Persuasion

Each of the topics discussed throughout this book are intended to generate a specific type of response from the target. Among the primary goals of doing this is to influence the decisions that the target makes as a result of having been influenced. As we’ve seen, there are many ways by which to accomplish this goal, and quite probably many more not yet explored, but few will be as direct as persuasion. Persuasion refers to the direct communication between people wherein one has the intention of convincing the other of something; generally to hold a particular belief or to take a specific type of action. This is quite common in many aspects of everyday life, such as when lawyers attempt to persuade a judge or jury, when a salesperson attempts to persuade consumers to make a purchase, when an applicant persuades an employer to hire them during an interview, when a speeder persuades the police officer to let them off with a warning, and even when you try to persuade your spouse that there’s no reason you have to join them in visiting their parents. When people think of warfare, they generally picture groups of people in the middle of armed conflict, besieging a stronghold or charging into combat. Frequently overlooked are those times when decisive actions are taken, which lack the action or excitement that draw people to war movies. We hear less frequently about the negotiations between opposing commanders, attempts by each side to endear itself to the general populace in order to gain their support and cooperation, interrogations that don’t involve torture or what the US government is calling “enhanced interrogations,” or about attempts to resist by prisoners of war.