The Art of Persuasion (Collection)

Use the Right Words

It’s important, if you want someone to say yes, that you talk about what you want—whether you’re actually asking—in terms that will make it sound appealing. And they may not be attracted by the same things as you. In the same way that you need to know what drives people, you also need to know which words give them a positive feeling—and which don’t.

If you were trying to describe a park ghost train ride to a typical teenage boy, you might tell them, “Come on—you’ll love it! It’s really fast and scary!” That would do the trick with a lot of teenagers I know. But it certainly wouldn’t work on some of their grandparents. You’d need to tell them, “It’s completely safe, and it’s so safe it’s funny.” Same ride, different words. ...