In high stakes situations like these, it's common to run into moments of frustration because what you know to be true is being ignored by people who need to believe it. Either they just can't fathom that what you're saying is true, or they don't want to, or they are stuck in some alternate reality because of the lies they've been told, or perhaps it's just a fear of being wrong, but whatever the case, it would be nice if you could find a way to get the truth into them, wouldn't it?

Here's a way to do that.

I can't decide what to call it yet, some people have talked about Judo persuasion, and that might be right. I like calling it The Trojan Horse Technique. Call it what you want, but I'll be surprised if you've noticed it before. It's obvious, in a way, but it's kind of subtle in the way it actually works.

Basically, the goal is to package an argument in such a way as to make it appeal to your target's interests. In that way it is kind of like basic sales, but the psychology behind it is really cool.

Let's say you want to convince someone of something. For example, that pizza gate is real. Many of us would probably want to start out with a very straightforward argument about how all the facts are there, and so it's obviously true, right? But clearly, this doesn't work all the time. In fact, it rarely works unless the person really likes you or is pretty open minded. Luckily, most of your friends and family probably fit into one of those categories, but what about the rest of the world?

For that, you might want to formulate a Trojan Horse. It's actually kind of fun, in a persuasive kind of way! Here's how you do it.

Step 1. Think about what you want to communicate. The very essence of what you want the person to believe. Forget about the facts, those don't matter. What matters is the core belief you want to build in the person. For example, when it comes to pizzagate, the core of the issue is that child trafficking is going on and the media is ignoring it.

Step 2. Think about something that person cares about. It's ok to stereotype here if you don't know the person well. For example, for most people who watch CNN, you could probably assume they care about social justice.

Step 3. Come up with an argument that aggressively REFUTES your own original position, using an argument based on the thing they care about. Your goal is to overdo it here. The more you can convince them you are on their side, the better. Example:

"I HATE how all these #pizzagate nuts are making child trafficking look like a joke! It's a serious issue and the media is going to ignore it now!"

This is a very quick example, and I'm sure you could come up with something better. But you get the idea.

Now, imagine being anyone who doesn't know you, reading that in a tweet, or hearing it in person. It does two things. 1. It opens up the possibility of communication with almost anyone. 2. It forces anyone who thinks that pizzagate people are "nuts" to take your position. It gets at the core of what you really wanted to communicate, which is that the media is ignoring child trafficking.

Whatever they say, you can double down until either they argue against you, or they agree with your premise. Either way, that's when you have them. They trust you as one of their own, and most importantly they FEEL like you understand what they care about. That's the key. Most of us try to get people to think, but what we should be doing is trying to get them to feel, and not by showing them facts, but by showing them that you care about what they care about. That's what this strategy does, exactly. And then, it sneaks in the core belief you want them to believe.

It's genius. Trump based his entire campaign on this idea, which is why he was SO extreme in his views. Mexican illegal immigrants aren't just bad, the are rapists! Muslims need to be banned from the country! And on, and on. It was amazing to watch a master persuader at work. Here's a newer, more subtle example:

Twitter post

As far as I know, this post is the first time this method has been introduced as a three step process. Sales consultants could charge for this stuff. I've studied sales, persuasion, hypnosis, and communication extensively and I've never seen this strategy taught. You are the chosen ones. I'm only releasing it now because this is the most important issue we've ever seen.

Go forth, and prosper.