MANIPULATION TECHNIQUES | PART - 1 | ZEE GLOBAL VISION

 MANIPULATION TECHNIQUES

Manipulation Techniques is a Topic that covers a very Wide range of Tactics and Practices, but we will cover some of the most commonly used and most insidious types of Manipulation Techniques here so that you have better understanding of what is out there and how these Individuals might work.

THREE MODES OF PERSUASION

Aristotle outlined three modes of persuasion, which continue to reflect how people communicate with one another with the intention of persuading them to a similar point of view or opinion. Often, these three modes are combined in order to have the greatest effect, especially in the arena of someone giving a speech to many people at once. In order to convince as many different personalities as possible, the speaker employs arguments focused on the disciplines of logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos is the mode of persuasion that has to do with a logical argument. The speaker centers his statement around a logical series of Facts and Evidence, which is designed to lead the listener to a logical conclusion in line with his own position. This is often employed in political speeches and in many other areas where a person is trying to convince others to take action for his cause, whether that is a personal cause or something which he thinks will benefit a Large number of people together. The Arguments must be easy to follow and make the listeners feel as if the speaker is on the same level. It would be counterproductive to speak in terms that no one understands. The listeners might have a number of different reactions to this, including a feeling of being insulted, as well as alienated from the conversation.

Persuasion is in this Form is considered Manipulation under the loose definition of manipulation because you are employing a specific strategy in order to change people`s minds and attempt to get them on your side. This strategy may also employ the use of only choosing specific information that supports your side of the Argument while Excluding any evidence of Information that Refutes it.

This is one of the most common ploys when it comes to political campaigns, and two sides of the political divide might tell the same story completely differently based on what they choose to include and the type of "spin" they use to give listeners or Readers a certain Impression of the Facts.

Another mode of Persuasion, according to Aristotle, is the Ethos Route, which attempts to tap into listeners` emotions primarily as a way of convincing them to see the speaker`s point of view. These modes can be enacted in whatever form available or preferable, such as writing in a newspaper or online, but we will stick with the visual of a speaker speaking to a group of people simply because it`s a stronger Illustration.

A speaker who chooses to employ an Ethos Mode of Persuasion will often tell a story about his background or some other experience, which will work to get the listeners to feel sorry for him or empathize with him in some way.

Often, these experiences are tied into his current endeavor of gathering followers and convincing them that his plans are the best for accomplishing a certain Goal. The speaker might do a bit of Research in order to weed out what that community`s struggles are in particular and then construct his speech around the emotional impact that this issue has raised in that community. By first arousing these emotions, the speaker can then turn to what he believes he can do to change it.

When listeners` emotions are impacted and evoked, they are more willing to listen to potential solutions and propositions, which may or may not align with their political or established views. The Focus moves to solve that specific Problem. 

It is necessary here, also, that the people listening are Firmly convinced of the speaker`s honesty and genuine Empathy for the people suffering or being hurt by whatever issue is being discussed. When the people feel that the speaker is not sincere, this could potentially completely derail any momentum the speaker may have had.

The Final mode of Persuasion offered by Aristotle is that of Pathos. In the Pathos Mode, the Focus is on the speaker or Arguer himself and presenting the most perfect and admirable picture possible to the public. He will be presented as a man of Great Moral Character, Good Experience, High Social and Political Standing, and High Accomplishment. The idea here is that the people will be so Impressed by the Individual himself that they will be convinced that whatever he is saying or fighting for is probably a good thing because he obviously knows what he`s talking about.

Granted, this particular mode is rarely used alone, but it is almost always utilized when other modes are in action. For Example, the Introduction of a speaker to the people` listening before he gives a speech is a way to  condition the crowd toward a particular view of the speaker getting ready to come on stage. The idea is to Impress upon Listeners, especially those who are not yet familiar with him, that this person is someone who deserves attention because of all these things that he has done, stands for, or represents.

EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION

Emotional Manipulation techniques can be incredibly malicious in nature and have the potential to cause Mental Damage that the Victim must often deal with for the Rest of their Lives. This is because, in the most difficult situation, the Manipulator has taken the time and made an effort to develop a sense of Trust and a strong Relationship between himself and the Victim.

Alternatively, the Manipulator may have fostered a somewhat healthy relationship before choosing to do something he knows would hurt his Partner and Himself in someway and then gradually develops a cycle of Manipulation to hide what he`s done through the exploitation of his partner`s established Love and Trust. A classic example of this is the Extramarital Affair.

In other Situations, we are talking about a short-term interaction that employs the victim`s emotional capacity and vulnerability for only the amount of time required for the manipulator to acquire some kind of short-term reward. An example of this might be someone on the street looking for some extra cash who decides to tell a passerby an elaborate story of misfortune in order to guilt the person into giving over some cash or spare change. The Interaction is very Short-Term, and once the Goal is Accomplished, the Manipulator moves on to his next Goal.

The range of Emotional Manipulation techniques and scenarios is Vast, but we will be focusing on some of the Major and most Harmful situations in later Chapters, which usually involve some degree of Emotional Manipulation. The key here is to define what we are talking about when we discuss Emotional Manipulation, and it is the Technique that focuses on evoking very specific Emotions or even Cocktails of Emotional Responses in order to condition the Victim to be more Vulnerable and help the Manipulator towards his Ultimate Goals, whether they are aware of it or not.

There are Many Techniques and specific Tactics that fit under the umbrella term of Emotional Manipulation.

One of these Techniques is Gaslighting, in which the victim is convinced, over time, to start to doubt their Reality and become confused based on a Manipulator`s consistent and Repetitive Denial and Subjugation of the accusations presented to him. This is most often manifested in the form of an abuser who takes harmful actions against a victim, but when asked to acknowledge the actions, often by the abused themselves, they will completely deny that they`ve done anything wrong and insist that the abuser is exaggerating or making stuff up. 

The Victim in this scenario is gradually beaten and worn down Emotionally, where at first, they may have been Strong and Determined to get some kind of Justice through an Apology, but over time, they loses this Strength and begin to doubt their own sanity.
This can be an extremely Mentally Damaging scenario because it is inflicted over a Long Period of Time, and the Brain Begins to form Habits and whole new Paradigms Concerning the Reality they thought they knew.
The point here is that this type of manipulation Tactic would be very hard to Accomplish without having first establish without having first established a very strong Emotional Bond with the Victim.

The Victim stays around or feels Hope that they can improve their situation because they have developed some measure of Love, Trust, and Respect, even if this abuser is not starting to take advantage of all this. The Victim themselves can often be in a state of Denial for a Long Period of Time, choosing to shoulder the Blame for the abuse that is going on rather than accepting that the Person they love has turned into something else entirely or that they were mistaken about them in the First Place.

If you can imagine and place yourself in a scenario like this with someone in your own life whom you`ve grown to Love and Trust more than anyone else, you can probably start to see how someone could become Emotionally Vulnerable and Susceptible to Mind Games, Clinging to the Hope that what they believed they still exists.

In Our Next Part We Will Discuss Few More Manipulation Techniques | Part -2 Topic;

 

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