Covert Persuasion-Psychological Tactics and Tricks

241 Pages·2007·2.3 MB·English

by  Kevin Hogan

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Praise for Covert Persuasion
“This blockbuster book blows the doors off of many of the persua-
sion myths that are passed around carelessly by gurus who haven’t
really done the research.It’s about time someone dealt you a persua-
sion hand from a deck without any jokers.If you are at all curious
about persuasion,this book is absolutely essential.”
—Mark Joyner,best-selling author
of The Great Formula
“Covert Persuasion is like Grandmom’s secret recipe:priceless and so
delicious. Every tip and persuasion tactic is a tasty morsel that will
leave you stuffed and still craving more. The only difference is
Grandmom won’t tell you her secret,but Hogan and Speakman re-
veal every secret ingredient that you need to bring out the master
persuader in you.”
—Al “The Inspiration”Duncan,
professional speaker and co-author
of Unleash the Greatness Within You
“When you absolutely, positively need a ‘yes,’ Covert Persuasion re-
veals the tools to manufacture their compliance.It is better to read
this book and never use this revelatory technology than to need
these techniques and find yourself stupid.You are complicit to the
extent you don’t know how you’re being manipulated.Congratula-
tions on inquiring into this power.Now,buy this book and use the
force for good.”
—Ben Mack,author of the upcoming
Think Two Products Ahead
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“As a multiple business owner in the service industry,I highly value
anything written by Dr. Hogan about the art of persuasion.Time
and again, I have been able to successfully navigate tough business
and legal negotiations using the knowledge and techniques I’ve
learned through Dr. Hogan’s courses and books and consider his
materials my ‘business persuasion bible’! I now have a respectable li-
brary of Dr.Hogan’s material that I and my staff continually refer-
ence, and I am more than excited to add his latest book, Covert
Persuasion,to my collection.In fact,Dr.Hogan’s material is required
reading for any new member of my business team.I won’t do busi-
ness without him!”
—Michelle Drum Matteson,President of
The Razorz Edge,Charleston,Illinois
“Covert Persuasion is founded in solid research.And its how-to-do-it
approach should more than satisfy any who want to persuade ethi-
cally and very effectively.”
—Phil Hamilton,President of Hamilton
Business Group,Austin,Texas
“Hogan and Speakman have collected a lot of valuable wisdom that’s
second nature to the best salespeople in the world.It’s a handbook
for the rest of us.”
—Martha Rogers,Ph.D.,founder of Peppers
and Rogers Group and co-author of Return
on Customer:Creating Maximum Value from
Your Scarcest Resource
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COVERT
PERSUASION
Psychological Tactics and
Tricks to Win the Game
KEVIN HOGAN
JAMES SPEAKMAN
John Wiley & Sons,Inc.
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Copyright © 2006 by Kevin Hogan and James Speakman.All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons,Inc.,Hoboken,New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in
any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,scanning,or
otherwise,except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright
Act,without either the prior written permission of the Publisher,or authorization through
payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center,Inc.,222
Rosewood Drive,Danvers,MA 01923,[phone],fax [phone],or on the web at
www.copyright.com.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the
Permissions Department,John Wiley & Sons,Inc.,111 River Street,Hoboken,NJ 07030,
[phone],fax [phone],or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty:While the publisher and author have used their best
efforts in preparing this book,they make no representations or warranties with respect to the
accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.No warranty may be created
or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials.The advice and strategies
contained herein may not be suitable for your situation.You should consult with a professional
where appropriate.Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or
other commercial damages,including but not limited to special,incidental,consequential,or
other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support please
contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone],
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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats.Some content that appears in
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visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Hogan,Kevin.
Covert persuasion :psychological tactics and tricks to win the game /
Kevin Hogan,James Speakman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13:978-0-470-05141-2 (cloth :alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-470-05141-8 (cloth :alk.paper)
1. Persuasion (Psychology). 2. Selling—Psychological aspects. 3.
Interpersonal communication. 4. Interpersonal relations. I. Speakman,
James,1968– II. Title.
BF637.P4H63 2006
153.8'52—dc22
2006011009
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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For
Katie,Jessica,and Mark
—Kevin
For
Maria
—James
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1 Covert Persuasion Begins in the Mind 1
2 From “No”to “Yes” 9
3 Covert Strategies for Changing Beliefs 23
4 Covert Persuasion 101:The Tactics 43
5 The Words of Covert Persuasion 115
6 The Focused Outcome Mindset 123
7 20 Keys to Using Covert Persuasion in a Story 141
8 Using Questions to Covertly Persuade 165
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viii Contents
9 Using Emotions to Covertly Persuade 181
10 27 Observations About People 189
And How to Covertly Persuade Them
11 Putting It All Together 203
Appendix 209
Covert Persuasion Worksheet
Bibliography 215
Index 220
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Acknowledgments
I
(KH) thank our editor,Matt Holt,for making this project a reality.
There are always a lot of people who inspire your work ...or help
keep you sane while you work! Scott and Carmen Schluter,Devin
and Rachel Hastings, Meredith Kaplan, Ron Stubbs, Michelle
Drum,Tonya Reiman,Todd Bramson,Jan Snyder,Cheryl Boldon.
I
(JS) would also like to thank our editor, Matt Holt, and Kevin
Hogan for the opportunity to work together on this book;Laura
Kidder Dickerhoof for all her hard work,proofreading and editing;
Mom and Dad for always supporting my efforts in every direction;
Laura Speakman for all her help; Ray Hexamer for being a good
friend and mentor;Brian Tracy for his encouragement.
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