Convincing, does that actually help?
Posted on November 5, 2017 • 2 min read • 246 words
An expression that I often use is the English ‘A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still’. I did not come up with that expression myself. It comes from a book by Dale Carnegie: How to win friends and influence people. I think it is an incredibly powerful expression. After all, you can’t convince people against their will. Or is it?
No, you can’t convince people against their will. As the expression goes, they continue to have their own opinions. They may agree with you at that moment, but is it of any use to you? Usually when you are away they fall back on their old opinions or ideas.
What is persuasion?
As Carrieretijger states:
Persuasion is a way of influencing. You ensure that the other person adopts something from you: an opinion, an idea or proposal. Persuasion is a technique that can be learned. But you can only be convincing if you are convinced of your message. The content and quality of your opinion and arguments are almost as important as the way you present it. If you do it well, you can [exercise influence] with persuasive power ( https://www.carrieretijger.nl/functioneren/samenwerken/sociale-talents/bein influences).
In other words: Persuasion is making someone else believe what you want. Nothing more, nothing less.
Why doesn’t it work?
Very simple: People. People do their own thing (as long as they are not influenced by anything and everything. What can you do then? Follow your heart…