The Law of Balance–Logical Mind vs. Emotional Heart
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creaturesof logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudiceand motivated by pride and vanity. —DALE CARNEGIE
In persuasion, your message has to focus on emotions, all the while maintaining a balance between logic and feelings. Logic and emotion are the two elements that make for perfect persuasion. We can be persuasive using only logic or only emotion, but the effect will be short-term and unbalanced.
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Logic: What Stirs an Audience
Are we rational human beings? Do we follow all forms of logic? Do we only act if it feels right? Do we even want the facts all the time? Have you ever tried to persuade an emotional person with logic? We generally think we make decisions based on facts, but truly this is not the case. It has been found that when people agree with a particular message, they tend to perceive it as being more logical or rational. On the other hand, when people disagree with the message, they perceive it as an emotional plea.[1] The truth is that that our decision-making process relies on a mixture between emotion and its partner, logic. However, we cannot rely entirely on emotion until our logical side has been engaged.
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Common Logical Fallacies
Faulty Cause: assumes that because one thing follows another, the second thing was definitively caused by the first—also known as the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy. Example: Shawn broke his mother’s mirror, and sure enough, he was in a car wreck the next week.
Sweeping Generalization: assumes that what is true in most cases must be true in all cases. Example: We can’t hire this candidate because he’s an ex-felon, and studies show that most ex-felons experience relapses.
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Evidence and Logic
Evidence and Logic
Reasoning is a powerful tool for the mind, but strong, concrete evidence should be the cornerstone of a logical speech. Evidence not only makes an argument ring true in persuasive situations, but it also substantially enhances your credibility. There are four major types of evidence: testimony, statistics, analogies, and examples. You will strengthen your position when you use elements of all four forms, rather than depending on only one. When you provide proof in this manner, you remove doubts that may linger in your audience’s mind.
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Compelling Evidence
As you prepare your message, understand that we humans aren’t capable of absorbing all of the information you can gather. We are hit with data all day long and most of the time we don’t absorb it. In fact, we are very selective in what we allow ourselves to retain. When we hit information overload, we turn our minds off and retain nothing.
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Emotion: Winning People’s Hearts
Whereas logic is the language of the conscious mind, emotion is the language of the unconscious mind. We know that emotions are reactions to perceived and imagined stimuli, not based on logic, but on one’s own personal experiences. Emotions often outweigh our logic. Imagine placing a plank of wood on the ground and walking its length a few times. Easy enough, right? But suppose you placed it a hundred feet in the air between two buildings. You know you can walk that plank—you just did it over and over again. Yet now, emotions and fears outweigh logic. Your ‘‘what-ifs’’ and your imagination supersede the concrete knowledge of your ability to walk the plank.
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Types of Emotions: Emotional Mastery
Over the centuries, philosophers have tried to categorize the very many complex emotions of humanity—no easy task. Aristotle came up with fourteen emotions:
Anger
PatienceFriendship
Enmity
Fear
Confidence
Shame
Shamelessness
Emulation
Contempt
Kindness
Pity
Indignation
Envy
Tip the Scale
As a Master Persuader you know how to use the dual engine of Balance. This dual engine allows you to fly straight and true in any persuasive situation; become a student of both logic and emotion and develop the ability to articulate logic that rings true to your audience; and learn how to use your human emotion radar. It will help you determine important aspects of your audience, such as what your prospects are feeling, what emotions they are trying to hide, and how you can use each of these emotions in the persuasive process. As a Master Persuader you know what emotion to use, when to use it, how to trigger specific emotions, and how to balance the audience’s emotion with logic. Engineer your persuasive message with Balance.
