We already talked about how you can’t really convince people.

And it’s such a fascinating concept that deserves a deeper look.

There are 2 reasons why convincing others is nearly impossible.

Daniel Fryer in his very practical “The Four Thoughts That F*ck You Up … and How to Fix Them” talks about how to use persuasive arguments to change one’s own beliefs.

He says that in order to be truly persuasive, the arguments you use, need to come from you and you alone.

Why?

For 2 reasons…

First, he writes “…all persuasion is self-persuasion. Advertising does not persuade very many people of anything. Advertisers spend millions on advertising – to create brand awareness, to get you to buy into their product and to make money. But adverts do not persuade you to buy into anything. You do. You look at the advert and you decide whether you want to buy or not.”

And second, these arguments need to be personal. In other words they need to resonate on both logical and emotional levels that make sense to you, based on your life experiences, upbringing, trauma and so on.

So when it comes to swaying your audience’s decision, always remember these two points:

• How can you make it look like they are persuading themselves? This is very subtle and yes, hard to do well.
• How can you make your arguments feel close and personal for your audience?

When you can write copy that’s almost invisible, copy that hypnotizes people and makes them think they are coming up with their own arguments, that’s when you make bank.

Quote and reflection of the day:

“If a thing is useful they call it work, if useless they call it play. One is as hard as the other. One can be just as much a game as the other. In both there is rivalry. There’s a struggle to excel the rest. All the difference I see lies in attitude of mind.”

• Claude Hopkins, My Life in Advertising

How you define work defines how you work. Take control of that narrative.