. Try to lessen the distraction when you’re making a decision. Multitasking is not recommended when you have to finish something important.

Focus on the problem with an alert mind. Get at least 8 hours of sleep, pack your stomach with food, remove all distractions, and decide in the morning. This applies not only to economic decisions but also love decisions (love is still economics – production and distribution – right?) On the other hand, wear out your prospect by forcing her/him to decide at the time when s/he is too weak or sleepy. A sleepy person is more likely to say “yes” than an awake one.

I should have known…I can’t imagine myself passing scores of ill-written sentence outlines. Oh well…there’s always a second time (second research paper in Economics to be submitted January next year.)

*****

Source:

Goldstein, N. J., Martin, S. J., Cialdini, R. B. (2008). Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. New York: Free Press.

Being Brilliant at the Basics – sometimes it’s not enough to be a great sales person, sometimes the buyer wants more. To make a sale the buyer not only needs to be impressed and confident that you can deliver, a sales is not made unless they are also motivated to take action.

Launching 2010, our new program that combines ‘Being Brilliant at the Basics’ and ’30 Ways to Professionally and Ethically Get People to Say YES!!’

Special launch rates issued in Dec 2009 ready for Jan 2010 – Sign up to both programs for £450 per day plus VAT.

Dec 09 special offer – book on ‘Being Brilliant at the Basics’ and attend ‘30 Ways to Professionally and Ethically Get People to Say YES!!’ completely free of charge.

Courses running in Leeds and Sheffield – places limited.

Also book before 31st December and  get your psychometric tests included in the price.

Persuasion is the ability to convince another person to do something. There are many instances on a project where a Project Manager will need to persuade stakeholders. Some examples include:

• Asking project team members to do work and meet project commitments without having direct authority over them.
• Asking managers and stakeholders for resources or information which are needed on the project.
• When setting expectations with stakeholders a Project Manager often has to persuade them with the reasoning behind their information.
• Raising issues or risks to project sponsors and getting buy in and approval for the recommendations.

According to Aristotle, rhetoric is “the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion.” He described three main forms of persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Each of these can be used depending on the situation.

• Ethos is appeal based on the character of the speaker. An ethos-driven document relies on the reputation of the author. This is where the personal credibility of the Project Manager plays a role. Sometimes it is helpful to start off a conversation to establish this credibility. For example, if there is a technical issue that needs a decision a Project Manager may bring in some of the technical experts on the team and introduce them as such.
• Pathos is appeal based on emotion. This is where a person is persuaded based on their set of values. This may be a way to motivate the team towards meeting project goals or rallying them around a crisis.
• Logos is appeal based on logic or reason. This means to persuade people with facts and information. This is especially effective when asking management for a decision or in a crisis where action is needed.

There are several things to keep in mind around persuasion:

• Try not to appear to be going to great lengths to persuade somebody. It must come across as genuine and not as manipulative (Ethos)
• Don’t preach too much or people will just close their options to the point where influence has been lost on them (Ethos)
• Try to relate to the audiences  (Ethos)
• Show people the benefits of the idea specifically geared towards how it will impact them (Pathos)
• Prepare for any contradictions by considering the audience and what push back might be given (Logos)

Jedi Mind Persuasion

Note: This is an excerpt from my upcoming book and will be copyrighted text

This is the first of a three part series on the major principles of leadership. These principles are viewed as a guideline of standards to best describe an effective leader. These principles resulted from an extensive psychology research group I lead as part of my candidacy as an MBA (& later MHRM) undergrad student.

Who comes to mind when you think of a good leader, Barack Obama? Andrea Jung? Donald Trump? Oprah Winfrey? Jack Welch? Hillary Clinton?

In almost all aspects, leaders come in a variety of moralities and characteristics. What makes a leader successful? Personality, skills and on that can fit into any audience of any environment they encounter. Even so, having a set of principles helps guide individuals into becoming great leaders.

The principles set forth came from an extensive research on what guideline of standards best describe an effective leader. It then became an initiative to help encourage a more accurate and positive evaluation of one’s self. Many don’t see themselves as leaders until they are able to evaluate their characteristics, skill sets and experiences in a more positive light.

Vision To “see the big picture” is a trait of leadership when evaluating the organization from the inside out. In order for a leader to reinforce the efficient behavior, the team before them must be well aware of the goal. Conceptualization is to create and support concepts that will structure the will of a team. A leader in management must think outside the box and comprehend how the production of the ground level benefits the entire company.

To begin with the end in mind, such as the 2^nd habit in Dr. Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is to be conceptual in a sense. Dr. Covey has been able to present his vision of reinforcing efficient behavior and being an effective person no matter the environment. Over 20 million of his books have sold in multiple languages across the world. Such success goes to show that Dr. Covey is a great example of a leader who can visualize a concept and be able to present it to such a broad audience.

Inclusion There are leaders who believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, leaders are deeply committed to personal, professional and spiritual growth of each and every individual within the organization. When a leader is committed to the growth of the people who follow, the strength of the team will become unbreakable.

An excellent example of a business leader who showcases inclusion is the co-founder and CEO of Costco, Jim Sinegal. With Costco being considered to be the world’s seventh largest retailer, it isn’t run by your typical CEO. Sinegal is known to look just like any of Costco’s store clerks, dressed casually with a name tag as he visits up to 10 stores daily.

Almost 90% of his casually dressed employees enjoy a wide range of benefits such as health with dental and vision plans, a 401(k) plan, child care, life insurance and stock options. He believes that when employees go out there and bask on the goodness of Costco it helps the image and the word of mouth. He believes it is giving his employees the best is the reason behind Costco’s high sales, productivity and the sense of “getting what you paid for.”

Persuasion A key technique of effective leadership that is a powerful tool of motivation. To persuade can be expressing value behind a specified task or line of work, embracing a point of view through reasoning or creating an extrinsic inspirational tool. Of course the intention behind persuading followers in a constructive manner is to establish an incentive. A group will take the initiative once the sole purpose is understood and visualized. A strong leader will express the value of labor to enrich the moral of their subordinates.

During his presidential campaign in 2008, Barack Obama showcased his persuasion technique into his speeches.  His consistency, constructive manner and his inspirational speeches persuaded people to vote him into the presidency. His persuasion also influenced how the nation voted in the majority of congress during last year’s elections.  Even outside the United States, politicians in many countries were inspired by Obama’s campaign that their campaign slogan was also a convincing “yes we can.”

Now the world waits to see if his persuasion skills can work as he works to bring in health care reform and the next steps in on the war in Afghanistan.

Stay tuned for part two when we discuss then next three leadership principles.

Mr. Fucking Perfect,

It’s kinda disgusting to me how I want to be inside you when you put on some music that I want to get lost in.  It’s kinda fucking disgusting that I want to get a ’strap on’ reserved for my girlfriend, and make love to you.  I want to consume you and I’m not quite sure how.  I want to have a penis so I can explore you with it… Not rape you like I want to do to my GF’s, but just to get inside you.  It’s disgusting to me how far down the scale of bitter sweet S&M I want to go with you, which is not a thought, but a reaction you make me have.

Your “perfect” goes beyond what I expect from any human other than myself.  Even there, you’re a ‘Over Achiever’ which passes me up with skill and application in the real world.  You make my mouth water to the point of drooling onto your hand that is wrapped around my neck pressing into me the fact of your owning me.  You have the power to make me wet in both my mouth and my pussy and at the same time make my ass hole perk up to give your dick a big warm kiss.  Every hole wants to have you inside it.  I want perfection all over my face when your done and you’ve handled your business with my body.

Mr.Fucking Perfect you ware out my mind.  I await the day our adventure takes it to the next level and wares out my body.   I love the charisma you have on my thinking, and the invitation to be myself, truly vulnerable and independently strong.  My mind is like clay around you, and it is safe to be so.  It is possible to be like clay with other men, they always encourage it…   Those men do it so they can mold it like clay, with perversion, persuasion and manipulation…  Mr.Perfect, you want to see it displayed and working, even if it is against you in some way.   You find joy in watching it become what it is meant to become.

Mr. Fucking Perfect, I have Spiritual lust for you right now.  It may fade and I may move on. However, I say this knowing the uniqueness of your character and mind. Knowing what a slim chance I would have in finding another Mr.Perfect again. I know I may not find one of your caliber.  For a man to have the ability to hold friendship in the highest regard, over sexual exploration, is very rare.  I believe it is rare to find in anyone, man or woman.  The next time I am getting fucked, I will think of you.  When you fuck me I will think of nothing else, but you.

www.kink.com

If you’re a contractor, doctor, internet marketer, freelance copywriter, electrician, plumber, chiropractor, lawyer or nearly any other service provider you can think of and you depend on paying customers to float your boat, then this article will set you free!

I feel your pain! You’ve read all the current  top business books on sales and marketing.

You’ve even hired marketing consultants secretly praying for a marketing miracle but nothing seems to work long term.

Now you’re frustrated and nearly ready to throw in the towel but you know something has got to give.

So what gives?

Many business owners just like you have asked that same question. Fortunately for some, they were able to crack the code by learning the power secrets of persuasion. If you were to take a close look at some of the smartest companies what you’ll find is a common denominator.

And this common denominator these smart companies understand and use is the techniques of power persuasion!

Let’s go below and take a closer look, shall we?

You know there’s been a ton upon tons of books written about persuasion. Funny thing is most are filled with an abundance of jargon, fluff and overly complicated explanations.

You could spend a lifetime going through all of the material of this fascinating subject and still not have a simple, clear understanding of persuasion and influence—until now!

As you can see not only is it frustrating trying to figure it out, it’s also sucking away your time and energy. Fear not my friend, there’s a better way.

The good news is you don’t have to drain your life away to become a powerful persuader. In fact is it is simple once you understand the basics.

To make it even easier to understand you’ll soon be in possession of a famous, now hard to find “One-Sentence Persuasion Course” that can help you become a power-persuader in no time flat.

Once you get this short course you’ll be able to tap a world you never knew existed. I will caution you however, these principles are extremely powerful and if used the wrong way could do serious damage.

In fact that why I’ve deliberately held off on making this special offer!

In this special report you’ll soon possess contains the exact 27 words that could literally change your world and set you free but also learn all of the basics of effective persuasion in about 15 minutes.

Once you finish this short persuasion course and apply what you learn, you’ll instantly become an almost frighteningly powerful persuader.

It’s a fact that most marketers need to connect with others at some time or the other.  These  five insights that are contained in this course will  allow those connections to pay off handsomely.

But here’s the best of all . . .  for a limited time you can get this special report for no cost or obligation. That’s right it’s free with no springs attached.

Here’s the deal. Just  email me and put OSP in the subject line.

Pretty simple, right?

Oh and by the way. I do respect your privacy. Your email address is safe and will never be sold, rented, or otherwise shared with any 3rd parties. PERIOD!

Enjoy,

Emette E. Massey

(Photo linked from e-books – Penguin Classics frontcover – the same as the one I’ve got).

I’m rereading Persuasion by Jane Austen and  am struck by that it feels so modern, even though it was written in a dramatically different age. Many of its issues are still current and she has such a sharp eye and wit. It is a pity that Anne Elliot in the recent dramas (even though I really like them) is much mousier than in the books. It – actually all her novels – is well worth (re)reading – much more than a mere romantic saga. Sharp and unsentimental. Very few – if any – contemporary chick lit writers are capable of that sharpness and dry unsentimentality when it comes to the material aspects of life and choosing a partner. Persuasion can be found for free at Google books.

Hi. I’ve been out for a while reading Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion and that is why I’m not posting recently. I’m not just reading the book. I’m also writing notes and conclusions I get while reading it. It’s not still complete, but if you want to read what I already have, you can get to the document by clicking here.

With these notes you can increase your copywriting skills drastically because it talks about human nature. It’s about using mechanisms inside the human brain to get a person to say “yes”. These mechanisms are wired up with our brains and, as far as I know, we cannot get rid of them (and we should not because they help us most of the time). Mechamisms such as reciprocity and social proof are two examples.

The book contains almost 280 pages. The notes document probably will have, at most, 30% of that and, in my opinion, it explains the same things with a reasonable amount of case-studies and examples.

Not much by way of blooms left in the garden this week…But lots of foliage…So before the winter blooming shrubs and plants get into their stride I’ve used foliage and some…chillis.

The main contributor  to this weeks offering, in my very special Captain Wentworth ,nautically-inspired and very special Isis Ceramics Flower Brick,

is my beautiful beech hedge.

Which as Jane Austen once wrote about her’s at Chawton, is  now looking very well indeed :

You cannot imagine — it is not in human nature to imagine — what a nice walk we have round the orchard. The row of beech look very well indeed, and so does the young quickset hedge in the garden. I hear to-day that an apricot has been detected on one of the trees.

Letter to Cassandra, 31st May, 1811.

but of course mine in November is not looking as silky green as it did in the summer

But is clothed in many colours of the autumn spectrum.

Golds…

Yellows….

Greens….

All these….

So they are the backbone of this week’s arrangement

To which I have added some trailing ivy

There is a constant battle against ivy in my garden…I love it in the Wild Bit where it forms  a carpet

and in the hedges on the eastern border of the garden, where it is a haven for wildlife…

and by the urn at the termination of the Beech Walk,

but it does tend to creep everywhere.

As I write Frank and Mark are rooting it out from the borders in the main garden, bless them.

To add some much-needed colour to this week’s brick, I’ve added chillies….

Which my son and I grew this summer, in a pot on the terrace.

They were small, bright  and deadly-very hot And look good in arrangement, which many vegetables do……IMHO…

And so that’s it. A very simple arrangement this week….

But a colourful one.

Do have a good weekend my Reader, and keep warm and out of the rain.

Do you lead one?  Do you have one?  It’s a pretty good question these days since there’s a lot of talk about Tribes going around.  And it seems to be an evolving situation but an interesting one since it’s apparent that it’s becoming a very powerful cultural phenomenon.  I would say that it’s probably because of the increased connectivity we all have allows us access to people who have the same views and values.  For more on Tribes, I would recommend Seth Godin’s book, oddly enough titled: Tribes.

I had the priviledge of attending the recent PGC200 (www.pgc200.org) launch event in San Diego CA.  It’s a group that I’m advising that is creating a tribe.  It’s primarily made up of technical professionals (scientists and engineers) who are banding together to support one another professionally during trying economic times.  The featured speaker at this event was Gary Ridge, President and CEO of WD40 who has recently published a book with Ken Blanchard called Helping People Win at Work.

What’s exciting to watch about the development of PGC200 is that it’s a welcoming place for people who are not usually used to doing things like marketing themselves to interact with others who are good at that type of thing.  And it was only fitting that Gary Ridge was the featured speaker because he has actively worked to develop the Tribe culture at WD40.

In the book, Gary and Ken Blanchard describe a tribe as being a place where someone belongs as opposed to a team which is something someone plays on sometimes.

That’s an interesting definition and I think it’s highly effective when looking at a company’s culture during your job search.  Is it a place where you “belong” or someplace you go to play eight hours a day?

Gary and Ken also define leadership as a partnership which I think is a great definition.  In this partnership, are you helping someone to be successful and is someone helping you?  In this way, you can be a leader without a title and those you help become members of your tribe just as you become members of the tribe of those who help you.

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are good places to find examples of Tribes.  People become followers and friends on these sites based on common interests which can be as simple as a joke of the day.

Like her or not, I think one of the most interesting examples of the Tribe phenomenon is Sarah Palin.  My take on her resigning the governorship of Alaska is that she is leading a tribe of followers, drawing people who are disaffected with their political parties and are looking for a place to belong.  We’ll see if that translates into political office but it’s certainly translated into book sales.

Tribes seem to be popping up all over the place, so maybe it’s time to start yours.  If you’re in a company, help others to be successful and they will become part of your tribe.  If your looking for a job, let your tribe help you. If you don’t have a tribe, start one by going beyond networking to really create a place where people feel they belong in your circle.  As Jay Abraham defines it, it’s the difference between a client and a customer.  A client is someone whose interests you watch out for rather than being in a transactional relationship.

So let me know what you think of this Tribes phenomenon.  I’m interested and hopefully you’re following this blog regularly.  It’s kind of like having a Tribe of my own.

P.S. – PGC200 will be having another event in San Diego in December featuring Ken Blanchard, stay tuned for more information or go to the www.PGC200.org.

Remember, your skills are your job security.

Best,

James Seetoo

Die OMS Solutions GmbH wurde mit dem Preis “StreamServe Networking Award 2009″ für “besondere Verdienste rund um die StreamServe Community” ausgezeichnet.

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Die StreamServe Deutschland GmbH zeichnet die OMS Solutuions GmbH bei den StreamServe Awards 2009 – am 27.11.2009 in Bad Homburg – aus.

Die OMS Solutions GmbH wird für Ihre Engagement im Bereich Networking ausgezeichnet.

Verliehen wurde dieser preis während der “StreamServe PartnerDays 2009″ im Oktober.

Die in diesem Jahr zum ersten Mal verliehenen Auszeichungen überreichte Christoph Ackermann, Partner Sales Manager CEE.

StreamServe Partner Awards 2009 All Winners

Von Links nach Rechts: Stephan Vanberg (StreamServe), Holger Rendelmann (LR Consulting), Houman Feldberger (OMS Solutions), Walter Moser (Brainworx), Christoph Ackermann (StreamServe)

Eine StreamServe-interne Jury bewertete das Engagement seiner 44 Partner aus Zentral- und Osteuropa in den folgenden Kategorien:

StreamServe Networking Award 2009
Er ging an Houman Feldberger, Geschäftsführer der OMS Solutions GmbH für seine Verdienste rund um die StreamServe Community. Feldberger gründete die Xing Gruppe StreamServe EDP-Lösungen, die derzeit über 220 Mitglieder zählt.

StreamServe Networking Award 2009 Winner Houman Feldberger OMS solutions & Christoph Ackermann StreamServe

StreamServe Demand Generation Award 2009
Ihn verlieh die Jury an Holger Rendelmann, kaufmännischer Geschäftsführer der LR Consulting GmbH. Rendelmann wurde für seine Verdienste um die aktive Gewinnung von Neukunden und seine kreative Lead-Generierung ausgezeichnet. Innerhalb weniger Wochen identifizierte Rendelmann mehr als 50 neue Kunden und Projekte.

StreamServe Collaboration Award 2009
Ihn erhielt Walter Moser, Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter der BRAINWORX information technology GmbH in Österreich. Moser setzt sich stark dafür ein, die interne Kommunikation und Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Partnern, Kunden und mit StreamServe zu verbessern.

Einige Bilder dieser Veranstaltung finden Sie in unserer Rubrik StreamServe/StrS Partnertage 2009.

Zu den XING-StreamServe-Foren:
zu der Gruppe “StreamServe EDP Lösungen”
zu der Gruppe “StreamServe CERTIFIED PROFESSIONALS”

Die Profile der OMS Solutions GmbH-Geschäftsleitung finden Sie hier:
Zum Profil von H. Feldberger
Zum Profil von F. Wilcke

Quelle: Mehr Bilder und ausführliche Informationen finden Sie hier

StreamServe zeichnet die OMS Solutions GmbH aus

Die OMS Solutions GmbH wird für Ihre Engagement im Bereich Networking ausgezeichnet. Verliehen wurde dieser preis während der “StreamServe PartnerDays 2009″ im Oktober.Die in diesem Jahr…  mehr ›

Nachlese PartnerDays 2009

Am 28. und 29. Oktober 2009 konnte StreamServe insgesamt 19 interessierte Partner in ihrerer Niederlassung in Bad Homburg v.d.H. willkommen heißen. Nach Begrüßung sowie eines Aus- und…  mehr ›

StreamServe erhält “SAP Collaboration Fuels Innovation Award”

BURLINGTON, BAD HOMBURG – 14. Oktober 2009 – StreamServe, einer der führenden Anbieter von Output Management/Enterprise Document Presentment (EDP) -Lösungen, ist der einzige…  mehr ›

Scandinavia spart mit StreamServe Kosten bei der Rechnungserstellung

BURLINGTON USA/BAD HOMBURG – 11. Mai 2009 – StreamServe, Inc., einer der führenden Anbieter von Output-Management/ Enterprise Document Presentment (EDP) -Lösungen für…  mehr ›

Neues Release – StreamServe Persuasion SP4

BAD HOMBURG – 06. Mai 2009 — StreamServe, Inc., einer der führenden Anbieter von Output-Management/ Enterprise Document Presentment (EDP) -Lösungen, gibt die Verfügbarkeit des…  mehr ›

StreamServe in 2 Minuten

StreamServe ist marktführend im Bereich Enterprise Document Presentment-Lösungen und mit Niederlassungen in elf Ländern vertreten. Weltweit werden unsere Lösungen bei mehr als…  mehr ›

Youtube Botschaft von Dennis Ladd (CEO StreamServe)

Dennis Ladd, CEO von StreamServe, redet über die Zukunft des Unternehmens. Ebenso geht er auf die Fortschritte und Innovationen in StreamServe Persuasion™ ein. Quelle:…  mehr ›

Neues weltweites Portal zur Unterstützung der StreamServe-Partner

BURLINGTON, BAD HOMBURG – 16. Februar 2009 – StreamServe, führender Anbieter von Outputmanagement-Lösungen, erweitert mit neuen Partnerschaften in Europa, Nordamerika, Asien…  mehr ›

Let’s jump in the wayback machine and take a look at Steve Jobs, master salesman, first teasing a fall 1983 audience with the first showing of the now famous “1984″ Mac ad, then bringing a January 1984 audience to its feet with the unveiling of the Macintosh.

Now sure, he doesn’t have to work very hard to make the sale. His audiences are both favorable Apple crowds. They want to cheer. They already see Jobs as a hero. Of course, living up to such high expectations can be a challenge in itself.

But we see here two examples of stunning visuals that resonated worldwide. The “1984″ ad appeared once on television — once – and has been talked about ever since. Notice that the ad doesn’t really have a lick of logos; it’s all pathos. It uses the word computer once. It doesn’t mention IBM. It doesn’t need to. Jobs sets up the industry history and the challenge before his company; he then fires a visual ICBM into the cultural metaphorosphere to declare his intent to fight and win.

The Mac unveiling is a very different kind of visual aid speech. Jobs does much less talking in this clip than I expect you to do in class for your visual aid speech. However, in his context, his stepping aside to let the product speak for itself is brilliant salesmanship. He doesn’t have to use his words to persuade the audience; he just sets his machine center stage and turns it on, a move that by itself takes guts (just ask Bill Gates).

The Mac demo looks laughably cheesy just 25 years later; you probably get better graphics on your cell phone. But recall: the only font most people had ever seen on a computer was something like Terminal. The only voice people had heard from a computer was the WOPR in Wargames. In 1984, the Macintosh was amazing.

Odds are you won’t come up with a visual aid for your Speech 101 performance that will bring 3000 people to their feet and change personal computing forever (but don’t let me stop you from trying!). But when you’re preparing your speeches, when you’re getting ready to persuade an audience, think like Steve Jobs. Look for a visual that will grab your listeners’ attention, make them say, “Wow!” and fix you and your message in their minds for a very long time.

Cuando disenas una estrategia de Word of Mouth, debes llegar al momento donde se evaluan posibles hubs para ayudar a propagar la idea, causa, o producto; y es cuando muchas veces valoramos erroneamente a una figura publica.  Y no por la persona, sino por los objetivos de la estrategia, la audiencia objetivo y muchas otras metricas.

Adweek Media y Harris condujeron una encuesta en Estados Unidos, que buscaba observar a celebridades y su persuasion en ese mercado. Entre los resultados, vemos que el 23% de los encuestados opina que las estrellas de cine o TV son las menos convincentes al estar apoyando un producto; contrario al 21% que piensa que los Atletas son mucho mas convincentes al apoyar un producto.

Celebrity Endorsements That Are Most Persuasive (% of U.S. Adults by Age Segment)

Source: HarrisInteractive, November 2009

Recuerdo haber leido un estudio hace varios meses, y me llamo la atencion el dato de que en America Latina, se tiende a confiar mas en las figuras politicas de lo que confian en Europa o en EEUU, principalmente los menores de 23 annios (no recuerdo la edad exacta). 

Saludos,

In the article titled “Mass Interpersonal Persuasion: An Early View of a New Phenomenon” BJ Fogg explores the role mass interpersonal persuasion (MPI) plays in social networking sites. Fogg believes MPI, a new form of persuasion, emerged when Facebook launched its Facebook Platform in May 2007. The new platform allows third parties to create and distribute web applications to all members of the site combining interpersonal persuasion with the reach of mass media (2).

He explains a course he created at Stanford University teaching the psychology and metrics of Facebook applications. Students were instructed to test various options and use data to create and distribute their applications, competing against big companies and professionals to attract users (3).

Fogg describes the six components of Mass Interpersonal Persuasion. An important point to note is that these components have existed before the Facebook Platform, however, they had never been used all together until now.

The six components are:

1. Persuasive Experience: An experience that is created to change attitudes, behaviors, or both. As Fogg states, “MIP focuses on changing people’s thoughts and behaviors, not simply amusing or forming them. So this is point number one: Success with MIP hinges on a persuasive experience (4)”. MPI relies on various methods of social influence in messages such as direct request, moral appeal, deceit, complements, favors, competition etc. to gain users (5).

2. Automated Structure: Digital technology structures the persuasive experience.  Software and code allows consistency and continues the persuasive experience over and over. These technologies also make it easier for people to share the experience with others by clicking a few buttons, making it more likely to be promoted (6).

3. Social Distribution: The persuasive experience is shared from one friend to another. An example of this is getting invited to an application, inviting 10 friends, and then those friends invite 10 friends and so on distributing it through the social channel (6). This gives the persuasive experience more credibility because people trust their friends and feel safe inside of the website. Inviting friends and accepting invitations becomes easier because users do not need to go to a different website or register for a new account (7).

4. Rapid Cycle: The persuasive experience can be distributed quickly from one person to another. Facebook makes awareness instant causing momentum and enthusiasm. Facebook notifies members of quickly growing groups via Newsfeed creating a buzz and attracting more users (7).

5. Huge Social Graph: The persuasive experience can potentially reach millions of people connected through social ties or structured interactions. For example, Facebook connects millions of people linking together different users and creating extensive distribution paths (8).

6. Measured Impact: The effect of the persuasive experience is observable by users and creators. Fogg states, “for example, people need to see how many people have joined the group in the last 24 hours, or how many people have installed the app today, or how much money has been raised in the last month” (8).  This means that the measurements are actual and not potential. Facebook allows all users to see basic information about and stats on all apps. There are also websites such as,

http://statistics.allfacebook.com/applications that give more extensive stats as well.

Availability of stats are important and facilitates MPI in three ways. First, because it gives feedback on the success of inviting ones friends and increases motivation for people taking part the experience (8). It also creates buzz because if you see a lot of your friends joining an application you might develop an interest to check it out as well.  Finally, it allows creators to improve their persuasive experience by testing different approaches and options to find what works best (9).

Fogg explains the difference between MIP and viral adoption. It is true that both MPI and viral adoption involve social distribution and persuasive experience; however, the other four components of MPI are not required for viral adoption (10). He compares MPI to other genres such as viruses, forwarding emails, network marketing, chain letters, and gossip however the difference is that none of these have all six components as MPI does (10). The things that do not matter in MPI are the technology used, the topic, and the initial intent of the creator (12). Finally, Fogg states that the landscape for mass media is changing and the power of persuasion is no longer centralized as everyone can impact others with blogs and videos (12). He optimistically thinks we can use MPI to benefit society and praises it’s potential.

In “Social Network Sites” Danah Boyd aims to address “ how the architecture that frames social life is changing and what it means for a generation growing up knowing that this shift is here to stay” (1). She begins by explaining the way that new social technologies today are changing the meaning of what is private and public. This is similar to the Notaro reading “The Lo(n)g Revolution” as she claims blogs too remove private and public barriers.These new technologies are changing social interaction and information distribution among teenagers.

Boyd explains the way in which social network sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo work. A user creates an account, uploads pictures and information to represent them, adds friends, and comments on other profiles. Users can either add a small private network of close friends or add thousands of random public friends with similar interests. Boyd believes social network sites are the latest generation of ‘mediated publics” or places where people can gather publicly through mediated technology. Public spaces allow people to make sense of the social norms that regulate society, let people express themselves and learn from the reactions of others, and let people make certain expressions real by witnessing them (2).

The four unique properties of mediated publics are:

• • Persistence: What you say will always be there
• • Searchability: Anyone can be found and actions can be seen in pictures
• • Replicability: Digital media such as pictures and conversations can be copy, pasted, and altered.
• • Invisible audiences: “In mediated publics, not only are lurkers invisible, but persistence, searchability, and replicability introduce audiences that were never present at the time when the expression was created”.

One of the challenges of mediated spaces is that it is more difficult to determine the context of something as well as who you are speaking to. Teenagers on social sites speak according to the norms they find acceptable among their peers often times showing off and just hanging on. There are also two other audiences consisting of parents, teachers, bosses, and authorizes, and then marketers, scammers, and spammers. It is difficult to reach a large scale through these sites; however, there are cases where videos spread all the way though a network into the mainstream.

A major risk with these public profiles is how easy it is to track down almost anyone. This becomes a problem because often times these profiles are not “adult approved” (4). Teens deal with this by “resume-ifying” their profiles, using fake names, and denying access of adults to “their space” (4). Boyd asks, if it’s so easy to access information is it always ok to do so? She claims it is foolish to assume that society will hold restraint. As she rightly states,  “College admissions officers and employers will continue to try to get a portrait of the ‘real candidate’. Smitten admirers will continue to try to uncover any juice on their crush. And the press will continue to treat any digital data as fair game when publicly destroying someone’s character” (4).

The idea of others accessing seemingly private information also appears in “Scroogled” a piece of fiction by Cory Doctorow. In the story a Google employee learns that the Department of Homeland Security and the American government are working with Google to track search histories and track threats. The employee completely loses his privacy to Google. Teenagers, like regular search users do not even realize the amount of information they are giving to the websites they use. Although this story was exaggerated, it could act as a wake up call for naïve teenagers. Teenagers on Facebook tend to forget about the four properties  (persistence, searchability, replicability, and invisibility) and feel as though Facebook is a safe private space for them and their friends. They do not think that putting personal data and images on their pages will have any repercussions but it is important to remember that Facebook owns all of their information. Even when you completely delete your Facebook account instead of your content expiring Facebook can do whatever they want with it. As their terms of service state:

“You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof”.

Although we may feel safe in our networks and groups we must still be aware of the information we are putting on the Internet. Similarly, as Notaro states, “Blogs are vehicles to express our experiences, feelings, firm beliefs and frustrating uncertainties, however these are not just personal preferences but originate and are defined within broader political and social settings.” This is true to Facebook because people forget exactly who is accessing their information, photos, and status updates. Yes, we can set privacy settings and only add people we really know, but even still one sometimes does not realize the sensitive information they are putting out there, how hard it is to completely remove it, and who actually owns it.

Boyd stresses the importance of educators should understand how social networks and mediated publics work and shift the lives of the youth. She advises educators to engage, discuss consequences, educate through conversation not power, explain mediated and unmediated pblics, and discuss morals (6).

Aristotle introduces this class as well.  On page xxi of the preface:

“The central ethical problem was put by Aristotle in the first systematic treatise on rhetoric (i.e. persuasion)…Persuasion, he observed, gives effectiveness to truth, but it also gives effectiveness to error, bad judgement, and deliberate falsehood.”

p. 1: “But the woman did not believe in coherent, convincing narratives.  She preferred what she thought of as the raw, objective truth-what really happened-however messy, incoherent, and unsatisfying.  And so the woman…was figuratively guilty of another crime: She bored her jurors to death.”

“coherent, convincing narratives” = effective persuasion.

In contrast, the “raw, objective truth” as the woman saw it was “what really happened” ; it was “messy, incoherent, and unsatisfying” and “boring.”  So she is an example of ineffective persuasion.  Effective persuasion must be a way of organizing the truth into a story.  It must be neat, coherent, and psychologically satisfying.  Hm, ok.

I also think this is a nice way to explain what “boring” means, which is a word that I sometimes have a hard time defining for myself.  I can understand boring as messy, incoherent, and unsatisfying.  Maybe the next time I feel bored I will try to discover what is messy, incoherent, or unsatisfying in my life.

p. 4: Persuasion gives effectiveness to truth, Simons says.  Makes truth palatable.

Simons mentions that Aristotle conceded the dangers of rhetoric (responding to Plato) but rejected their alleged inevitability.

I can admit the dangers of something but reject that those dangers will inevitably manifest themself.  Take a risk.

One of the main challenges we all face in life is learning how to “sit with” uncertainty.  The truth is often messy.  It is not often apparent what the raw objective facts are.  We don’t always have the time or the resources to discover the raw truth, so we have to make judgments.

Simons: “Insufficiently appreciated by Plato was Aristotle’s key insight: Persuasion deals in matters of judgment, rather than certainty.”

Religious people make judgments in the absence of raw data on the big questions.  Religions attract followers through persuasion.  Religion is how they deal with uncertainty.  Differences of opinion will exist.

p. 5: Simons: “But just because persuasion deals in matters of judgment rather than certainty, this was not for Aristotle to an invitation to impulsive or random decision making or to perpetual indecision.  As Aristotle said, only philosophers have the luxury of post-poning the day of reckoning.”

p. 6: Persuasion includes an intention couched in a means of communication (“stories or sermons” for example).  It also includes an invitation for the receiver of the message to make a choice.

Persuasion, defined: “Persuasion is human communication designed to influence the autonomous judgments and actions of others.“

it is not coercion (threats, promising – consequences) or inducements (bribing, promising + consequences), or pressure to conform to the group or to the authority of the powerful.

Going back to the example of religion, I have known the religious to be both coercive and inducing as well as persuasive.  I guess by any means necessary is the way it goes with “the elect.”

p.8 and 9: The core of persuasion consists of clear-cut attempts at persuasion, the grey area is when the intent to persuade is not so clear.

p.13 Simons uses the word “gulled” again, apparently to mean deceived, taken for a ride.  I’m pretty that’s the third time he’s used that word in 13 pages.

p.15 Studying Persuasion: The Behavioral Approach:

“behavioral in the sense of treating human judgments and actions as in some sense akin to the predictable, controllable behavior of lower-order animals in the laboratory.”  It is systematic, measuring independent variable’s affect on the dependent variable.

p.16 meta-analyses compares studies of the same of similar variables to reconcile apparent inconsistencies.

p.17 Critical studies approach studies rhetoric as the art.  Critics or analysts assess the persuasive messages’ logic or ethics, etc.  Critical studies informs on behavioral studies and is informed by behavioral studies.

p.20 Behavioral approach generates broad generalizations; Critical analysis looks at individual messages.

p.21 “Criticism is also tied to theory building and theory testing, usually about objects of the type-or genre-being analyzed.” Thus “genre-alizations.”

‘Because’ is one of those words we throw away without much thought. We shrug our shoulders and say: ‘because…’ when we can’t think what else to say; or we say ‘just because…’ when something seems so obvious to us that no further explanation can possibly be needed.  Yet if only we took the trouble to use it properly, ‘because’ could help us be more successful when we try to persuade others to our point of view.

Why is that? It’s because most people like to be given a reason for doing something.  Most of us also draw conclusions from generalisations. So we might infer that someone who has just left  X school would be worth hiring because X school usually turns out able young people but a pupil from Y school would not be so employable because Y school is less well thought of.

Using the word ‘because’ to link a statement with the conclusion you want someone to draw acts as a trigger. It makes the person more likely to agree with what came in front of ‘because’. If, for example, you were in a queue at the post office or the supermarket, you would more easily convince the person in front of you to let you go first if you give them a reason; even if that reason is meaningless.  If you said: “Could I go ahead of you to buy my stamps because I have to post my letters?”, the person ahead of you in the queue would be more likely to say yes than if you had simply asked to go before. Your reason for being in the queue is the same as theirs, yet the other person is still more likely to agree to your request because you have given a reason.       

Using ‘because’ allows you to offer an explanation.  Most of us respond positively to explanations because we like to be treated as intelligent people who need to understand why we are doing something.  Explanations provide the motivation for someone to accept what is being offered as a good idea.

Michael Callaway at Mesa Community College offers this really good summary of Aristotle’s three elements of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos. As a composition teacher, he focuses on the ways you can use language (as opposed to your physical appearance, facial expressions, etc.) to develop these three elements. Good advice for writers and speakers!

Remember: understanding ethos, pathos, and logos isn’t just about helping you be more persuasive. If you can identify how other speakers use Aristotle’s tools, you can recognize when others’ efforts to persuade you are based more on emotion and character and less on logic and evidence.

Ethos, pathos, and logos are all tools. Conscientious speakers (that means you!!!) use those tools skillfully and honestly to craft strong, responsible arguments. Less scrupulous speakers can abuse these tools for selfish and immoral ends. Hitler was a master of ethos, pathos, and logos. Corporations build ethos by engaging in expensive public relations campaigns, while their corporate charters still demand that they act strictly in the interest of increasing their investors’ stock dividends. Crafty spin doctors can misuse statistics in a multitude of ways.

Think of good persuasion like good driving: You’re a good driver. You will always follow the rules. But because not everyone is a responsible driver, you have to make yourself an even better driver: drive defensively, watch out for crazy drivers, and respond quickly and confidently to keep someone else from pulling you into an accident.

Persuade defensively. Use ethos, pathos, and logos responsibly. Watch out for crazy persuaders. And when someone misuses ethos, pathos, and logos, don’t let them drag you—or your polis—into a wreck.