Practical Persuasion: Ways We Learn

I recently had a student ask me, "Kenrick, how do you keep track all of these persuasion strategies? Every time we have a call, you pull out another technique. Sometimes I can't even remember to use the 'unconscious hello'."

So I asked my student, "Have you ever learned a second language?" He said, "Yes." I asked, "Well, were you fluent within a week of starting it?"

And I asked him, "When you learn a new instrument, are you able to play with a symphony orchestra after just a few lessons?"

My feeling is that persuasion is equally as rich and intricate as learning a new language and playing a musical instrument, and maybe even more so, because once you know a language, aside from learning more difficult words, and once you play an instrument, aside from learning more challenging compositions, there is a finite amount of information you can learn. With persuasion, we are dealing with an ever expanding field with breakthroughs happening one after the other.

And when I think of what it is that makes a good student, a good learner, my most worthwhile advice is this: Practice. In order to do something well, in order to do something thoroughly, you have to master the basics and practice the hell out of it.

Scientists and educators agree that there are five different traditional ways of learning: imprinting, habituation, associative learning, observational learning and play.

Imprinting happens as a phase--usually we see this with young babies and animals learning from their parents. For our purposes in learning persuasion, we have no use for this method. . .we're way past imprinting. However, the brain state that we achieve with the use of the light and sound machines closely resembles the brain state babies are in.

An example of habitual learning is when an animal first responds to a stimulus, but if it is neither rewarding nor harmful then eventually, the response diminishes. This kind of learning rests mainly in the other-than-conscious.

There are two types of learning that we most use in persuasion: observational learning and play. Obviously, observation requires that we observe and then repeat. It's simple. Sometimes repetition is required. Observational learning is us paying attention to our environment or our teachers or whatever, and then emulating that behavior or reissuing that information.

Lastly, play. I call the homework at the end of each call 'home play' because I love the concept of play and playfulness as a way to enjoy our learning and enhance our experience of not only persuasion, but of life in general.

I responded to my frustrated student by saying that, "Learning persuasion is about observing, creating a habit, repeating, emulating, committing, having intention and patience and persistence, being playful and above all else, practicing."

About the Author

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of wealthy clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

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