THE MAGIC OF PERSUASION. Dr. Azim Ostowar Ghafuri

      of misunderstanding. This requires careful checking of every phrase to

      be sure that it will be understood by the receiver. This necessitates a

      thorough understanding of the language used by the receivers.

      Penetration: The message must get through. It must be repeated often enough to

      guarantee a solid impression. The more pervasive the idea, the better

      chance it has of reception. The person who receives the same basic

      message time after time – possibly in slightly different terms but always

      bearing the same idea – is more likely to get the idea than if he hears

      the message only once.

      Proposed Action: There must be a recommendation for action and the action must be

      possible. Generalities will not work.

      Growth in the importance and power of public opinions has resulted in a commensurate growth of efforts to influence it, mainly through the arts of persuasion spheres. Basically, there are four means of getting people to do what we want them to do: Purchase, patronage, pressure and persuasion. If a lady wants a hairstyling, she pays for the service. That is purchased. If a prime minister needs a legislator's vote on a crucial bill, he agrees to appoint the legislator friend to a state post. That is patronage. If a taxpayer fails to file his income tax return, the taxpayer is penalized. That is pressure. If Toyota company mounts a nationwide advertising campaign to encourage the public to buy more Toyota cars and thus increase the sale of Toyota car. That is persuasion.

      Persuasion, primarily as a communication process, is an effort to convey information in such a way as to get people to revise old pictures in their heads or form new ones and thus change their behaviour. The basic objective of most programs is either to change or neutralize hostile opinions, to crystallize unformed or latent opinions or to conserve favourable opinions by making reinforcing them. (Ross R. Understanding Persuasion; Englewood Cliffs 1990)

      Persuasion has been a major research topic in the social and behavioural sciences during recent years. This research has been directed toward testing old insights accumulated over many centuries of theorizing about the persuasion process and also has revealed new relationships. The number of investigations show no sign of diminishing and it is likely that coming decades will show similar progress. Since manipulation of attitudes and behaviour is obviously the autonomy of the individual it is fortunate that study continues to be devoted to ways of producing resistance as well as compliance to persuasive communication.

      We have briefly described persuasion, its definition and evolution, its principles and techniques.

      In the next chapters of part I we discuss and describe the main spheres of persuasion such as advertising, public relations and propaganda.

      In next chapter we will take the most important and the most expensive and the most controversial sphere of persuasion advertising