This article’s title is meant to be a metaphor for doing or saying something so often, that it loses meaning. Specifically, it hints at not over-utilizing techniques of persuading people.
You likely know individuals who are so focused on being charismatic, that their charisma begins to lose its potency to those who know them well. We label people as fraudulent once we notice that they’ve fallen in love with utilizing certain techniques of ‘persuasion’. An example of this technique can include saying the name of the person they’re talking to in every other sentence. Another example is forcing themselves to stand with a posture which is unnaturally erect at all times, in hopes of portraying an image of power and confidence.
The people around you are not basic enough to fall for consecutive, cheap attempts at exhibiting charisma. There is no doubt that some basic techniques are researched, and proven to be true. However, it is often much too obvious to onlookers when an individual has come across those techniques in their study of human persuasion. The over-utilization, and overdoing, of techniques used to persuade people will result in you being labelled as a fake. People will be less likely to open up to someone they perceive to be constantly attempting to persuade them, and you can be doing more damage than good in your attempts to become a machine of influence.
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The technique of persuading people who you encounter on your way to becoming influential are best used in legitimately rewarding situations. The outcome of your actions should be worth the utilization of a certain technique you’ve learned. Remember, the more times you attempt to persuade an individual, the likelier it is that they’ll catch on. For this reason, utilizing every persuasion technique in the book every time you want to talk your friends into going to your favorite restaurant is not a smart thing to do. They’ll come to expect the behavior from you, and your techniques will lose their potency – if not serve to hurt your cause.
Seeming like you know nothing about persuasion, is the best thing you can portray in order to be persuasive. Persuasion works best when it is discreet. And discretion is best established in small doses. Remember to not become too motivated in your attempts to persuade other individuals. Take things slowly, build your skills covertly, and don’t yearn to be perfect. Humans might very well be too complicated for any book or research paper to accurately map out.