Review Of Dave Lakhani's "Renegades Of Persuasion" Seminar
I just attended a fascinating seminar. It was Dave Lakhani's "Renegades of Persuasion" event. Before I registered, I was hoping it would be high in value and low on hype. And indeed it was!
I've been rather "seminared-out" in the last few years, after attending so many seminars and hearing the same sort of thing - all necessary to keep up with the industry and to network - but so predictable, so similar and so tiring.
In fact, a seminar I attended in April, also on persuasion and also in Las Vegas, but by another persuasion "guru" was so shallow, watered-down and re-hashed, it was a total waste of time. I felt like an adult in kindergarden.
But Dave's seminar was definitly "graduate school" level.
The "Renegades of Persuasion" seminar got right down to the core of persuasion - the why, the how and the wherefore. Dave exposed everything from the big picture to the little details and showed how everyone is either persuaded or manipulated every day… and the difference between the two. Most importantly, Dave talked about how to use persuasion in an ethical way that serves your customers and clients, rather than manipulates them.
In an unexpected way, the seminar was an "immersion" experience. It's like learning a language - until you go to the country where that language is spoken and immerse yourself in it and the culture, you never really "get" the language.
In a similar way, we were immersed in the language, intent and tools of persuasion. I really "got"what persuasion is all about in an experiential way.
I don't know of any other place where you can get this information and experience, at this level, at any price.
I now comprehend persuasion from a different perspective and at a much deeper level. Now when I re-read Dave's book, "Subliminal Persuasion - Influence & Marketing Secrets They Don't Want You To Know," new meanings jump out at me that I didn't grasp before. Passages I glossed over now hold critical keys.
The funny thing was, my husband was concerned that I would purchase every offer made at the seminar. He reasoned that since Dave is a master at persuasion, he would certainly "hypnotize" me to buy, buy, buy.
Quite the contrary - instead of manipulating the attendees to buy, Dave liberated us from being victims of marketing ploys. He deconstructed every offer he and the other speakers made. He took apart every significant thing that happened - planned or unplanned. He exposed the tactics, explained the reasoning and revealed the secrets.
Very valuable lessons. And to my husband's relief (and my own amazement), I bought nothing. Now that speaks volumes!
About the speakers - Internet marketers tend to be a very intellegent bunch. But often "brainy" and "techie" translates to mechanical, dry and impersonal (in other words, boring). Dave and the speakers he featured were not only brilliant, but very human and caring… and besides that, they were fascinating to listen to and often downright fun! There was a comaraderie between everyone there.
But the biggest take-home from this seminar was empowerment. The bottom line is, understanding persuasion - how it is used in the media and in marketing and how to use it ethically in your life - is empowerment.
I feel tremendously empowered by having a grasp of this knowledge at a much deeper level. So much so that I think I'll go again next year.
