First off, let me just obliterate the notion that I might be an Obama supporter. I’m not. Frankly, I don’t have great faith in either of the candidates, and am seriously considering “throwing away” my vote on Bob Barr. But that’s beside the point, really.
Last night, like many Americans, I tuned in to the debate. And, all personal opinions and bias aside, one thing I could NOT help noticing was that Obama clearly has a really, really good speech writer and/or communication coach.
Not to mention his totally smooth and unruffled communication style… from his open body language to his “sympathetic” facial expressions to his even vocal tone to his effective use of pauses and emphasis in all the right places.
Before I begin my list of reasons why Obama is a master of persuasion, let me just clarify the meaning of persuasion as defined by Wikipedia.org:
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is strategy of problem-solving relying on “appeals” rather than strength.
Manipulation is taking persuasion to an extreme, where the one person or group benefits at the cost of the other.