There are no angels when it comes to influence
Some of my friends are having a discussion on twitter about the ethics of certain persuasion strategies and it brought this quote to mind:
…we are all at the mercy of influences of which we are unaware and over which we have virtually no conscious control. What is even more frightening is that we ourselves, no matter how careful and discreet we believe ourselves to be, are constantly influencing others in ways of which we may be only dimly or not at all aware. Indeed, we may unconsciously be responsible for influences of which we consciously know nothing and which, if we knew them, we might find totally unacceptable.”
Dr. Paul Watzlawick, How Real is Real? Confusion, Disinformation, Communication
If Dr. Watzlawick is correct, and I suspect he is, there are no angels when it comes to influence. We’re all in the game whether we want to be or not. It’s only a matter of how much awareness we’re able to stomach.
Posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 at 07:47 PM
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Crooked comments are back
By request, comments are once again enabled on my blog.
I can’t promise I’ll respond to all of them, but if you’re so inclined, fire away.
Posted on Friday, July 04, 2008 at 09:17 AM
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The Power of Pretense
If we want people to behave in a certain manner, we must set the stage and give them a cue. This is true also when it is ourselves we want to induce. There is no telling how deeply a mind may be affected by the deliberate staging of gestures, acts and symbols.
Pretense is often an indispensable step in the attainment of genuineness. It is a form into which genuine inclinations flow and solidify.”
Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind
Here are three quick lessons we can take from Hoffer’s quote:
1. Notice, he did not say, “There’s no telling how deeply a mind may be affected by clear communication.” Symbolism, not clarity.
2. He wasn’t talking just about affecting others’ minds in this way, but also our own. Pretense can be very powerful, in both directions.
3. Those who say we must never lie to ourselves are lying to us. Sometimes that is exactly what we need to do.
Set the stage for your own life. Or others will set it for you.
Posted on Friday, July 04, 2008 at 08:32 AM
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Crooked Twisdom
Here are some of my recent tweets for those of you who aren’t following me on twitter and may have missed them:
If we wish to maximize our ability to influence people, we must first recognize the futility of trying to control them.
To create powerful material, you must be honest. To sell a lot of material, you must be full of shit. Do both, and you’re a genius.
Until we embrace the theatre of life, we will be no match for the brutality of life.
Since I can’t seem to take my own advice, I’m going to stop offering advice. And if you were smart, you’d do the same.
Try as you might, you will never dissuade me from believing in the power of sheer stubbornness.
A sense of humor may be no match for reality, but if it fights like a girl and lands a lucky shot here and there, I wouldn’t bet against it.
When life deals you a big pile of shit, throw it at people who stare at you. That’s what monkeys do and they always seem pretty happy.
You can go a long way with honesty. You can go a lot farther with honesty and a joke.
I believe almost everything in life has comic potential. My goal is to find it, take a hit, then pass it along to the next guy.
I’ll post more from time to time here on my blog but if you want to catch them all, follow me on twitter.
If you don’t want to join twitter but still want to keep up with my tweets, you can sign up for the RSS feed at the bottom of my profile page.
Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 01:19 PM
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One Sentence Persuasion just got more persuasive
It only took 3 years but I’ve finally finished updating and expanding my One Sentence Persuasion Course and have turned it into a one hour MP3.
You can still get the free PDF version here, but if you want the latest version which includes an all-new TWO WORD persuasion strategy, it’ll cost ya. 
Don’t worry. It’s not much.
Get more info here: Updated and Expanded One Sentence Persuasion
Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 11:12 PM
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