The art of persuasion remains exactly the same as 2,000 years ago, during Aristotle's time!

The main idea is a currency of the 21st century . The ability to persuade, change the hearts and minds of others, is perhaps the greatest skill that gives you a competitive advantage in the knowledge economy - an era where ideas are more important than ever.

Some economists believe that convincing brings about a quarter of America's total national income, even higher. As our economy grows from agriculture to industry to knowledge, the people who succeed in nearly every profession are those who are able to persuade others to act on their ideas. Think of the role of persuasion in our daily lives:

Entrepreneurs persuade investors to support their startup.

1. Job applicants persuade employers to hire them.
2. Politicians persuade people to vote for them.
3. Leaders persuade employees to implement specific action plans.
4. CEOs persuade analysts to write favorable reports about their companies.
5. Sales people persuade customers to choose a company's product over a competitor's product.

In short, persuasion is no longer a soft skill - it 's a basic skill that can help you attract investors, sell products, build brands, inspire and activate your style. eruption. Persuasion is so important to Warren Buffett that the only diploma he proudly displays in his office is the Dale Carnegie public speaking certificate. He once told business students that improving their communication skills would increase professionalism by 50%.

Conviction is a basic skill that can help you attract investors, sell products .

Words and ideas create a modern world, words and ideas that can turn you into a star in your field, as long as you can convince others to act on them. In this regard, the persuasive tactic of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is still true today.

More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle outlined a formula for mastering the art of persuasion in his oratory. Many great media have used it throughout the ages to deliver some of the most influential speeches and presentations and share their ideas with the world.

To become a master of persuading yourself and successfully selling your own ideas, try using these 5 "rhetoric" by Aristotle.

1. Describe yourself in a standard way 

Standards are the soul part of a speech or presentation when the audience understands and trusts you. Aristotle believed that if a person's actions were not what they said, they would lose credibility and eventually, undermine their argument.

For example, in a famous TED talk today about reforming the criminal justice system, Lawyer Bryan Stevenson started the talk: "I have been in jail for a long time, in the prison cell for death row inmates. "Most of my life was in very low-income communities, but it was very hopeless." Clearly, Stevenson doesn't list qualifications, achievements, and awards just like in a resume. Instead, he establishes who he is for audiences who don't know who he is. By doing so, he is building a sense of trust between himself and the listener.

As human beings, we find it hard to trust others and we often find reasons to not trust them. After all, our ancestors had a moment to determine if a stranger was a friend or foe. A simple reminder that you commit to the interests of others will build your credibility before you make your argument.

2. Logical arguments

After you are portrayed, you need a compelling reason for it. Why should your audience care about your ideas? For example, if your ideas save money to your audience, they will want to know how much you save and how to save. Similar to making money. How does your idea help listeners earn money? What do they do next? These are all good reasons for you to get the support of your listeners. Use data, evidence, and facts to form a logical argument.

3. Inspiration or emotion

According to Aristotle, persuasion cannot happen without emotions. People will turn to action after you make them "feel". Aristotle believes that the best way to pass emotions from one person to another is through storytelling rhetoric measures. More than 2,000 years later, the neuroscientists found this argument completely correct. Numerous studies have found that the stories trigger a variety of neurochemicals in the brain, notably oxytocin, a "moral molecule" that connects people at a deeply emotional level. .

In the analysis of the 500 most popular TED Talks of all time, stories make up 65% of the average talk duration, 25% are compelling reasons for listeners to speak and 10% are essential. establish yourself. In other words, the winning formula for a successful TED talk is to wrap up the big idea in a story.

But what kind of story? The TED manager, Chris Anderson, explained that the stories that can make the best connection are the stories about you personally or about people close to you. The story of failure, clumsy, misfortune, danger or disaster, is told truthfully. Personal stories bring the highest confidence.

4. Metaphor

Aristotle believes that metaphor gives the language the beauty of words. "Becoming a master of metaphors is the best thing ever," he wrote. When you use a metaphor or similar to compare a new idea with something familiar to your audience, it clarifies the idea by turning the summary into something specific.

Let's return to the example of Warren Buffett, one of the wisest persuaders. Buffett rarely gives an interview without using metaphors to illustrate his point. For example, it was Warren Buffett who popularized the "economic moat " metaphor - referring to the image of companies that always protect shareholders from competitors, such as medieval castles. strongholds to protect people inside and against invading enemies. 

Buffett also made a speech at the annual shareholders meeting in 2017 of Berkshire Hathaway, he likened the increase in health care spending to a kind of "tapeworm of the US economy". Through this visceral metaphor, Warren accurately described a serious problem that was eroding the foundations of the economic system. Buffett doesn't need to explain what happens when tapeworms grow larger. Newspapers about this event also use the word "tapeworm" by Warren in the headline.

5. Gravity

Here again, Aristotle was ahead of his time. He discovered that there are fairly common limits to the amount of information that humans can absorb. But, when it comes to persuasion, " less always means more ".

Gravity, therefore, is an important factor in delivering a persuasive speech. A debate, Aristotle said, should be as neatly worded and in as few words as possible. He also observed that opening the speech was most important because people's attention was most focused at the beginning. The lesson here is: start with your strongest points.

The good news for the media is that Aristotle believes persuasion can be learned. He defended the idea that a person with good speaking and writing skills, using rhetorical tools to change a different perspective, can unleash human potential and maximize happiness.

The art of persuasion has remained unchanged for the past 2,000 years and Aristotle's "rhetoric" is still true today.