The One (Really Easy) Persuasion Technique Everyone Should Know — PsyBlog.

I love methods of persuasion. It was a huge part of a lot of the courses I took when I was getting my bachelors. Most of what makes persuasion like this possible is just how absolutely loose and floppy human willpower really is. There are so many ways to bend people to your will it’s amazing any of us even have a will to call our own. There is a part of this that is similar, in that people in certain situations feel obligated to continue a social interaction even if it’s unpleasant because people don’t usually want to be seen as rude. This is ingrained in us for many years. This is the exact thing that telemarketers and fast-talking salespeople depend on to get what they want. They expect that people will continue an interaction if you deny them a closure and they’ll endure your sales pitch or your fast-talk until you are finished. Years ago I felt this very force keeping me from simply hanging up the phone on a telemarketer. I will say that when I pulled the phone off from my ear and looked at the handset I could hear the tinny little voice still trying to deliver the fast-talk. I just shrugged and hung up the phone. It felt oddly wonderful and liberating all at once. Ever since then I’ve had no problem in terminating unwanted communications. It was if a seal was broken, now I no longer feel beholden to continue even face-to-face communications if I do not want to, I just turn and walk away. Once you make that first liberating break, it’s far easier.

So, with this little article, you might be better armed to understand when someone is trying to bend you to their will. You can either go with it or you can do the unexpected and refuse, or you can just walk away. It’s been my experience that people need you more than you need them, so it’s not like you are going to endanger future exchanges. Plus if you terminate communications with someone and they know you are able to do so, they’ll likely tread more carefully next time.