Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter
PR Courses
The Public Relations BlogMedia & PsychologyPersuasion & InfluencePersuasion Definition, Meaning, and Ethics
Media & PsychologyPersuasion & Influence

Persuasion Definition, Meaning, and Ethics

Harness the power of rhetorical influence.

Jerry Silfwer
by Jerry Silfwer

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

Table of contents

Explore the per­sua­sion defin­i­tion, mean­ing, and ethics.

Persuasion is a fun­da­ment­al pub­lic rela­tions (PR) concept, serving as the corner­stone of many PR strategies and campaigns. 

Persuasion is the art and sci­ence of influ­en­cing people’s atti­tudes, beliefs, and beha­viours towards a par­tic­u­lar idea, cause, or product. 

Here we go:

Persuasion Definition

Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Persuasion Definition

Persuasion is a term with neg­at­ive con­nota­tions. However, we must all be per­suas­ive to get our mes­sage across.

Persuasion = the delib­er­ate effort to influ­ence atti­tudes, beliefs, beha­viours, or decisions through reas­on­ing, emo­tion­al appeal, or oth­er stra­tegic com­mu­nic­a­tion methods.

Please note: Persuasion is not about coax­ing any­one into com­pli­ance because that’s manip­u­la­tion or coer­cion, not persuasion.

Learn more: Persuasion Definition, Meaning, and Ethics

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Logo - Spin Academy

Persuasion Meaning

Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Persuasion Meaning (With Examples from PR)

Persuasion in pub­lic rela­tions (PR) is not about manip­u­la­tion or decep­tion; instead, it’s about present­ing com­pel­ling argu­ments and inform­a­tion that res­on­ate with the tar­get audi­ence, encour­aging them to see things from a par­tic­u­lar per­spect­ive. It’s about cre­at­ing an enga­ging and con­vin­cing nar­rat­ive that aligns with the audience’s val­ues and interests while advan­cing an organisation’s goals.

PR pro­fes­sion­als employ per­sua­sion as a crit­ic­al tool to influ­ence pub­lic opin­ion. We care­fully craft mes­sages that appeal to the emo­tions, val­ues, and needs of our stake­hold­ers, influ­en­cers, and pub­lics. We use storytelling, com­pel­ling visu­als, and oth­er per­sua­sion tech­niques to make these mes­sages more impact­ful. We also lever­age the power of social proof, show­cas­ing endorse­ments from respec­ted fig­ures or testi­mo­ni­als from sat­is­fied cus­tom­ers to enhance the cred­ib­il­ity of our message. 

Moreover, PR pro­fes­sion­als use stra­tegic tim­ing and place­ment to ensure that our mes­sages reach the audi­ence when they are most recept­ive. By skill­fully apply­ing these and oth­er per­suas­ive tech­niques, we can sway pub­lic opin­ion in favour of an organ­isa­tion, enhan­cing its repu­ta­tion and influence.

Example: “Real Beauty” by Dove

One of the most suc­cess­ful PR cam­paigns that effect­ively used per­sua­sion is Dove’s “Real Beauty” cam­paign. Launched in 2004, the cam­paign sought to chal­lenge the tra­di­tion­al beauty stand­ards por­trayed in the media and pro­mote a more inclus­ive defin­i­tion of beauty. 

By fea­tur­ing women of dif­fer­ent sizes, ages, and eth­ni­cit­ies in their advert­ise­ments, Dove appealed to the emo­tions (pathos) of the audi­ence and sparked a glob­al con­ver­sa­tion about body pos­it­iv­ity and self-esteem. 

The cam­paign also demon­strated Dove’s com­mit­ment to its brand val­ues (eth­os) and presen­ted a com­pel­ling argu­ment (logos) for rede­fin­ing beauty.

The suc­cess of the “Real Beauty” cam­paign can be attrib­uted to sev­er­al factors:

  • Appeal to emo­tion. The cam­paign res­on­ated with the audi­ence on an emo­tion­al level by address­ing a wide­spread con­cern about body image and self-esteem.
  • Corporate social respons­ib­il­ity (CSR). The cam­paign estab­lished Dove as a socially respons­ible brand that cares about its cus­tom­ers’ well-being, enhan­cing its cred­ib­il­ity and trustworthiness.
  • Smart minor­ity. The cam­paign presen­ted a per­suas­ive argu­ment for rede­fin­ing beauty, which chal­lenged the status quo and encour­aged the audi­ence to view beauty in a new light.

Example: “Share a Coke” by Coca-Cola

Another not­able example is the “Share a Coke” cam­paign by Coca-Cola. 

Launched in 2011 in Australia and later rolled out glob­ally, the cam­paign involved repla­cing the Coca-Cola logo on bottles and cans with fam­ous names, invit­ing con­sumers to “Share a Coke” with someone they know. This cam­paign effect­ively used pathos by cre­at­ing a per­son­al con­nec­tion with con­sumers and logos by encour­aging shar­ing, which aligns with the brand’s val­ues of bring­ing people together.

The “Share a Coke” cam­paign was suc­cess­ful due to its innov­at­ive and per­son­al­ised approach:

  • Personalisation. By put­ting con­sumers’ names on their products, Coca-Cola made them feel unique and recog­nised, fos­ter­ing a sol­id emo­tion­al con­nec­tion with the brand. 
  • Social cap­it­al. The cam­paign also tapped into the uni­ver­sal human desire for con­nec­tion and shar­ing, which made it relat­able and appeal­ing to a broad audience. 
  • Bandwagon effect. The cam­paign gen­er­ated buzz on social media, with con­sumers shar­ing pic­tures of their per­son­al­ised Coke bottles and cans, thereby amp­li­fy­ing the reach and impact of the campaign.

Persuasion and Professional Integrity

To suc­ceed with per­sua­sion tech­niques in pub­lic rela­tions, abide by these principles:

  • Tell the truth. Be trans­par­ent and hon­est in your com­mu­nic­a­tion to build trust and cred­ib­il­ity. Avoid mak­ing exag­ger­ated or false claims in your PR efforts. This can dam­age your cred­ib­il­ity and trust­wor­thi­ness, pos­sibly lead­ing to leg­al issues. Always strive for hon­esty and trans­par­ency in your communications.
  • Know your audi­ence. When it comes to using per­sua­sion in PR, under­stand­ing your audi­ence is para­mount. Tailor your mes­sage to res­on­ate with their val­ues, needs, and con­cerns. Use eth­os, pathos, and logos to build a com­pel­ling nar­rat­ive. Ethos estab­lishes cred­ib­il­ity and trust, pathos appeals to emo­tions, and logos provides logic­al reas­on­ing. Remember, authen­ti­city is critical. 
  • Monitor the media. Monitor and eval­u­ate the effect­ive­ness of your PR efforts reg­u­larly. Use ana­lyt­ics tools to track key met­rics and gain insights into your audience’s beha­viour and pref­er­ences. Listen to your audience’s feed­back and con­cerns, and respond to them promptly and respect­fully. This will help you refine your PR strategies and make them more effective.
  • Respect the con­text. Be mind­ful of cul­tur­al dif­fer­ences and sens­it­iv­it­ies when com­mu­nic­at­ing with a diverse audi­ence. What works in one cul­ture may not work in anoth­er, and spe­cif­ic mes­sages may be per­ceived as offens­ive or inappropriate.
  • Connect through stor­ies. Leverage storytelling to make your mes­sage more enga­ging and mem­or­able. Stories are inher­ently per­suas­ive and can help you con­nect deeply with your audience.
  • Stay con­sist­ent. It’s cru­cial to main­tain a con­sist­ent brand voice across all com­mu­nic­a­tion chan­nels. This helps rein­force your brand iden­tity and makes your mes­sage more recog­nis­able and impact­ful. One of the most com­mon mis­takes is not hav­ing a clear and con­sist­ent mes­sage. Ensure all com­mu­nic­a­tions align with your brand val­ues and object­ives to avoid this.
  • Speak through action. Don’t ignore neg­at­ive feed­back or crises. Address them promptly and pro­fes­sion­ally, and use them as oppor­tun­it­ies to demon­strate your com­mit­ment to cus­tom­er ser­vice and con­tinu­ous improvement.

The power of per­sua­sion lies in its abil­ity to con­nect, engage, and influ­ence. The tool trans­forms mes­sages into com­pel­ling nar­rat­ives, brands into trus­ted names, and audi­ences into loy­al communities. 

Learn more: Persuasion Definition, Meaning, and Ethics

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Logo - Spin Academy

Persuasion Ethics

To Spin Or Not To Spin - Inception - Spinning Top
To spin or not to spin. That’s the question.
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Persuasion Ethics

Persuasion is about get­ting someone to com­ply because they want to. A manip­u­lat­or always has his best self-interest in mind, where­as a per­suader must see the world through the eyes of others. 

“PR means telling the truth and work­ing eth­ic­ally – even when all the media want is head­lines and all the pub­lic wants is scape­goats. Public rela­tions fails when there is no integ­rity.”
— Viv Segal

Please note: Persuasion is not about coax­ing any­one into com­pli­ance because that’s manip­u­la­tion or coer­cion, not persuasion.

Be a per­suader. Not a manipulator.

Learn more: Persuasion Definition, Meaning, and Ethics

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Logo - Spin Academy

The Golden Rule of Persuasion

Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

The Golden Rule of Persuasion

The golden rule for being per­suas­ive is straightforward:

  • The golden rule of per­sua­sion is to lay the ground­work; nev­er sug­gest any­thing to any­one who isn’t ready to com­ply — yet.

You have to put in the work, period.

Learn more: The Golden Rule of Persuasion

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Logo - Spin Academy

Persuasion Techniques

Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Persuasion Techniques

Persuasion tech­niques can be applied in vari­ous con­texts, includ­ing pub­lic rela­tions, mar­ket­ing, sales, polit­ics, and inter­per­son­al com­mu­nic­a­tion, to per­suade oth­ers effectively.

Here are examples of per­sua­sion techniques:

  • Norm of reci­pro­city: Capitalising on the social norm that indi­vidu­als feel oblig­ated to repay favours or kind­ness, lead­ing them to be more recept­ive to persuasion.
  • Artificial scarcity: Creating a sense of urgency or lim­ited avail­ab­il­ity to make some­thing more desir­able. 1Silfwer, J. (2019, July 26). The Power of Artificial Scarcity. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​a​r​t​i​f​i​c​i​a​l​-​s​c​a​r​c​i​ty/
  • Authority: Leveraging the influ­ence of respec­ted or author­it­at­ive fig­ures to endorse or sup­port a par­tic­u­lar mes­sage, product, or course of action.
  • Consistency (or Commitment): Encouraging small com­mit­ments that lead to lar­ger ones by emphas­iz­ing past actions or state­ments. See also the foot-in-the-door tech­nique and the sunk cost fallacy.
  • Social proof: Demonstrating that oth­ers sim­il­ar to the tar­get audi­ence have adop­ted the desired beha­viour or belief.
  • Liking: Building rap­port and trust by find­ing com­mon ground or high­light­ing sim­il­ar­it­ies between one­self and the audience.
  • Attractiveness (the halo effect): Physically attract­ive indi­vidu­als tend to be rated more favour­ably regard­ing per­son­al­ity traits. 2Silfwer, J. (2023, December 17). The Halo Effect: Why Attractiveness Matters in PR. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​h​a​l​o​-​e​f​f​e​ct/
  • Framing: Presenting inform­a­tion in a way that influ­ences per­cep­tion or decision-mak­ing. 3Silfwer, J. (2023, December 3). Framing in PR: How To Bypass Confirmation Bias. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​f​r​a​m​i​n​g​-​i​n​-​pr/
  • Priming: Proactively intro­du­cing subtle cues or stim­uli to influ­ence sub­sequent beha­viour or atti­tudes. 4Silfwer, J. (2023, December 3). Priming in PR: The Subtle Art of Pre-Suasion. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​p​r​i​m​i​n​g​-​i​n​-​pr/
  • Anchoring: Introducing an ini­tial ref­er­ence point (anchor) to influ­ence sub­sequent judg­ments or decisions.
  • Emotional appeal: Evoking emo­tions such as hap­pi­ness, fear, or sad­ness to sway opin­ions or actions.
  • Contrast prin­ciple: Highlighting dif­fer­ences to make options seem more favour­able or unfa­vour­able in comparison.
  • Verbal per­sua­sion: Using lan­guage and rhet­or­ic to con­vince oth­ers of a par­tic­u­lar view­point or course of action.
  • Association: Connecting a product, idea, or per­son with pos­it­ive or desir­able attributes.
  • Strategic storytelling: Communicating per­suas­ive mes­sages through nar­rat­ives that engage and res­on­ate with the audi­ence. 5Silfwer, J. (2013, February 7). 10 Storytelling Elements (Found in Almost All Great Stories). Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​t​o​r​y​t​e​l​l​i​n​g​-​e​l​e​m​e​n​ts/
  • Flattery: Complimenting or prais­ing indi­vidu­als for win­ning their favour or coöperation.
  • Fear appeal: Warning of neg­at­ive con­sequences to motiv­ate action or compliance.
  • Foot-in-the-door tech­nique: Starting with a small request or com­mit­ment before mak­ing a lar­ger one.
  • Door-in-the-face tech­nique: Making a large request that is likely to be refused, fol­lowed by a more minor, more reas­on­able request.
  • Bandwagon effect: The per­cep­tion that a par­tic­u­lar action or belief is favoured or widely accep­ted. 6Silfwer, J. (2023, December 4). The Bandwagon Effect: Momentum Is Everything | PR Theory. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​b​a​n​d​w​a​g​o​n​-​e​f​f​e​ct/
  • Reverse psy­cho­logy: Encouraging someone to do the oppos­ite of what is sug­ges­ted, know­ing they may rebel against the suggestion.
  • Inoculation the­ory: Preemptively address­ing coun­ter­ar­gu­ments or objec­tions to strengthen res­ist­ance to per­sua­sion attempts.
  • Battle of wits: Using wit or com­edy to dis­arm res­ist­ance and make a mes­sage more memorable.
  • Repetition: Reinforcing a mes­sage or idea through repeated exposure.
  • Self-per­cep­tion the­ory: Influencing beha­viour by lead­ing indi­vidu­als to believe that their actions are con­sist­ent with their self-image.
  • Mirroring: Subtly imit­at­ing the beha­viour, lan­guage, or man­ner­isms of the per­son you’re try­ing to per­suade to cre­ate a sense of rap­port and connection.
  • Pacing and lead­ing: Matching the pace of com­mu­nic­a­tion with the tar­get audi­ence before gradu­ally guid­ing them towards the desired outcome.
  • Authority jar­gon: Using tech­nic­al lan­guage or ter­min­o­logy asso­ci­ated with expert­ise to enhance cred­ib­il­ity and influence.
  • Contrast prin­ciple: Presenting options in a sequence that high­lights their dif­fer­ences, mak­ing the pre­ferred option appear more favourable.
  • Urgency: Creating a sense of imme­di­ate neces­sity or time pres­sure to prompt swift action or decision-making.
  • Salience: Emphasizing spe­cif­ic aspects or fea­tures of a mes­sage or product to make it stand out and cap­ture atten­tion.
  • Identity appeal: Aligning a mes­sage or product with the tar­get audi­ence’s val­ues, beliefs, or iden­tity to foster a sense of belong­ing or affiliation.
  • Exclusivity: Positioning a product, offer, or oppor­tun­ity as lim­ited or exclus­ive to a select group enhances its per­ceived value and desirability.
  • Embedded com­mands: Subtly embed­ding dir­ect­ives or com­mands with­in sen­tences to influ­ence beha­viour without overtly stat­ing them.
  • In-group/out-group bias: Exploiting the tend­ency of indi­vidu­als to favour mem­bers of their group (in-group) over those out­side the group (out-group) to garner sup­port or compliance.
  • Linguistic flu­ency: Presenting inform­a­tion clearly, con­cisely, and flu­ently to enhance per­suas­ive­ness and credibility.
  • Emotional con­ta­gion: Eliciting spe­cif­ic emo­tions in indi­vidu­als and lever­aging their con­ta­gious nature to influ­ence atti­tudes, opin­ions, or behaviours.
  • Foot-in-the-mouth tech­nique: Intentionally mak­ing a small error or con­ces­sion in an argu­ment or nego­ti­ation to build trust and rap­port with the oth­er party.
  • Endowment effect: Emphasizing own­er­ship or pos­ses­sion of a product or idea to increase its per­ceived value and desirability.
  • Mystery: Generating curi­os­ity or intrigue by with­hold­ing inform­a­tion or details, prompt­ing indi­vidu­als to seek fur­ther engage­ment or information.

Learn more: Persuasion Techniques

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Logo - Spin Academy

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Persuasion

Ethos Pathos Logos - Persuasion - Doctor Spin - The PR Blog
Classical per­sua­sion.
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos: Three Classical Modes of Persuasion

“Aristotle’s three modes of rhet­or­ic­al per­sua­sion are eth­os, pathos, and logos, which are based on mor­al com­pet­ence, emo­tion­al appeal, and reas­on.”
Source: Sino-US English Teaching 7Lin, W. (2019). Three Modes of Rhetorical Persuasion. Sino-US English Teaching. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​7​2​6​5​/​1​539 – 8072⁄2019.03.003

Ethos, pathos, and logos are three modes of per­sua­sion recog­nised since ancient Greece, and they play an essen­tial role in pub­lic relations. 

  • Ethos. This mode of per­sua­sion refers to the cred­ib­il­ity or eth­ic­al appeal of the com­mu­nic­at­or, which can be estab­lished through demon­strat­ing expert­ise, integ­rity, and goodwill.
  • Pathos. This mode of per­sua­sion per­tains to emo­tion­al appeal, which involves stir­ring the audience’s feel­ings to sway their opin­ions or actions.
  • Logos. This mode of per­sua­sion is the logic­al appeal, which relies on present­ing sound argu­ments and evid­ence to con­vince the audience.

In PR, these three modes of per­sua­sion are often com­bined to cre­ate com­pel­ling mes­sages that res­on­ate with the audi­ence on mul­tiple levels. 8Modes of per­sua­sion. (2023, September 27). In Wikipedia. https://​en​.wiki​pe​dia​.org/​w​i​k​i​/​M​o​d​e​s​_​o​f​_​p​e​r​s​u​a​s​ion

By under­stand­ing and apply­ing the prin­ciples of eth­os, pathos, and logos, PR pro­fes­sion­als can craft mes­sages that res­on­ate deeply with their audi­ence, driv­ing action and fos­ter­ing last­ing relationships.

Learn more: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Public Relations

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Logo - Spin Academy

Robert Cialdini: Six Principles of Persuasion

Influence-New-and-Cialdini-Expanded-The-Psychology-of-Persuasion
Influence by Robert Cialdini.

Book: Six Principles of Influence

Robert Cialdini pub­lished Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion in 1984, and his prin­ciples of influ­ence are widely cited. They provide a frame­work for under­stand­ing how people are per­suaded, and pub­lic rela­tions, advert­ising, and sales pro­fes­sion­als often use them. 9Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: The psy­cho­logy of per­sua­sion (Rev. ed.). HarperCollins.

Here are Cialdini’s six principles:

  • Reciprocity. This prin­ciple is based on the idea that people feel oblig­ated to give back when they receive it. If a com­pany gives some­thing to its cus­tom­ers (like a free sample or a dis­count), those cus­tom­ers may feel com­pelled to pur­chase in return.
  • Scarcity. People tend to want things that are lim­ited or hard to get. Marketers often use this prin­ciple by cre­at­ing a sense of urgency around a product or ser­vice, such as a lim­ited-time offer or a lim­ited-edi­tion product.
  • Authority. People tend to fol­low the lead of cred­ible experts. In PR and mar­ket­ing, this can be achieved by hav­ing an expert endorse a product or demon­strate expert­ise and cred­ib­il­ity in the field.
  • Consistency (or Commitment). People like to be con­sist­ent with the things they have pre­vi­ously said or done. This prin­ciple is often used in mar­ket­ing by get­ting a small ini­tial com­mit­ment from a cus­tom­er, which increases the like­li­hood that they will make a more sig­ni­fic­ant com­mit­ment later.
  • Liking. People are more likely to be per­suaded by people they like. Physical attract­ive­ness, sim­il­ar­ity, com­pli­ments, and coöper­a­tion can influ­ence this.
  • Consensus (or Social Proof). People often look to the actions and beha­viours of oth­ers to determ­ine their own. If a product or ser­vice is pop­u­lar or endorsed by oth­ers, people are like­li­er to deem it good or trustworthy.

These prin­ciples are power­ful tools for per­sua­sion and can be used indi­vidu­ally or in com­bin­a­tion to influ­ence per­cep­tions and behaviours.

Learn more: Public Relations Books (to be published)

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Jonah Berger: Word-of-Mouth Concepts

Jonah Berger - Contagious
Contagious by Jonah Berger.

Book: Contagious

Jonah Berger, a mar­ket­ing pro­fess­or at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, pro­posed six key con­cepts in his book “Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age” (also known as “Contagious: Why Things Catch On”) that make ideas or products go vir­al or “stick.” 10Berger, J. (2014). Contagious: How to build word of mouth in the digit­al age. Simon & Schuster.

These con­cepts are:

  • Social cur­rency. People share things that make them look good or help them com­pare favour­ably to oth­ers. It has social cur­rency if a product or idea can make someone appear bright­er, more relaxed, or more in the know.
  • Triggers. Ideas that are top of mind spread. Things eas­ily mem­or­able and reg­u­larly triggered in every­day envir­on­ments are more likely to be discussed.
  • Emotion. When we care, we share. Messages that evoke strong emo­tions (pos­it­ive or neg­at­ive) are more likely to be shared.
  • Public. If some­thing is built to show, it grows. The more pub­lic some­thing is, the more likely people will imit­ate it.
  • Practical value. People share inform­a­tion to help oth­ers. Useful inform­a­tion gets shared because the sharer wants to assist others.
  • Stories. People do not just share inform­a­tion; they tell stor­ies. And stor­ies are the ves­sel that inform­a­tion travels. If people are engaged in the nar­rat­ive, they’re more likely to share.

These con­cepts can be used to craft mes­sages and cam­paigns more likely to be shared and spread, lead­ing to more effect­ive com­mu­nic­a­tion and mar­ket­ing efforts.

Learn more: Public Relations Books (to be published)

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Signature - Jerry Silfwer - Doctor Spin

Thanks for read­ing. Please con­sider shar­ing my pub­lic rela­tions blog with oth­er com­mu­nic­a­tion and mar­ket­ing pro­fes­sion­als. If you have ques­tions (or want to retain my PR ser­vices), please con­tact me at jerry@​spinfactory.​com.

PR Resource: Persuasion

Free Persuasion PR Course - Doctor Spin - Public Relations Blog
Free per­sua­sion PR course.
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Doctor Spin’s PR School: Free Persuasion PR Course

Use this free Persuasion PR Course to elev­ate your pub­lic rela­tions game with power­ful insights. Drive impact and influ­ence like nev­er before.

“Since we can­not change real­ity, let us change the eyes which see real­ity.”
— Nikos Kazantzakis

Learn more: All Free PR Courses

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

Logo - Spin Academy
ANNOTATIONS
ANNOTATIONS
1 Silfwer, J. (2019, July 26). The Power of Artificial Scarcity. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​a​r​t​i​f​i​c​i​a​l​-​s​c​a​r​c​i​ty/
2 Silfwer, J. (2023, December 17). The Halo Effect: Why Attractiveness Matters in PR. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​h​a​l​o​-​e​f​f​e​ct/
3 Silfwer, J. (2023, December 3). Framing in PR: How To Bypass Confirmation Bias. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​f​r​a​m​i​n​g​-​i​n​-​pr/
4 Silfwer, J. (2023, December 3). Priming in PR: The Subtle Art of Pre-Suasion. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​p​r​i​m​i​n​g​-​i​n​-​pr/
5 Silfwer, J. (2013, February 7). 10 Storytelling Elements (Found in Almost All Great Stories). Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​t​o​r​y​t​e​l​l​i​n​g​-​e​l​e​m​e​n​ts/
6 Silfwer, J. (2023, December 4). The Bandwagon Effect: Momentum Is Everything | PR Theory. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​b​a​n​d​w​a​g​o​n​-​e​f​f​e​ct/
7 Lin, W. (2019). Three Modes of Rhetorical Persuasion. Sino-US English Teaching. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​7​2​6​5​/​1​539 – 8072⁄2019.03.003
8 Modes of per­sua­sion. (2023, September 27). In Wikipedia. https://​en​.wiki​pe​dia​.org/​w​i​k​i​/​M​o​d​e​s​_​o​f​_​p​e​r​s​u​a​s​ion
9 Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: The psy­cho­logy of per­sua­sion (Rev. ed.). HarperCollins.
10 Berger, J. (2014). Contagious: How to build word of mouth in the digit­al age. Simon & Schuster.
Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at Spin Factory and KIX Communication Index. Before that, he worked at Kaufmann, Whispr Group, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Cover Photo

The cover photo isn't related to public relations; it's just a photo of mine. Think of it as a 'decorative diversion', a subtle reminder that there is more to life than strategic communication.

The cover photo has

View Over Frozen Lake

.

Subscribe to Spin Control—it’s 100% free!

Join 2,550+ fellow PR lovers and subscribe to Jerry’s free newsletter on communication and psychology.
What will you get?

> PR commentary on current events.
> Subscriber-only VIP content.
> My personal PR slides for .key and .ppt.
> Discounts on upcoming PR courses.
> Ebook on getting better PR ideas.
Subscribe to Spin Control today by clicking SUBMIT and get your first send-out instantly.


Latest Posts
Similar Posts
Most Popular
Doctor Spin | The PR Blog
The PR Blog
Contact: jerry@doctorspin.net
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter
Web and design by Doctor Spin