Power, persuasion and office politics
If you want to understand office politics and how to persuade people, start here. An animated summary covers Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power, and Greene himself argues that people judge by masks. Other pieces break down manipulation tactics so you can spot them. 10 picks from the Bez Tytułu newsletter, in reading order.
The picks
The 48 Laws of Power, Animated Summary
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #126
A 29-minute animated video from the YouTube channel illacertus condenses every chapter of Robert Greene's book The 48 Laws of Power. The creator presents the book as a guide to recognizing manipulative tactics so people can protect themselves, and says he is not advocating ruthlessness. He describes Greene's approach as intense realism, meaning seeing situations as they are. The video is free to watch on YouTube.
Techniques Master Manipulators Use
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #170
This video describes the techniques master manipulators use, with the aim of helping viewers recognize and avoid falling for them. Knowing these tricks, it argues, makes people harder to manipulate.
People mistake the mask for the reality
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #161
People judge by appearance and mistake the mask for the reality underneath, and they pay for it.
Robert Greene argues that people judge others by appearances because the brain takes shortcuts, so charm or apparent intelligence gets taken as character. He says people learn to disguise their flaws early, and that the cost comes from mistaking the mask for reality. Aggressive or deceitful people do not show it openly.
Key points- Charm and intelligence lead us to assume character, the speaker says
- Devilish people do not wear horns, and fools do not wear caps and bells
- People learn to disguise their flaws from very early on
People have not changed since Renaissance Italy
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #118
The speaker says people have not changed since Renaissance Italy, and outshining a leader can get you punished.
Robert Greene argues that people are no more progressive than in Renaissance Italy in Machiavelli's time. Manipulators today are less violent but still do similar things. He illustrates with Louis XIV's finance minister, who threw a lavish party to win promotion, was jailed the next day because people liked him more than the king, and whose story opens Greene's book The 48 Laws of Power.
Key points- A finance minister threw a party that outshone Louis XIV, then was imprisoned
- The speaker says this story opens the 48 Laws of Power
- Claims modern power plays are similar to Machiavelli's, just without the violence
Hurtful behavior is rarely about you
Short · tiktok.com · 1 min · Issue #237
Robert Greene argues that hurtful behavior usually comes from the other person's own past, so it is rarely really about you.
Robert Greene argues that cruel or malicious behavior toward you usually comes from the other person's own problems, often rooted in their past with a parent, sibling, partner or colleague. Seeing it this way lets you avoid getting emotionally involved, which he calls liberating. He says this should be the goal of much self-help, though it is not easy.
Key points- Cruel people often aim old wounds from parents, siblings or exes at you
- Choosing not to get emotionally involved is a liberating skill
- Greene calls this detachment the endgame of a lot of self-help
Techniques that mislead using true statements
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #190
Three techniques can mislead people while every statement stays technically true, and the speaker teaches them to spot them.
The video shows three ways to mislead using true statements. One pairs two unconnected facts, such as a meeting given as the reason for leaving. Another uses facts to build a false impression, such as a ride-share described as a chauffeured car. The third frames a discount so one offer looks better, though the video argues both cost the same.
Key points- Pair two related facts so the listener assumes a cause that is not true
- Use true details that imply a luxury, such as a chauffeur, that is not there
- Frame a price as a discount against a rival's higher price
Crash Course Business Soft Skills: Influence
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #146
CrashCourse's second Business Soft Skills episode explains what influence is, how to use it respectfully and how to protect yourself from its manipulative uses. It opens with how con artists scam people, why people follow good or bad leaders, and how CEOs win better deals in the boardroom. The host is Evelyn, and the video is free to watch.
Identities like helper make people comply more
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #203
Turning an action into an identity, like 'helper' instead of 'help', makes people more likely to do what you ask.
Jonah Berger, a Wharton professor and author of Magic Words, argues that small wording changes affect whether people comply. In a preschool experiment, asking children to be helpers rather than to help raised cooperation by about 50 percent, and calling someone a voter rather than asking them to vote raised turnout by about 15 percent. He also recommends confident language without filler words, and recording yourself to review your speech.
Key points- Asking 'would you mind being a helper' raised cleanup help by about 50%
- Changing vote to voter raised turnout about 15%, per the speaker
- Describing someone as a hard worker makes the trait seem more lasting
Persuasion starts with the other's view
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #66
The first principle of persuasion is to stop thinking of yourself and focus on the other person's psychology.
The speaker, drawing on Robert Greene, says the first principle of persuasion is to stop thinking about yourself. The usual first reaction is to focus on your own needs and identity, whether with a boss, a child or a spouse. Training yourself to take the other person's position and understand how they see themselves gets you a long way toward persuading them.
Key points- Your first reaction is usually your needs, what you want, and who you are
- Train yourself to think about how the other person sees themselves
- Stepping into their position is most of the way to being able to persuade them
Say I understand, then ask an open question
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #174
Answering an objection with an answer shuts down learning, so say 'I understand' and ask an open question back.
The speaker says the habit of answering questions, drilled in at school, undermines persuasion, since objections such as "it's too expensive" rarely reveal the real issue. Their method, which they call Aikido, is to say "I understand," reflect the point back in your words, and ask an open question like "What other criteria will be used in taking this decision?" They say this takes practice, because emotion shuts down thinking.
Key points- Repeat their point in your words, like 'money is an important factor for you'
- Aikido means moving toward the objection to see the real need behind it
- The habit takes repeated practice, since years of school trained us to answer questions