What’s the secret to a long and healthy life? – THE KEY TO LONGEVITY by 100-YEAR-OLDS.

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What’s the secret to a long and healthy life? All centenarians have their own habits and morning routines they swear by. From whiskey shots to daily naps to ice cream, here’s what some very old people credit for their lengthy lifespan.

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IN 2011, HUFFINGTON POST INTERVIEWED A CENTENARIAN NAMED RUTH. SINCE THE AGE OF 92, RUTH HAS COMMITTED TO WEEKLY PILATES CLASSES. SHE ALSO HAS A MEAN SENSE OF STYLE.

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1. “Don’t look at the calendar. Just keep celebrating every day.”

2. “Invest in quality pieces, they never go out of style.”

3. “I make myself go out every day, even if it’s only to walk around the block. The key to staying young is to keep moving.”

NBC TALKED TO A 100-YEAR-OLD DOCTOR WHO STILL RAN HIS OWN PRACTICE. HE HAD A FEW UNTRADITIONAL PIECES OF MEDICAL WISDOM TO SHARE.

4. “Exercise, to me, is totally unnecessary. I think it’s mostly overrated.”

5. “The use of vitamins? Forget it. And I don’t encourage going to a lot of doctors, either.”

6. “Fall in love, get married. Sex is to be encouraged.”

THIS CENTENARIAN SHARED ADVICE ABOUT LOVE, FORGIVENESS, AND PASSION:

7. “Even if you feel hatred, keep it to yourself. Don’t hurt other people for any reason.”

8. “Don’t ever give up on love.”

9. “Nobody else controls you.”

10. “Make time to cry.”

11. “Travel while you’re young and able. Don’t worry about the money, just make it work. Experience is far more valuable than money will ever be.”

12. “Don’t compare. You’ll never be happy with your life. The grass is always greener.”

13. “If you are embarrassed to be dating someone, you should not be dating them.”

14. “Do one thing each day that is just for you.”

15. “Don’t be a cheapskate.”

16. “Forgive.”

17. “Find your passion and live it.”

18. “Most time things will figure themselves out.”

19. “Choose the right parents.”

20. “Have a pet. Life gets lonely sometimes. Pets are reminders of how we’re all living things.”

21. “I’m not saying you have to practice one religion or another, or not practice one religion or another… I’m just saying that you should figure out what you believe in and live it completely.”

22. “Learn to adapt.”

23. “Take time to mourn what you’ve lost.”

FOR ADRINE LEE, THE KEY TO LONGEVITY LIES IN FOUR SIMPLE STEPS:

24. “Keep going and never give up.”

25. “Make yourself walk.”

26. “I drink the faucet water.”

27. “Don’t just die because you want to.”

AND THEN THERE’S ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO FIND HAPPINESS.

28. “Life is fun. It’s all up to the person. Be satisfied. You don’t have to be ‘happy’ all the time, you need to be satisfied.”

29. “Love people. Find something to like about the person—it’s there—because we’re all just people.”

FOR OTHERS, THE KEY IS IN EDUCATION.

30. “Get a great education. That is something that no one can take away from you.”

ONE CENTENARIAN WAS INTERVIEWED BY JAY LENO. SHE GAVE THE FOLLOWING ADVICE:

31. “Think positive.”

32. “Exercise every morning… I have a machine… it’s a cross between a rowing machine and a bicycle… [I do] 150, 200 [rows] every morning. I won’t leave my bedroom until I’ve done that.”

AND THEN THERE ARE THE 100-YEAR-OLDS WHO ARE EVEN MORE ACTIVE THAN THE AVERAGE 20-YEAR-OLD COUCH POTATO. THIS CENTENARIAN, AN AVID SKIER, HAD THIS TO SHARE WITH YOUNGER GENERATIONS:

33. “Be active. I do things my way, like skiing when I’m 100. Nobody else does that even if they have energy. And I try to eat pretty correctly and get exercise and fresh air and sunshine.”

34. “If you’re positive you can get through it OK. When you think negatively, you’re putting poison on your body. Just smile. They say laughter is the best medicine there is.”

SARDINIA, AN ISLAND IN EUROPE, IS WELL KNOWN FOR ITS HIGH PROPORTION OF CENTENARIANS. THEY OFFERED THEIR OWN ADVICE ABOUT HEALTH AND MEDICINE.

35. “For years I would not take any medicines at all. I don’t think they do much, and lots of times the doctor is using you as a guinea pig.”

36. “Don’t die too early.”

A COMMON TREND AMONG ADVICE FROM 100-YEAR-OLDS? KEEP ON TRUCKIN’.

37. “Just go ahead and do your thing no matter what.”

38. “You can involve yourself in local problems. There are all sorts of things that have to be tended to in the world.”

39. “Have lots of people in the house and lots of different kinds of people—young, old, black, white, people from all over the world. People have always energized me.”

40. “Just keep going.”

MANY CENTENARIANS SWEAR BY EXERCISE.

41. “I attribute my longevity to a great extent to walking, not being in the back of the car strapped down.”

42. “I’ve done almost everything that I know of: ballet, I’ve done tai chi. I’ve done yoga. I walked 4 miles a day. I stretched and flexed. I wrote the book.”

OTHER 100-YEAR-OLDS BELIEVE IN ROCK AND ROLL LIFESTYLES.

43. “I put my health down to whiskey and cigarettes. I only drink when I’m out, but my doctor said I wouldn’t be alive without them. I’m still alive, and I can lift my elbows—it’s great.”

THIS 100-YEAR-OLD DOCTOR HAD A TREASURE TROVE OF ADVICE FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE.

44. “We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults, too. It’s best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.”

45. “For breakfast I drink coffee, a glass of milk, and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Olive oil is great for the arteries and keeps my skin healthy. Lunch is milk and a few cookies, or nothing when I am too busy to eat. I never get hungry because I focus on my work. Dinner is veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week, 100 grams of lean meat.”

46. “There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65.”

47. “When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure. Contrary to popular belief, doctors can’t cure everyone. So why cause unnecessary pain with surgery? I think music and animal therapy can help more than most doctors imagine.”

48. “To stay healthy always, take the stairs and carry your own stuff. I take two stairs at a time, to get my muscles moving.”

49. “My inspiration is Robert Browning’s poem ‘Abt Vogler.’ My father used to read it to me. It encourages us to make big art, not small scribbles. It says to try to draw a circle so huge that there is no way we can finish it while we are alive. All we see is an arch; the rest is beyond our vision but it is there in the distance.”

50. “Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it.”

51. “Don’t be crazy about amassing material things. Remember: you don’t know when your number is up, and you can’t take it with you to the next place.”

52. “Science alone can’t help or cure people.”

53. “Find a role model and aim to achieve even more than they could ever do.”

54. “It’s wonderful to live long. Until one is 60 years old, it is easy to work for one’s family and to achieve one’s goals. But in our later years, we should strive to contribute to society. Since the age of 65, I have worked as a volunteer. I still put in 18 hours seven days a week and love every minute of it.”

OTHER CENTENARIANS OFFERED RELATIONSHIP ADVICE.

55. “This is some advice for the ladies. Don’t marry an older man, marry a younger one.”

WHAT ELSE? JUST LIVE.

56. “I try not to worry. I just try to live.”

57. “I try to have enough trust and confidence in myself to deal with things as they come.”

FOR OTHERS, OLD AGE COMES BY KEEPING A SIMPLE LIFESTYLE.

58. “I don’t eat very much, but I always eat a fruit, a vegetable, and a little meat, and always make sure that I get sardine and salmon at least once or twice a week.”

59. “For less than seven years I had a mortgage. I paid everything outright, and I’ve lived that way until today. That is the secret to longevity right there.”

60. “Keep busy doing what you like.”

OR IS OLD AGE JUST ABOUT LUCK?

61. “You gotta have good genes.”

62. “You gotta be… lucky for 100 years.”

63. “Try not to eat anything that’s healthy. It’s true. I eat whatever I want. The secret to longevity is ice cream.”

64. “Quit while you’re ahead.”

65. “It’s just as important to take care of your mind. I take two classes… and I’ve studied everything from anti-Semitism to current events.”

THE MODERN DAY FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH? HUMOR.

66. “[Humor is] a life force, a way of surviving the difficulties of living.”

67. “When you laugh at yourself, you prevent others from laughing at you.”

68. “I think [people] have to be curious. They have to be interested in life outside their little aches and pains. They have to be excited about seeing new things, meeting new people, watching a new play—just passionate about life.”

69. “I don’t care what you’re passionate about: maybe saving Dixie cup covers. But if you do it passionately, you’re alive.”

70. “Age is not a disease.”

OTHER 100-YEAR-OLDS OFFER ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF.

71. “Don’t get hurt.”

ON REDDIT, A GRANDSON CREATED A THREAD WHERE HE ALLOWED PEOPLE TO ASK HIS 101-YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER FOR ADVICE. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED:

72. “Be honest. I’ve rarely lied. And when you are honest with people, it comes back to you, and they are honest with you. It’s too much work keeping up with a lie. You don’t need the extra stress.”

73. “Keep an open mind, and things seem less strange.”

74. “Always listen to the other person. You’ll learn something. Try to sit back, because you will learn a lot more listening to others than telling them what you know.”

75. “You have to love what you do. if you find a job you love, you will never have to work a day in your life.”

76. “Take naps every day.”

77. “You get one family, so stick with them. But it depends if these hardships are financial or emotional or other types. Stick it out. Some days are worse than others, and you have to be ok with that. The night is darkest before dawn.”

78. “I try to take the time to look at and appreciate the smaller things that make this life beautiful. When I do that, time slows.”

OTHER CENTENARIANS HAD THIS TO SAY:

79. “Do something interesting every day; otherwise you disintegrate.”

80. “Learning new things makes you happy and keeps your mind active.”

81. “Sleep well, try not to worry, and enjoy good dreams.”

82. “I participate in lots of activities. I play Bingo, do meditation and crafts, and attend fitness classes, like Zumba Gold for seniors, chair yoga, and sittercise… I don’t miss happy hour either! I drop in three times a week.”

83. “Be lovable. I’ve lived a long life because there are so many people who love me.”

84. “I take a drink of Scotch every day. And I feel great afterward.”

85. “Keep kosher.”

IN AN INTERVIEW FOR THE WASHINGTON POST, THIS 100-YEAR-OLD TOOK A REPORTER FOR A SPIN AROUND THE CITY IN HER CAR. SHE HAD THIS TO SAY TO HIM:

86. “I never drank, smoked, or fooled with the weeds, you know, that stuff. And I don’t let anything upset me, especially traffic.”

87. “I don’t like stress. I can’t stand arguing. If anybody is fussing, I’m gone. I like to be around positive people, people who lift you up not bring you down.”

WHAT ELSE? IN THE END, MOST ADVICE SEEMS TO BOIL DOWN TO A COMMON CORE: LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST.

88. “Mind your own business, and don’t eat junk food.”

89. “Laughter keeps you healthy. You can survive by seeing the humor in everything. Thumb your nose at sadness; turn the tables on tragedy. You can’t laugh and be angry, you can’t laugh and feel sad, you can’t laugh and feel envious.”

90. “Look inside your soul and find your tools. We all have tools and have to live with the help of them. I have two tools: my words and my images. I used my typewriter, computer, and my cameras to fight injustice. Whenever I see a possibility of helping people who are in danger, I want to help them.”

91. “Have a good appetite, lots of friends, and keep busy.”

92. “Have a good wife, two scotches a night, and be easygoing.”

93. “Never run out of responsibility; if you don’t have one, find one. Find a cause and knock yourself out for it. It will enhance your brainpower, interest in life, and keep you alive longer. I’m alert because I work. Virtue is its own reward.”

94. “It is very important to have a widespread curiosity about life.”

95. “Keep yourself alert, active, and educated. Beat to your own drum.”

96. “Don’t smoke, don’t drink, and don’t retire.”

97. “Take one day at a time, and go along with the tide.”

98. “You have to be lucky, but I made the best of things when bad things happened. I also ate prunes every single day.”

99. “Do what you have to do. Don’t analyze it, just do it.”

100. “Take it easy, enjoy life, what will be will be. Sleep well, have a Bailey’s Irish Cream before bed if you have a cold—you will wake up fine the next morning.”

By DeAnna Kerley / Source: Mental Floss

Photo source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

 

The history of the class system (series) is still alive and well today!

 

Their is no need to drag around the ball/chain ( your history) that restricted you in the past.

You become boxed in by the role you deem appropriate at any given moment in time. Many of the things you say and do while in “character” have been embedded in your DNA by your ancestors via your parents.

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They say that success is a ridding process. The same principle is valid when you reach a stage where you discover that you are already a wonderful, kind, compassionate and fair person and no longer need masks and facades on the stage of life. You are immediately restricted the moment you take on an expected “persona” and slip into a perceived role (parent, partner, friend) for anyone. You become boxed in by the role you deem appropriate at any given moment in time. Many of the things you say and do while in “character” have been embedded in your DNA by your ancestors via your parents. The stuff you act and react to might be totally outdated or could have been defective conclusions made by the original “authors” of these scripts. The stuff your ancestors feared or supported was often based on superstitions, myths and legends. When you stop wearing masks and refrain from mindlessly doing or saying the first thing that comes to mind a feeling of fearlessness floods your mind. Your relationships become less complicated and your options and choices expand beyond anything you ever imagined. You have an endless number of restrictions while you live in your “box” and while you feel obliged to do as prescribed. When you begin to live the bold and beautiful life on offer outise the “box” you dissolve all your fear, guilt and anxiety. The amazing thing is that you gradually turn into a wonderful compassionate listener and observer. You see things as they are and know that everyone have their own unique story. Your ego cannot allow this level of mental and physical freedom because it needs to always feel in control. The real you go into any situation in a relaxed and confident manner. You (your real self) see no need to drag around the ball and chain (history) that restricted you in the past.

Rene

   

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First glance: New book, Primal Man Primal Woman – My Big TOE

 

Stripping off the fear that you might have offend God.

 

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Did you ever sit for a moment and contemplate how your life unfolded the way it did?

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Did you ever sit for a moment and contemplate how your life unfolded the way it did? You ended up in a certain job, attended certain schools and a specific church while you socialised in a particular community. You formed perceptions about virtually everything early in life and faithfully, but mostly subconsciously repeat the same standard actions and reactions while at work or play. You felt more at home with certain people that came from a specific ethnic or social group or language. You opened up to those that you felt safe with while you ignored, avoided or even shunned individuals that failed to make the grade according to your entrenched value system. The point that I am making is that you formed specific perceptions and belief systems early in life and diligently stuck to the blueprints that you fixed in your head. The only times you possibly questioned your belief system was when something happened that caused you serous discomfort. The pain and doubt that a specific incident or event caused you may have stopped you in your tracks for a while, but you more often than not returned to the “tried and tested” when the scars healed or when the problem faded.

What we often forget is that each person on this planet including those on our playing field of life (friends, family, strangers etc.) went through the same “programming” cycle. A person for example that grew up in China, Egypt or for that matter any other country on this planet formed their own set of perceptions and belief systems as well. They for example went to a different church or temple and prayed to a God with a different name. They dress differently and see life from a totally different perspective. They eat different food and dance to different music. There is a tendency in all of us to cluster together with those that seem to have the same value and belief systems than us. We thus end up with societies, tribes and nations that come together in united groups that work, play, go to war and pray together.

A person that for example grew up in a certain religion tends to support such religion for the duration of his lifetime.

A person that for example grew up in a certain religion tends to support such religion for the duration of his lifetime. The values, rituals and dogma that they were taught from early childhood usually remain their fixed guide until they at the end of their life put their heads down for a final time. It is thus surprising that many of us are under the impression that we have some moral duty to recruit or convert individuals that don’t have the same religious convictions than us. We feel that we must “save” these individuals with their different perceived Devil inspired ideas and ideologies. We in all sincerity feel obligated to attempt to convince these “lost souls” that our specific saviour and God is the only way that can ensure a safe passage to a peaceful afterlife. Some of us even have the audacity to warn these “lost sheep” that hesitate to dump their entrenched religion and their current saviour or God that they are setting themselves up for a horrific afterlife where they will be toasted forever. We might be zealous in our attempt to rescue those that sit with a totally different set of religious convictions, but forget that they have been indoctrinated just like us that their deity is the way to a successful afterlife. I hope you can see how silly this mode of thinking is when you keep in mind how all of us come though different childhood indoctrinations. It is thus arrogant to the extreme to expect anyone to simply abandon his deeply entrenched religious convictions and follow you like a sheep to your chapel or temple.

The more he read, study and researches the various superstitions and rituals the less sense they make to him.

 I want you to keep the above in mind when we look at individuals that start waking up from their historically indoctrinated hypnotic sleep. This person starts questioning the many superstitions and dogma that he has been programmed with since childhood. The more he read, study and researches the various superstitions and rituals the less sense they make to him.  This person might think that there must be a religion somewhere that might have answers to his many questions, but he soon realise that most religions have the same superstition based foundations. They might have a different God perception, deity or style, but turn out to be the same dogma and rituals wrapped in a different package. The discovery that you cannot make the confusion go away by simply joining a new religious group often fill such individual with lots of pain, anxiety and doubt. Some that experience doubt about the God perception that he grew up with or that he read about in his Holy book become atheists. Waking up is a real test for those that develop a desire to make sense of life, death and the reason why we visit this plane.

A person that woke up and begin to question the validity of his belief system is usually treated with disdain by his previous “brothers and sisters”. He is often driven out of his church by a zealous pastor and some of his previous fellow believers. There is no place in conventional religion for those that ask questions and require clarity to the many so-called “truths” written down by God inspired authors. This person soon reaches a stage where he can no longer listen to the same old dogma and finally stop attending these indoctrination sessions. He is usually soon stripped of his old friends and even family. Waking up is a lonely path for “free thinkers”.

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Stripping off the fear that you might have offend God or that you might have made a terrible mistake gradually fade and is replaced with wisdom and insight.

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I believe that all of us come to earth to learn and experience. I also believe that we come to this dimension to wake up to our true identity and to set ourselves free from indoctrination. It might initially be a painful experience, but nothing can provide you with more joy than the knowledge you gain when you begin to grow spiritually. Stripping off the fear that you might offend God or that you might have made a terrible mistake gradually fade and is replaced with wisdom and insight. Each person wake up in his own unique way and will find it difficult to join a spiritual group that provide all the answers to his many questions. Our original yearning to be part of a group can lead us from one religious trap into a fresh spiritual trap that might turn out to be even worse than the one we escaped from. I mentioned above that we come to this zone to learn. Each one of us is at a different level in our spiritual evolution. It will thus be silly to join a single group that boast with their own in-house guru. Many spiritual seekers end up getting sidetracked by the endless range of cults that prowl the streets looking for the vulnerable and confused. I suggest you become still and allow the perfect self at your centre to guide you in your quest for growth and understanding. Knowledge set you free. Breaking away from the sustained influence of a specific religious dogma or one of the many cults can be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Rene  

 

Learn to see the difference between URGENT and IMPORTANT!

Learn to see the difference between urgent and important

 

The important tasks are those that lead you to your goals, and give you most of the long term progress and reward. Those tasks are very often not urgent. Many urgent tasks are not really important.

 Know and respect your priorities

Aim to do the important things first. Remember the 80-20 rule: 80 percent of reward comes from 20 percent of effort. One of the aims of time management tips is to help you refocus your mind to give more attention and time to those most important 20 percent.

Plan your actions for achieving your goals

Convert your goals into a system of specific actions to be done. The first significant point of planning is the planning process itself. It is a known fact, and you will see it for yourself, that the planning process stimulates your brain to come up with new efficient solutions. It programs your subconscious mind to search for shortcuts. It makes you much more prepared for each specific action. Besides, planning will help you to identify potential conflicts and crises, minimizing the number of urgent tasks.

Planning can also significantly lower the time spent on routine maintenance tasks, leaving you more time on what you like to do or for what you think is important for your long term success.

Also remember that planning and related time management tips work best when you review your plans regularly.

 

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Desire – Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl taking a stroll through the woods.

Desires

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl taking a stroll through the woods. All at once, she saw an extremely ugly bullfrog seated on a log. And to her amazement, the bullfrog spoke to her.

’Maiden,’ croaked the frog, ’would you do me a big favour? This will be hard for you to believe, but I was once a handsome, charming prince; and then a mean, ugly old witch cast a spell over me and turned me into a frog.’

’Oh, what a pity!’ exclaimed the pretty girl. ’I’ll do anything I can to help you break such a spell.’

’Well, Miss,’ replied the frog, ’the only way that this spell can be taken off and I can be returned to a handsome young man again is for some lovely and pretty young girl to take me home and let me spend the night under her pillow.’

The young girl took the ugly frog home and placed him beneath her pillow that night when she retired. When she awoke the next morning, sure enough, there beside her in the bed was a very young, handsome man, and plainly of royal blood. And so they lived happily ever after, except that to this day her father and mother still do not believe her story.

And all your life is nothing but such stories, because all desiring creates only fantasies. All desiring is fabulous, all desiring creates illusions. You go on changing – you change one illusion to another, you go from one illusion to another, but you go on changing illusions. Always from one illusion to another illusion is your movement. When you understand the very mechanism of illusions as such, there is a break, a breakthrough.

An insight dawns on you. In that moment, not only this world becomes meaningless, ALL worlds become meaningless. In that moment, there is nothing to be desired. You don’t desire even desirelessness; there is nothing to be desired. Suddenly desire is not there, that smoke is not there, and the flame burns bright.

Remember not to change problems, from one illusion to another. It does not help much.

A little girl was deeply impressed by the clergyman’s sermon as to the separation of the sheep and the goats. That night after she had gone to bed she was heard sobbing, and the mother went to her to ask what was the matter. ’It’s about the goats!’ Jenny confessed at last. ’I’m so afraid I am a goat, and so I’ll never go to heaven. Oh, I’m so afraid I’m a goat.’

’My dear,’ the mother assured her weeping child, ’you’re a sweet little lamb. If you were to die tonight, you would go straight to heaven.’ Her words were successful in quieting the little girl, and she slept.

But the following night Jenny was found crying again in her bed, and when the mother appeared she wailed, ’I’m afraid about the goats.’

’But Mother has told you that you are a little lamb, and that you must never worry over being a goat.’

Jenny, however, was by no means comforted, and continued her sobs. ’Yes, Mamma,’ she declared softly, ’I know that. But I’m afraid – awfully afraid you’re a goat.’

From one problem to another… but the basic problem remains This is not the way to solve problems – one has to look at the very root from where the problems arise.

So Zen does not call anger the problem, Zen does not call sex the problem, Zen does not call greed the problem, Zen does not call aggression, violence, the problem. Zen calls the root problem desiring – and all other problems arise out of desiring. Cut the root, and the whole tree disappears.

Osho

 

The Art of Persuasion is Vital while at Work or Play!

Perfection is hard to achieve in any walk of life and persuasion is no different. It relies on many things going just right at the crucial moment; the perfect synchronisation of source, message and audience. But even if perfection is unlikely, we all need to know what to aim for.

 

To bring you the current series on the psychology of persuasion I’ve been reading lots of research, much more than is covered in recent posts. As I read, I noticed the same themes cropping up over and over again.

Here are the most important points for crafting the perfect persuasive message, all of which have scientific evidence to back them up.

 

1. Multiple, strong arguments: the more arguments, the more persuasive, but overall persuasive messages should be balanced, as two-sided arguments fare better than their one-sided equivalents (as long as counter-arguments are shot down).

 

2. Relevance: persuasive messages should be personally relevant to the audience. If not, they will switch off and fail to process it.

 

3. Universal goals: In creating your message, understand the three universal goals for which everyone is aiming: affiliation, accuracy and positive self-concept.

 

4. Likeability: ingratiating yourself with the audience is no bad thing—most successful performers, actors, lawyers and politicians do it. Likeability can be boosted by praising the audience and by perceived similarity. Even the most fleeting similarities can be persuasive.

 

5. Authority: people tend to defer to experts because it saves us trying to work out the pros and cons ourselves (read the classic experiment on obedience to authority).

 

6. Attractiveness: the physical attractiveness of the source is only important if it is relevant (e.g. when selling beauty products).

 

7. Match message and medium: One useful rule of thumb is: if the message is difficult to understand, write it; if it’s easy, put it in a video.

 

8. Avoid forewarning: don’t open up saying “I will try and persuade you that…” If you do, people start generating counter-arguments and are less likely to be persuaded.

 

9. Go slow: If the audience is already sympathetic, then present the arguments slowly and carefully (as long as they are relevant and strong). If the audience is against you then fast talkers can be more persuasive.

 

10. Repetition: whether or not a statement is true, repeating it a few times gives the all-important illusion of truth. The illusion of truth leads to the reality of persuasion.

 

11. Social proof: you’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again—despite all their protestations of individuality, people love conformity. So tell them which way the flock is going because people want to be in the majority.

 

12. Attention: if the audience isn’t paying attention, they can’t think about your arguments, so attitudes can’t change. That’s why anything that sharpens attention, like caffeine, makes people easier to persuade. And speaking of attention…

 

13. Minimise distraction: if you’ve got a strong message then audiences are more swayed if they pay attention. If the arguments are weak then it’s better if they’re distracted.

 

14. Positively framed: messages with a positive frame can be more persuasive.

 

15. Disguise: messages are more persuasive if they don’t appear to be intended to persuade or influence as they can sidestep psychological reactance (hence the power of overheard arguments to change minds).

 

16. Psychologically tailored: messages should match the psychological preferences of the audience. E.g. some people prefer thinking-framed arguments and others prefer feel-framed arguments (see: battle between thought and emotion in persuasion). Also, some people prefer to think harder than others.

 

17. Go with the flow: persuasion is strongest when the message and audience are heading in the same direction. Thoughts which come into the audience’s mind more readily are likely to be more persuasive.

 

18. Confidence: not only your confidence, but theirs. The audience should feel confident about attitude change. Audience confidence in their own thoughts is boosted by a credible source and when they feel happy (clue: happy audiences are laughing).

 

19. Be powerful: a powerful orator influences the audience, but making the audience themselves feel powerful increases their confidence in attitude change. An audience has to feel powerful enough to change.

 

20. Avoid targeting strong beliefs: strong attitudes and beliefs are very difficult to change. Do not directly approach long-standing ideas to which people are committed, they will resist and reject. Strong beliefs must be approached indirectly.

 

How to Change Minds

 

You should be aware that many of these factors interact with each other. For example when the message is strong but the source is dodgy, the sleeper effect can arise.

 

Argument strength is also critical. The basic principle is that when arguments are strong, you need to do everything to make people concentrate on them. When they’re weak, it’s all about distracting the audience from the content and using peripheral routes to persuade, such as how confidently or quickly you talk.

 

Weaving all these together is no mean feat, but look at most professionally produced persuasive messages and you’ll see many of these principles on show. Incorporate as many as you can for maximum effect.

 

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