Can you keep a secret?
I’m not sure if I should be writing this on the front page of my site, but I’m sure you’ll keep what you’re about to read to yourself.
No one can keep a secret even though they swear on their mother’s grave they’ll never tell a soul. They just can’t help it. “Hey, I’m not supposed to tell you this, so make sure you don’t tell anyone, alright?” And before you know everyone knows your secret.
I understood very early on that people just can’t keep a secret even if they have the best intentions. I used to play around with this a bit in High School for my own amusement. I’d tell someone a secret, making sure they promised to absolutely keep it to themselves, and then sit back and watch it spread like a virus.
A good example of this can be seen in the movie American Pie. The character Paul Finch gives his friend Jessica $200 to spread rumors about his extraordinary sexual abilities. Soon he’s getting a lot of attention from other girls.
Secrets are considered more believable and valid. If it wasn’t true, why would someone want to keep it a secret, right?
So, imagine the potential of persuading whole groups of people by telling one person a little secret that will lead to your desired outcome.
There are so many business and social applications to telling secrets. Ever hear this one? “You seem like a nice person and I could get in trouble for this, but if you can keep this to yourself, I can give you a real good deal on this car.” Yes, now I’ll get the same price everyone else does!
Yes, it is somewhat devious, but it can be a very effective persuasion technique. Remember, don’t get hung up only on conversational hypnosis and language patterns. There are no rules to any of this. The real power comes from knowing what combination to use in any situation. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to try and use these techniques. If you fall on your face in the beginning so be it, but honestly how many people study persuasion and consciously guard themselves against it?
I use this stuff all the time against those that study persuasion and conversational hypnosis, most of the time unconsciously, and they still fall victim to it. Nobody is aware 100% of the time. It happens to me too. Friends and family are out to tweak me, and they are successful. They even use my own material against me!
Just don’t tell anyone I told you about this.
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admin :: Jul.28.2007 :: persuasion, psychology :: No Comments »