Lesson 1: The Persuasion Challenge

Persuasion is inherently challenging, but it’s made more difficult by the way we’re conventionally taught to think about persuasion. I’ll outline a new framework for persuasion that will prepare you to master the six persuasion skillsets. We’ll cover:

• The two most common persuasion mistakes and how to avoid them

• A simple tactic that will allow you to deal with spurious “facts” raised in conversations and debates

• The reason why learning persuasion is so hard, and the key to making it far easier

• Why you shouldn’t try to make an argument that’s impossible for someone to disagree with—and what you should do instead

Lesson 2: Clarity

Most persuasion fails because we aren’t sufficiently clear about our own ideas and because we fall short of clearly conveying our ideas. I’ll give you the tools you need to increase your clarity—in your own mind and in your communications. We’ll cover

• The persuasion precondition: how to become a better thinker

• My favorite clarity super-power

• The three levels of clear communication

• How to edit your own work so that what’s in your head ends up on the page

• 6 clarity tools to make your writing more compelling

Lesson 3: Context and Framing

Clarity is the precondition of persuasion. To actually persuade someone, we have to help them overcome the chasm between their context and yours. I’ll teach you single most important tool in bridging that chasm: framing. We’ll cover:

• How to achieve the right persuasion mindset

• 7 questions you must be able to answer about your audience before you write or speak

• The hidden assumptions that make it impossible for you to persuade people of liberty

• The Achilles heel of anti-freedom positions and how to exploit it

• The Freedom Framework: how to establish the methods, assumptions, and goals that will dramatically improve your ability to persuade liberty skeptics

Lesson 4: Fact / Feeling Integration

Liberty advocates tend to believe that we win on the facts but lose because the other side appeals to emotion. I’ll show how to integrate fact and emotion so you win over hearts and minds. We’ll cover:

• What kinds of facts will persuade your audience…and which kind will ensure they never listen to you again

• Why “we have the facts, the other side uses emotion” is a big lie

• How to use emotion without being manipulative 

• Why stories are so important for persuasion and how to effectively deploy them

• The gold standard of persuasion: Heaven and Hell narratives

Lesson 5: Motivation

No matter how good our arguments are, they’re useless unless we can get people to listen to them. I’ll do a deep dive into how to tap into your audience’s values in a way that makes it hard for them NOT to pay attention. We’ll cover:

• Mistakes that keep people from consuming your content

• Why people actually consume content

• Deploying the technique fiction authors use to keep us turning the page

• 8 hooks that compel people to listen

Lesson 6: Process

Discover how to put the six skillsets of persuasion together in a way that virtually guarantees you’ll deploy them consistently and effectively. We’ll cover:

• Why the structure of our minds dictates a certain communications process

• The questions you need to ask yourself before you start writing

• A tactic for people who love to sit down and start writing without any preparation

• How to master outlines (even if you hate outlining)

• 12 editing questions that will ensure you’ve done your best to apply the persuasion skillsets

Lesson 7: Books and Speeches

The six skillsets of persuasion will help you tackle any persuasive objective. But there are unique challenges involved in writing books and giving speeches. I’ll give you the tools you need to overcome those challenges so you can win hearts and minds, no matter what the format. We’ll cover:

• The most common misconception about writing books

• My favorite book planning tool (I’ve never made this publicly available until now)

• Publishing realities you need to know if you’re thinking of writing a book

• Three mindsets that will make you a better speaker overnight

• My favorite speaking tactic

• Why what you do after your speech is over matters far more than what you do on stage