Grapho-Persuasion:Mastering the Pyramid of Persuasion potx

Grapho-Persuasion: Mastering the Pyramid of Persuasion (Confessions of a Marketing Man) By Victor Semo SMASHWORDS EDITION PUBLISHED BY: Jamin Press at Smashwords Copyright 2010 by Victor Semo This book is available in print at most online retailers 100% QUALITY PROMISE: As a buyer, your satisfaction is important. This ebook contains graphics that have been compressed for this Smashwords ebook edition. If after purchase you would like to receive the same ebook but with higher quality graphics, please send your request to jamin@grapho-persuasion.com with your proof of purchase within 30 days. Smashwords Edition License Notes This ebook is DRM-free and is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work. Praise for Grapho-Persuasion _______________________ “I like to know who I am dealing with, and this book helps me to reveal what they are hiding from me. Fascinating!”– Geoff Burch, Best-selling author of Irresistible Persuasion, BBC Television Presenter, and voted Business Communicator of 2011 by the Speechwriters Guild “Savvy persuaders have a new powerful technique in their hands!”– Rintu Basu, Best-selling author of The Persuasion Skills Black Book “Grapho-Persuaded? I was. You will be!”– Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post “Victor Semo challenges you to consider that a person’s handwriting tells you about their personality, the key to how best persuade them. Dozens of samples and examples are given as well as the use of handwriting analysis in the scope of a simple but elegant model of persuasion. Grapho-Persuasion is well worth your reading and utilizing!”– Kevin Hogan, Psy.D, author of The Science of Influence About the Author _______________________ B eing an academic and business professional, Victor Semo is a ‘pracademic’. As well as being a graphologist, he is also a professional marketer and a Doctoral Researcher in the art of political persuasion (lobbying) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Wolverhampton University, UK. When he was 21 years old, Victor took a break to setup a fashion-engineering design business, then licensed all his ideas, before going back to the normal professional-student life that he loves so much. This Parisian-born has lived in different countries and now, occasionally, writes thought-provoking posts on his blog at the Birmingham Post, the most influential business newspaper in the West Midlands, http://www.birminghampost.net/victor. To contact him, or find out more about Grapho-Persuasion, visit www.grapho-persuasion.com , or Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/victorsemo * * * * * Disclaimer _______________________ This handbook was originally a personal, handwritten letter and manual to my sister Ghislaine. I wrote the handbook for her in order to help her be more in control of her environment, and stop being a victim of stress and anxiety. Although now publicly available, it remains, for me, a personal letter. Throughout the text, you will still find mention of “Ghislaine”, “sister”, “brother”, and some personal stories and notes for Ghislaine displayed in this grey rounded box: When you read the contents of a rounded box, I am addressing myself to you. Replace the name “Ghislaine” with your name, and replace the words “sister” and “brother” with‘[my] friend.’ As someone who is taking the time to read this book, I consider you a friend. Follow this persuasion trick throughout the book and you will feel that I have written it for you. Please be advised that: -All the techniques and theories presented within the book have been used by men and women throughout history. In academic circles, many are considered unreliable because results of empirical studies conducted to date are inconclusive. Since scientists cannot prove or disprove these theories 100%, it is safer to consider them unproven ‘junk science’. My sole contribution as a ‘pracademic’ is to bring the school of persuasion and the school of graphology together. -All the businesses, places and names mentioned are real unless mentioned. -If you are an expert in persuasion, you might say that more persuasion techniques could have been included, and I would agree with you. With your experience, whatever your profession, you also know that more does not necessarily mean better and this handbook does not attempt to be an encyclopaedia. Some techniques are just too complex to put into practice, therefore it is better to present here those that are easy to ‘carry and deploy’. -There may be mistakes, both typographical and in content. You are therefore advised to use the text as a general guide. The purpose of this handbook is to educate and entertain only. -You may not like what you read, especially if you are sceptical by nature and prefer to see before believing. If that is the case, I ask you to be fair; try putting it in to practice first, then feel free to criticise. Criticism and debates are good, I welcome them; they keep you intellectually healthy. CONTENTS _______________________ A Persuader’s Prayer Introduction -Objections from the Audience How to Use this Handbook Why Write this Handbook? Handwritten Letter to Ghislaine The Creation of Grapho-Persuasion Influence ≠ Persuasion PART ONE | WHAT IS GRAPHO-PERSUASION? PART TWO | THE PYRAMID OF PERSUASION 1. The Cornerstone 1.1 Fundamental 1 1.2 Fundamental 2 1.3 Fundamental 3 2. The Rules 2.1 Create Trust and Comfort 2.2 Be a Good Talker. Create Consultative Conversations 2.3 Create Dependence 3. The Laws 3.1 Law of Reciprocity 3.2 Law of Commitment and Consistency 3.3 Law of Liking 3.4 Law of Authority 3.5 Law of Social Proof 3.6 Law of Scarcity 4. The Techniques 4.1 Blur Perception 4.2 Make Spending Abstractive 4.3 Make Them Focus on Loss 4.4 Provide Guarantees 4.5 Introduce a Decoy 4.6 Colour the Choice 4.7 Get the Door Closed in Your Face 4.8 Put Your Foot in the Door 4.9 Lower Resistance with Flattery 4.10 Speak and Capture Attention 4.11 Reframe 4.12 Anchor 4.13 Act Like a Debater: Present the Negatives and Positives 4.14 Use Hypnotic Words 4.15 Use Statistics 5. The Secret Recipe 5.1 The Secret Recipe of Subliminal Persuasion 5.2 How to Make a Hypnotic Speech PART THREE | GRAPHOLOGY 6. Emotional Aspects 6.1 Emotional Responsiveness and Expressiveness 6.2 Emotional Depth (Pressure in Writing) 7. Social Aspects 7.1 Talkativeness, Secretiveness and Lies 7.2 Pride, Vanity, Independence 7.3 Letter Connections 7.4 Spacing 7.5 Letter Sizes 7.6 Generosity, Thriftiness 7.7 Jealousy 7.8 Ego 7.9 Willpower 7.10 Goals (Ambitions) 7.11 Determination 7.12 Argumentativeness 7.13 Doodles 8. Sexual Aspects PART FOUR | CAN YOU GRAPHO-PERSUADE? Conclusion A Request: Help this Book if you Like it Appendix A - Playing with Statistics in Advertising Appendix B - Deliberate Practice Appendix C - Influencing in a Digital Age (bonus chapter) Notes References Index A Persuader’s Prayer _______________________ Peitho, goddess of the arts of persuasion, Give me strength to appeal to the public. I shall not be a product of my environment, My environment shall be a product of me. Because morality is personal and not societal, Indistinguishable are persuasion and manipulation. Of my successful and failed attempts, You and I shall be the sole silent witnesses, victims and judges. Who don’t try won’t ever know. * * * * * Introduction- Objections from the Audience _______________________ W henever I do a seminar or talk about Grapho-Persuasion, I usually get these two comments: 1.“Handwriting analysis does not work. It is a quackery”. 2.“People don’t write anymore with a pen and paper, but with a keyboard and a computer screen. They handwrite occasionally only to take notes or send greeting cards”. And I always have to answer these two questions: 1.“Does it really work?” 2.“If it works, is it really relevant today? People are more and more online”. My answers to critics, sceptics and other Jeremiahs of this world are always the same. Answer to Comment / Question 1: “Like any student, do your homework. Try first, then we’ll talk. Here is my number and email address to send me your feedback”. This is my usual answer when I don’t have time to expand further. When I can, I explain: Graphology (i.e. handwriting analysis) has been around for almost four hundred years and the question remains, is it a science, a pseudo-science or an art? The science has demonstrated that an individual’s handwriting is unique, like their DNA 1 . Scientific studies remain unclear as to whether it is possible to establish a correlation between someone’s personality and his or her handwriting. Handwriting analysis is a combination of scientific principles and the subjective interpretation of the graphologist, who can be victim of bias. As with any doctor that reads a patient’s X-ray, a handwriting analysis’s report is only as good as the impartial graphologist who does it. As a pracademic and due to the high risk of bias, I see graphology like advertising and marketing: not entirely scientific. During the application of scientific principles for a marketing campaign or the handwriting analysis of someone, at a certain point these principles will be subject to the personal interpretations of the marketing director, or graphologist. Their interpretations and implementations will determine the success of the campaign, or analysis. Body language is not a science. If you believe that someone’s attitude and facial expressions gives you more information about what that person is really thinking, than what he or she is saying, why don’t you believe in graphology? Businessmen and politicians say that you can learn about a person’s personality and the way they do business by the way they play golf. Science cannot prove this myth, but if you are one of those who believes it, why don’t you believe in graphology? Fingerprint analysis includes a degree of subjectivity, exactly like handwriting analysis. If you believe in fingerprint analysis, if you acknowledge that fingerprint analysis confirms your unique identity and does not attempt to predict your future actions, why don’t you believe in graphology? Graphology confirms your unique personality today, not yesterday or tomorrow. It does not predict the future. If you believe that you can influence and persuade someone that you’ve known for years because you know their personality (e.g. family members or spouse), why don’t you believe that you can do the same with a stranger, as long as you know his or her personality? Do you believe in behavioural economics? Many persuasion techniques used by salespeople and marketers are derived from behavioural economic theories. Do you believe in behavioural psychology? Graphology is a form of behavioural psychology theory: Behavioural Economics + Behavioural Psychology = Grapho-Persuasion Think about it for five minutes (and during that time let me get a glass of water). Still sceptical? All right, I continue Here are few phenomena that science still cannot explain why they work, we just accept them 2 : 1.Placebo effect: the placebo effect is a persuasion technique usually used by doctors and propagandists (it is not covered in this book). Why does it work? 2.Yawning: Why do we yawn? Why is it contagious? (i.e. when you see someone yawn, you tend to yawn too). 3.Female orgasm: in contrast to the male orgasm, there is no evidence that the female orgasm plays a reproductive role, so why does it exist? Scientists are still debating these questions. If you ask, some will give you an honest silence as a response. Some will say your question is a floccinaucinihilipilification, why get a headache in trying to understand all the Whys and Hows of the universe. It works, just accept it. Others, the obdurate Jeremiahs and pompous scientists, will give you a verbose answer full of scientific jargon that makes their explanation appear very intelligent and therefore plausible. But if you scratch beneath the surface, you soon realise that it is nonsense. Illusion is the best weapon of marketers, you should never make up your mind on what you read, hear and see only. As a pracademic, the best advice I can give you is to be critically open minded. Listen to both sides of the argument, analyse, make your own tests, and finally decide which side you will join. But if you are like most first year students who believe they know everything and anything in life, well, you already know what to do: close this book and keep following the herd. (Two minutes please, let me grab my glass of water and during that time the Jeremiahs can leave the room ). I conclude: On a daily basis, advertisers and marketers influence and persuade you to buy products and services. They know some aspects of your personality, behaviour and preferences, but only as part of a segmented customer group. You are just a number in a herd of a certain size (the size of the segmented target market) and marketers, working with their communication agencies, try to move the herd in a certain direction. Grapho-Persuasion allows you to do the same, but on a one-to-one basis. Look at the handwriting of strangers (suppliers, clients, job interview candidates, etc.) on a note or cover letter, or at their signatures on a document and you will get a snapshot of their personality. Once you know the personality of that stranger, even a small portion of it, you are now like a marketer with a snapshot of the psychographic profile of the ideal customer. If you are a good marketer, you will know instantly which marketing/persuasion techniques to apply on that target. If you are a bad marketer, or just a young graduate without work experience, you might know the techniques in theory, but you will fail in their implementation. Then you will need to find a reason to explain to your boss why you did not succeed, e.g. you were not well that day, the target market was not right for the product, the wrong location, the weather, the sales team, etc. You may blame the marketing techniques used, saying they were not good enough and you knew they were just quackeries. Next time, you will try something different. Grapho-Persuasion is a methodology of persuasion based on handwriting analysis. As long as people write and need to meet face-to-face, the methodology will remain valid. Because it implies a degree of subjectivity, like the interpretation of an X-ray, the analysis of someone’s body language or how they play golf, the accuracy will remain debatable but not the validity. You still don’t believe that Grapho-Persuasion works? All right, my time is up and I have to go. Try it first, then let’s talk again. Those who don’t try won’t ever know. Here is my email to send me your feedback or constructive criticism after you’ve tried grapho-persuading someone: mailto:victors@glocalpen.com . Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/victorsemo P.S: Don’t forget: intent is not synonymous with outcome. It takes time and practice to get a black belt in Judo. As with psychiatry and the martial arts, the principles of Grapho-Persuasion are easy to understand and easy to implement, but as a whole, they are complex to master. You won’t succeed without training and practice. For further thoughts on this general comment/question, please read my article: “Deliberate Practice” in Appendix B. Answer to Comment / Question 2: I agree that social media is not a fad and people use a keyboard and computer screen to communicate more and more. Hardcore fans of the Internet might even suggest that, in the future, people won’t be handwriting letters and greeting cards, they will have digital personal diaries and notebooks, instead of the paper version. Maybe However, I am certain that people will still handwrite short notes and sign documents with a pen on a sheet of paper. Handwriting will never die. Offline meetings will never die. Technology cannot satisfy those two intrinsic needs that we have to express ourselves individually, like singular artists, and meet and touch other artists. The need for physical contact is part of human nature. The online world cannot replace the sensation of touching a piece of paper or someone emotionally close to us, or the sensation we have when we receive in a postcard or birthday card in the mail with the handwritten notes of a friend or family member. To paraphrase Robin Dunbar, the renowned academic at the origin of the Dunbar’s Number theory: “Like an image, at anytime a touch is worth a thousand words”. A touch is priceless. Visual and physical contacts convey more emotional meaning than words. That’s why teachers remain reluctant to the idea of online courses to educate students. You are reading my words right now and understanding them, but if you could hear me reading them to you while we look into each other’s eyes, those same words would have more emotional impact and meaning to you. Many book authors during a book tour read a chapter of their book to the audience, personalising its delivery, and helping the audience to fully understand the meaning of their words, implicitly and explicitly. It was said over the last ten years that webinars (web conferences) would replace face-to-face meetings and revolutionise the travel and event industries. The revolution has still not taken place and the ‘journaling’ industry remains healthy. The greeting cards market has not shown any decline in the last ten years and the notebook market, led by brands such as Moleskine, remains steady. Tony Blair handwrote his memoirs, J.K Rowling handwrites her manuscripts, and this book you are reading was initially written by hand too. People continue to go to exhibitions and take airplanes, cars or trains to meet their clients face-to-face. Good networking and business deals are still made on the golf course, during a lunch, while having a drink at the bar of a hotel, or in a gentleman’s club. The telegram, the telephone, the fax and emails did not kill offline meetings, these technologies just made them easier to co- ordinate, as does online social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and as will any future communication tools in a hundred years to come. I am confident that handwriting will never die. Savvy marketers and persuaders never believe the hype [...]... including whether it was on the left or right hand, what kind of shoes and had they been polished, which jewellery was visible and hidden, the choice of briefcase or handbag I even noted the fabric of the clothes and whether they’d been pressed or not, how long the other person could hold my eye during the conversation, their posture on a chair, the accent and richness of the vocabulary, etc All these little... your enemy and know yourself” The science of graphology teaches us how to discover personality traits; the science of persuasion teaches us how to influence the person’s state of mind Put them together and you obtain the theory of Grapho -Persuasion Grapho -Persuasion is the use of graphology to understand someone’s personality and the incorporation of this information in to the techniques you use to persuade...and follow the herd for fear of standing out in the crowd Like academics, they research and analyse the other side of the coin themselves and only then, agree or not agree to follow the herd P.S: Don’t forget: the quality of a relationship with someone is proportional to the amount of time you invest in that relationship Technologies, like the phone and social networking websites,... why they were written and presented in a certain way, trying to understand the subliminal impact, if any, created by the combination of the words used In face-to-face or telephone conversations, I would listen to and observe carefully the other person: their walk, their vocal intonation, their smile, how they shake hands, the look in their eyes, the attitude and gestures, the grooming, what kind of. .. of the Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley: The Star Thrower Once upon a time, there was a wise man walking along a beach where thousands of starfish had been washed up on the shore He noticed a boy picking up the starfish one by one and throwing them back into the ocean The man observed the boy for a few minutes and then asked him what he was doing The boy replied that he was returning the starfish to the. .. active and dominant or passive and submissive? (i.e which of you is the alpha male/female?) 2.Danger/Protection of Self: is this person crazy/unpredictable or sane/stable? (i.e you size up the other person to determine who is the stronger of the two of you in the event of being attacked) 3.Intelligence/Control: who is the more intelligent of the two of us? (i.e is this person easy or difficult to manoeuvre?)... know the personality traits of the person A mother and a wife are arguably the two people most persuasive and influential in a man’s life, because they know him inside and out They know the personality of their son or husband and therefore, they know what to say, how to say it, and how to act when they are attempting to persuade him As stated by Sun Tzu in his classic, The Art of War, if you want to win... sales or marketing role, the intended audience is for everyone interested in improving their persuasion and negotiation skills in their social and business circles It is designed so that you can open the book at any page and find valuable tactics to use immediately The aim is that you master the Pyramid of Persuasion and the basics of Graphology, then put all this knowledge together to be able to graphopersuade... PART TWO THE PYRAMID OF PERSUASION _ 1 The Cornerstone There are three fundamentals of persuasion that you must never forget when interacting with anyone Forget one of them and you will open the door to anxiety and stress 1.1 Fundamental 1: Your emotional expressions are contagious, affecting everyone around you and many others We are social creatures and creatures of emotion, the people... now I sought them, like a detective, especially little details They are clues to the personality and state of mind of your interlocutor, which opens a little bit more the path to successful persuasion I started developing a system based on my personal experiences and called it The Pyramid of Persuasion Note: Except the Cornerstone, there is no need to master one layer before moving to the next But . influence the person’s state of mind. Put them together and you obtain the theory of Grapho -Persuasion. Grapho -Persuasion is the use of graphology to understand someone’s personality and the incorporation. observe carefully the other person: their walk, their vocal intonation, their smile, how they shake hands, the look in their eyes, the attitude and gestures, the grooming, what kind of watch was. persuaders never believe the hype and follow the herd for fear of standing out in the crowd. Like academics, they research and analyse the other side of the coin themselves and only then, agree or not