Entries by Mark Rodgers

Persuasion: Three Keys to Effective Acknowledgement Statements

When faced with a difficult persuasion situation, acknowledging the other person’s viewpoint is critical. Why? Because doing so psychologically prepares your target to receive new information from you. The best acknowledgement statements have the following three elements: 1. Ingratiation Have you ever ordered in a restaurant and heard the waiter respond with, “Excellent choice!” as […]

5 Things You Don’t Know About Women … And Should

I recently wrote a post about the science behind the differences between men and women when it comes to decision-making and persuasion, focusing on the male perspective. Now, I’ll continue that exploration of gender differences and how you can apply them to hear yes more often by focusing on the female perspective. Consider these: 1. […]

3 Things You Don’t Know About Men … And Should

If you like to watch fireworks, just bring up the subject of gender differences at your friendly end-of-summer neighborhood cookout. That said, there is real science behind the differences between men and women when it comes to decision-making and persuasion. Consider these findings: • Men often overstate their abilities; women understate them “In studies, men overestimate […]

Are You an Asset or a Liability?

It would not be a stretch to say that everything I needed to know I learned from the Harley-Davidson business. I was always a Harley guy. I grew up in an area where Harley-Davidsons were very popular, knew people who rode, and even in college many of my projects, papers and productions had something to […]

Practice Describing Things in Three Different Ways

Language skills are crucial for persuasion success. And the language you use depends on the situation in which you find yourself. Here is my suggestion: Practice describing common business situations on three different levels: straightforward, descriptive and sophisticated. For example, your past clients were: “happy” (straightforward), “delighted” (descriptive) or “elated” (sophisticated). The business conditions were […]

How to Harness the Power of Words

You may not be familiar with name “Rosser Reeves.” But some of the advertising slogans he cooked up decades ago still resonate today. Have you heard this one? “M&Ms: They melt in your mouth, not in your hands.” Or how about this one? “How do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S.” Those are some of the iconic […]

How to Understand the Ways People Think

In 1991, Guns N’ Roses simultaneously released a pair of albums, titled Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. They aren’t talked about much about these days, but their titles can serve as a reminder that understanding how people think is crucial to your own successful persuasion efforts. I’m talking about cognitive illusions […]

The Three Pillars of Credibility

Tough to build and easy to lose, credibility ranks as one of the primary characteristics of a successful and persuasive professional. A basic determination of credibility can be found in the way you answer this question: Can people believe what you say? Credibility is influenced by three things: • Technical competency• Track record• Interpersonal skills […]

Your Favorite Website: IAmRight.com

One of my favorite sports pundits often say, “We all visit the same website: IAmRight.com.”  By that, he means we seek facts, stats and opinions that prove our hypothesis or our preconceptions. The person we hired is doing a fantastic job, the program we launched is performing exactly as intended or the product our team created […]