People often think of persuasion as evil. If you are deliberately trying to manipulate people taking away their freedom of choice and tempting them to acts that may be outside the norm for one's community, then you must be in league with the devil herself. Right?
Well, there is a famous axiom in Communication: "One cannot not communicate". I have always found this axiom rather trite and uninspired. People do chose not to communication, to avoid communication, and to miscommunicate. However, if one is communicating, then one is also influencing the person with whom one is communicating. It is unavoidable. In other words, persuasion is unavoidable. Whether we like it or not, we cannot help influencing the people with whom we come into contact.
The goal is not to try and avoid persuading people. The goal is to chose very carefully that which we want to persuade people of. We really have to think about the consequences of the things we say and the things we do, and how we will potentially influence the people around us. Many times, the things we say and do reveal more information about us than the topics that we address. When I look at someone's Facebook profile for example, I am often amazed at the amount of information people disclose about themselves. Identity management is increasingly important as information becomes more and more ubiquitous. Yet, who is advising people on how to do this?
What issues are so important in your world that you want to persuade people to act or believe in a certain way? How about breast cancer? Wouldn't you like to see breast cancer go away? Wouldn't it be great if people got regular check ups to reduce their chances of dying from breast cancer? Do you have your pink ribbon? Is the pink ribbon really about breast cancer or is it just another marketing scam? This is not a simple issue. Framing pink ribbon products as "marketing scams" is inherently biased based on a view of marketers as evil, manipulative, money grubbers and persuasion as evil manipulation. How can breast cancer researchers obtain money? Considering that medicine is so much more an art than a science, how can we say that a product is contributing to breast cancer? Why is that we tend to view people (and corporations) who are successful, especially successful financially, as being evil? Why is breast cancer more worthy of attention than any other social/health problem?
Ultimately, any decision is a moral decision. This is what I truly believe. Religion is supposed to take care of moral training. Yet, religion is increasingly divorced from people's lives. How many people really think about the consequences of their actions? Do companies have a moral conscious? Does the government? If we want to be responsible for our actions, then we have to make conscious choices. We have to be aware of how people and things influence us. We have to change ourselves first. Then we can work on making a better world.
So, my questions for you, my friends, are 1) who are you and what do you really want out of life, 2) what is your vision for making a better world, and 3) what is your plan for making it happen?
8 comments:
That is a good question because i dont know what i really want out of life and i dont know my vision. But i do know that I am trying my best to help my self and others around me better each and everyday, i atleast try to learn something new everyday and apply so how to my life. I also lve working for the department of labor apprenticeship program because there are many people i get to talk to each and every day to help them find a trade or something that will interest them in working. So I think my goal/vision in life is to helkp others because my heart truely tells me that i should be a teacher. Kirk Jefferson Com 3365-01
I could not agree more with the comment about people posting an excessive amount of personal information about themselves on facebook. I think that people are subconsciously persuaded by other peoples profiles & they find security in the site. I am not sure why but people also look at it as a competition. They are persuaded to make themselves look like the good person, especially when a stranger comes upon their page. Somewhere along the lines there has to be an individual that is interested in all that personal information.
I never thought of persuasion as being “evil.” I always believed that it was not the person who was trying to persuade, but rather the person being persuaded responsibility to believe whatever they wanted. Although, it is difficult in our society to not being persuaded on a subject and take some sort of stance. Persuasion truly is unavoidable.
With this being said, I agree that the only thing that we can do is be careful what we persuade people of. Things that we try to persuade people of not only present information to them, but show them our own belief system. It is important that we represent ourselves properly when trying to influence others.
I found the statement about the pink ribbon for breast cancer to be very eye-opening. Some may believe that this ribbon is simply a marketing technique used to gain money. While others truly want to see further research conducted, in hopes of eventually finding a cure. I believe this differs depending on each individual.
Whether persuasion is “evil” or not, I believe it is extremely circumstantial. And because of this, individuals should be aware of the information that they present to others and information that is presented to them.
I am in a class about propaganda right now, so I've been thinking about a lot about persuasion and what is "too far." I think that a lot of people look at different campaigns and think that they are bombarding the viewer with information, when really, how do you convey a message without some sort of persuasion? I too agree with the fact that people post too much information about themselves on Facebook. It reminds me of our research in Quantitative research methods about Facebook and stalkers. I think that people are persuaded by other people's profiles all the time. It's really quite scarty.
I think persuasion is a huge part of communication and it cannot be avoided, in fact its an effective way to get people to move to action or to believe in something. Unfortunately, people often mistake persuasion for propaganda and they are too very different things. In regards to the pink ribbon for breast cancer: I think its a brilliant idea. Regardless of it bringing in a profit,(and so what if it does) it gets people thinking about something very important. Thats all we can ask for. If we can persuade our society to think about breast cancer,then we are effective message designers and perhaps people will CHOOSE to take action. We don't force anyone to think or act a certain way, persuasion simply encourages people to negotiate an idea in their mind. Unfortunately, its just another way to pass the blame. Everyone has a choice, and they should take responsibility.
I think persuasion is a huge part of communication and it cannot be avoided, in fact its an effective way to get people to move to action or to believe in something. Unfortunately, people often mistake persuasion for propaganda and they are two very different things. In regards to the pink ribbon for breast cancer: I think its a brilliant idea. Regardless of it bringing in a profit,(and so what if it does) it gets people thinking about something very important. Thats all we can ask for. If we can persuade our society to think about breast cancer,then we are effective message designers and perhaps people will CHOOSE to take action. We don't force anyone to think or act a certain way, persuasion simply encourages people to negotiate an idea in their mind. Unfortunately, its just another way to pass the blame. Everyone has a choice, and they should take responsibility.
I have always been a watchdog of persuasion, whether its from our parents and our relatives, to our friends and colleagues. I believe persuasion is not all evil, and that much good can come from it. However, its obvious that the almighty dollar reigns supreme in persuasion and without a designer wardrobe or a top dollar car I am incomplete.
I feel that each day is my own, and what I do with it depends solely on how I feel. One day I want to sleep the whole day and another I feel like I am productive. Over the course of the 21 years I have been around, there are certain things that anyone who knows me can say that I want to do. I love making people feel good about themselves mostly through laughter.
Yet, I feel accustomed to use this "gift" and share it with many people. Whether television, radio or print, I feel that my gifts can carry me to happiness as well as others.
I agree that persuasion is unavoidable but it does not always have to be "evil". It is unavoidable in the information design business and advertising where its people job to persuade people to what they want. But this persuasion isn’t as dangerous, it is usually selling a product or event. Not encouraging people to join a gang or do harmful things.
In terms of facebook profiles, they are defiantly a form of personal persuasion. It gives members the opportunity to bend that they are, and what people think of them. They are not forced to say everything about themselves just the positive and what you want people to know. It’s not exactly evil its just keeping what you would rather others not know personal, and only showing your good qualities, its just a bit deceiving. But at the same time facebook is not meant to be a personal diary revealing your dark secrets.
What do I really want out of life? Toughie, I am someone who wants to enjoy every bit of my life. I wish I could say I want to be a doctor and save peoples lives. But I can only use what skills I have to help people my own way. By being a good friend who is supportive and open minded. It has working so far! I do not use persuasion techniques to change what people think about me, I make it obvious.
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