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Persuasion: The Art of Influencing People | 
 enlarge | Author: James Borg
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £4.10
You Save: £5.89 (59%)
New (26) Used (20) from £1.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 3223
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Pages: 267
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0273712993
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.852
EAN: 9780273712992
ASIN: 0273712993
Publication Date: September 11, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Bland and full of incredibly obvious tips September 19, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Reading the latest review of this book, I literally had to leave my desk, walk over to the book shelf and check the title of the book I thought I'd read, because there was such a mismatch. But no mistake. It's just that I'm not able to associate the glowing praise of the reviews with what I have in front of me.
I bought it from Amazon with an open mind and was actually looking forward to it arriving in the post. It came and with great excitement I read the cracking testimonials from John Harvey-Jones, "Management Today" and others, and was thrilled by the way it described itself as "The world's bestselling book on persuasion".
But... it's full of hot air.
A lot of the content is stuff you will have seen before (like the stats on non-verbal messages). It also gives you cliched stereotypes of a number of different personality types. And every chapter is full of examples of "how to" and "how not to" communicate. The example conversations it gives are just, for want of a better word, lame. Here's one:
Harriet (to John): "Every time I look in the mirror all I can see is wrinkles. I look in the mirror and I see flabby arms. I see big hips. I see big thighs. I see cellulite everywhere. Oh, John - say something positive to give me hope."
John: "Err... At least there's nothing wrong with your eyesight."
Boom-boom! That's not Persuasion; that's Terry And June. If you *want* dodgy 1970's sitcomesque dialogue, this is going to be a book you'll enjoy. If you want real-life examples of how actual people communicate with each other, however, you'll have to look elsewhere.
Hugely disappointed.
 Gave me new found confidence September 12, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read this book whilst on holiday and started using the techniques described right away with people I met.
As someone who always "felt" that people did really like me until they got to know me and, if I am honest, a bit of a "people hater" myself, I was totally shocked at how actually "listening" and confirming what you heard (paraphrasing) helps you gain their trust instantly! How little I knew about communication before I read this!
When on holiday I actually had people telling me "I knew from the moment we shook hands that you were a really likable guy" - WOW!
This came only from taking more notice during introductions to new people and REMEMBERING what they said during conversations and then simply confirming in YOUR OWN words what they said. I have found new skills within that I never knew I possessed.
As someone who is in business, I was constantly moping around wondering why I even bothered meeting potential clients (or time wasters as I used to call them). I had actually got to the point where I had given up trying. I could not wait to get back off of holidays and try my new persuasion skills on unsuspecting clients. Yesterday I confirmed 5000 worth of work with one client and today 2 new contracts worth 7000! I now actually look forward to meeting people (after correctly qualifying the leads - something else I was foolishly missing out on before I read this book) and challenging myself and my new power of persuasion.
I paid a fiver for this book in the airport 3 weeks ago. It has helped me improve my relationship with my wife, helped me gain more friends, and won me 12000 of work - all in 3 weeks. If I was single, no doubt I would be out pulling the ladies too! I am now hooked on "self help" reads. Give me more James Borg! You are a bloody genius!
Thought-provoking and useful August 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I wanted a book that would help me to twist people around my little finger. That's probably not the most realistic objective in the world, but if you're looking for a book that will help you to influence and use the art of PERSUASION on people, you could do worse than buy this book.
The author explains how to use different skills and techniques first of all to gain the attention of people and then pick the right words and actions to get them to see your point of view and change their behaviour accordingly.
I fold the corners of pages in books to note pages that I find particularly interesting or useful and I can tell you that I've folded down quite a few pages (more than the average book).
The author has an amusing take on life and makes the topic very accessible. I really enjoy books that are broken up into sub-sections and with exercises and techniques split out from the main text so that you can jump to them, and this book delivers in that respect.
There are some illustrations which I thought were a little childish, but that's just about my only criticism of the book. Don't let the illustrations put you off from a thoroughly well-written book by the author, James Borg.
Recommended February 19, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I found Persuasion an easy and an extremely useful read. I especially liked the how-to style of the book and its specific Dos and Don'ts rather than merely presenting the concepts or ideas behind the approach. I thought most chapters were well written and genuinely useful, but while some contained real nuggets, I felt that a couple of chapters that provided little more than padding.
I do however strongly recommend this book.
Persuaded, I certainly was ! January 15, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
James Borg has provided us with one of the best books ever written on the art of persuasion. Prepare to dog ear and highlight this book to death as James gives you simple yet powerful techniques to better your influencing skills. For anyone who deals with people and wants to be more effective in their communication then this book fits the bill, I guess that's everyone then!?
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