The Elements of Persuasion

CONFLICT INTO HARMONY

It is counterintuitive, but conflict is actually something that can unite us when we share its consequences in a story. Stories about conflict intrigue us because we all face struggle in our personal, business or community lives. This relates to our element ANTAGONIST. In a great story, a strong Antagonist is an enormous positive. Without a good Antagonist a story loses its relevance and remains “a fluff piece.” What about in real life? How can we turn our problems, conundrums or even enemies into positives there?

In his book The Art of the Advantage, Kaihan Krippendorff applies the wisdom found in the classic Chinese manual on warfare “The 36 Strategies” to the modern business world.  Each strategy is illustrated with a story from Chinese history.

My favorite is titled “To Catch Something, First Let It Go.” In it, a General must subdue a rebellion caused by southern tribes. The General’s army is much bigger and better equipped than the rebels. He could easily kill their leader along with most of his men. Instead the General captures and releases the rebel leader, not once or twice, but seven times. And each time the rebel leader is captured he is well treated - even pampered - before being released. The General’s men demand to know why he is pursuing this unconventional strategy.

He replies that a more violent approach would cause trouble down the road. He might be able kill most of the rebels, but some would inevitably escape and plan future rebellions. The General’s way takes time but has a happy ending. Eventually the rebel leader becomes loyal and his people never rise in rebellion again. The General knew that great leaders do more than win submission. By not trying to crush the conflict immediately, he had the time to win his opponents hearts and minds as well.   

PEAK

I read Chip Conley’s new book Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow. I love this book! In it Chip defangs a huge business myth: People are only motivated by money and power. Chip shows that what really moves successful businesses are aspirational qualities like trust, loyalty and on occasion, even love.

Chip is no lofty, couch-side observer. He speaks from the trenches of entrepreneurial experience. He is the founder and CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, which operates boutique hotels, restaurants, bars, and spas throughout California.

One of the most gripping sections of Peak is how Chip was able to increase market share during the 2000 to 2004 depression. This was a time when the whole travel industry descended into the worst slump in 60 years. Chip shares how scared he was of losing everything. During that dark period he re-discovered the work of the legendary psychologist Abraham Maslow.

Maslow was a revolutionary. Instead of focusing his research on what was wrong with people, he looked at what made people healthy and inspired. He recognized that all humans have a higher nature as well as a need for the basics such as food, sleep and shelter. Chip adapted Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and inspired his business to give employees and customers the unexpected, the exceptional, and the superb in a time when his competitors where hunkering down and not answering the phone calls from disappointed guests and angry investors. By being AWARE of the real needs of his employees and customers Chip transformed Joie de Vivre into a great company.

Go on to Chip's website to learn more, and order his book. You’ll be glad you did.

ELEMENTS AND MORAL PRINCIPLES

One question Bob and I are often asked about Elements of Persuasion is “Aren’t you worried that by teaching the psychological underpinnings of the five story elements that you are helping advertisers manipulate people?”

Leaving aside the fact that manipulative advertisers are doing just fine without our help, we generally say that story elements are value neutral – a story can serve the common good (like biblical parables), or be used to promote the worst kinds of evil (like Hitler’s propaganda posters), but the structure of the successful story remains the same. That answer is not totally satisfying. If story is the root of culture (and it is) then it MUST link to morality and ethics, which are the glue that hold a culture together.

In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, psychologist Jonathan Haidt provides us with one missing link. As part of his research, he identifies five components of morality that extend across all cultures. Not surprisingly his five moral principles relate to our five story elements. They are:

1.    Loyalty to the group: Like our story element Passion, his principle Loyalty is the irreducible core of morality. Without loyalty no shared moral code is possible. Ask any teenager about the intensely sexual nature of the peer pressure that Piaget discusses as the first stage in internalizing a moral system and you’ll see the connection between Loyalty to the group, and Passion.

2.     Do as you would have done unto you: The same empathy that allows us to see a story through the Hero’s eyes is the basis for this “golden rule” element that Haidt finds in all moral systems. It’s why Heroes act like Heroes.

3.    Do no physical harm: Haidt stresses that social moral systems all involve protecting others, especially family members. Protecting them from what? The Antagonist, of course.

4.    Respect for authority: Unless an individual is Aware of the social structure they are living in, there is no way that this principle can function. But we are all aware of it. We all know that with age comes wisdom, and with authority, responsibility. When someone says the right thing, sees the way past the obstacle, or the way to achieve victory, we know it like a flash and follow his or her lead.

5.    Purity and Sanctity:  This is like our story element Transformation in that it literally translates into space – in this case, the sacred space in which common rituals – like story telling – bring the society together and make it unique and different from any other (while still being essentially the same).

Yesterday, the NYT ran a great piece about Haidt, check it out here.

To fully see how the story elements relate to these moral principles you really need to go the philosophical nature of the elements as states of consciousness as developed in the writings of contemporary philosopher Oscar Ichazo. As we said in our book, our understanding of the elements is based on Ichazo’s work. We will be talking more about Ichazo and our debt to him in coming posts. For now it is enough to say our book was dedicated to Professor Ichazo for a very good reason.   

DK HOLLAND - BRANDING FOR NONPROFITS

At FirstVoice we are big fans of DK Holland. When Bob and I were in New York recently, we spent a great afternoon around a conference table with DK having a high old time discussing story telling and communication strategies. She is smart, funny and good hearted in the no-nonsense way the world needs a lot more off.

If you are in the not-for-profit arena you probably already know about DK’s book Branding for Nonprofits, (and if you didn’t before, you do now, so you have no excuse for not checking it out). Even if you are in business just for the money, you should read this book. 

Why? Because as we mention in our book The Elements of Persuasion, the corporate stories of the most effective brands always contain a “serve the common good” component. Nike has the Aids Walk, Starbuck’s has Ethos Water, the Marines have “Toys for Tots.” That connection isn’t coincidental. Branding goes with our story element HERO and heroes do good. They slay dragons, rescue damsels, and care for those who need care. Engaging your workforce in serving the common good is an important part of building what we call “lifestyle brands.” Once you find the project you want to champion to your colleagues and board of directors, DK’s book will help you sell them on it. Championing the right project will not only be a source of genuine personal satisfaction, it can also be one of the smartest career moves you’ll ever make. 

D DAY

I have walked down the red carpet to the premier of films I have written (though to be honest it is more of a rush to go the first Saturday night and stand in the back of a real paying audience). I have sat with Exec Producers and the rest of the writers room chain smoking and power sipping red-eyes (that's a cup of coffee with an extra shot of espresso for added kick) watching the first episode of a series we've all sweated blood into for months finally get beamed straight into the living rooms of 20 million people at a clip then chewing our nails until the next days Nielson's came out. But for pure slow burn agony there is nothing like waiting for your book to actually get on the shelves. Our book was officially released yesterday, so this morning I stopped at the Barnes and Nobles on the West Side 78th Street. Imagine my feelings as I saw only one copy still left on the shelves! If you are looking later today, you will probably have to ask for it. It's Elements of Persuasion by Maxwell and Dickman. They can order you a copy pretty quick OR you can just click here to get it from Amazon. It's the cheapest way to get the book, so you were probably going to do that anyway.

Stories with Sharp Teeth

I have been reading a chilling book called Snakes in Suits by Paul Babiak and Robert Hare. Hare is an authority on psychopaths and Babiak is an organizational psychologist with experience in the work force. A psychopath is totally lacking in the ability and desire to empathize, feel guilt, remorse or sympathy for others. They are predators who view their neighbors the way a Great White views a colony of sea lions basking on the beach.

Psychopaths are quick studies. They watch people in stressful situations and pick up on how to use emotional stories to get what they want. Hare advised Nicole Kidman on her film Malice. She was interested to know the behavior of a psychopath. Hare gave her this scenario. “Imagine that you are walking and you hear a car screeching to a stop. You look over and you see a small child lying in a pool of blood. You see a woman come running out of her house screaming. You watch this woman try to reach the child. You study her closely and then you walk to the privacy of your home. There you go to a mirror and practice the facial expressions, body language and vocal range of that woman for hours until you can replicate her behavior perfectly.”

Babiak and Hare have done research that suggests that about 1% of our population is psychopathic. However that number climbs to over 3% in organizations. Why?
Business offers a rich target source. People are more influenced by stories and they are more likely not to divulge to other workers that they have been conned or duped. Stories have a profound influence on our ability to access reality.  Our understanding of story elements may give us a split second of reflection to say to the immaculately dressed and smiling co-worker “no thanks, I am not buying it.”

The Right Question at the Right Time

Marshall Goldsmith is arguably the best executive coach in the country. He is without question the best paid. His new book What Got You Here Won't Get You There, was just listed as America's best-selling business book by The Wall Street Journal. If you’re swimming in the corporate sea you should read it next time you come up for air. Marshall has been a friend and a bit of a mentor to us at FirstVoice for years, and we make a point to check out his regular e-column. There is a posting there now with direct relevance to Leadership Stories – a subject this blog will be getting more and more involved with as the election cycle heats up. One of Marshall’s great gifts – both as a coach and as a writer – is his ability to ask the obvious central question that somehow everyone else has overlooked. Scroll down to the July 17 post “What Drives Our Greatest Leaders” and see what we mean. You’ll see why Marshall’s unique brand of expertise is worth every penny.

Coffee, Tea and Me

According to an article in the Science Section of the NYT (“Who’s Minding the Mind”) a recent study by John A. Bargh and Lawrence Williams at Yale shows that you are far more likely to find a person more social and less selfish if you hold a cup of warm coffee instead of an iced latte for a moment before meeting them. You don’t have to drink the coffee, just hold the cup long enough for the temperature to register in their subconscious mind. Now all the times I was offered coffee as I went into to pitch an idea to a Studio Exec makes sense – they may plan to screw me, but they want me to like them while I do it. Hollywood is sick place, but you got to love it. How can you use the coffee trick? When you are in front of a client pitching an idea, and you get the chance to have a warm drink, hold it so you palm touches the cup, sip it and react to the warmth. Your listener’s mirror neurons should do the rest. For more about mirror neurons (and what they have to do with Starbucks success) see the Chapter Five in our book The Elements of Persuasion. And check out the article. It has a nice bit about the advantages and disadvantages of leaving a briefcase in view as well.  Stories occur in context – setting the stage matters.

Comicon: The Story Capital of the Multiverse

As a recovering screenwriter I’m a proud member of the Writers Guild of America West, whose motto is “Americas Storytellers”. I firmly believe that Hollywood (well, LA including Burbank) is the storytelling capital of the world, but I have to admit that for three days every year, the capital shifts south to San Diego and Comicon, the worlds largest and most influential comic book convention. For those three days the Sand Diego Convention Center is packed, the conversations hyper (some people actually tell three stories at the same time), and measured by storyline per cubic centimeter no other place on the planet comes close. I didn’t make it this year, but a friend, Trevor Goring did and I will be pumping him for the latest story trends when he gets back. Trevor has a booth right in the middle. He’s not only a comic book artist, he is a storyboard artist (and soon to be art director) whose storytelling skills are a major part of the success of numerous films he’s worked on, and he just finished work on John Woo’s latest video game. Trevor has the Comicon trinity well covered. The action down there is so intense that if you are story sensitive it can actually give you a rash. 

Reagan's POV

Every successful story needs a hero. Someone the audience can identify with. It is the hero’s job to establish a point of view.  It’s interesting to look at U.S. Presidents. Some were far more successful than others at establishing their POV.

I have been reading The Role of a Lifetime by Lou Cannon. It is a classic history of The Reagan Presidency. What caught my interest was Reagan’s love of story and how he used his storytelling abilities to become “the great communicator.”

Reagan understood the need to communicate a clear point of view. As preparation for becoming the president he had his staff collect clips and columns from the first one hundred days of the Carter administration. Carter had engaged in a flurry of activity. Hundreds of proposals had been sent to congress but there was no clear theme. Carter was unable to identify his point of view. Consequently no one knew what he stood for.
The press began to report that Carter “seemed to believe in everything and stand for nothing.”

Reagan learned from Carter’s mistakes and limited his proposals to those he could connect with his big story ideas of economic recovery and confidence building. Reagan integrated his emotions into his story much more successfully than Carter. Whether people agreed with him or not they were much more likely to understand what he stood for and that may be his greatest legacy.