In our daily lives, we are often faced with situations in which we have to convince other people to do acts that favor us. In this sense, knowing what is persuasion can help us to achieve our goals more easily.

The word persuasion, in general, means having the ability to convince someone to accept and share our point of view. Moreover, this action, to a lesser or greater extent, ends up benefiting us in some way. But what is persuasion according to the dictionary and psychology?

Persuasion according to the dictionary

In Portuguese language dictionaries, we can find some definitions about what is persuasion Some with shorter definitions, others with more detailed definitions.

For the Aurélio dictionary, persuasion is the "ability or skill to persuade". On the other hand, the DICIO dictionary defines persuasion as the "action of persuading, of convincing someone about something or getting that person to change behavior and/or opinion".

With these definitions, we can know a little better what persuasion is. However, in order to have a deeper understanding, it is necessary to know how psychology, this area of knowledge that studies the human mind, defines persuasion.

Persuasion according to psychology

There are several scholars who investigate persuasion in the field of psychology. In this field, one of the most renowned researchers is the president of Influence at Work, Robert Cialdini, who is also a professor at Arizona State University.

In his books, Cialdini discusses what persuasion is. In addition, the work presents principles that we can follow to do persuasion in a more meaningful way.

For Cialdini, persuasion is the ability a person has to persuade the decisions and actions of others. According to the author, some people are born with a talent for persuading. However, he points out that this ability also has some principles.

Robert Cialdini's six principles of persuasion

The first principle is Reciprocity.

According to this principle, people have a greater predisposition to be persuaded when they first receive something in return.

The second principle is Consistency.

According to this principle, people are more willing to be persuaded when they perceive persuasion as a model consistent with their previous values and behaviors.

The third principle is Authority.

In this principle, Cialdini states that people, in general, are more predisposed to persuasion when they perceive an authoritative relationship with others.

The fourth principle is Social Validation.

This principle considers that the greater the possibility that someone will follow that behavior. This depends on whether the perceived popularity of a certain behavior by common sense is greater.

The fifth principle is Scarcity.

According to this principle, the greater the lack of a product or service, or also of a situation, the greater its relevance. In addition, action leads people to be more willing to be persuaded.

The sixth principle is Attraction / Affection.

Finally, in this principle, Cialdini mentions that people are more likely to be persuaded by those with whom they have friendships. Not only that, but also by people who arouse their attraction or consider them to be similar.

These six principles are the basis of the theory of persuasive communication developed by Robert Cialdini. This theory, today, supports most of the studies on what persuasion is in the field of psychology.

In addition to Cialdini's principles, there are some techniques that can also help us to perform more effective persuasion, presented below.

I want information to enroll in the Psychoanalysis Course .

Techniques for more effective persuasion

1. have clear and objective communication:

One of the keys to persuasion is the ability to communicate clearly and objectively with the people we intend to persuade. For example, using a fancy vocabulary won't do much good if the person we are talking to doesn't understand us.

So get to the point and use consistent and relevant information to persuade your customers, for example. Avoid prolonged communication and know how to adapt your speech to each person you communicate with.

Demonstrate that you have a good grasp of the topic being discussed:

Another very important aspect of persuasion is to show that we have knowledge of what we are talking about, we must demonstrate that we are experts on the subject. Knowing how to communicate clearly and objectively will not be of much help if you don't know what you are talking about.

So before persuasion, it is important that you study your idea, your product or service. Showing that you are an expert will give you more confidence, and this may make people more willing to be persuaded.

3. make the other person believe that your idea is actually theirs:

This is one of the core techniques of persuasion. People are more willing to accept an idea when it comes from them.

During the conversation, try to generate the perception that the idea is the result of a collective action and let the other person do the talking. Also, intervene at key moments to shape the situation in your favor.

4. show that your goals are not purely personal:

Another technique that can help us when persuasion is to show that our interests are not purely personal. Making it clear that our idea is also defending other people's interests can make our power of persuasion more effective.

When we show that our ideas are not for our own benefit, people generally begin to see us as someone who deserves to be respected. So whenever possible, make it clear to people that you are not trying to convince them by thinking only of yourself, but that you are arguing for the good of others as well.

5. know how to understand people's body communication:

Many people don't know, but body language is one of the forms of communication we use most in our daily lives. With our gestures, postures, and other aspects emitted by our body, we express a lot of information, including those we want to hide.

We can use body language in two ways. The first is to capture information from others without them realizing it, while the second is to pass on extra information received by others, even if unconsciously.

Learn the meaning of our body's expressions and use them to your advantage. With this skill, you will have greater power of persuasion.

Opportunity!

In short, the ability to persuade is important for all of us, regardless of our field of work. If you are interested in what persuasion is, you can learn even more about this branch of psychology by enrolling in our Psychoanalysis course.

I want information to enroll in the Psychoanalysis Course .

Finally, our classes are 100% online and you learn from the comfort of your own home. Plus, our certificate allows you to practice. So don't miss this opportunity to learn more about what is persuasion and similar subjects.