Subliminal persuasion? It is simply influencing people at a level below their conscious recognition. Many people don’t even realize they are being influenced by a smile, making even that a subliminal technique. Here are two more subtle methods.
Subliminal Persuasion Using Inflection
It is easy to assume that a sentence like “I can’t promise you that price.” has only one meaning. In reality, though, inflection provides much of the actual meaning. Look at the each of the sentences below, each with a different word emphasized, and followed by the implied meaning.
I can’t promise you that price. (But maybe someone can.)
I CAN’T promise you that price. (There’s no way.)
I can’t PROMISE you that price. (But maybe you’ll get it.)
I can’t promise YOU that price. (But I can promise someone else.)
I can’t promise you THAT price. (But maybe a good price.)
I can’t promise you that PRICE. (But I can promise something.)
The meaning of our statements is determined by which words we emphasize, and it is a subtle process. If you can’t promise him...