Rating: 
Summary: The Master of Persuasion
Review: I work both in therapy and sales so it is very important for me to know the best and most powerful methods available.
This book is one of the best starts you could ever hope for.
The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking , is both foundational and advanced. You will learn the basics of what makes people move in one way or the other. Armed with this knowledge your odds increase dramatically for having them move in the direction of your intention, that is if you have both yours and their best interest in mind.
People work in Patterns and can be very predictable , if you have the knowledge to understand the underlying processes. Kevin Hogan Gives you both the knowledge and underlying process to help make you an expert on Influence and Persuasion.
I don't care if it is for work or family or play, this book will help you improve your odds of getting what you want. It makes relationships with others easier and people begin to see you as someone who gets things done without all the resistance that so many others use.
Another thing i like about Kevin Hogan is that he continues to add to this knowledge. I know i can go to one place to get all the newest and best that is available in Influence and Persuasion. If it is new and useful , Kevin Knows about it.
Buy the book and start or enhance your Persuasion skills, Now!
Mark J. Ryan
Rating:
Summary: "real world" guide for anyone in the business of persuasion
Review: I found the Psychology of Persuasion full of practical information written in language designed for those of us who are actually doing business instead of just teaching or writing about it. Those of us astute enough can also see how it can just as aptly be applied to our personal lives. Not many other books I've read on the art of persuasion has this cross marketability.
Mr Hogan appears to have an uncanny ability to know how to communicate knowledge in real world language and concepts which I immediately incorporated into training for my sales staff. The Psychology of Persuasion is a mandatory read for all my staff; from reception to sales. Our bottom line sales have increased directly because of this book. If you own a business - get this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Strictly for the bored sales professional
Review: It appears that Kevin Hogan's goal in the Psychology of Persuasion is to give you the tools necessary to make you a better communicator and persuader. Hogan divides the process of persuasion in several different parts. He starts you off with what he calls the foundation and fundamentals of persuasion. He then moves on to preparation and presentation which all then should lead you to results.
For myself, I was disappointed with most of the book. The tools he gives are very poor summaries of information found in better books. The only word that comes to mind is Frankenstein. These summaries are a hodgepodge of ideas that I didn't think could be mangled so efficiently. He supplements these summaries with really basic real life examples like buying a house. Most of these examples are from the perspective of the salesperson.
As a teacher and parent, I was hoping for more innovative ideas that I can use to be a better communicator with my kids and colleagues. I didn't. The best part of the book was the quotes he put in at the beginning of every chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: [The Psychology of Persuasion]
Review: I approached this book with the utmost curiosity and soon began to wonder if it was actaully a fictional comedy. This book is filled from top to bottom with false analagies, weak conclusions and flat-out naive discussions. He actually compares, at one point, an airline pilot to Saddam Hussein in that they both manipulate aerodynamics, one with a plane and the other with SCUD missiles!! He also quotes others as saying "knowledge is power" only to forget that he himself wrote earlier "Knowledge itself is not power!" Perhaps, though, the most inane quote is the authors own.
"Of all the creatures on Earth, only man was designed to communicate effectively."
Obviously National Geographic has grossly mis-represented the entire animal kingdom, then.
Anyone who is remotely interested in psychology already knows the content of this book by simply living day-to-day. It's value can be replaced by any armchair philosopher from Apalachia. In the end, this book attempts to explain the simplest forms of common sense with seemingly high concentration on the motives of car salesmen, the influence of celebrities and the authors own ineptitude towards the meaning of persuasion and psychology in general. [...] But the joke's on me, I bought it!!
Rating:
Summary: Yes
Review: Kevin spoke at the Round Table last month and he was amazing. He pounded out two solid hours of persuasion without a second of B.S. No product promo. No buy it later. Strategy after strategy. Method after method. I went home. Bought Psychology of Persuasion and Talk Your Way to the Top. I've read them both and I can tell you that this is excellent material. I've been selling financial products for almost 10 years. My focus has been insurance and The Psychology of Persuasion is one of those books that is going to help me get to the top.
I liked his fresh take on nonverbal communication. I liked his ethics. When you read Psychology of Persuasion by Hogan you learn to influence with integrity. I'm a master practitioner of NLP and I have never read anything like what was in the advanced section of this book. There isn't one word about NLP in the first 180 pages then you get sort of a specialized master course in NLP and it's applications in persuasion.
When Kevin was in Anaheim, he did mention that he thought Psychology of Persuasion was ready for a revision. I guess I'm happy to have read and learned a heck of a lot from the original.
This is a really good book for salespeople and business people. Enjoy.
DT
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I picked this one of a shelve in a sumer-cabin I was staying at and could not put it away until I had finished it. I think everyone can benefit from the advice in it. Even though some of the advice is common sense it is still valuable and worth reading over and over. I don't work as a salesperson but I think this book can help me with my career, that is if I can remember the advice given in it.
Rating:
Summary: Mistitled
Review: The title should be "The Techniques of Persuasive Selling - How to Persuade People to Buy What You Sell." "Psychology" is advertised in the title, but it's sizzle with no steak. The "techniqes" are standard selling stuff. It's a quick read.
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