Dark Persuasion Techniques - The Psychology Of Manipulation

  • Why are people so eager to join? Because they want to be noticed and feel important, they want to feel as though they actually have a little bit of influence in a world where they literally have no voice at all. They also feel that identifying with a cultural icon will help validate their lives and through the celebrity, maybe even find their way into the limelight somehow.
  • The Four Pillars of Misinformation Part One: Government
  • One is the party of phony virtue while the other is the party of phony compassion.
  • Part Three: Big Business - The Boys In The Board Room Are Never Bored
  • [When hemp agriculture threatened to replace the paper industry, in which Hearst had invested heavily he]Mr. Hearst came up with a plan designed to keep the status quo in place. Using his publishing network he began running stories on the evils of marijuana . He also had plenty of government connections and lobbied them to assist in his demonization of hemp . A sure but steady stream of propaganda designed to smear hemp was advanced by the publisher .
  • Big business relentlessly manipulates circumstances to the advantage of the few
  • Before examining specific Dark Persuasion techniques I feel it important to look at the foundational emotions and the exploitable character traits of people necessary for literally all forms of coercion to be effective.
  • One: Pleasure & Fear or, Carrot & Stick
  • Two: Guilt As A Motivator
  • Three: Shame, 1st Cousin to Guilt
  • Four: Envy
  • Five: Procrastination
  • In my own experience as an observer of human beings, procrastination, or laziness, can best be exploited by working an individual’s greed button.
  • Six: Lust
  • Seven: Pride
  • Eight Gluttony (Excess, more than others)
  • Nine: Hatred
  • What [manipulators] never do is define the words " help " and the word " poor. " Why do you suppose they do those things ? Because when they fill in the blanks with meaningful definitions, people are better able to see the premise is ridiculous.
  • 28 Main Dark Persuasion Tricks
  • One: Exploit Predictable Patterns
  • Behavior is a subconscious substitute for self - esteem , self love or self worth . People with a healthy sense of self rarely overindulge in anything .
  • You can never get enough of something you don't really need .
  • when you're able to observe certain behavior, that behavior almost always continues on indefinitely , forming a recognizable and predictable pattern .
  • People certainly display predictable patterns .
  • It's important to recognize these things if you want to stay out of the clutches of the manipulators .
  • Predatory people milk these patterns for all they're worth .
  • The following are just a few examples of people demonstrating predictable patterns : · High school & College graduates · College students · Narcissistic politicians · Rookie athletes with big money · Newlyweds · New parents · New home owners · People arrested for various crimes · Men and women cheating on spouses · Employees stealing from the company · Retirees · Habitual criminals · Sex offenders
  • Being aware that others recognize what to expect from you just might provide you the awareness that will insulate you from a dark persuader wishing to exploit a predictable behavior .
  • Two: Dancin' with Vampires [emotional blackmailers say things like:]
    1. You don’t love me anymore.
    2. You seem upset, is it something I've done?
    3. Did you really say that? How awful.
    4. You treat the dog better than you treat me.
    5. A reasonable man would know exactly why I’m so upset.
    6. I remember when you at least seemed to care.
    7. statements and questions is designed to get the receiver on the defensive . I name this section dancing with vampires because people who play this game will suck all of your power dry and make it seem like you are the manipulator .
    8. certain people have so little control over their lives they stir things up simply because it gives them at least a small measure of power .
    9. Three : Divide & Conquer By Neutralizing The Leader
    10. It doesn't necessarily matter what the purpose or cause of a group may be, just that the vast majority of members show substantial loyalty , respect and devotion to the special person in charge .
    11. People looking to take advantage of others recognize emotional weakness and often seek to exploit it.
    12. Play on emotion in the name of goodness or fairness or envy or pride or greed or sorrow or any hook available . Four : Silence Is Golden
    13. If you really want to avoid manipulation consider listening more than you talk.
    14. Five: Exploit the False notion of Security
    15. be wary of people offering unrealistic guarantees of security.
    16. Six : Laser Focus Your Energy Efforts [Stay on message]
    17. The best plan is to figure out what you want, make a plan to accomplish your goal and avoid anyone wanting to lead you away from it. [Don't let inconvenient truths deviate you from your message]
    18. Seven : Beware of Strangers Bearing Gifts or … There Ain't No Free Lunch
    19. " free " food makes hogs lazy and complacent which allows tricky farmers to trap them in relatively short order .
    20. Apples To Orange Comparisons
    21. Nine : Please Don't Feed The Drama Queens
    22. [Other people's concerns are just made up, for the sake of drama, to get attention, ignore or gaslight them]
    23. Secrets . . . There Ain't No Stinkin ' Secrets
    24. The next time you're ready to fork over your credit card to buy some silly secret, head for the library first or do a search online for the info. It’s probably right in front of you and you can have it for very little money, and more often, for free.
    25. Name Dropping : It's Not Who You Know, It's Who You Pretend To Know
    26. Avoid Self Delusion At All Costs
    27. Thirteen: Character Matters
    28. you can't cheat an honest man .
    29. Fourteen: Think Like The Leader While Running With The Herd
    30. Fifteen: Promise Or Imply Rewards Without Ever Delivering
    31. Sixteen: Appeal To Loyalty
    32. loyalty - fueled shakedown [If you don't contribute, you're not one of us. If you aren't with us, you're against us]
    33. Seventeen: Appeal To One's Sense Of Fair Play
    34. As with so many other touchy emotional issues we're forced to define , the word " fair " or fairness is a word that can't be defined other than in its strictest technical sense .
    35. And it's the ambiguity of the word that gives dark opportunists their leverage .
    36. if a " friendly to the cause " manipulator shows up zealously reciting the mantra of the group , that person is welcomed with open arms .
    37. What had happened was someone recognized the emotionally charged atmosphere around anger , resentment and most of all , fairness .
    38. locate an emotionally charged situation with a healthy blend of anger and frustration along with many other possible emotions thrown in and exploit it in the name of fairness , a solution making all right for all concerned .
    39. Eighteen : Rope A Dope, Fake weakness .
    40. [I once knew a man who was great at sandbagging. For example ] every time ... shook hands , his grasp was always weak . He told me in a rare moment of candor that he deliberately offered up his limp hand with almost no grasp so people would get the idea he was weak and underestimate his power right from the start .
    41. He'd sometimes show up and do a good deed . Then , when the time was right he'd hit up the person he'd " helped " for a whopper of a favor , far greater than the help he'd given .
    42. Nineteen: Exploiting Superstitious People
    43. Twenty: Use Confusion To Exploit Your Opponents
    44. Confusing language forces the conscious mind to try and make sense of that confusion . And while the gatekeeper , or conscious mind , is busy trying to decode the confusion , a dark persuader is delivering subtle and powerful suggestions designed to move the subject toward his goals .
    45. " Until I was coming here today to discuss the benefits of your new system I thought that yesterday might have been better but here I am now , go figure , huh ? When you can enjoy benefits from more inflow of capital and cash then you'll buy directly the system now . " Exaggerated still , maybe not so much . It makes enough sense that some folks might wonder a little but simply nod and accept it as is . People experienced in this tactic practice and are able to lace their presentations with subtle and often not so subtle suggestions as to what they're after .
    46. The sentences are designed for two purposes . One is confusion , the other is suggestion .
    47. Rapport , confusion and suggestion are the bare bones of conversational or covert hypnosis.
    48. slight of mouth.
    49. Twenty One: The Mirror & Match
    50. People tend to accept and trust others who are like them. To gain trust, or rapport, practitioners seek ways to emulate the behavior of others.
    51. When you locate an individual you'd like to get closer to, do as they do, only do it discreetly and subtly.
    52. Twenty Two: Capitalize On Existing Momentum & Enthusiasm
    53. I remember hearing a couple of guys laughing about how silly the anti - war folks were. These were two dark opportunists who actually hung out with several groups of protestors while pretending to be one of them . Why did they do this ? For sex , drugs and rock and roll , plain and simple .
    54. Twenty - Three: Project Strong , Silent , Consistent Power
    55. People out to trick others have a sense of who is weak and who they need to avoid
    56. Doing what you say gives you power .
    57. When people know " you don't play " your power increases dramatically .
    58. Be Unpredictable
    59. It would seem that being unpredictable would be in direct conflict with consistently but it's not . It's important that people know you say what you mean and do what you say but it's just as important that you don't advertise your habits for everyone to see .
    60. when we readily follow in the paths of others we weaken our own destiny and power .
    61. If you truly want to avoid exploitation , it makes sense to vary your routine some each day .
    62. make being unpredictable a habit .
    63. jump right in with subordinates and do what they're doing .
    64. showing folks you're willing to get your hands dirty in the trenches from time to time goes a long way .
    65. give legitimate praise when due .
    66. Twenty-Four: Exploit False Scarcity [Only 2 items left!!]
    67. Twenty-five: Getting Your Way With Lies By Omission
    68. Most people aren't paying very close attention anyway.
    69. tell the whole truth , even if it's uncomfortable because being called on the problems the omission causes is often far more problematic . Twenty-Six: A different Face, A different Place... Reinvent Yourself Often
    70. People looking to mislead in an effort to grab power and influence have a wide variety of tricks to achieve their goals . One of these is to change as needed like a chameleon , to morph into someone delivering exactly what others want.
    71. Twenty-Seven: Being A Victim Of Manipulation Is Okay Sometimes
    72. Twenty-Eight: Avoid False Bravado & Impulsive Behavior
    73. People displaying impulsive behavior are usually acting out a predictable pattern . People looking to exploit others recognize these patterns and stand by waiting for the inevitable to happen so they can reap their parasitic rewards .
    74. Section Seven: 15 Common Personality Types and Why They're Easy Targets for Dark Persuasion
      1. Missed the Boat Bobby (suffers from envy, resentful, fomo inclined)
      2. Stuffed Shirt Sherman (pride, ego, fear of being found lacking)
      3. Competitive Cory (Greed, envy, win at all costs, appearance of superiority)
      4. Black Hole Herman (Eyore, everything sucks, everything is broken)
      5. Dora Dullard (means well, wants to help, not quick witted or even smart, too trusting)
      6. Viny the Vampire (envy, lots of problems he wants you to bear with or for him)
      7. Talkative Tommy (in love with his own voice, will defend errors to the death)
      8. Immature Marty (wants to belong and get a long, has trouble fitting in, needs affirmation and acceptance)
      9. Malleable Mallory (Bandwagon, joiner, no identity of her own)
      10. Game Show Gary (People pleaser, motivated by keeping the piece and keeping things moving)
      11. Farley Fairness (justice warrior)
      12. Loyal Larry "honor. Larry isn't easily fooled though when he believes in something, he puts all he has into it. This man is also intelligent and is hip to most things as they really are. It’s such a shame that his weakness is his strong character."
      13. Eleanor Elitist (better than you, needs recognition for her superior values)
      14. Easygoing Eva "trap. Eva is really quite angry and would rip your head off if she thought she could get away clean without being found out. Eva is a bundle of anger and frustration. Spite, resentment and vengeance drive her. She’s not necessarily looking for any particular brand of justice, like Fairness Farley. What she wants is for everything to be destroyed."
      15. Norm the Nazi (Angry and it shows; all about being the devil's advocate. Comes across as a bully but will back down if challenged)
    75. Section Eight: A Case study of Manipulation .....
    76. Section Nine: Short & Sweet… Down & Dirty Pandering Maneuvers Your Mother Never Taught You. Or Maybe She Did.
      1. Refuse to engage opponents, ignore criticism as though it doesn't exist. Go on about your business without comment. This often enrages your opponent and throws him off balance .
      2. Always have a backup plan . Develop one or more preparedness contingencies to divide , advance and conquer .
      3. Take time , never rush , assume an air of silent authority while maintaining unpredictable atmosphere .
      4. Play on your own field whenever possible
      5. Use outrageous statistics to make your case, especially when it's doubtful anyone will check .
      6. Choose battles wisely , don't step on a big cat's tail .
      7. Surrender quickly when necessary . Do not endure unnecessary anguish . Live to do battle another day .
      8. A gift , even a small one , creates indebtedness .
      9. Establish leadership with a profound
      10. Use meaningless praise, awards , and other pandering ploys to build loyalty and dependence .
      11. Use scandal , shame , public humiliation , name calling , guilt , and whistle blowing to neutralize your opponent .
      12. Use existing momentum rather than creating momentum. This can be accomplished by relating your cause to news , current events , celebrities , trends , disasters , etc .
      13. Radiate confidence while courting powerful allies .
      14. Exploit the false notion of security .
      15. Never ask a question without already knowing the answer .
      16. Allow no one to rush you
      17. Refuse to play any other way .
      18. Know your limitations .
      19. Embrace, emulate, herd behavior to appear weak and then strike.
      20. Condemn perfection, embrace perfection , according to context.
      21. Pander to people's need to be right .
    78. Section Ten: Use Emotionally Charged Words, Phrases, Slogans, Sound Bites, Popular & Controversial...
    80. Using ambiguous words and language along with emotion seals the deal.
    81. Another ambiguous word people like to use to sway others to their way of thinking is " reasonable . "
    82. [List of high affect, low meaning words, out of which to create mantras and twitter feeds]
      • Sacrifice
      • Duty
      • Empower
      • Surrender
      • Hate Hater
      • Poor
      • Rich
      • Share
      • Selfish
      • Self - Centered
      • Stingy
      • Sarcasm
      • Arrogance
      • Pomposity
      • Egoism
      • Sneaky
      • Snobbish
      • Lazy
      • Jealous
      • Uncaring
      • Weak
      • Crisis
      • Catastrophe
      • Emergency
      • Disaster
      • Serenity
      • Peace of Mind
      • Tranquility
      • Security
      • Bigoted
      • Xenophobic
      • Prejudiced
      • Self - Righteous
      • Credibility
      • Authority
      • Trust
      • Official
      • Certified
      • Bona fide Hopes
      • Dreams
      • Goals