The power of PERSUASION I suspect no-one questions the important role that persuasion plays in marketing. Indeed, one could argue that marketing related communication is and should be the art of persuasion. Despite this, I find that few people truly understand the art of persuasion. This is despite the fact that people have been writing […]

The power of PERSUASION I suspect no-one questions the important role that persuasion plays in marketing. Indeed, one could argue that marketing related communication is and should be the art of persuasion. Despite this, I find that few people truly understand the art of persuasion. This is despite the fact that people have been writing about it since the time of Aristotle. Aristotle noted that persuasion involves three elements: – Ethos – credibility – Logo – Logic – Pathos – emotions   Effective persuasion invariable involves establishing the ‘sellers’ credibility and communicating a message that is both logical and appealing to the emotions. Emotions are almost certainly most important. More recently researchers have identified five short cuts to persuading people they are: – Reciprocity – Scarcity – Authority – Consistency – Liking – Consensus   People will be more readily persuaded to your argument or point of view is your…