An Update On Our “Tact Challenge”

In a recent post we discussed Tact and how it is perhaps the most powerful concept in terms of mastering the art of positive persuasion or, “Winning Without Intimidation.” It’s also a great way of simply becoming a pleasant person to be around. I quoted my Dad, who defines tact as, “The language of strength.” Those…

Questioning Our Own Motives

In Persusasion vs. Manipulation, we saw the significant difference between the two as being intent. Then, in The Telltale Signs of Manipulation, we learned something that manipulators will do that persuaders never will, and how to ensure we do not fall victim to that kind of behavior. There’s one more important area I’d like to…

The Telltale Signs of Manipulation

In the previous article, we saw that the key difference between persuasion and manipulation is intent. Certainly not all there is to it; it goes deeper than that, and some of the excellent comments, both from those who agreed and disagreed with my basic premise, eloquently pointed that out. I called persuasion and manipulation cousins because…

Persuasion vs. Manipulation

I’m often asked to explain the difference between persuasion and manipulation. Actually, it tends to take more the form of a challenge, as in, “Bob, isn’t persuasion and manipulation the same thing?” And, it’s a good, legitimate question. After all, in both cases you are attempting to elicit an individual or group to think or…

Belief Systems

Ever have a disagreement with someone only to later learn that it was based totally and completely on a misunderstanding? If you’re like most of us, your answer is a definite “Yes!” Let’s look at why this is, as well as a method you can use to overcome it, making your level of communication far…