TRUE PERSUASION IS SELF-PERSUASION

A very common about persuasion is that in persuasion you are the person doing the persuading. It sounds logical, doesn’t it? It sounds reasonable. So, how surprised will you be to find out that it is not? The truth is that for all of your persuasion, what you are really doing is providing the data and information and context and relationships so that the person you are seeking to persuade actually persuade himself or herself. Now, is that weird or what? How counter-intuitive do you find that?

So, here’s the truth. The truth is that the only person who can do your thinking and understanding and believing and being convinced about something is you. Isn’t that obvious? If not, then try it. Grab someone and tell her that you are now abdicating your powers of thought and that she can do your thinking for you. Now calibrate to see if she feels honored by this. Next, check and see if she knows exactly how she is going to do your thinking for you(!).