Introduction

In my book Persuasion, the different ways that we have been persuaded were touched on. Many of us might have gone a long time in our lives without even realizing that we had been persuaded and manipulated so often. The damages of this manipulation can last forever, and it can be hard to recover. Once you become aware of how others might be subliminally persuading you, you can better protect yourself from these tactics in the future to maintain your independence and stay out of others’ influence.

It’s important to remember that by understanding these concepts you’re better equipped to identify and defend against them, and your new knowledge shouldn’t be about how you can use those same tactics to manipulate other people. There is a difference between evil manipulation and trying to convince someone of something else. You don’t want to trick someone into doing things for you when they won’t get any benefit at all. You only want to use these tactics when you need to persuade someone for something and you can’t blatantly ask them for help. There are people that are harder to convince than others, so you might need to use some strategies of persuasion.

Who might you need to persuade? You never want to take advantage of someone that already doesn’t have much to give. Those you should be trying to persuade are people that hold power. You might want to learn how to convince your boss to get a raise. Maybe you want to try to get your girlfriend to move in with you. Perhaps you have to ask your parents for a loan. You don’t want to “punch down,” but instead, “reach up.”

This book will start with how you can analyze other people. Once you have a better understanding of how to analyze those around you both physically and psychologically, you’ll be able to persuade them better towards your favor.