6 ways to be more persuasive

You can’t give a powerful new idea to an audience

unless you can learn how to explain it.

Each step builds on what the listener already knows,

and metaphors and examples help show how the idea is pieced together.

But if explanation is building a brand new idea in someone’s mind,

persuasion is something a little more.

Persuasion means convincing an audience that their way of seeing something—

their perspective— isn’t quite right.

That means taking down the parts of their thinking that aren't working

and rebuilding something better.

Psychologist Barry Schwartz gave a talk that changed the way

his audience thinks about choice.

Many people are obsessed with maximizing choice;

Schwartz sees things differently.

He gave a talk on what he calls “the paradox of choice.”

Schwartz builds the surprising case that in many circumstances

having too many choices actually makes people unhappy.

Author Elizabeth Gilbert did something similar.

She showed how the power of storytelling can help persuade an audience

of a new idea.

Her goal was to change the way they thought about creative genius.

Instead of imagining genius as something people are born with—

either you have it or you don’t—

she wanted to persuade her audience to think of it as something

people receive as a gift from time to time.

Gilbert used her brilliance as a storyteller to persuade her audience

of this idea.

She also showed them the term “genius” was viewed differently in history.

It wasn't always thought of as a thing a person was.

It used to be thought of as something that came to them.

If you're giving a talk that requires persuading an audience

to see something differently,

the key is to take the journey one step at a time.

Prime your listener’s mind for a change.

The philosopher Daniel Dennett uses the term “intuition pump”

to refer to any language that makes a new idea seem more believable.

In Barry Schwartz’s talk, “Paradox of Choice,”

a shopping story he uses is an example of an intuition pump

that primes his audience’s mind for a change:

So I went to replace my jeans after years and years of wearing these old ones.

And I said, “I want a pair of jeans, here’s my size.”

And the shopkeeper said, “do you want slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit?

Do you want button fly or zipper fly?

You want stonewashed or acid washed? Do you want them distressed?

Do you want bootcut? Do you want tapered?” On and on he went. My jaw dropped.

And after I recovered I said, “I want the kind that used to be the only kind.”

Once an audience has been primed, it’s much easier to make your main argument.

Even if it contradicts an idea the audience held true.

Another powerful tool is reason.

By using reasoning, you can show how and why something is true.

Each true assumption leads to a conclusion that must then also be true.

Reasoning works using the tool “if, then.”

If X is true, then clearly Y must be true.

Another kind of reasoned argument is the detective story.

Some of the most persuasive TED Talks are set up like detective stories.

You start with the big mystery,

then travel the world of ideas in search of possible solutions to it,

ruling them out one by one, until there’s only one solution left.

A simple example is artist Siegfried Woldhek’s talk.

He wanted to prove that three famous drawings by Leonardo da Vinci

were actually self-portraits da Vinci made of himself

at different stages of his life.

He started with all of the 120 portraits of males

that Leonardo is thought to have made and asks:

were any of these self-portraits?

Then, like a detective eliminating suspects, Woldhek cut them down.

Finally, only three remained.

The remaining three portraits are of men of different ages

and painted at different times,

but they all share the same facial features.

And they all match the facial features of a statue—

the only known image of da Vinci made by someone else.

What makes the detective story persuasive

is that we feel as if we have gone on the same learning journey

as the speaker.

It can sometimes be hard

to make reason-based talks really exciting to listen to.

Most people can be convinced by reason,

but it doesn't always leave them feeling energized.

So if you plan to use reason to persuade your audience,

you may have to pick up some other tools as well:

1. Inject some humor early on.

This says you're going to do some tough thinking, but we're going to have fun.

2. Add an anecdote.

You could tell an anecdote that shows how you became interested

in the topic you've chosen.

3. Offer vivid examples that ignite the audience’s imagination.

4. Include third-party validation.

Pull in the opinions of other people who also believe your idea.

Persuasive talks that use reason may be harder for an audience to understand

than other talks,

and they may not be the most popular.

However, they are extremely important.

A strong, well-reasoned argument,

even if it isn't immediately accepted by everyone,

will gradually attract supporters until it becomes unstoppable.