OK, so you want to improve your persuasion power right?

Why? What's your intention?

As you know your intent directs the flow of energy in your\rinteractions with others. So doesn't it just make sense to\rhave in mind a really clear and strong intent before you\rengage in your powerful persuasion mission.

If you were to think about the person(s) you want to\rpersuade what comes to mind in regards to the benefits they\rwill gain from your persuasion?

Of course your 'persuasive pitch' will be received much more\rreceptively if your intent is strongly biased to their\rbenefits.

So stepping into their shoes what benefits can you perceive\rfrom their angle and looking at the situation as if you were\rwatching a movie what other ideas come to mind?

Having some idea of what the other person(s) want and\rkeeping that positive intention nice and strong in mind when\rinteracting with the person(s) will automatically create a\r'good vibe' between you, thus creating that well known\rfundamental persuasion skill - Rapport!

Now in your interaction with the other party you would\rincrease your persuasion parlance greatly by asking well\rfocused questions. Basically you want to ask questions that\rget the other person to open up so that you can discover one\rof the very powerful motivators-to-action in humans known as\r'values.'

This is another aspect of the very fascinating way in which\rthe human mind works because you find yourself becoming\rincreasingly curious about people's values as your\rpersuasion power increases, doesn't it.

Now an important point to remember in this curious adventure\ris when you have got them talking: You Shut Up! AND Listen!

Isn't that cool, you just sit there and listen as they give\ryou loads of high quality information that you can then use\rto powerfully persuade and guide them!

By paying attention you will notice that people use certain\rwords which have a lot of emotional value for them\rpersonally. You could call these words their personal trance\rwords.

Let me give you an example to clarify what were talking\rabout. Let's say you are helping someone make a change in\rtheir life. Now presuming the person has asked you to help\rthem you can make the change process happen even more\rsmoothly by asking them certain questions.

So during conversation with this person you could ask them,\r"Why exactly do you want to make this change?" And, "What\rwould having made this change, give you?" And also you could\rask, "Why is that important to you?"

As you ask these questions you will notice that they have to\raccess deeper parts of their minds. So by paying attention\rand listening carefully you will discover some of their\rpersonal trance words.

Some possible examples of their personal trance words might\rbe: inner peace, better energy, assertiveness. Keep in mind\rthe important fact that these words could have a deep and\rpowerful feeling associated with them in their internal\rexperience.

Now what do you suppose would happen if you were to then\rdescribe and incorporate those wonderful personal trance\rwords into your persuasive change 'pitch'?

That's right, they would be much more likely to go along\rwith your persuasive intervention because you are using\rwords which stimulate powerful feelings inside them for the\rchanges that they really want!

So just what is 'the ultimate truth in persuasion'? Well the\rfact is in the art of persuasion, or indeed anything, there\rare many ways of doing things, many perspectives,\rtechniques, methods and tools. The point being, by using it\rand paying attention to feedback, will it get you the\rresults you want?

Colin G Smith is a licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-\rLinguistic Programming (NLP) and author of 'The NLP\rToolBox', a personal development book that enables the\rreader to master any area of their life with amazing speed.\rComplete information on Colin G Smith's books are available\rat his website, including a FREE personal development eBook.\rhttp://www.NLPToolBox.com