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发帖数: 1051 | 1 http://blog.dilbert.com/post/165334092961/i-explain-the-persuasion-techniques-president
I Explain the Persuasion Techniques President Trump is using on The Wall and
DACA
Visual Persuasion: President Trump describes border security (a concept)
with the word “wall” because you can visualize it. Our visual sense is our
most persuasive path for influence. It would be weak persuasion to talk
about border security as a concept without a visual.
Simplicity: Border security is a big topic, and the method you use to secure
it will depend on the terrain and other factors. If President Trump
mentioned all of that complexity each time he talked about border security
it would be a big yawn. Simple messages such as “build a wall” always beat
complicated (but accurate) conceptual arguments.
Strategic Ambiguity: In hypnosis class we learned to omit any details the
subject might find objectionable. Following good form, President Trump doesn
’t get too specific about the type of wall he wants. He lets us see the
wall that makes the most sense to us.
We see the same strategic ambiguity after his famous dinner “agreement”
with Pelosi and Schumer. The Democratic leaders got to announce “no wall”
while the President says “yes wall.” The reality is that both sides agree
on spending for border improvements, some of which will undoubtedly be wall-
ish sometime in the next few years. We citizens get to pick which version of
reality we like best: wall or no wall. The ambiguity supports both views.
And it is intentional.
Big First Demand: A good negotiator starts with an aggressive first demand
so there is plenty of room to negotiate toward the middle. President Trump
started his campaign promising to deport every undocumented immigrant. That
first demand was so extreme that he has plenty of room to negotiate toward a
reasonable center, such as allowing DACA folks to stay.
Likewise, the “Wall” idea is seen by many Trump critics and supporters
alike to mean a solid wall for the entire border with Mexico. This was never
a practical idea, and candidate Trump said so directly at least once, but
he wisely didn’t emphasize the full range of solutions for the border. Now
it will seem totally reasonable to build a solid wall wherever border
security is most problematic, so long as it is not extended to the entire
border.
Thinking Past the Sale: In this case, the “sale” is President Trump’s
desire to tighten border security. Now both sides assume the border will be
tightened and they are only debating the budget and the details. This is
classic persuasion. The President never allowed the country to spend time
debating whether or not we wanted better border control. Instead, he made us
focus on how to do it. He made the sale before the country thought it had
anything to buy.
Trading Imaginary Assets for Real Ones: If we believe initial reports from
Pelosi, Schumer, and Trump, there will be some sort of deal for greater
border security in exchange for allowing DACA folks to stay in the country.
But realistically, the DACA folks couldn’t have been rounded up and
deported without a civil war. So President Trump traded an imaginary asset (
the idea of deporting the DACA folks) for something potentially real in
terms of greater border security funding.
Pacing and Leading: Pacing refers to matching your subject in some way,
either physically, verbally, or in terms of philosophy. Candidate Trump
paced (matched) his base on immigration until he got elected. Now the base
trusts that he is philosophically aligned with them. So if he finds he can’
t do all the things they demand, they are likely to let him lead to whatever
is practical and doable simply because they trust him on the topic. People
don’t expect a politician to be magic, or to do the impossible. But they do
want politicians to “get” them and to care about them and to fight for
what they want. President Trump paced his supporters by understanding their
needs and fighting for them. That group is likely to trust him when he says
some form of “This is the best we can do for now.”
High Ground Maneuver: The high ground maneuver involves taking an argument
out of the weeds and up to a level where everyone agrees. In this case, the
weeds include a discussion of how best to handle DACA folks. President Trump
tweeted that some are military veterans. The military is the high ground in
the U.S., and any reference to them is likely to be a high ground play. In
other words, President Trump is committing to keeping the DACA folks in this
country. He just doesn’t want to say it until he gets his budget for
border security.
Likewise, at some point soon President Trump will pivot from “the wall
everywhere” to “effective border control.” Effective border control, and
the job improvement for Americans that might come with it, are the high
ground. The details of how to do it are the weeds. |
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