Make Your Customers Cry, Shiver, or Laugh – Or Lose Them

Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash We’ve all seen the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) End Animal Cruelty commercial, starring Sarah McLachlan and her song Angel. The commercial, an example of an emotional appeal to trigger the cognitive bias of an identifiable victim, haunts us with images of shivering, starving, abandoned […]

Drop the Facts and Figures: Touch Them!

(Image courtesy Yoann Boyer on Unsplash) Powerful marketing relies upon emotional appeals. Although, as an intelligent, cognitively complex person, I would like the world to rely on logic, it does not – and I can’t proffer logical arguments to increase sales for my content clients. These emotional industry tricks are the route to profitability: Read […]

Persuade Them Powerfully

A recent study from the Journal of Marketing makes it clear: Feelings over Facts when persuading last-minute donors. The researchers found at the start of a campaign, logic motivates donors: I’ll donate if the organization proves its initiative is likely to succeed. But at the end of a campaign, to reach that big goal, emotion […]

Burying the Ashes of Hollywood

It’s Time to End Hollywood’s Undue Influence

Talk It Out: Mastering Critical Discourse

TALK IT OUT: MASTERING CRITICAL DISCOURSE introduces an innovative approach for mastering critical thinking and public presentation. Unlike mainstream public speaking texts, TALK IT OUT explores miscommunication distortions and biases and provides metacognition methods to overcome those barriers. Ideal for public speaking, forensics, and moot court instruction, the text ensures students confidently master civil and effective discourse. Key […]