The Art of Persuasion

Author: Chen Dongsheng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Everyone expects to receive praise and affirmation from others. For the person being praised, what they receive is not just a compliment but also respect, a sense of honor, and joy in their hearts. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was an official named Cai Naihuang who had some talent and was particularly skilled in "Shizhong" (a form of Chinese literary activity). Shizhong involves creating a seven-character couplet within a very short time, with specific words determined by drawing lots for each position in the lines. Cai Naihuang made a mistake and was dismissed from his position, but he continued to participate in activities, hoping to regain his post. He asked a friend to help him connect with Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong. At that time, Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong had just recently used a strategy to eliminate their political rival, Zhai Hongji, and were in the midst of exercising great power and enjoying success. One day, Cai Naihuang heard from his friend that Yuan Shikai and others were playing Shizhong at a restaurant, so he hurried over. On that day, the drawn words were "jiao" (dragon) and "duan" (broken). The host decided to place these words in the fourth position of each line. As the others were still trying to come up with ideas, someone recited: "Zhǎn hǔ chú jiāo sān hài qù; Fáng móu dù duàn liǎng xīn tóng." Everyone exclaimed, "Excellent!" The upper line used the allusion of Zhou Chu to metaphorically praise the elimination of several major political rivals, including Zhai Hongji. Yuan Shikai heard it and felt it was praising him. The lower line used the allusions of the two great virtuous ministers of the early Tang Dynasty to commend Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong. Zhang Zhidong was also pleased. In this way, Cai Naihuang won the favor of the powerful faction and was soon reinstated to his position.
Praise is an effective sales persuasion technique. It is considered effective because, while the customer accepts the message sent by the persuader, they also receive appropriate and moderate praise from the persuader, thereby satisfying their underlying need for respect. This fosters a sense of identification and trust toward the persuader, making it easier for the customer to accept the message. P190-191