In my email yesterday, I posed a kind of persuasion riddle based on the movie The Sting. I asked, “Can you identify this persuasion strategy?”
I got a buunch of responses. Some were flat-out wrong. Some were part of the way to the answer I had in mind. But only one or two people got all the way there.
That’s good.
It makes me feel hopeful about the book I’ve been planning.
I talked about it a few times already. The tentative title is “10 Commandments of Hypnotists, Pick Up Artists, Comedians, Copywriters, Con Men, Door-To-Door Salesmen, Professional Negotiators, Storytellers, Spirit Mediums, and Stage Magicians.”
I decided to sit down today and write up a possible table of contents for the book. In case you’re curious, you can find my proposed 10 Commandments below, along with a representative quote to give you a flavor of what each chapter will be about.
Commandment I: Thou shalt mind the event boundaries
“The bathroom is a great place to negotiate.”
Commandment II: Thou shalt flip the script
“I don’t even know you!”
Commandment III: Thou shalt pace and lead
“Give me your hands.”
Commandment IV: Thou shalt push and thou shalt pull
“Get off me, jeez.”
Commandment V: Honor the magical number seven
“This purple telephone was a gift from four graduate students, two of whom were passing their major course and failing their minors, and two of whom were passing their minors and failing their majors. The two who were passing their majors and failing their minors passed all. The two who were passing their minors and failing their majors, passed their majors and failed their minors. In other words, they selected the help I offered.”
Commandment VI: Thou shalt set the frame
“Can 31 Pages Transform Your Financial Destiny? It seems rather remarkable.”
Commandment VII: Thou shalt interrupt your adversary’s pattern
“Every man you’ve ever known, loved, and trusted has lied to you.”
Commandment VIII: Thou shalt take the winding path
“I’ll tell you about that in a second, but first…”
Commandment IX: Thou shalt agree and amplify
“Is this what you want? Bunch of fucking losers. Fucking Rocky is your hero. The whole pride of your city is built around a fuckin guy who doesn’t even exist. You got fuckin Joe Frazier is from here, but he’s black, so you can’t fuckin deal with him, so you make a fucking statue for some 3-ft fuckin Italian you stupid philly cheese-eatin fucking jackasses. I hope the cheese melts your faces off.”
10. Remember that you’re playing a numbers game
“As a marketer you only have one power, and that’s to anticipate what people are going to think.”
I’m trying to anticipate what you might think of this book.
So let me know if any of these chapters sounds too obvious, too obscure, or could be replaced in your opinion by something that’s more interesting or relevant.
Keep in mind my goal is to say something fresh and new — I don’t want to rewrite Cialdini’s Influence. That book is great, but it’s been written, and I don’t need to rewrite it.
And if you found yourself made curious or even excited by my outline for this book, feel free to write in and tell me that also. It’s always good to get a bit of extra motivation for the work ahead.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I already have one 10 Commandments book, 10 Commandments of A-List Copywriters.
If my second 10 Commandments book above sounds interesting to you… there’s a good chance you will like my first book. Here’s where you can get it, for a rather staggering price:
https://bejakovic.com/10commandments
I got a buunch of responses. Some were flat-out wrong. Some were part of the way to the answer I had in mind. But only one or two people got all the way there.
That’s good.
It makes me feel hopeful about the book I’ve been planning.
I talked about it a few times already. The tentative title is “10 Commandments of Hypnotists, Pick Up Artists, Comedians, Copywriters, Con Men, Door-To-Door Salesmen, Professional Negotiators, Storytellers, Spirit Mediums, and Stage Magicians.”
I decided to sit down today and write up a possible table of contents for the book. In case you’re curious, you can find my proposed 10 Commandments below, along with a representative quote to give you a flavor of what each chapter will be about.
Commandment I: Thou shalt mind the event boundaries
“The bathroom is a great place to negotiate.”
Commandment II: Thou shalt flip the script
“I don’t even know you!”
Commandment III: Thou shalt pace and lead
“Give me your hands.”
Commandment IV: Thou shalt push and thou shalt pull
“Get off me, jeez.”
Commandment V: Honor the magical number seven
“This purple telephone was a gift from four graduate students, two of whom were passing their major course and failing their minors, and two of whom were passing their minors and failing their majors. The two who were passing their majors and failing their minors passed all. The two who were passing their minors and failing their majors, passed their majors and failed their minors. In other words, they selected the help I offered.”
Commandment VI: Thou shalt set the frame
“Can 31 Pages Transform Your Financial Destiny? It seems rather remarkable.”
Commandment VII: Thou shalt interrupt your adversary’s pattern
“Every man you’ve ever known, loved, and trusted has lied to you.”
Commandment VIII: Thou shalt take the winding path
“I’ll tell you about that in a second, but first…”
Commandment IX: Thou shalt agree and amplify
“Is this what you want? Bunch of fucking losers. Fucking Rocky is your hero. The whole pride of your city is built around a fuckin guy who doesn’t even exist. You got fuckin Joe Frazier is from here, but he’s black, so you can’t fuckin deal with him, so you make a fucking statue for some 3-ft fuckin Italian you stupid philly cheese-eatin fucking jackasses. I hope the cheese melts your faces off.”
10. Remember that you’re playing a numbers game
“As a marketer you only have one power, and that’s to anticipate what people are going to think.”
I’m trying to anticipate what you might think of this book.
So let me know if any of these chapters sounds too obvious, too obscure, or could be replaced in your opinion by something that’s more interesting or relevant.
Keep in mind my goal is to say something fresh and new — I don’t want to rewrite Cialdini’s Influence. That book is great, but it’s been written, and I don’t need to rewrite it.
And if you found yourself made curious or even excited by my outline for this book, feel free to write in and tell me that also. It’s always good to get a bit of extra motivation for the work ahead.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I already have one 10 Commandments book, 10 Commandments of A-List Copywriters.
If my second 10 Commandments book above sounds interesting to you… there’s a good chance you will like my first book. Here’s where you can get it, for a rather staggering price:
https://bejakovic.com/10commandments