Margaret’s Persuasion Coach Blog
Communication Cornucopia
The latest issue of Psychology Today features a series of short (one page or less) items about the significance of the words an individual uses. As many of you know, I find this aspect of communication especially intriguing. So these little articles pleased me as much...
Pesky Persuasion Perfectionism
“If only," one of the most self-defeating phrases in any language. It often occurs in the company of its cousins, "could have," "would have” and “should have.” A person may experience the “if onlys” after completing a negotiation or other consensus-seeking...
Meet Sophie from Love on the Rocks—with a Twist
We recently welcomed a new face to our family gatherings, a maltepoo (combination Maltese and poodle) named Sophie. She often provides live entertainment for us. I had already decided to feature a dog character in one of the final stories I'm writing for my anthology...
Negotiating with Housemates
Two true “Magic Question” stories. I felt so proud when my nephew told me how he used the skills I taught him to negotiate for the room he wanted in a house he will be renting with six other college students next fall semester. The group had agreed that, if my nephew,...
Persuasive Paraphrasing Plus
You disagree with someone, and he keeps reiterating his original point. How can you get him to turn off the broken record and listen to you? As many of you know, such repetition often means that, when you express disagreement, he feels you didn't get his point. So he...
A Communication Lesson from Wolfhall
Wolfhall, the miniseries, currently airing on PBS's Masterpiece, provides wonderful examples of a principle you've heard me advocate before—when you aren't sure what to say, push the pause button and don't communicate till you do know what, if anything, you want to...
Interview with Author Chris Rogers
I recently had the pleasure of a two-way interview with Chris Rogers, author of so many excellent mystery novels and short stories that I have lost count. In this interview, we spoke primarily of her soon to be published novel Here Lies a Wicked Man, which I have read...
Up with Positive Peptides
Martha Beck's column "Don't Ask" in the February issue of The Oprah Magazine posed a series of questions women should not ask themselves. (And I'd say men shouldn't ask them either.) One of her no-no questions is “How do I get back at my enemies?” As Beck points out,...
Data Mining Update
In July of 2012, I posted an article about “Data Mining” in my DADA (Defense against the Dark Arts of Persuasion) blog series. If you haven't read it lately, I encourage you to do so now. Here's the link:...
New Pages on persuasioncoach.com
Good news! I've added three new pages to my website. First, a “Resources” page that you can access from the purple pointer at the lower left of my homepage. You'll find an annotated bibliography that lists not only my own works, but also a select group of the books by...