Posted on 08/14/2015 3:46:48 AM PDT by mongrel
Like many of you, I have been entertained by the unstoppable clown car that is Donald Trump. On the surface, and several layers deep as well, Trump appears to be a narcissistic blow-hard with inadequate credentials to lead a country.
The only problem with my analysis is that there is an eerie consistency to his success so far. Is there a method to it? Is there some sort of system at work under the hood?
Probably yes. Allow me to describe some of the hypnosis and persuasion methods Mr. Trump has employed on you. (Most of you know I am a trained hypnotist and this topic is a hobby of mine.)
For starters, Trump literally wrote the book on negotiating, called The Art of the Deal. So we know he is familiar with the finer points of persuasion. For our purposes today, persuasion, hypnosis, and negotiating all share a common set of tools, so I will conflate them.
Would Trump use his negotiation and persuasion skills in the campaign? Of course he would. And we expect him to do just that.
But where is the smoking gun of his persuasion? Where is his technique laid out for us to see.
Everywhere.
As I said in my How to Fail book, if you are not familiar with the dozens of methods of persuasion that are science-tested, there’s a good chance someone is using those techniques against you.
For example, when Trump says he is worth $10 billion, which causes his critics to say he is worth far less (but still billions) he is making all of us “think past the sale.” The sale he wants to make is “Remember that Donald Trump is a successful business person managing a vast empire mostly of his own making.” The exact amount of his wealth is irrelevant.
When a car salesperson trained in persuasion asks if you prefer the red Honda Civic or the Blue one, that is a trick called making you “think past the sale” and the idea is to make you engage on the question of color as if you have already decided to buy the car. That is Persuasion 101 and I have seen no one in the media point it out when Trump does it.
The $10 billion estimate Trump uses for his own net worth is also an “anchor” in your mind. That’s another classic negotiation/persuasion method. I remember the $10 billion estimate because it is big and round and a bit outrageous. And he keeps repeating it because repetition is persuasion too.
I don’t remember the smaller estimates of Trump’s wealth that critics provided. But I certainly remember the $10 billion estimate from Trump himself. Thanks to this disparity in my memory, my mind automatically floats toward Trump’s anchor of $10 billion being my reality. That is classic persuasion. And I would be amazed if any of this is an accident. Remember, Trump literally wrote the book on this stuff.
You might be concerned that exaggerating ones net worth is like lying, and the public will not like a liar. But keep in mind that Trump’s value proposition is that he will “Make America Great.” In other words, he wants to bring the same sort of persuasion to the question of America’s reputation in the world. That concept sounds appealing to me. The nation needs good brand management, whether you think Trump is the right person or not. (Obviously we need good execution as well, not just brand illusion. But a strong brand gives you better leverage for getting what you want. It is all connected.)
And what did you think of Trump’s famous “Rosie O’Donnell” quip at the first debate when asked about his comments on women? The interviewer’s questions were intended to paint Trump forever as a sexist pig. But Trump quickly and cleverly set the “anchor” as Rosie O’Donnell, a name he could be sure was not popular with his core Republican crowd. And then he casually admitted, without hesitation, that he was sure he had said other bad things about other people as well.
Now do you see how the anchor works? If the idea of “Trump insults women” had been allowed to pair in your mind with the nice women you know and love, you would hate Trump. That jerk is insulting my sister, my mother, and my wife! But Trump never let that happen. At the first moment (and you have to admit he thinks fast) he inserted the Rosie O’Donnell anchor and owned the conversation from that point on. Now he’s not the sexist who sometimes insults women; he’s the straight-talker who won’t hesitate to insult someone who has it coming (in his view).
But it gets better. You probably cringed when Trump kept saying his appearance gave FOX its biggest audience rating. That seemed totally off point for a politician, right? But see what happened.
Apparently FOX chief Roger Ailes called Trump and made peace. And by that I mean Trump owns FOX for the rest of the campaign because his willingness to appear on their network will determine their financial fate. BAM, Trump owns FOX and paid no money for it. See how this works? That’s what a strong brand gives you.
You probably also cringed when you heard Trump say Mexico was sending us their rapists and bad people. But if you have read this far, you now recognize that intentional exaggeration as an anchor, and a standard method of persuasion.
Trump also said he thinks Mexico should pay for the fence, which made most people scoff. But if your neighbor’s pit bull keeps escaping and eating your rosebushes, you tell the neighbor to pay for his own fence or you will shoot his dog next time you see it. Telling a neighbor to build his own wall for your benefit is not crazy talk. And I actually think Trump could pull it off.
On a recent TV interview, the host (I forget who) tried to label Trump a “whiner.” But instead of denying the label, Trump embraced it and said was the best whiner of all time, and the country needs just that. That’s a psychological trick I call “taking the high ground” and I wrote about it in a recent blog post. The low ground in this case is the unimportant question of whether “whiner” is a fair label for Trump. But Trump cleverly took the high ground, embraced the label, and used it to set an anchor in your mind that he is the loudest voice for change. That’s some clown genius for you.
Update: When Trump raised his hand at the debate as the only person who would not pledge to back the eventual Republican candidate, he sent a message to the party that the only way they can win is by nominating him. And people like to win. It is in their nature. And they sure don’t want to see a Clinton presidency.
Update 2: And what about Trump’s habit of bluster and self-complimenting? Every time he opens his mouth he is saying something about the Trump brand being fabulous or amazing or great. The rational part of your brain thinks this guy is an obnoxious, exaggerating braggart. But the subconscious parts of your brain (the parts that make most of your decisions) only remember that something about that guy was fabulous, amazing and great.
If you’re keeping score, in the past month Trump has bitch-slapped the entire Republican Party, redefined our expectations of politics, focused the national discussion on immigration, proposed the only new idea for handling ISIS, and taken functional control of FOX News. And I don’t think he put much effort into it. Imagine what he could do if he gave up golf.
As far as I can tell, Trump’s “crazy talk” is always in the correct direction for a skilled persuader. When Trump sets an “anchor” in your mind, it is never random. And it seems to work every time.
Now that Trump owns FOX, and I see how well his anchor trick works with the public, I’m going to predict he will be our next president. I think he will move to the center on social issues (already happening) and win against Clinton in a tight election.
I also saw some Internet chatter about the idea of picking Mark Cuban as Vice Presidential running mate. If that happens, Republicans win. And I think they like to win. There is no way Trump picks some desiccated Governor from an important state as his running mate. I think Cuban is a realistic possibility.
I don’t mean this post to look like support for a Trump presidency. I’m more interested in his methods. I’m not smart enough to know who would do the best job as president. There are a lot of capable people in the game.
Scott
I’m no fly. I’m a son and man of God.
I have, and that is why I am talking this way.
That box was “Perfect by the flesh what had been started by the Spirit.” It was effective unbelief.
That sounds like an argument from so much pride that it cannot understand the metaphor.
Mr. Open Borders Wholly-Owned property of the GOPe?
No, thanks!
I’d take Trump over Walker in a second.
Then you’ve wasted nine years lurking. Follow your Rat down to the water. Adieu.
Trump is using the techniques the left has been using on us for years, with us being clueless about being manipulated.
Not you, not all of us.
Wow.....talk about narcissistic.... I think you got it going on big time there buddy...!
Sorry, that just doesn’t make sense. First it’s a myth that Perot helped get Clinton elected. The fact is Perot took 3 votes away from Clinton for every one he took from Bush. All you need to do is look at the polls from back then. The last poll before Perot reentered the race had Clinton 49% Bush 38%. The first poll after he reentered had it 42-36. So Perot took 7 percent from Clinton and only 2% from Bush. There’s no reason to think the undecided voters would have broken for Bush, since Perot was the anti status quo candidate.
Second, Trump hasn’t split our vote, he’s consolidated it. He has more support than any two other candidates. He’s put the GOPe in the same position conservatives were in last time. Then Romney had a plurality, and we were divided, trying to beat somebody with a bunch of nobodies. Now the shoe is on the other foot. And it’s those who are holding out for Cruz or Carson who are splitting the vote. I hope you keep an open mind about Trump, because he’s the best shot we have, IMHO.
Therefore we are supposed to vote Republican and the Republicans are no better if not worse than democrats. Either way we are screwed. May as well for Trump to see if he is for real because the Republicans are not going to do us any good as the last 2 election cycles have proven.
Thank you for posting the data on Perot/Clinton. It really is an eye opener and a sad comment on how long and deep the lie is about Perot.
Relax man, There is no 100% pure candidate anywhere. Not Trump, not Cruz and not Walker. Period. They just don't exist. I like Walker, and he was my governor, but he's changed positions on a few things, such as immigration. If you were honest with yourself and consistent in your reasoning, you would eliminate him from consideration, but you haven't. You should give Trump and Cruz the same break.
Me too.
You got me. Just this AM I was praised on my humility and had to start again. (h/t Franklin)
Walker ended illegal alien’s attending Wisconsin schools. No other governor has done that.
First Trump = RINO at best.
Second, you’ve got your history mixed up about Perot. He came back in to shore up Clinton.
Big whoop—it saved a few dollars when, like any guv shooting for prez, Walker wanted to improve the state’s finances. That was in 2011, and in 2013 he was waxing eloquent about how he wanted anyone from anywhere in the world—from Mexico or any other country—to come here so easily legally, that they wouldn’t bother to cross the border illegally. He actually said that would be his approach to the border.
Trump has had his chance and he sat on his hands for 5+ years.
Trump (D-NY) is worth $10 billion. 1% of his wealth is $100 million. 1% of that is $1 million. What conservative cause over the last five years has Trump donated a million dollars to?
Show me something? A donation to Hillsdale College? To an adoption center? Something conservative with his money?
Trump (Do-nothing - NY)
He talks purty. Don't get into bed with him, FRiend.
Walker hasn’t changed positions. He ‘said’ things, but it’s his actions I care about. Anybody can say anything. You’ve known big talkers, so don’t kid yourself.
The loud mouth in the fight is the biggest coward. What has Trump (D-NY) done other than tell us what he will do once he’s POTUS?
Real conservative leaders act. Talk is cheap.
Trump (D-NY) is worth $10 billion. 1% of his wealth is $100 million. 1% of that is $1 million. What conservative cause over the last five years has Trump donated a million dollars to?
Show me something? A donation to Hillsdale College? To an adoption center? Something conservative with his money?
Nothing. He’s a superrich “conservative” who won’t peel off 1% of 1% of his wealth to support the cause.
Trump (Do-nothing - NY)
He talks purty.
After nearly a decade of lurking you haven’t learned a thing about politics on FR? Actions, not words. Politicians have to say things, but it’s what they do that matters.
You’d get it right away if Hillary! said she was going to make her WH the most transparent in history. If she said she was going to get tough with Islamists. But Trump pushes your buttons and you jump into bed with him.
Why are so many alleged conservatives political tramps?
He’s not used a piece of his wealth to further a real conservative cause. Not borders, not abortion, not marriage, nothing.
Yet, you’ll criticize the guys in the ring, the real doers, the guys who make things happen under extreme pressure, pressure you don’t even imagine, because they ‘said’ something. Politics is all about feinting in speech. It’s the action that counts.
Walker and Cruz have taken actions that really count despite great political and personal risk. Trump’s done NOTHING.
You cannot be taken seriously with that kind of weak, inconsistent reasoning.
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