You Remind Me of Me - The Art of Persuasion

[groovedaddy]

Artful persuasion depends on eye contact, but not just any kind. If one person prefers brief glances and the other is busy staring deeply, then it may not matter how good the jokes are or how much they both loved “Juno.” Rhythm counts.

Voice cadence does, too. People who speak in loud, animated bursts tend to feed off others who do the same, just as those who are lower key tend to relax in a cool stream of measured tones.

“Myself, I’m very conscious of people’s body position,” said Ray Allieri of Wellesley, Mass., a former telecommunications executive with 20 years in marketing and sales. “If they’re leaning back in their chair, I do that, and if they’re forward on their elbows, I tend to move forward,”

Psychologists have been studying the art of persuasion for nearly a century, analyzing activities like political propaganda, television campaigns and door-to-door sales. Many factors influence people’s susceptibility to an appeal, studies suggest, including their perception of how exclusive an opportunity is and whether their neighbors are buying it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/health/12mimic.html?th&emc=th

[stellanoir]

1. Your thread title

reminded the imaginary Ipod in my cranium to shuffle to. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3DS6xglAfQ

[Fridays Child]

2. Nice!

:)

[stellanoir]

4. Yeah talk about eye contact.

The loving look he gives his son at the end is totally heart melting.

He and Teddy's mom went through a heck of a divorce in the 80's which makes the duet and the lyrics all the more poignant.

[Warpy]

3. A lot of it is cultural

Eye contact with some tribes around here is minimal, it's considered impolite to stare into somebody's eyes. If you don't make eye contact with another tribe, they think you're falling asleep on them, that your attention is wandering. Knowing which is which comes in very handy.

There was little eye contact in Boston, especially with strangers. There was a lot of it down south, especially with strangers.

Israelis are very big on eye contact, Palestinian Arabs less so.

For people interested in nonverbal communication, I suggest the books of Edward T. Hall, listed here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/104-6977830-7215140?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Edward+T.+Hall&x=0&y=0

They're all good reads. I've read them all and they've saved my butt more than once doing cross cultural health care.