“Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.” —Aristotle

The final level of persuasion uses ETHOS, a concept from which we derive the word ethics.

(just getting here? Read: installment 1, installment 2, installment 3)

ETHOS requires integrity, character, wholeness, consistency and discernment. In essence, ethical people are a living example of the truth behind their arguments. They don’t just say what they believe; they live what they believe. Their arguments and opinions speak for themselves, in the actions they choose to take. The consequences of their actions prove the truth behind their opinions.

To ME this is the most powerful form of persuasion. This is what persuades me to put people into SUCCESS or to interview for the CD that goes into the magazine—those who walk their talk. Those who are DOING and have DONE (at an extraordinary level) what they will advise us we need to do.

This is also how I try to live—you can listen to me or you can just watch me, either way you will get exactly the same message. I recommend this as your most powerful tool of persuasion and influence as well.

The best way to practice or use this tool of influence in your sales or business life is this: read more »

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” —Aristotle

Aristotle’s second level of persuasion is PATHOS—which means using emotion: passion, empathy and feelings to build emotional discontent and to motivate people toward change.

(just getting here? Read: installment 1, installment 2)

PATHOS is used to gain individual attention, to disgruntle large groups, create mass movement, advertise products, start revolutions and win elections.

Both sides of the emotional spectrum are used, and both are as equally persuasive.
Positive emotions like: pride, joy, fulfillment, meaningful contribution, recognition, love, compassion and honor.
Negative emotions like: prejudice, fear, uncertainly, doubt, greed, hate, desperation, shame and guilt.

I remember Brian Tracy asking an audience, “What percentage of human decision making is rational and what percentage is emotional?” Most answered “80/20” or “90/10”. Brian then pointed out that we are 100 percent emotional.

Human beings, including you, decide emotionally and then justify logically.

Whether people use negative emotions to persuade, or positive emotions to persuade, both are extremely powerful. Look at how people were persuaded by Hitler, Churchill, Jim Jones, Gandhi, Napoleon, Cesar Chavez, Mussolini, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Mother Teresa, Stalin, and every other persuasive and influential leader. Whether leaders use positive emotions to empower you, or negative emotions to imprison you, they all use the power of PATHOS persuasion.

Which type of emotions should you use to build and empower? Certainly I have a strong preference. As you make your choice always remember this, read more »

“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” —Aristotle

No discussion on the topic of influence and persuasion is complete without a few words on Aristotle’s famous dialectic on what he calls the three levels of persuasion:
LOGOS, PATHOS and ETHOS.

In each installment I will boil it down to a single action item for you to walk away with in order to make this new knowledge have power in your own ability to persuade and influence others.

Let’s start with LOGOS—which can be understood as simply logic.

So the first form of persuasion has to do with convincing others through the use of logic. I interviewed Dave Lakhani recently (grew up in a cult, now best-selling author of Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want). Here is how he put it: “Persuasion is helping people come to their own most logical conclusion which happens to be one we share.” He goes on to say, “Persuasion is about being a more effective communicator and getting the best outcome for everyone involved.”

“Persuasion is helping people come to their own most logical conclusion which happens to be one we share.” 

So, in LOGOS, we use logic and reasoning to persuade others to see things in a new way. Let me give you an example; this is how I lay out the argument for why someone should read more »

Eat or be eaten. Influence or be influenced. Someone is always selling and someone is always buying (consciously or not).

If you open up your medicine cabinet, your dresser drawers, your pantry or your garage… or just look around the room you are standing in right now, each item you see is a war trophy, representing somebody’s or some company’s victory—who got you to trade your hard-earned money for their product.

How did they do that? What tools did they use?

That is what I will teach you in this four-part blog series—the all-important skill of influence and persuasion.

Make no mistake. There are legions of influence agents operating around you everywhere, all day. Sometimes it’s in the form of a TV commercial, or a phone solicitation, or grocery store announcement, bus bench or billboard, and other times it’s in the form of a solicitation or request by a child, spouse, employer, priest, friend or co-worker.

A friend of mine once tried to count the number of direct attempts to control his thoughts and behavior that he encountered in a single day. This included people requesting him to do things, forcing him to do things, asking him to buy things, telling him to pay for things, showing him where to stop and when to go, suggesting how he should think about things, offering him slogans to repeat, songs to remember, attitudes to change, and ideologies to believe. He doesn’t even read the newspaper, listen to radio or watch TV! He gave up by 10:30 a.m., as he lost count somewhere around 500.

Research calculates that the average person receives more than read more »