Win Bigly: Persuasion In A World Where Facts Don’t Matter
By, Scott Adams
Portfolio (October 31, 2017)
304 pages
Win Bigly is a book about the art of persuasion. How persuasion works. How influence works. And how, most often, the details and facts don’t matter quite as much as you wished they did. Uniquely though, Win Bigly shares persuasion techniques through the story of Donald Trump’s political rise and eventual presidential victory. This book is a fantastic follow-up to How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big. Adams’ persuasion tips, listed throughout, are indispensable, as well as his recommended reading list – that has already pointed me to the work of Robert Cialdini.
Two of my favorite quotes:
For example, if you accuse an innocent person of a crime, the accused generally responds by immediately denying the accusation and asking what is wrong with you for even asking. But the first reaction of guilty people, usually, is to ask what evidence you have. They need to know what you know so they can either double down on the lie or confess. Liars confess only if the evidence against them is airtight.
A good general rule is that people are more influenced by visual persuasion, emotion, repetition, and simplicity than they are by details and facts.