One Huge Reason Why You Should Learn To Persuade Others
One of the biggest recent mysteries regarding the development of the human species is our enormous brains. Compared to our body size, our brains are the biggest on the planet.
Some argue it was because of our use of tools. Some say it was because we lived in so many different environments that we had to learn to be creative, and that required lots of computing power. A growing number are starting to agree it was our need for language that drove our increase in brain size.
So why did language develop? Hippo's don't need to talk to each other. Dolphins do OK with clicks. Why do we need such a rich and structured vocabulary?
When you think about language as a tool, it might be easier to understand. What do we use this tool for? Chopping down trees? Language may be the most versatile tool ever.
For many, the automatic answer is to simply convey information. Data. Facts, figures, directions, instructions. Are we really just walking computers driven to exchange data with each other, or is there something deeper?
Lately, many psychologists have started to wonder if language is really meant to be used to persuade others. To get others to go along with us. To convince our buddy to throw his spear at the mammoth, and risk getting him in trouble, rather than us.
When you first cried when you were a kid, were you just shouting out for the purpose of information, that you had wet yourself? Or were you trying to influence the adults around you to come and fix the mess you suddenly found yourself in?
When you see language from this angle, you can begin to understand that the underlying reason behind all communication is to manipulate and persuade others. Whenever you are talking to somebody, you'd like your words to cause them to think or do something that would benefit you.
So it naturally follows that if you are going to persuade somebody, you'd better get pretty good at it. With all these people walking around trying to persuade each other into their own way of thinking, you may as well learn how to get the upper hand.
The easiest, and most effective way to persuade is to find out what the other person is after, what they want, and show them that by doing what you want, they'll get what they want.
Of course, it goes without saying that this is best done from a win-win mind set. If you set out to take advantage of people, you probably won't come out very well in the end. But when you make sure everybody gets their needs met, you can quickly become pretty persuasive.
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