📋 The Science of Influencing People
The science of influencing people: six ways to win an argument
“I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters of religion and politics a man’s reasoning powers are not above the monkey’s,” wrote Mark Twain. Having written a book about our most common reasoning errors, I would argue that Twain was being rather uncharitable – to monkeys.
i have to say that this article is probably my favorite in chapter 2. I’m in the psychology department so understanding what makes people tick has always been an interest of mine. it is basically the next big thing to hypnotizing. reading body language and choosing your words carefully is all part of the process.
This article summed up effectively summed up how to argue. With the events going on prevalently, “motivated reasoning” and “earned dogmatism” are important to have in ones vocabulary. I will be sure to argue with intention of adjusting issues based on others political ideologies are the branches of their world. One cannot form an understanding based on what could feel like a “threat” to their identity.
i really enjoyed reading this article. I liked how it mentioned that many people feel they have a good understanding of things like politics, but when they had to actually explain it, their understanding is vague and baseline. I think that how we get our information today has a lot to do with this. Consumers can simply click on a random article or watch a 3 minute clip on the news about an issue without ever researching the background of the issue or working to understand why these events are occurring. I also like that it mentioned confirmation bias. This is such a crucial bias to understand when consuming media, especially in the political climate that we have today. We are prone to push away information that doesn’t align with our views when really this is the worst thing to do. The best way to form strong, unbiased views is to consume media and information from both sides of an issue.
After reading this article I feel as though I have so much of a better understanding of why people tick or get on edge. Physiological things have always been a huge interest of mine and also seem to be very useful to know. Reading body language is all part of that process as well.
I like this articles’ evidence-based suggestions of how to achieve more productive discussions with people. One of my favorites is to ask people “how” instead of “why”. This is very useful because often times people’s arguments are based off of false premises, but spoken with great confidence and conviction. Therefore, when you ask someone to explain “how”, their answer will either reveal how shallow or strong their argument really is.
This article was super interesting and I am definitely going to use some of these ideas the next time I want to win an argument. One way you can win an argument is to try persuading them to take an outside perspective. This is such a simple strategy, but it could make such a difference in your argument. This way encourages a more rational mindset because you’re asking the person you’re having a conversation with to imagine the argument from the point of view of a person from another country.
The science of influence was interesting to read, especially with everything going on in the world today politically. Whether it may be about arguing with someone about the recent presidential election or the corona everyone has very different views regarding the subjects. When the writer mentioned discussion about politics will leave you wanting to bang your head against the wall he was definitely right, I never realized how intense arguments got about this stuff up until the past year or so. While some people can put up valid strong reasoning behind their thought process it is painful to sit back and watch others form arguments about topics they know absolutely nothing about, and those are conversations I don’t like to get myself involved in.
This article was very interesting. I think a huge struggle in arguments is being misinterpreted. We think it sounds convincing in our head but when put to the test our knowledge of the details may not be accurate. I like the example in this article of college graduates thinking they know more than they actually do for their degree. There is always more to learn and areas to improve. You are more likely to change minds if you replace the narrative with an equally cohesive or convincing story.
I think one of the best pieces of advice this article gave was asking how rather than why. I have never been given this tip when arguing and I think it could be very beneficial. It forces the other side to explain themselves more or throw them off their game with such an unexpected question. It could be a tactic that allows you to win an argument.