The Soulful Art of Persuasion: The 11 Habits That Will Make Anyone a Master Influencer

by Jason Harris

WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY  BESTSELLER •  The Soulful Art of Persuasion is a revolutionary guide to becoming a master influencer in an age of distrust through the cultivation of character-building habits that are essential to both personal growth and sustained business success. This isn’t a book full of tips and life-hacks. Instead, The Soulful Art of Persuasion will develop the habits that others want to be influenced by. This book is based on a radical Persuasion isn’t about facts and argument. It’s all about personal character.
 
Jason Harris, CEO of the powerhouse creative agency Mekanism, argues that genuine persuasion in the twenty-first century is about developing character rather than relying on the easy tactics of flattery, manipulation, and short-term gains. It is about engaging rather than insisting; it is about developing empathy and communicating your values. Based on his experience in and out of the boardroom, and drawing on the latest in-depth research on trust, influence, and habit formation, Harris shows that being persuasive in a culture plagued by deception means rejecting the ethos of the quick and embracing the commitment of putting your truest self forward and playing the long game.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Audiobook, Communication

304 pages, hardcover

Published September 10, 2019

Reviews

[Amora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve gone through many guides on being persuasive and this has to be the best I’ve read. Jason Harris is the CEO of Mekanism, an agency with the goal of helping companies like Pepsi, Nordstrom, and Peloton become more persuasive. When I found out about Harris and his role in Mekanism I knew this would be an excellent read. I wasn’t wrong. The information here is original and very convincing. To be persuasive one must be original, generous, empathetic, and soulful. I noticed Harris even used his own principles to persuade the reader. Good read!

[Devy Cendana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provides another perspective on persuasion. It's not always what we think it is, the book has such positive approach to persuasion. Some of the advice given are cliché but he always provides examples. I like that.

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In our modern world of teenage online influencers making six-figure incomes, it is natural to want to learn the Soulful Art of Persuasion.

The book details four traits that make a person more persuasive: originality or genuineness, generosity, empathy, and soulfulness. Soulfulness is further defined as being ethical and an inspiration to others. It also includes eleven habits that can be used to increase your persuasive powers.

It is hard to shake the cognitive dissonance resulting from the conflict between saying “be genuine” and then showing how to “learn” it. However, the author almost convinces me that genuineness can be learned by disagreeing with two frequent mantras of self-help books: be confident, and fake it till you make it. In fact, the book disputes many so-called truisms. Always Be Closing is perceived as manipulation for profit with no concern for the customer’s wellbeing. The idea of personal branding is also dismissed as shockingly old-fashioned. Even corporations are moving away from branding to marketing their values instead.

Overall, the Soulful Art of Persuasion has some thought-provoking ideas. 4 stars!

Thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Shannon Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book on persuasion - and how to do it in a soulful, authentic and ethical manner. This isn’t a book about manipulation but about how to be a more persuasive person (and business) by being authentic, trustworthy, expert and soulful.

I just finished it going to recommend it to my wife and to many others.

I read an advanced copy of this book which an old friend gave to me - but will likely be buying copies of this book for colleagues and business partners.

Highly recommended no matter what your job title it - useful and relevant in life and in business.

[Tom Cross · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book misses the mark by a wide margin. It frames old material in a new way that is not useful. There are three books that are the best on persuasion. Read these three and you’ll have all you need on persuasion.


Winning ‘Em Over: A New Model for Management in the Age of Persuasion by Jay A. Conger


Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.


Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

[Blas Moros]

What I got out of this: Win/Win, respect people, listen, others-focus, be deserving and trustworthy

Summary in a sentence: Harris walks us through some key persuasion traits and habits

I have written a detailed summary, check this out here: https://blas.com/the-soulful-art-of-p...

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The principle ideas presented in this book are solid, but there are only a handful of them, and the ideas don’t quite come always out correctly.
Storytelling is important. Of course it is. But according to this guy, it’s more important to tell stories (read: emotionally manipulate) than to stay with facts and numbers. Not quite always so, even in the world of advertising. The stories Harris keeps telling in the book to show examples and try to engage his readers just seem to sometimes fall flat, like there is the spark missing in general, or his love of his own storytelling shines thru (at least in the audiobook. He’s the voice too). Or maybe it’s again the great cultural divide: I’m not American, and quite a few stories leave me silent when people are laughing... (quite a few American comedians have that effect too).
I keep wondering what other culture variants of this type of book would tell. How different would a Japanese book of persuasion be? It’d probably resonate better.

[Jonathan M. Sautter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent advice / Great read

This book was well worth the time and money. I heard Jason on the Aubrey Marcus podcast and knew instantly he was legit. Jason comes from an honest and sincere place and his advice is solid and soulful. He runs an amazing, high-level ad agency and has tons of big brand clients but in contrast to popular myths of ad men his work and message come from the heart. This book is very inspirational and insightful.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by the author. His tips on how to be more persuasive are more suggestions on how to build better character and thus become more trustworthy and easily make the case when persuading people in a genuine way. Quick read with some practical advices and a selection of principles to live by.

[Parham Doustdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest, no bullshit, written by a person who has a company whose only job is to persuade people. This was a lot more humanitarian than I thought, and appealed a lot to me because we seem to be very similar. Recommend this to everyone who is looking for a quick hack, to show them that quick hacks are not optimal.

[Suraj Varma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great piece of work!

Loved the read and bought a soft cover for looking up from time to time. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to better understand and communicate effectively.

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas to help us connect with others and be able to persuade them by our character.

[Jeron Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

General self help book with nuggets of wisdom - especially liked the aspect about perspective

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good advice held back just a bit by the sound of Harris's axe grinding.


Notes:

Apple

Persuasive people are the ones we want to agree with

Engaging rather than persisting

Once people get a whiff of insincerity, they’ll write you off as just another salesperson

Stop trying to get people to like you and just be who you are

Tell stories rather raw facts

Personal note: find out what's important to them. Then tell a story of how your position might better address their concerns

Telling stories
1. Start with the simple truth

Story telling is editing
1. Am I giving my audience all the right information?
2. Am I painting a vivid enough picture?
3. What can I cut?
4. The best spoken stories don't last more than a couple minutes tops.

Never let a relationship go to zero

People who do favors without expecting anything in return are better off in the long run. Personal note: little bit of a double bind to this observation, lol

Generosity. Give something away in every interaction.

Make compliments as specific as possible

Giving breaks down into for categories:
1. Time and attention
2. Advice and recommendations
3. Compliments and recognition
4. Stuff

Encouragement: When in doubt highlight the potential upshot of a decision

Try to frame criticism positively

If your boss asks you to do something you don't agree with, assume she knows something you don't

instead of focusing on the things that make you anxious, focus on the things that make you excited

Be on time, even if it kills you

If you can't understand why someone disagrees with you, your odds of persuading them are not good

Empathy is "getting" someone

The fastest route to meaningful dialog

Being more empathetic is
1. Becoming naturally curious
2. Listening more, judging less


Personal note: You don't have to wonder about this dude's politics

[ReadingMama · Rating 5 out of 5]

끌어당기는 사람이 되자 (밀어 부치는사람말고~)
먼가를 받으려면 먼저 주어라~ 더 나은것은 보답을 바라지 말고 베풀어라~~ 관대함~~~~
주는것이 받는것보다 더 큰 축복이고 행복을 발견할수있다.
도움이 되는 사람이 되자. 생각하는대로 되기 마련이다.
다른 사람의 마음을 움직이려면 건강한 긍정적인 순수한 밝은 분위기를 선물하라.
늘 감사하자~~
건설적으로 비판하라. 발전이 있는 비판, 자발적 특성진위 (다른 사람을 계속 비판할때 사실은 내가 그 비판하는 행동을 유지하게 된다.)
열린마음의 유지 : 마음은 낙하산이다. 열리지 않으면 아무짝에도 필요없다
내가 틀릴수있음을 인정하라
불안을 기대로 바꾸어라: (무시는 전쟁을 일으킨다) 사람을 무시할때, 적을 만들게 된다.
존중과 가치를 보일때, 친구들 만들게 된다.
믿을수 있는 사람: 사소한 약속을 꼭 지키고, 신뢰감~ 행동으로 옮기자.
약속하지마라. 확신하지 마라. 생각할 시간을 요청하라. 시간은 꼮 꼮 지켜라~~
포빙 (휴대폰 대화도중 확인하는사람.. 상대방을 무시!)
문제는 범죄자체라보단 그이후의 대처 방법이다. 은폐가 더 문제이다.
실수에 우아하게 대처하는 방법은 조건을 달지않고, 인정하고 솔직하게 대가를 받아라
빠르고 단순하게 소통하라. 진심으로 사과해라.
공감은 상대를 받아들이는 능력이다.
호기심은 우리가 이미 다 알고있다는 자만심을 물리치는것이다. 모른다는것을 인정
선입견을 버려라. 각자에게 특이한 취향의 질문을 해라.
상대를 설득하려면 논리가 아니라 관심을 보여라!
함께 하는 동아리를 만들어라
경청하라~
역사상 영감을 주는 위인들 : 진정성. 신념을 실행으로~

[Brin P · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my work book club book. It was good—not the “revolutionary guide to becoming a master influencer” that the inside cover promised lol but interesting for sure. The author is the CEO of the famous creative agency, Mekanism. His company has done amazing work for a lot of high profile clients—Disney, PlayStation, Nordstrom, HBO, etc. In this book, he “argues that genuine persuasion in the twenty-first century is about developing character rather than relying on the easy tactics of flattery, manipulation, and short-term gains”. And he talks a lot about how to embrace the commitment of putting your best, truest self forward to win over people. A lot of his advice wasn’t new. But I did like that he incorporated so many of his own marketing experiences + some other major social/political moves and movements to support his points. Made his points more memorable.

[Bianca Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in the first year of trying to develop my consulting business. That lead me to look for resources to help me better understand how to sell in this market. As a woman, I really wanted to only seek books written by women in this field. However, I did find a recommendation for this book. I really did enjoy this book. It was easy and enjoyable to read. It gave examples for every bullet point and how to implement the tips. Would suggest for anyone who is looking to authentically sell themselves.

[Don Gorman · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2). I found this to be a much more enjoyable book than most in the "self help" category. Harris comes off as a very decent guy who does not repeat himself endlessly to fill out chapters. As always, a great deal of the advice is common sense, but there are some choice tidbits in here that should help anyone looking for better ways to be an influencer of any kind. Reasonable stuff.

[Margaret Mandeya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gave a really great perspective on how to be persuasive through building character. Overall I thought this book is great for anyone who wants to become an influencer in their career or personal life.

[Earl Pestano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underrated!!!!!

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Be less like you, and other shitty life advice

I’m glad I picked this up from the library, because if I had paid for it I’d be more pissed than I already am.

Everything about the book is presumptive. Like tutorials about how to draw an owl: draw a circle, then two more, then the rest of the owl.

Harris is an agency owner. He grew up in California, worked with Chiat/Day, made connections with people at Disney and the Obama White House, and really everything has just been great. You too, says Harris, can be equally successful if you’d just be optimistic and believe in yourself.

This is borderline misleading. Be generous but not too generous. Say no, but not to everything. Because rational people know that if you said yes to everything something somewhere else will fall apart. Work hard, but not too hard. Be humble, but have a brand, but make sure it’s not an old-fashioned brand.

Be human, but not too human. Spend time, but not too much. Devote yourself to your task, but not too much because you should always do your best work, but don't forget about budgets and constraints and clients with dumb ideas, like spending every ad cent on a YouTuber.

This line of thinking is why this country has Republicans. You spend your life in San Francisco, New York, or DC as a talented but otherwise normal white guy and then wonder why the rest of the country isn’t as good as you.

Harris got connections with Disney and the Obama White House. I assure you no one at Disney has ever thought to connect with anyone in Indiana. Sure, people from Indiana work at Disney, but Disney has never contracted with an agency here. In fact, among the whole ad industry, no agency has ever captured the industry’s imagination in the middle of the country except for a literal few outliers in places like Austin, Nashville, Denver, and Minneapolis over the last generation.

This line of “Just say yes to things that are automatic nos!” and “Learn the power of no!” is so mindlessly fruitless it’s patronizing. “Don’t take every client!” is equally dumb when you need to, you know, eat. Might as well tell kids not to bother waiting tables or working retail. “Learn the power of no, kids! And don’t accept the money, something better is always somewhere else!”

If you like rah-rah cheerleading that makes you feel better about yourself, read the book.