EP220: The Art of Persusaion

On this episode of The Wednesday Call podcast, your host Andy Albright comes to you live from his home in Treasure Island, Fla. to talk about "The Art of Persuasion according to Aristotle."

How do we begin to define such a broad topic?

"If there are two definitive features of ancient Greek Civilization, they are loquacity (articulate talk) and competition (self-worth's edge)." – Aristotle

The Art of Persuasion

To become a master of persuasion yourself and successfully sell your own ideas, try using these FIVE rhetorical devices that Aristotle identified:

1. Ethos or "Character"
   2. Logos or "Reason"
   3. Pathos or "Emotion"
   4. Metaphor or "Analogy" 5. Brevity or "Conciseness"

1) Ethos or "Character"

Ethos represents the part of the sales presentation when your client gains some insight into your credibility. Aristotle believed that if a speaker's actions didn't back their words, they would lose credibility, and ultimately, weaken a chance at a sale.

A simple reminder to the client that you are committed to the welfare of others, will build your credibility before you lay out your sales pitch. Here are two ingredients that make up instant credibility: Transparency and Sincerity

Transparency

Transparency is needed to produce trust and open dialogue. Its lack of hidden agendas and evidence of full disclosure defeats insecurity. The key to a transparent culture is openness. Three factors produce an open environment:

1. a) Accessibility (easily available information) example: your relationship with the carriers
2. b) Predictability (consistent repetition) example: your track record selling insurance
3. c) Legitimacy (acceptable to the law) example: your license to sell insurance

Sincerity

It is important to remember before establishing your sincerity status, you have to be viewed as genuine. This is simple to do, but many people fail at seeming to be real.

When you are being real, you are behaving exactly how you would normally behave and you are not altering your behavior in any way.

While being transparent will gain you trust, being sincere will gain you respect. And sincerity is best evidenced in your passion for what you are selling.

2) Logos or "Reason"

Once ethos is established, it's time to make a logical appeal to reason. Why should your audience care about what you are selling?

The following are TWO logical appeals that will help you gain their support:

• Data or Content (factual information such as statistics which supports the credibility of the product).
• Evidence or Context (relevant information that furnishes proof which supports the conclusion to purchase).

3) Pathos or "Emotion"

According to Aristotle, persuasion cannot occur in the absence of emotion. People are moved to action by how a seller makes them feel. Aristotle believed the best way to transfer emotion from one person to another is through the rhetorical device of storytelling.

More then 2,000 years later, neuroscientists have found his thesis accurate. Studies have found that narratives trigger a rush of neurochemicals in the brain, notably oxytocin, the "moral molecule" that connects people on a deeper, emotional level.

Research has found that a winning formula for making a sale is:

• 65% Pathos or Emotional Stories
• 25% Logos or Logical Reasons
• 10% Ethos or Credibility

The stories that can generate the best connection are stories about you personally or about people close to you. Tales of failure, awkwardness, misfortune, danger or loss, told authentically, create deep engagement. The most personal content is the most relatable.

4) Metaphor or Analogy

Aristotle believed that metaphor gives language its verbal beauty. "To be a master of metaphor is the greatest thing by far," he wrote. When you use a metaphor or analogy to compare a new idea to something that is familiar to your client, it clarifies your sales pitch by turning the abstract into something concrete.

Those who master the metaphor have the ability to turn words into images that help others gain a clearer understanding of their message -- but more importantly, remember and share them with future clients. It is a powerful tool to have.

Example of statement without and with a metaphor:
"You can get hurt financially without an insurance policy" vs. "Going through life without a policy is like playing Russian Roulette."

Metaphors carry emotional associations that resonate instantly with listeners because:

• Our brains are wired for images.
• Metaphors are images in words.
• Metaphors paint pictures in the listener's mind.

Information and Data tell, but Metaphors SELL because:

• Images are processed 60,000 times faster than
• 90% of information transmitted to the brain is
• Transmission rate of information to the eyes is 10,000,000 bits per second and to the ears 100,000 bits per second.

5) Brevity or "Conciseness"

Here again, Aristotle was ahead of his time. Aristotle had discovered that there are fairly universal limits to the amount of information which any human can absorb and retain. When it comes to persuasion, less is always more.

Brevity is a crucial element in making a persuasive pitch. An argument or selling point, Aristotle said, should be expressed "as compactly and in as few words as possible." He also observed that the opening of a person's pitch is the most important, since "attention slackens everywhere else rather than at the beginning." The lesson here is: start with your strongest point.

The case for brevity or conciseness are for the following reasons:

• People are drowning in information.
• People have too many choices among similar sounding products, services, ideas, etc.

• People fear making a change.
• People have shorter and shorter attention spans.

For example: 12 seconds in 2000 vs. 8 seconds in 2019.

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