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For more science on the topic of how intentional "mistakes" can aid in memory retention, I recommend the book Impossible to Ignore, by Dr. Carmen Simon. The gist of it is that you need to surprise the brain or make it work a little extra to form memories. Our brains automatically delete our routine memories fairly quickly. Most of us don't know what we were doing on this day a year ago. But we easily remember things that violate our expectations.

You can use an analogy to give the listener a memory structure that you then embellish with details.

One of the ways I make myself more persuasive is by telling people I'm a trained hypnotist and that I am familiar with all of the tools of influence. I learned in hypnosis class that it is easier to persuade people when they expect to be persuaded. If your persuasion skills are viewed as credible, people will persuade themselves that you can persuade them, and that makes everything easier. Credibility, of any sort, is persuasive. That's why doctors and lawyers post their degrees on the wall where everyone can see them. That's why high-end consultants wear expensive business suits. When you signal your credentials, people expect you to have more influence over them. That's how we're wired. We defer to experts almost automatically.

PERSUASION TIP 12 If you want the audience to embrace your content, leave out any detail that is both unimportant and would give people a reason to think, That's not me. Design into your content enough blank spaces so people can fill them in with whatever makes them happiest.

PERSUASION TIP 7 It is easy to fit completely different explanations to the observed facts. Don't trust any interpretation of reality that isn't able to predict.

PERSUASION TIP 9 Display confidence (either real or faked) to improve your persuasiveness. You have to believe yourself, or at least appear as if you do, in order to get anyone else to believe.

Persuaders know that humans put more importance on the first part of a sentence than the second part. Our first impressions are hard to dislodge. And the first impression of those tweets--lots of them--involved imagining Trump winning the election.

Persuasion is all about the tools and techniques of changing people's minds, with or without facts and reason.

if you accuse an innocent person of a crime, the accused generally responds by immediately denying the accusation and asking what is wrong with you for even asking. But the first reaction of guilty people, usually, is to ask what evidence you have. They need to know what you know so they can either double down on the lie or confess. Liars confess only if the evidence against them is airtight.

visual persuasion is stronger than oral persuasion.

The people on your team were the ones helping to keep you alive. The people on every other team were trying to kill you or take your resources. We evolved to feel safer with, and to generally prefer, people who are similar to us in any substantial way. This instinct to support our own team is the reason major sports are big business. It makes no logical sense to support your local team just because it is local. But we do. It is a reflex.

PERSUASION TIP 20 People are more persuaded by contrast than by facts or reason. Choose your contrasts wisely.

PERSUASION TIP 28 Simple explanations look more credible than complicated ones.

Trump and Pence recognized these openings and took them. Political writers will interpret this situation as routine credit grabbing and exaggerated claims. But business writers will recognize Trump's strategy as what I will call the new-CEO move. Smart CEOs try to create visible victories within days of taking the job, to set the tone. It's all about the psychology.

Filter I use the word "filter" to describe the way people frame their observations of reality. The key idea behind a filter is that it does not necessarily give its user an accurate view of reality. The human brain is not capable of comprehending truth at a deep level.

In business, always present your ideas in the context of alternatives that are clearly worse. Don't just sell your proposed solution; slime all the other options with badness.

PERSUASION TIP 2 Humans are hardwired to reciprocate favors. If you want someone's cooperation in the future, do something for that person today.

The Hitler analogy was effective not because analogies are logical or persuasive but because any association of two things is persuasive. If you compare any two things long enough, their qualities start to merge in our irrational minds. The illusion created by analogies is that if two situations have anything in common, perhaps they have lots in common. Trump has a few things in common with Hitler--as do we all--and that makes some of his critics irrationally believe he will also invade Poland.

That is classic deal making. You start with a big first demand and negotiate back to your side of the middle.

The persuasion stack isn't science, so I recommend viewing it as directional. Big fear Identity Smaller fear Aspirations Habit Analogies Reason Hypocrisy Word-thinking

A good general rule is that people are more influenced by visual persuasion, emotion, repetition, and simplicity than they are by details and facts.

As a general rule, I try to fill my brain with optimistic thoughts in order to crowd out the bad ones that sometimes slip in. This is a form of self-hypnosis, using the power of association. The positive thoughts lift my energy, which in turn lifts my mood, and even my immune system.

Regular readers of this blog know about philosopher Nick Bostrom's idea that it is far more likely we are simulations created by an advanced species than that we are the original species itself. The reasoning here is that every sufficiently advanced species will create multiple simulations in which the simulated creatures believe they are real. So the odds are high that we are one of the many simulations, not the original species that created them.

Thinking Past the Sale Thinking past the sale is a persuasion technique in which a subject is prompted to imagine what happens after a decision has been made, to bias the person toward making the decision.

You saw Trump use the intentional wrongness persuasion play over and over, and almost always to good effect. The method goes like this: Make a claim that is directionally accurate but has a big exaggeration or factual error in it. Wait for people to notice the exaggeration or error and spend endless hours talking about how wrong it is. When you dedicate focus and energy to an idea, you remember it. And the things that have the most mental impact on you will irrationally seem as though they are high in priority, even if they are not. That's persuasion.

Pacing and Leading Pacing involves matching the person you plan to persuade in as many ways as possible, including the way the person thinks, speaks, breathes, and moves. Pacing builds trust because people see you as being the same as them. After pacing, a persuader can then lead, and the subject will be comfortable following.

The human brain forms a bias for the things it hears first. If we accept the thing we hear first, it tends to harden into an irrational belief. And then it is difficult to dislodge. If your friends are reinforcing the idea too, it becomes hard as steel.

Fear can be deeply persuasive. But not all fear-related persuasion is equal. To maximize your fear persuasion, follow these guidelines. A big fear is more persuasive than a small one. A personal fear is more persuasive than a generic national problem. A fear that you think about most often is stronger than one you rarely think about. A fear with a visual component is scarier than one without. A fear you have experienced firsthand (such as a crime) is scarier than a statistic.

Meet in the most impressive space you can control. This creates a physical and visual impression that broadcasts your power, talent, and success.

How to Win Friends & Influence People (Dale Carnegie) (Better yet, take a Dale Carnegie class near you. It will change your life. Trust me.)

The key concept of a filter is that it is not intended to give you an accurate view of reality. All it is supposed to do is give you better results than other filters. And I propose that the best way to objectively determine the usefulness of a filter is by asking if it makes you happy and also does a good job of predicting the future.

Brand yourself as a winner. If people expect you to win, they will be biased toward making it happen.

The Power of Positive Thinking.

They Got It Wrong: History: All the Facts that Turned Out to Be Myths (Emma Marriott)

Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time (Gerry Spence)

The Design of Everyday Things (Don Norman)

How to Write a Good Advertisement (Victor O. Schwab) The Secret of Selling Anything (Harry Browne)

Bring high energy. People with high energy are more persuasive. We're all drawn to energy.

If you have ever tried to talk someone out of their political beliefs by providing facts, you know it doesn't work. That's because people think they have their own facts. Better facts. And if they know they don't have better facts, they change the subject. People are not easily switched from one political opinion to another. And facts are weak persuasion.

You've probably heard it said that walking a dog is a great way to meet people. That's partly because dogs have such a powerful association with happiness, at least for dog lovers. If you love dogs, it is hard to be unhappy when you meet a new one. All of the good feelings you have had from every past dog transfer automatically to the new dog and its owner.