Reality Reconstruction

Leading Experts Agree

This article is part three in a series on using presuppositions to covert persuasion and influence. Presuppositions are one of the most powerful yet least known about methods of influence. They work by constructing a sentence that pre supposes certain things (of your choice) to be true, things that your listener or reader will not question.

Today’s topic is in the category of simple presuppositions, and is another form of noun. If you recall previous examples, we’ve covered simple nouns, names, and pronouns. Today’s nouns are of the “generic noun phrases,” or noun phrases (two or more words describing a noun) that stand for a whole class, usually people.

Like the previous examples, this won’t do you much good on it’s own, but it’s usually a good idea to take it slow when learning something new, to make sure you get the fundamentals down, so later on you can use more complex patterns much more easier and more natural.

OK, lets see some examples:

Leading doctors agree that exercise is good for health.

Top Financial Advisers recommend investing the same amount of money in the stock market every month to achieve the best long-term results.

Great companies have always known that continually developing new products is key to consistent profits.

In the above examples, “leading doctors,” “top financial advisers,” and “great companies,” are all examples of a generic noun phrase. Of course you could say “convicted felons,” “successful dictators,” or “top rated snipers,” but that might give your listeners or readers the wrong impression about your message, unless you were trying to persuade somebody NOT to do something.

Convicted felons know that once you successfully commit your first crime, it’s almost impossible to stop until you end up in jail.

You might say that to a group of high-risk kids, for example.

Usually, however, you are trying to persuade somebody to do something, rather than not do something. In this case, it’s best to choose a class that sounds somewhat authoritative on whatever topic it is you are persuading, to give your ideas some kind of “social proof,” or “authority.”

Later, when we get into more advanced, complex presuppositions, you’ll see how this one technique can be a powerful “anchor” on which to hang other techniques in your speech or copywriting that can greatly enhance your persuasive efforts.

So the pattern for generic noun phrases is:

(Adjective) + (group of authoritative sounding people)

Top scientists
Leading financial advisors
Highly regarded personal trainers
Weight loss specialists
Leading dieticians

Etc.

Next we’ll talk about one more “simple” kind of presuppositions before moving into the more powerful (and fun) “complex” kind.

The more techniques we learn, the more interesting and powerful combinations we can come up with.

Share this: