I’ve always been fascinated by charismatic people. Politicians, preachers, and entertainers all fall into this category and seem to use similar tactics to influence their audience. I am particularly interested in how people use speech, personality, humor, stories, & logic to influence others.
Heinrich has distilled the oratory & persuasive wisdom of the ancient Roman philosophers (Cicero, Aristotle, Plato, etc.) and applied them to what we see on cable news channels every day. Watching CNN or Fox News, one is inundated with thick, in-your-face rhetoric, spewed by people who are trying to influence their thoughts and opinions. Heinrich has given us a look into tactics and tricks talking heads, pundits, and politicians use every day.
The author devotes a whole chapter to the importance of tense. Pursuaders use the past tense to blame, and determine guilt (“If Al Gore were president, none of this would happen.”). The present tense deals with values (“True Americans support our troops.”). Using the present tense separates groups into idealogical camps and encourages bonding with people who agree with you. Neither the past nor present tenses are effective in gaining new recruits to your side (the purpose of pursuasion). The future tense is effective in pursuasion because it gave the audience choices, irrespective of which “side” their on. The future tense blurs the line between different sides and can be used to find points of agreement. Because of this, the future tense was Aristotle’s favorite. Next time you’re watching TV, pay attention to what tense the talking heads are using and what that effect has on you.
Not finished with this book yet. Right now, I’m delving into logos, ethos, and pathos. Interesting stuff.
Hi! Just finished reading this book and am thinking of using it in a class I teach. I’m writing an academic essay advocating for it. I came across your blog during my online research, and I like how you have described i the book. It gets better and better, the deeper into it you progress, don’t you think? I love the final chapter, “Run an Agreeable Country.”