Whether we realize it or not, it happens to all...

We are being persuaded by our friends, family, colleagues, strangers, the government and the media on a daily basis.

Most of this persuasion is very subtle and naturally stimulates our hidden needs, wants and motivations for a better and more fulfilling existence.

In this article we will break down the psychological human motivators that must be stimulated in order to open the channels of persuasion.

The Six Human Needs

The six human needs are an indispensable component of human motivation and behaviour. Credit for their development can be attributed to Anthony Robbins and the great work he is doing around the world helping people improve their lives.

On one level or another, whether we know it or not we are all seeking to satisfy as many of the six human needs as possible to the greatest extent possible. These six human needs essentially dictate how we live our lives by influencing the decisions we make and actions we take on a daily basis.

1. The Need for Certainty

People have a natural desire to live with a feeling of certainty.

We do not want things to change, we seek comfort, we seek security, and we want to know that everything will work out just the way we imagined it. As a result we tend to stay within our comfort zones experiencing the familiar and expected.

Ask yourself: How can I persuade others by stimulating their need for certainty?

2. The Need for Uncertainty

When certainty becomes far too predictable or boring, then we consciously or sub-consciously seek to create uncertainty within our lives. We naturally do this by stepping outside our comfort zones, or by undertaking activities that we would tend to avoid under normal circumstances. Uncertainty creates the feelings of excitement and exhilaration that leads us towards the unknown.

Ask yourself: How can I persuade others by stimulating their need for uncertainty?

3. The Need for Significance

As we go about our lives, we continuously seek to feel important, unique and significant in one way or another. We do this by seeking to obtain status, acknowledgment or praise for our efforts. We also obtain significance by achieving our goals, by learning new things or by simply wearing the latest fashion styles and trends.

Ask yourself: How can I persuade others by stimulating their need for significance?

4. The Need for Connection

While striving for a sense of significance, we are at the same time driven to connect with others, life and society in general. This type of connection can come in many forms including a connection with God, with other people, with nature, with groups, with pets, or even through self-sacrifice that leads to caring for another personís needs.

As we go about our days we attempt to manage a very delicate balance between our need for connection and our need for significance. The greater the balance between these two needs, then the greater sense of fulfilment and happiness we will experience in our lives.

Ask yourself: How can I persuade others by stimulating their need for connection?

5. The Need for Growth

In one way or another, we are seeking to experience a sense of growth as we progress through life. This growth can be achieved by learning new things, developing skills and talents or simply learning from our everyday experiences.

Ask yourself: How can I persuade others by stimulating their need for growth?

6. The Need for Contribution

In order to experience the zenith of fulfilment and satisfaction in life, we will need to satisfy the need for contribution. We will naturally seek to fulfil this need by working towards a worthy cause that has benefit for others and to the wider society.

Ask yourself: How can I persuade others by stimulating their need for contribution?

Pleasure Seeking Motivators

Pleasure is the most powerful emotional need that drives our behaviour, decisions and actions. It is an overwhelming force that motivates people to undergo temporary periods of pain for the eventual experience of pleasure that awaits them at the end of the tunnel. As such, using pleasure to persuade other people to your way of thinking is one of the most effective tools available in your arsenal.

The following presents a list of common human motivators you can stimulate throughout the persuasive process to persuade others to your ideas or ways of thinking.

As you read through this list, persistently ask yourself, how you could use this information to persuade another person to support your idea or accept your way of thinking?

Personal Motivators

Perfect Health

People seek the feelings that are associated with perfect health. We want to be fit, healthy, look good and feel great every moment for as long as possible.

Absolute Freedom

People desire personal freedom. We want to be able to do what we want, when we want, and for however long we want. And at the same time we donít want others to control our decisions or actions. Instead we want to be the captains of our own ships, making our own decisions and taking actions that will support our highest values, goals and objectives.

Personal Power

People want to experience a sense of personal power. They want to feel as though they are in control of events and circumstances, and they desire to experience this at a momentís notice without consequences.

Achievement Orientation

People want certainty that they can and will obtain their most cherished goals and objectives as soon as possible. These are the goals that are aligned with their highest values and personal needs.
These people will be persuaded once you have cleared the obstacles from their path. These are the obstacles that are currently impeding their progress, and the challenges that are draining the life-force from their souls and their goals.

Financial Success

People desire to experience financial success.

Almost everyone hopes that they will someday be rich, however for most people this is far beyond their current patterns of thinking and well beyond their strength of self-belief. As such, they will not be persuaded by the promise of riches. However, they will be persuaded by the promise of financial security and comfort. And this is the angle that an effective persuader must take.

Complete Creative Self-Expression

People want to be able to express themselves creatively without being ridiculed, judged or criticized. They seek to experience this at work, at home and during play. The more creative expression they have, the greater the joys of pleasure they experience and the more susceptible they become to persuasion.

Hope for a Better Future

People seek a better future. They hope that tomorrow will be better than today and that next week will be an improvement on last week, and that next year all their dreams will come true. An effective persuader must stimulate the small and seemingly insignificant hopes that each person has and use these to build the bigger picture filled with positive emotions and fulfilment.

Peace of Mind

People desire to experience peace of mind throughout their days. There is so much going on these days that most of us are running around like crazy. We stress, suffer from anxiety attacks and fear for what tomorrow may bring. If we are therefore given an opportunity to experience peace of mind, even for a short period of time, we will jump on that opportunity and ride it all the way to the finish line.

Comfort and Security

People want to feel comfortable and secure within a familiar environment that supports all of their needs and wants. They donít want to do things that raise their levels of anxiety. Instead they just want to relax and feel secure in the knowledge that everything is under their control and will be taken care of at a momentís notice.

Social Motivators

Good Relationships with Family and Friends

There is probably nothing more stressful than a family in conflict. It eats at peopleís souls one bite at a time, until everything is eaten away. For this reason people want to experience good, healthy, open and honest relationships with their family and friends.

A Sense of Roots

People want to feel grounded to mother earth, to their family history, social group, or cultural background. This gives them a sense of belonging and familiarity that provides a deep sense of security and comfort.

The Need to Follow Others

Most people have an undeniable need to follow those who inspire and motivate them into action. They seek to follow powerful leaders who have presence, can be trusted and are honourable.
Itís however important to remember that some people are not followers and rather prefer to lead from the front. In order to persuade them you will need to stimulate their pride and need for accomplishment.

CONCLUSION

There is little doubt that our ability to persuade others to our way of thinking is one of the most important and indispensable skills that we must learn and master. With it, we can climb the corporate ladder, win sales, accelerate our business forward, and convince our romantic partner and kids to our way of thinking. Conversely without it, we are merely leaves blowing haphazardly in the wind completely at the mercy of external forces people and events that control our every decision and action like puppets on a string.