Artful Persuasion: How to Command Attention, Change Minds, and Influence People by Harry Mills

Product Description

Fresh insights and practical guidelines peel away the mystery behind the elusive art of persuasion.

There's really nothing mysterious about getting people to change their minds. No special, inborn gifts. No subliminal tricks. Instead, the best persuaders--advertisers, salespeople, politicians, spin doctors--depend on the fact that everyone responds to messages in just two ways: thoughtfully or mindlessly. And they know how to manipulate these two persuasion routes to make even the most doubtful say "yes."

Jam-packed with fascinating case studies and surprising examples, this comprehensive, entertaining how-to guide puts the powerful tool of persuasion at anyone's disposal. It explains: * How the master persuaders--the Churchills, Lincolns, and Roosevelts--create powerful, memorable messages that convince people of their arguments' logic and rightness * How successful persuaders exploit the psychological triggers that cause people to subconsciously move from "no" to "yes."
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #127513 in Books
* Published on: 2000-04-11
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 300 pages

Editorial Reviews

Book Info
Peels away the mystery that surrounds the psychology of influence and reveals how the world's most persuasive politicians, advertisers, salespeople, and spin doctors work their magic. Softcover. DLC: Persuasion (Psychology).

About the Author

Harry Mills (Lower Hutt, New Zealand) is the author of 22 books on sales, negotiation, and influence, including the bestselling Negotiate: The Art of Winning. He is also an active consultant whose international clients include IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Toyota, Unilever, and Lexus.

Customer Reviews

Entertaining & Valuable5
I never imagined a self-improvement book could be so entertaining. I literally couldn't pull myself away from this book, reading the entire book in one sitting!

Not having read the other "Influence" book recommended in Amazon's reviews, I can't objectively comment; however, I can say that "Artful Persuasion" is without question the most interesting and enjoyable of all self-improvement books I've read.

Knowledge Deployment 101 - 1034
Artful Persuasion is a compilation of tips, tricks and wisdom on how to persuade others, change their minds, align, and influence people favourably.
Just shy of 300 pages, Harry Mills introduces and expounds on the topic through chapters divided into 'Thoughtful Persuasion' (credibility, impressions, talking, asking targeted messaging. et cetra) and 'Mindless Influence' (contrast, reciprocation, consistency, authority, scarcity, conformity and liking). The book also features several quizzes, by-lines and diagrams to better illustrate the point. Oddly enough, the book ends with a chapter wherein an expected explanation on examples of influence and leadership goes awry and becomes a silly iconography of sorts.
That little biased narrative aside, Artful Persuasion is an informative book, even if it soon becomes apparent that there are no short cuts per se; just techniques that need to be learnt and practiced.
A bigger question, in the meanwhile, is the legitimacy of such techniques. You decide.

Good, yet lacking detail on some vital topics4
Like other books on the market, this book offers examples and case studies of successful professionals. Mills emphasizes the critical value of winning the attention of your audience or customer. Would like to have seen a bit more on developing the right verbal skills to permit one's message to be heard in a world where everything demands our attention.