Presupposition And Persuasion

At the core of presupposition is the idea that we can assume a mental position or thought which our prospects or clients must take for granted in order for everything else that we say to make sense without us actually having to name the core concept.

In other words, a presupposition has to be accepted as true in order for the rest of the sentence to make sense. Think about this. "Accepted as true" is an assumption. It is accepted as true despite the fact that you're not even speaking it out loud.

The idea is, we want to get to the point of not having to say the ideas.

Start to wrap your mind around the idea that you're going to learn to start to talk in ways that presuppose what you want someone to think. They have to assume the core of what you want them to think just in order to make sense of what you're saying.

This gets us closer to getting people to think what it is that we want them to think without us having to say it.

Here's a popular (too popular) use of presupposition: "If we don't fight the terrorists over there, we're going to have to fight them over here."

What does that presuppose? Well, it presupposes that we have to 'fight them' at all. It also presupposes that if we don't fight them over there, they're going to come here for a fight.

'The great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.' -Sir Isaac Newton

Here's another presupposition by Isaac Newton. It presupposes that there is a 'truth' that we are capable of discovering. It doesn't say whether this truth is universal or individualized which leaves us to wonder.

This is one that has been taught to sales professionals since the dawn of sales. "How will you be paying for this today?"

If the potential purchaser hasn't agreed to the sale yet, this presupposition puts them in the bind that something is most assuredly being bought and paid for by cash, credit card, or check. It doesn't give the option of it not being paid for (bought).

This might be a little existential, but it's a cool thing nonetheless. Nouns presuppose existence. What does that mean? Well, it means that a noun, or anything similar, presuppose a level of existence.

What are some examples of how you can you use presupposition in your business?

Article Source: http://www.rightbiz.com

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of affluent prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

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