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Managing Your Career Series

The Managing Your Career series of mind maps and articles is designed to help you manage your career path far more effectively by providing specific guidelines to assist you along your journey towards your career goals and objectives. This series includes the following mind map topics:

• Part 1: Exploring Your Career Path
• Part 2: Mapping Your Career Path
• Part 3: Achieving Career Success

Each article in this series has been adapted from the Successful Managers Handbook (DK Essential Managers) and related sources.

Video Overview of IQ Matrix

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Introduction

Do you have high aspirations for your life? Do you dream about moving up the career ladder but don’t know what to do or how to begin? Or maybe you’re feeling a little overwhelmed because every time you take a step forward, you seem to be pushed two steps back [see: never give up]. Life can seem a little unfair at times, however setbacks are actually stepping stones for a better and more prosperous future if we manage them effectively.

This IQ Matrix and accompanying article walks you through the inevitable ups and downs of a typical career path, while providing you with guidelines and suggestions to help you manage career setbacks and problems in a far more effective and proactive manner. We will specifically explore the following areas:

• How to manage career setbacks in a more effective, efficient and proactive manner.
• How to enhance your career prospects by focusing on the right areas for development and growth.
• How to make the tough decision to dramatically shift your career path in a new and far more rewarding direction.

Each of these areas will be explored within this article and are also visualized within the IQ Matrix for easy reference.

Managing Career Setbacks

As with any life endeavor, we will always be confronted with problems and setbacks. In fact, the more important and meaningful the endeavor, the more likely you are to be challenged in ways that will push you to the limits of your emotional resolve. That’s simply the process of life, which manifests from the process of growth.

The more you grow and push out against your comfort zone [see: comfort zone], the more likely you are to face further setbacks and challenges that test your resilience and willpower in ways you might not have anticipated [see: resilient willpower]. However, instead of dreading these challenges, we must rather see them as opportunities for growth, development and for progress up the career ladder. In fact, what we term as a “crisis” can in fact represent a turning point that reveals hidden opportunities that you may not have been aware of before.

Common Career Setbacks

Here is a list of some common career setbacks that you may need to face head-on on your journey up the career ladder:

• Failing to win a promotion
• Being demoted
• Suffering a pay cut
• Making a critical mistake
• Losing your job

These are all very difficult circumstances that many people struggle to deal with every single year. What these people might not understand is that in life it’s not what happens to us that matters, it’s rather how we respond or how we deal with what happens to us that makes the biggest difference in the end.

Life hands everyone lemons at one point or another. It’s the individuals who take those lemons and turn them into lemonade that survive and thrive in the long-run. Are you one of those individuals?

How to Deal with Career Setbacks

Imagine for a moment that one of the five setbacks mentioned above has suddenly forced its way into your life. As a result, one of two things are possible. You can either get angry, frustrated and break down emotionally [see: overcoming frustration]. Or you can take charge of your life and circumstances in a proactive conscious manner by applying some of the following strategies.

Think Rationally

During these moments it’s very easy to dwell upon the setback and the mistakes that were made. However, this isn’t a very practical way of dealing with the situation at hand [see: overcoming obstacles].

By dwelling on things that didn’t work out or thinking about how life could’ve been, just keeps you stuck in the past. Instead, we must begin to look at the situation rationally. Yes, things might not have worked out as expected, however mistakes might have been made, and rash actions might have been taken. The key here is to learn from these experiences in order to help you avoid these same types of patterns in the future.

How about putting yourself in the shoes of your employer. How would you respond in their situation?

How about seeking out facts and answers? Maybe there was a breakdown in communication? Maybe there was a misunderstanding of some kind? Unless you think rationally and identify the facts of the situation, you will never really know why the setback occurred [see: critical thinking]. Who knows, you could very well have missed a key lesson that is critical to your development.

Focus on What Want

When setbacks arise, it’s always important to remain calm and think positively by staying focused on what you want to do, be, have and achieve. Setbacks can and will take you off course, however storms are simply a part of life at sea. They come suddenly and can knock your sailboat off course. However, if you keep your compass focused on your end goal and destination, than you will always eventually get back on course. Yes, it might take you a little longer, however as a result you will grow stronger and more resilient than ever before, allowing you to fight through future storms in a far more effective and efficient manner [see: seasons of transformation].

Always Plan Your Next Step

One way to ground yourself and help you focus in the right direction, is to immediately plan your next step [see: plan of action]. See the setback as an opportunity that helps you layout a new and better course of action that will lead you to a more fulfilling future. As you go about this process be sure to think flexibly about your course of action and consider the possible advantages and disadvantages of the decisions you will be making and the actions you will be taking.

Gain Support from Others

When tough circumstances arise it’s sometimes very difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We become so absorbed with our problems and disappointments, that we fail to see with clarity anything but a doomsday scenario. In such instances it’s worthwhile to turn to other people for support. Speak with your colleagues, friends and family. Ask them for their feedback and guidance. Also ask them for their perspective of the situation. Maybe their understanding of the events can help you see things in a new light, and this shift in perspective might help you to move forward with greater confidence.

Look for Underlying Causes

When setbacks arise we often tend to look outwards and outside of ourselves. We tend to point fingers at other people, events and circumstances that were out of our control. However, what we fail to consider is ourselves. Ask yourself:

How am I to blame for these circumstances?

How did I play a part in manifesting these setbacks?

The moment we begin accepting full responsibility for our decisions and actions, is the moment we free ourselves from living in a world of uncontrollable circumstances [see: law of control].

Reassess Goals & Abilities

Setbacks can often lead to rude awakenings bringing our weaknesses to the forefront of our minds [see: strengths and weaknesses]. In such instances, it’s important to be completely honest with ourselves and take time to reassess our abilities and personal goals. We might realize that we simply don’t have the skills or experience to perform at a level that is required. Or maybe we simply failed to utilize our skills in an effective and appropriate manner at the time.

Furthermore, take a look at your goals. Maybe your goals need to be reassessed [see: goal setting]. If you’re reaching too high too quickly, than your self-limiting beliefs might in fact be holding you back—leading to self-sabotage patterns [see: self-sabotage patterns]. For this very reason, it’s important to slow things down, reassess your goals, take stock of your skills and refocus your efforts in a more effective manner [see: life resource list].

Anticipate Potential Change in Advance

One of the best ways to prepare yourself for future setbacks is to simply anticipate potential changes and setbacks that could result down the track. Through preparation and diligent planning, you can effectively lay down a solid plan of action that will enable you to proactively respond to the challenges that life throws your way.

Consider the potential changes (setbacks) that could occur in the future and ask yourself:

What are the potential gains that could result from this change (setback)?

What costs could be involved in making this change (experiencing setback)?

Who could be affected by this change? In what way?

What are the drawbacks and negative consequences of this change?

How will I deal with these consequences?

Have I been realistic about my assessments and calculations?

These questions will help you to lay down the foundations to make better and more effective decisions when setbacks arise in the future.

Enhancing Your Prospects

Career setbacks will always occur even if you do all your homework and thoroughly prepare for them in advance. Setbacks are simply a part of life, a part of growth, and a part of our journey of development. However, having said that, career setbacks can be minimized the moment we begin focusing on enhancing our career prospects.

In this section I will provide you with some guidelines that will help you to enhance your career prospects in order to secure your future growth and development.

Build Your Reputation

Your reputation is the key to your future prospects and your progress up the career ladder. It is built upon other people’s opinions of you, your work-ethic, and your ability to get along with others [see: becoming a person of influence]. As such you must always be extremely vigilant of how others perceive you. Ask yourself:

How do others really see me at work?

Do they see me as having specialist skills and knowledge in a certain area?

Am I considered indispensable? Or am I just like anybody else?

Do they see me as an intelligent and creative thinker who contributes unique insights and ideas?

Do they see me as a hard worker who puts the team ahead of him/herself?

What’s unique a valuable about me that others always talk about?

How does my employer see me? Do I add value to the company?

You might only be able to get the answers to these questions by asking your colleagues for their feedback, or by simply listening around the office throughout the day. Pay attention because this feedback is important, as it will help you understand how others perceive you within the organization.

Finally, here are some ideas that will help you build a powerful and positive reputation within your organization:

• Develop a valuable specialized niche for yourself within your field of work
• Consistently go the extra mile to help others and get the results the company is after
• Work on developing your creativity and applying it into everything you do [see: creative thinking]
• Share unique ideas, perspectives and insights when the opportunity presents itself
• Cultivate enthusiasm and a positive attitude, especially during tough times [see: positive mental attitude]

If you work on implementing these ideas into your work life, you will very quickly develop a reputation that will make you indispensable to your organization.

Do Things Better & Differently

In order to stand out from the crowd at work, you must do things better than anyone else and maybe somewhat differently to help you get the attention of the people that matter most. It’s however absolutely critical that you stay focused on results above all else. There’s no point in doing things differently if these things aren’t getting the company the results they’re after.

Consider Broadening Knowledge Base

By taking the time to read books, attending courses and workshops, and by broadening your understanding about your industry will help you to acquire the knowledge you need that will distinguish you from your colleagues. Consequently when problems arise and solutions need to be found quickly, you can step up to the plate and stabilize a sinking ship. Your new found knowledge and understanding could very well propel you to an unexpected promotion. However, you must keep learning and growing, because the moment you stop, is the moment you stagnate, and it’s this very moment that someone else will take your place [see: lifelong learning].

Develop New Skills

If you take a 360 degree view of your work, I’m sure you could identify very specific types of skills you must cultivate in order to perform this job at the highest level. In fact, you might already have developed and mastered these skills. However, have you considered complimentary skills that are not part of your job description, but could help you enhance your effectiveness, efficiency and results at the end of the day? These are the skills that you must begin focusing on today!

Take on More Responsibility

It’s often the workers who shy away from taking on more responsibility who are always the first to go when company’s start laying people off during tough times.

By taking on more responsibility you gain more experience, which leads to a higher level of understanding, knowledge and skill. As a result you naturally become more valuable to your company and therefore enhance your career prospects.

Accept New Challenges

As above, when you accept new challenges you grow and develop yourself in new ways. This enhances your abilities, strengthens your understanding and provides you with valuable experience that is absolutely indispensable to your organization.

Break Unproductive Habits

We all have them, don’t we? We have unproductive habits that absolutely frustrate employers and managers. These habits often lead to mistakes and hurt the company’s bottom line.

To become indispensable to a company you must identify these habits within yourself, and begin today by turning them into empowering and positive habits that will naturally boost your levels of productivity [see: habit transformation].

Have a chat with your employer and manager and ask what frustrates them about the people they manage on a daily basis. Use these answers to help build the foundations for a new set of empowering habits that remove these frustrations for good.

Work in Different Areas of Organization

By taking the time to work in different areas of your organization, will help you to learn new skills, gain new knowledge and expand your abilities in a variety of ways. In fact, your ability to fulfill multiple roles within your organization, could very well be the advantage you need that will make you indispensable.

Making Career Change Easy

Having worked within an organization for a while, you might find that you’re no longer learning and growing. In fact, you might feel somewhat unfulfilled and bored with your current position. Alternatively you might find that you simply can’t make any further progress up the career ladder, and you are therefore seeking a change in scenery. These are two typical scenarios that naturally lead to change.

Gaining Perspective

Before you take the plunge and change your career path it’s important that you identify possible gains and losses that could eventuate, consider how this change could affect your life, and take into account what you will need to do as a result.

To help you clarify things, ask yourself the following set of questions:

What are the advantages of making a change right now?

What are the disadvantages of making a change right now?

What are my motivations for making this change?

What are my priorities right now?

What is the potential to move up the career ladder?

What skills will I need to develop or improve upon to make this change work?

What knowledge might I have to gain to make this change work?

What sacrifices may I potentially need to make?

What obstacles could stand in my way?

How will I handle these obstacles successfully?

Before making any rash career decision, make sure to ask yourself these questions, and answer them honestly and completely. Only then will you have the relevant information you need to make an effective decision that is right for you right now [see: decision making].

Tangible & Intangible Factors

When making a career change it’s also critical that you weigh-up the tangible (measurable) and intangible factors into your decision making process.

While researching potential companies to work for, put things into perspective and consider the factors listed below. Also while going through this list consider your priorities and what’s most important for you right now in your life.

Tangible Factors for your Decision

• Financial incentives including salary, bonuses, overtime, and pension contributions
• Location and commute time
• Expected role you will be performing and the responsibilities involved
• Expected expenses that you might have
• Opportunities for flexible work hours
• Opportunities for flexible holiday arrangements

Intangible Factors for your Decision

• Creative flexibility
• Career potential and prospects
• Company work atmosphere and culture
• Company team approach and attitude
• The quality of management personnel
• The quality of leadership
• Corporate goals, values, mission and vision

Utilize this list of factors and the questions as a reference tool to help you make a very important decision in your life. They will help you gain a good level of clarity that will assist in the decision making process. If however in the end you get stuck for any reason, then simply trust your instincts to help you make the right decision [see: developing intuition].

Final Thoughts

This concludes Part 3 of a three part series of articles that explore how to manage your career more effectively.

The Achieving Career Success IQ Matrix is available for purchase at the IQ Matrix Shop. It is also available for immediate download for all IQ Matrix lifetime member. Please login to your account page to download the pdf poster.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and I would be very happy to hear your comments and feedback.

| Purchase Mind Map | Lifetime Membership | MasterMind Matrix | FAQ |

Managing Your Career Series

The Managing Your Career series of mind maps and articles is designed to help you manage your career path far more effectively by providing specific guidelines to assist you along your journey towards your career goals and objectives. This series includes the following mind map topics:

• Part 1: Exploring Your Career Path
• Part 2: Mapping Your Career Path
• Part 3: Achieving Career Success

Each article in this series has been adapted from the Successful Managers Handbook (DK Essential Managers) and related sources.

Video Overview of IQ Matrix

Click here to view the embedded video.

Subscribe to the IQ Matrix YouTube Channel

Introduction

Have you ever taken time to consciously manage your career? If your answer is “No”, than don’t you think you might be leaving things a little to chance? After all everyone wants to win the lottery, however your actual chances of winning the lottery are very slim — heavily reliant on what most people would call “luck” [see: luck factor]. You either get lucky or you don’t. If you agree with this statement, than I have a very serious question for you:

Is your progress up the career ladder defined by chance or by conscious choice?

This IQ Matrix and accompanying article delves into the process of consciously mapping out your career path to pave the way for your ascension up the career ladder.

We will delve into the following areas:

• The actions you should be taking on a daily basis that will keep you primed and ready for potential career opportunities that could arise in the future.
• Clarification about your current reality and how you can utilize this information to help you reach your career goals and objectives sooner.
• Identification of personal assets, targets and the boundaries you will need to set to lay down a solid career path.
• A break down of your portfolio to help enhance your career prospects and opportunities.
• An exploration of further possibilities for growth and development.

Each of these areas will be explored within this article and are also visualized within the IQ Matrix for easy reference.

Where to Begin?

How you manage your career path is defined by the decisions you make and the actions you take on a daily basis. Each decision and every action must be focused on the primary areas that will help you gain access to opportunities to advance your career prospects [see: decision making].

Before we begin delving into this area, it’s important that you first take the time to ask yourself the following set of questions:

What does managing my career really mean to me?

How have I managed my career to date?

Which aspects of my career need most attention?

How would I describe my career outlook?

Have I laid out clear goals and objectives?

How do I see my career unfolding over the next 5 to 10 years?

Do I like what I see?

How does this make me feel?

Does this inspire confidence or awaken concern?

Unless you have a clear sense of direction for your career path, you will fail to take advantage of opportunities that may come your way as you work towards your goals and objectives.

Career Management Guidelines

As you’re working your way up the career ladder is paramount that you stay focused and on track — taking advantage of any opportunities that may come your way. Here are some guidelines that will help you along this journey:

Learn from Mistakes

Always be learning from your mistakes in order to make the most of second chance opportunities.

Manage Difficulties & “Change”

Keep focused on managing difficulties and change. The better you are at doing this, the quicker you will be able to adapt to changing conditions and circumstances when they arise. Also keep in mind that difficulties and change bring with them opportunities for growth and progress. Keep an eye out on these, because one man’s difficulty is another man’s greatest opportunity.

Set Clear Targets & Objectives

Managing difficulties and change stems from your ability to set clear yet flexible targets and objectives [see: grow model]. The more clarity you have about what you want, the greater your capacity to adapt to changing conditions and circumstances that may arise as you make progress along your journey.

Keep Long-term Career Goals Private

Informing everyone in your office about what you want to achieve could very easily lead to resentment and gossip, which may distract you from your primary objectives [see: perceptual influence]. Therefore keep your long-term career goals private to help you to stay focused and on track.

Self-Analysis is the Key

When it comes to managing your career effectively, your primary job is to constantly learn about yourself and evaluate your experiences on a consistent basis. You must therefore take the time to evaluate the progress you are making along your journey on both an external and internal level. Internally, this means that you must take the time to evaluate your emotional tendencies, abilities, skills, habits, decisions and behaviors on a regular basis. Are you growing or stagnating?

Keep in mind that unless you’re growing internally, than you will always tend to struggle externally to achieve anything of significance [see: lifelong learning].

Further Guidelines

Here are some other suggestions that will help you begin managing your career more effectively:

• Keep looking ahead rather than dwelling on past mistakes or disappointments.
• Be clear about personal priorities.
• Always be alert to career opportunities that you could take advantage of.
• Be quick to make decisions in order to capitalize on potential opportunities.
• Be prepared to work with a structured plan of action [see: plan of action].
• Always be flexible and adaptable to changing conditions and circumstances.

Assessing Your Current Reality

In order to pave the way for the future, your first and primary objective is to clearly understand where you are today and what you currently have at your disposal to help you make a push up the career ladder.

To begin with you must meticulously assess the progress you have made over the years. Ask yourself:

How did I get to this point in my career?

Are there things I would like to change?

Just maybe, you made decisions in the past that might not have turned out as you had expected. Learn from these decisions and take time to assess how you would have done things differently if given another chance. The answers to these questions will help you to gain clarity about your past and likewise will help you to make better decisions in the future.

Illuminate Your Future

Analyzing your past, will in essence help you to illuminate your future. You can do this in the following ways:

• Create a log-file of major career events and changes.
• Thoroughly study your experiences and the lessons you have learned.
• Analyse the Cause & Effect relationship between your behavior, decisions and results [see: law of cause and effect]

The more you learn about your past, the more you will uncover about your present, and the better prepared you will be to take advantage of opportunities that will arise in the future.

Your List of Resources

Over the years you have learned new things, acquired skills, gained knowledge, attended specialized training sessions and courses, etc. All these experiences make up your list of resources, and provide you with a solid base and foundation for your future career prospects [see: life resource list]. However, given your career plans, you may need to add additional resources to this list that will help you to take advantage of opportunities to climb the career ladder. Ask yourself:

What additional resources might I need that will help me achieve my career objectives?

What knowledge or technical skills might I need to gain?

What trainings might I need to attend?

What skills might I be required to master?

Could having a mentor or personal career coach help me accelerate my progress up the career ladder?

Finally, keep in mind that your resources are only valuable if utilized effectively.

What’s My Next Step?

Your next step towards managing your career more effectively is to identify your assets, to set career goals and targets, to lay down boundaries and make a commitment to yourself and your progress up the career ladder.

Identify Your Assets

Your assets are in essence the strengths you have at your disposal that you can utilize now and in the future to help you reach your career targets. Your objective here is to take time to list down all of your valuable strengths, qualities and characteristics that you feel could help you make progress up the career ladder [see: strengths and weaknesses]. If you find this exercise difficult to do, than ask for help from your partner or a friend who can provide you with some honest feedback.

For self-assessment purposes, ask yourself the following questions:

What qualities do I consider to be my strengths?

How could these qualities help me make progress up the career ladder?

Given my strengths, what work environment would be most suitable?

Given my strengths, what job would suit me best?

What other strengths would I like to develop to enhance my career prospects?

How must I go about developing these strengths?

Is there someone who could assist me?

Finally, list down all your strengths and identify how each of them can help you to make progress up the career ladder.

Lay Down Clear Boundaries

Achieving work-life balance is absolutely critical for long-term success and sanity . It’s therefore paramount that before you set career targets and objectives, that you first take time to lay down clear boundaries. Ask yourself:

Would I be willing to change work locations if a career opportunity presents itself?

Would I be willing to go back and study to upgrade my skills and knowledge if a career opportunity presents itself?

Would I be willing to sacrifice time with my family if a career opportunity presents itself?

Keep in mind that career opportunities often come at a price. Therefore if you’re not willing or able to make the necessary sacrifices to sustain or make progress up the career ladder, than you might need to go back to the drawing board and reassess your career goals and objectives.

Set Clear Career Targets

Having clarified your boundaries and identified your strengths and resources, you’re now ready to set clear career targets. I won’t go into any detail here, as this topic has already been discussed within other blog posts [see: smart goal setting]. What I will point out though, is that motivation is the key to your progress up the career ladder. In fact, you will struggle to achieve any goal you set yourself if you are lacking motivation [see: unstoppable motivation]. Hence it’s absolutely critical that the goals you set are ambitious yet achievable. Ask yourself:

Are my targets ambitious yet achievable?

Do I have enough motivation to obtain them?

Without motivation your life will be ruled by procrastination and stagnation [see: overcoming procrastination]. Therefore your number one objective here is to always find it within yourself to unlock the motivation you need to keep moving forward towards your career objectives and targets.

Make a Commitment

Having set clear boundaries and career targets, your next step is to make a wholehearted commitment to your future. To do this, you must first consciously and openly acknowledge the changes and sacrifices that you are willing to make and the potential impact that your progress up the career ladder will have on your family and life. Ask yourself:

In what direction would I like to take my career?

Am I willing to take the time to manage my career path?

Am I willing to make the necessary sacrifices?

Am I willing to shift my priorities and standards?

Am I willing to transform my habits and behaviors?

What resources may be required along the way? Can I gain access to them?

Am I really committed to take this step?

If you’re not willing and able to commit to this journey wholeheartedly, than you might as well go back to the drawing board and lay down a different set of goals that are more realistic and achievable.

Breaking Down Your Portfolio

Your portfolio is your calling-card. It’s in essence a marketing campaign that is designed to sell you to prospective buyers (employers). As such you must take the time to create a portfolio that will get people’s attention and help you stand-out from the crowd.

What to Include

There are many things that we could include within a portfolio. However, what I want to do here is list a few things that you might not have considered. For instance, take time to list down:

• Specific projects you worked on
• Specific skills you acquired
• Knowledge gained via trainings, workshops and courses
• Major career achievements
• How you dealt with difficult situations
• How you overcame complex problems
• How you displayed leadership skills [see: extraordinary leadership]

All of these elements are critical to an employer looking for someone to fill a specific position within their company. Wouldn’t you want to know these things if you were hiring someone?

Analysing Your Portfolio

While writing up your portfolio, take the opportunity to analyse how your career has evolved over the years. To begin with, assess your levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction at different stages of your career and analyse how these stages have impacted your process of thinking. Ask yourself:

How do my career peaks and valleys help me to plan ahead?

What specific circumstances have helped me to get ahead?

What specific circumstances have held me back?

How does all of this help me clarify my career direction?

In addition to these questions, it’s important to also pinpoint how these peaks and valleys originated in the first place. Ask yourself:

How did I experience these low points in my career? What was the specific cause?

What weaknesses was I exhibiting at the time?

What does this say about me?

How is this of significance for my future career path?

How did I experience these high points in my career? What was the specific cause?

What strengths was I exhibiting at the time?

What does this say about me?

How is this of significance for my future career path?

Finally, as you’re working through your portfolio be sure to consider the following areas:

• Recognize career shifting choices
• Become aware of mistakes that were made
• Identify the lessons you learned
• Pinpoint areas for further development
• Identify trends and patterns

Working through your portfolio in such a way will help you gain ever deeper insights and understandings into your behavior and motivations, subsequently unlocking keys that will help you to better recognize what it takes to climb the career ladder.

Explore the Possibilities

When it comes to your future career prospects, it’s absolutely critical that you become a “possibility thinker” who is committed to lifelong learning and development [see: lifelong learning]. Always look at life and ask:

What is possible here?

While other people are focusing on problems, you are instead focusing on possibilities that will help you move your career forward. In fact, this question alone could help you transform your career in ways you might not have believed was possible.

Final Thoughts

This concludes Part 2 of a three part series of articles that explore how to manage your career more effectively. Keep an eye out for the remaining article within this series in the weeks ahead.

The Mapping Your Career Path IQ Matrix is available for purchase at the IQ Matrix Shop. It is also available for immediate download for all IQ Matrix lifetime member. Please login to your account page to download the pdf poster.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and I would be very happy to hear your comments and feedback.

| Purchase Mind Map | Lifetime Membership | MasterMind Matrix | FAQ |

Managing Your Career Series

The Managing Your Career series of mind maps and articles is designed to help you manage your career path far more effectively by providing specific guidelines to assist you along your journey towards your career goals and objectives. This series includes the following mind map topics:

• Part 1: Exploring Your Career Path
• Part 2: Mapping Your Career Path
• Part 3: Achieving Career Success

Each article in this series has been adapted from the Successful Managers Handbook (DK Essential Managers) and related sources.

Video Overview of IQ Matrix

Click here to view the embedded video.

Subscribe to the IQ Matrix YouTube Channel

Introduction

Our career paths can change and shift suddenly. Some doors close, while other doors swing wide open, allowing us to take advantage of new opportunities and circumstances that could change our lives forever.

This IQ Matrix and accompanying article delves into career exploration, helping you to prepare yourself to adapt to the changing conditions and circumstances that could potentially influence your career direction.

We will delve into the following areas:

• The research that you must conduct in order to stay on top of career/industry trends and changes.
• How to review and plan for the future to help you accelerate your career prospects [see: plan of action].
• The importance of ongoing personal development and lifelong learning [see: lifelong learning].

Each of these areas will be explored within this article and are also visualized within the IQ Matrix for easy reference.

Researching Your Career Prospects

One of the fundamental keys to success comes down to your ability to stay abreast on changing conditions and circumstances that might impact your business, life or career path. Hence, it’s absolutely critical that we get into the habit of consistently researching and preparing for the future, because who really knows what the future will bring.

To begin with, ask yourself these fundamentally important questions that will help you to think more critically about your career prospects and options:

Do I see myself carving out a new career path?

Do I have a great business idea that I would like to explore in more detail?

Would I like to work within a different industry?

Would I like to work for a different sized organization?

Do I want to move up the management ladder within my company?

Would I sacrifice my salary for a more fulfilling career path?

Answering these questions will help you to better understand what your “wants” and “needs” are when it comes to your career path. However, wanting and needing something is wonderful on the surface, but it means very little unless you clearly understand the industry and the potential opportunities that you might be able to take advantage of as you move towards your future.

Study, Study and Study…

It’s absolutely critical that you take time to study your industry, the trends and other factors that could impact your career today and in the future. Staying on top of these factors will provide you with the confidence and assurance you need to make the right decisions when change is forced upon you [see: decision making].

Firstly, an important decision that you must make is to choose whether you want to work in the private or public sector. Each of these has unique advantages and disadvantages. Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong answer here, it’s rather what suits you best and your current circumstances.

Furthermore, you must decide whether you want to continue working for someone else, or whether you would prefer to choose the self-employment or franchising path.

Self-Employment Options

If you are considering self-employment as a future career path, than consider conducting research in the following areas:

• The product or service you will sell.
• How you will provide maximum value and distinguish yourself from others.
• The competition already within the marketplace.
• The demands of the marketplace and the demographics of the client-base.
• The potential income that could be generated from this business.
• The potential time involved and the commitments that you will need to make.
• Any advantages and disadvantages that you can think of that could influence your decision.

Choosing to be self-employed isn’t easy and most of the time it actually involves a lot more work and effort, however, in the long-run if things are done correctly, it can be a very fulfilling and rewarding.

Researching Your Industry & Prospects

Maybe the self-employment or franchising path isn’t right for you, or you’re simply not yet ready to take that plunge. You must therefore stay on top of events, trends and opportunities within your industry or within the industry you desire to work for. Subsequently it’s important to focus on consistently researching newspapers, trade magazines and the internet for the following things:

• Job vacancies within potential companies for future employment.
• Job role suitability based on your skills, strengths [see: strengths and weaknesses], experience and ambition.
• The size, management structure, environment and culture of the companies you potentially wish to work for.
• The advantages and disadvantages of working for particular companies.
• Industry trends and major players within the marketplace (network with them).
• Forecasts of job availabilities within specific industries.

It’s important to always focus on finding out as much information as possible about your industry, because the more you know the better you will be able to adapt to changing conditions and circumstances. Moreover, this research will build a strong foundation for your plan of action as you move forward with your career.

Focus on the Right Things

While you’re conducting research, it’s important to also expand your horizons and connect with like-minded individuals who have the information, knowledge, authority or connections you need to help you move forward with your career. Keeping this in mind, be sure to focus your attention on the following areas:

Talk…

Talk with employment agencies about job opportunities and trends, asking them to connect you with the right people who can make a difference to your career prospects.

Attend…

Attend industry seminars, exhibitions and events whenever you can.

Network…

Network with professionals, colleagues, family and friends asking them for help and assistance. Who knows, maybe they know someone who could potentially help you get ahead.

Above all else, while conducting research and networking with others [see: professional networking] always keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to ask for help and guidance along your journey [see: overcoming fear]. The more thorough you are at this stage, the more effective the planning stage will be.

Review & Plan Your Career

When it comes to your long-term career prospects, it’s important to review the progress you have made up to this point, and to plan a suitable path for the future. You can conduct regular reviews on a monthly basis, however it’s also paramount that you conduct a review after changing jobs or when you complete a major work project.

The main purpose of these reviews is to enable you to learn from past successes and mistakes. This will not only help you to better understand yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, but will also assist you with planning out your future career path and the actions you will need to take in order to get there.

As with every period of contemplation and analysis, it’s important to list down a variety of critical questions that you must ask yourself as you go through the review process. These questions will enable you to gain unique insights and understandings that will help you better adjust your course of action as you move towards your career objectives [see: strategic questions]. Ask yourself:

What have I accomplished since my last review?

What objectives did I fail to accomplish?

What mistakes did I make along the way?

What difficulties did I encounter?

What did I learn from these setbacks?

What aspects of my work don’t suit me at this time?

What work activities would I like to focus more time on?

What new goals must I set to move my career forward?

What new knowledge and skills could be required?

How will I go about achieving these new goals?

What difficulties could I potentially face?

It’s absolutely critical that you monitor your progress in this way, because it will help you to stay on track and focused on the most important things that will have the greatest impact on your career prospects.

Creating a Career Plan

Once you’re in the habit of conducting regular review sessions [see: creating habits], now comes time to set some clear targets that you can work towards on a daily and weekly basis [see: goal setting].

As far as your career goes, it’s recommended to always look at least five years into the future and create a plan of action for this time period [see: plan of action]. Ask yourself:

What do I want to achieve within the next 5 years?

What are my plans over the next 12 months?

Is this realistic given my current circumstances, priorities and resources?

Where might I need to start making changes in order to achieve these goals?

Any plan you draw up has to be realistic and achievable given the resources you currently have on hand, or the resources you will be able to gain access to in the future if required [see: resource list]. If for instance your plan doesn’t take into account your resources, than you will most likely struggle to follow-through with your actions, or you will be riddled with self-limiting beliefs [see: belief transformation and law of belief].

Lifelong Personal Development

People make progress along their career paths or work their way up the career ladder because they’re always open to learning, growing and new experiences [see: lifelong learning]. When we take time to expand our knowledge, awareness and understanding in any area, we immediately gain an advantage over those who don’t.

The renowned business and personal development author Brian Tracy once said that if you’re not learning, growing and improving yourself every single day, than you’re actually moving backwards. This is a very eye-opening insight which suggests that if we’re not taking the time to develop our skills and knowledge on a daily basis, than those who are will most likely be promoted before us.

We need to always be learning and adapting to changing conditions, trends and circumstances, otherwise we will fall behind and therefore fail to live up to our career aspirations.

Take Responsibility for Your Future

There’s only one person responsible for your future, and that person is YOU. You must therefore commit yourself to take time each day to learn and develop the necessary knowledge and skills required to help you launch your career to another level.

Here are some guidelines that will help you along your way:

• Stay on top of industry news and developments.
• Gain new knowledge about your career and industry by reading books.
• Enrol in courses and workshops that will help develop your skills and abilities [see: critical career skills].
• Read professional industry journals.
• Become a regular reader of self-help books that will assist you in learning more about yourself and your motivations.
• Take time to gain experience in a new area that is relevant to your career prospects.

The more time you spend improving yourself, the greater momentum you will create to help propel your career forward in ways that you might not have expected. However, to begin with, small steps and patience is paramount.

Join Learning or MasterMind Groups

One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated to learn and grow on a weekly basis is to join Learning or MasterMind groups [see: unstoppable motivation]. These are simply groups of people with similar goals, aspirations and interests who meet up on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis to plan, manage and facilitate the process of learning as it applies to their career prospects. These groups can also help provide you with the support and feedback you need to assist you with overcoming career challenges and setbacks [see: overcoming obstacles].

Consider Something New

At times some of the best decisions we can make lead us down the path of unique insights, perspectives and experience. For instance:

• Taking a sabbatical can help refresh your body and mind. Subsequently this can assist you to think more clearly and effectively.
• Job swapping can assist you with gaining experience in a new industry or position.
• Work shadowing or work experience can assist you with gaining new insights and perspectives.
• Hiring a mentor or coach can provide you with the guidance and support you need to keep you on track and moving towards your career objectives.

In the past we might have been able to get away with coasting along our career paths, however these days things have changed. If you coast, than you will end up burnt like toast Coasting is for coasters, and not for people who are truly serious about their career goals and objectives [see: grow model].

Final Thoughts

This concludes Part 1 of a three part series of articles that will explore how to manage your career more effectively. Keep an eye out for the remaining two articles within this series in the weeks to come.

The Exploring Your Career Path IQ Matrix is available for purchase at the IQ Matrix Shop. It is also available for immediate download for all IQ Matrix lifetime member. Please login to your account page to download the pdf poster.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and I would be very happy to hear your comments and feedback.

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Introduction

How well do you really know the people in your life? For a moment, let’s take a short journey into the mind of a unique individual. As we step inside this “mind” we begin to grasp a picture of this person’s likes, dislikes, fears, thoughts, habits, beliefs, attitudes, preferences, rules, values and the like. We finally see them for who they really are, for what they stand for without camouflage or psychological deception, and we wonder… about the clues that their physical body leaves behind that will provide us with a deep unguarded insight into their mind.

This IQ Matrix Mind Map will specifically focus on unlocking the psychological ingredients that makeup a human personality. The knowledge and understanding you will gain from this analysis will provide you with a deep insight into people’s thoughts and motives no matter what their verbal language may suggest. This will likewise strengthen your persuasive and influential abilities to convince others to your way of thinking.

• The 1st Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map unlocks the human psychological recipe. It presents you with key signals you must attend to in order to gain a comprehensive insight into a person’s true motives, thoughts and intentions.
• The 2nd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map breaks down the 4 common personality styles that make up human psychological behavior. Simply identify the traits and adapt your approach accordingly in order to influence these people to your way of thinking.
• The 3rd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map pinpoints the 3 Communication Personality types. Simply identify the traits and adapt your approach accordingly in order to influence these people to your way of thinking.
• The 4th Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map unlocks the science of deception as it relates to a person’s body language and biological signals. Attending to these subtle signals will help you to pinpoint the deceptive tactics that others utilize to convince you of their honesty.

Unlocking the Human Psychological Recipe

The 1st Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map unlocks the human psychological recipe. It presents you with key signals you must attend to in order to gain a comprehensive insight into a person’s true motives, thoughts and intentions.

Identification Questions

As you are attending to a person’s behavior, it is important to keep in mind several questions. These questions will enable you to gather ever deeper insights into the meaning and the motives behind the subtle signals that each person gives away throughout their day. Your goal is to rotate these questions continuously in your mind, up until the moment you gather the necessary understanding that will unlock the other person’s psychological recipe and enable you to influence their way of thinking.

What does this mean?

What does it reveal about this person?

How is this of significance?

How must I modify my approach to better influence their behavior?

Your Psychological Perceptive Abilities

The following presents you with a series of categorized signals that you must become aware of while communicating or interacting with another person. Each signal has a specific and definite meaning that will reveal a world of information about others. Unlocking these signals will enable you to gather the necessary information you need in order to win this person over to your way of thinking.

In the beginning, this can be a rather overwhelming process that requires concentrated effort, questioning and careful observation. It is very difficult to pick up on everything right from the onset. However, you must keep in mind that this is a journey of discovery that you will progressively learn from and improve upon over time. You should therefore begin by paying attention to only a few of these signals and variables. As you grow in proficiency, you can can include further additions to this recipe, up until the point you are able to unlock a person’s hidden personality and motives in a matter of a minutes.

All the while as you attend to these signals, make sure that you are continuously and persistently isolating each variable and asking the Identification Questions that will enable you to unlock each person’s hidden motives, needs and wants.

Attend to a Person’s Physical Signals

The Physical Signals that we will be discussing here include body language, facial language and the other person’s spoken language. Each of these signals will reveal a world of knowledge and understanding about the other person. However keep in mind, that the insights you acquire will all depend on your personal ability and on the concerted effort you make to unlock each person’s psychological recipe.

Body Language

Our body language reveals a world of insight into our hidden patterns of thinking and emotional self-control. In fact, it is said that our body language is the door to the mind that unlocks the true meaning behind our words and motives. However, it is only when we are able to gather the necessary insights about each subtle sign, that we are truly able to grasp an understanding into the mind of those whom we interact with.

The discussion that follows does not delve into the intricate details and meaning behind every body language gesture. That is something we will do at a later time in a future IQ Matrix Mind Map that will break down our subtle patterns of movement in great detail. Instead, this quick discussion will focus on a handful of global signals that will enable you to gather deep insights about the other person’s hidden motives, thoughts and behaviors.

Breathing Patterns

How another person breathes, where they breathe from and the rate, depth and rhythm of their breath will provide great insight into their hidden thoughts, motives and patterns of behavior. For instance, quick, short breaths high in the chest can signify nervousness and anxiety. On the other hand, slow rhythmic deep breaths that originate in the diaphragm can signify that the person is relaxed and carefree. However, if these deep breaths are sporadic in nature, than this could signify tension. It is therefore important to read each person’s breathing patterns on a case-by-case basis taking all other signals into account.

Finally, we must keep in mind that breathing patterns are also heavily influenced by the person’s communication style, which we discuss in the 3rd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map. For the purpose of this discussion, you must therefore not observe so much their pattern of breathing, but rather the variations in their patterns of breathing from the norm.

Fidgeting

Fidgeting can reveal nervousness, uneasiness, discomfort or even boredom. Again you must put the fidgeting actions of the other person into the context of the social situation and into perspective against all the other signals you are attending to. It’s also not so much that the person is fidgeting, but rather how they are fidgeting and where their attention is going that will provide you with an insight into their thoughts and hidden motives.

Posture

A person’s posture will tend to reveal their current levels of energy, level of interest and emotional patterns of behavior. How a person stands, sits or slouches will help you to determine their mental frame of mind and alertness to you, your message, and the social situation you find yourself in. As a general rule, a person who is slouched over is in a very fragile state of mind, and most likely requires a little encouragement and confidence. They may not admit to it, but there is probably something on their mind that is bringing dissatisfaction to their life, and they may very well feel that it is something that is out of their control or beyond their capability.

On the other hand, a person who holds a good upright posture while standing or sitting, is usually in a positive frame of mind and is open to the message you are sharing with them.

Movement Patterns

How a person moves their body will determine what they are thinking and feeling at any one moment in time. Watch and observe the movements and patterns of their body while they listen or communicate with you. These subtle signals can reveal a world of information about them and their feelings towards you and your message that their words are simply not verbalizing.

While observing the other person, identify subtle movements that can be arranged into patterns. For instance the person may say something, then immediately touch their nose, tilt their head to the left and lick their lips. You actually notice that whenever they discuss a specific topic that they always tend to make this unconscious patterned movement. Now you must ask yourself the Identification Questions presented above to unlock the meaning behind this pattern of movements and how this is of significance to them, to you, and the social context you find yourself in.

Position of Arms, Legs & Torso

A person’s arms, legs and torso are very expressive aspects of their body language. In fact, how a person moves, positions or gestures with their arms and legs, will provide you with a deep insight into their current emotion and patterns of thinking. However, don’t just attend to these body language signals without connecting them to the external triggers that influence the other person. For instance, whenever you talk about a specific topic you notice that the other person crosses their legs and folds their arms. This defensive position should signify to you that the other person does not approve of what you’re saying or simply does not want to discuss this topic.

As you progress with the conversation, you begin discussing other subjects. This naturally brings about a change in the person’s arm and leg position. They uncross their legs and reveal their palms as a show of openness, interest and approval. Since you have great perceptive abilities, you therefore make the instant connection that your topic has sparked an interest and that the other person is now more likely and willing to agree with you. This in essence is the only way you will be able to persuade them to your way of thinking.

The torso is another important aspect of body language. In general terms, where the other person’s torso is pointing, is where their attention is going. Therefore, if their torso is pointing away from you while you are conversing with them, than you must take this as a sign of disinterest and a desire to escape this social interaction. Yet, on the other hand, if the other person’s torso is pointing towards you, than you can be certain that you have captured their interest, and they will therefore be more susceptible to the influence of your words and actions.

Finally, it is critical to keep in mind that when it comes to body language, nothing is every laid in stone. Everyone will utilize a variety of alternating patterns of body positioning and movement that is dependent on the social context of the situation, their current state of mind and other variables that you must pinpoint throughout your interactions.

Facial Language

The face is probably the most expressive parts of our body. However, in many instances the expressions will be very subtle, and thusly, it will be easy to miss the signals if we are not paying attention.

There are essentially 4 aspects of facial language that you should be paying attention to. One of these aspects we will not discuss here. It is known as Face Reading, which basically unlocks the meaning of each geographic feature of a human face and the psychological traits that accompany it. Face Reading is quite an extensive topic and we will therefore dedicate an entire IQ Matrix Mind Map to help unlock the secrets behind this unusual science.

The other 3 aspects of facial language include gestures, biological responses, eye movement and behavior. Let’s break-down each of these aspects below in a little more detail.

Gestures

Facial gestures can reveal a world of information about a person’s thoughts, feelings and motivations. To become a great facial observer you must attend to the following:

• Lips and the movement of the tongue.
• The different types of smiles and frowns utilized.
• Eye movement and patterns of blinking.
• Squinting of the eyes.
• Where the person looks as they listen and converse with you.
• Eyebrow movement.
• Tension of facial muscles.
• Wrinkling of the nose and forehead, etc.

Each of these signals will help you to unlock different aspects of the person’s thoughts and feelings. However, you must pay careful attention to the patterns of these movements while at the same time identifying the triggers that stimulate them.

Paleness or Blushing

As you are observing a person’s face, pay careful attention to the changing colors and intensity of their skin-tone. Certain things you say may in very subtle ways affect the other person at a deep emotional level. In such instances, a person may not express how they are feeling through their body language or facial gestures, however you will see it as clear as daylight in the changing color of their face.

Barring any medical conditions, as a general rule when a person’s face takes on a lighter color (paleness), this usually signifies that they are scared or shocked by what they just heard or observed. On the other hand, when a person’s face takes on a darker color (blushing), this usually signifies embarrassment, disagreement or anger. Again you must put these into the context of the situation that the person finds themselves in, and interpret accordingly.

Pupil Constriction & Dilation

Identifying pupil variations also requires a good keen sense of awareness.

When the pupils of the eyes are dilated (large) this signifies that the person is relaxed, enjoying your company, open to your ideas, or madly in love with you . On the other hand, when their pupils are constricted (small) it can signify that they don’t agree with what you are saying, or simply don’t believe or trust you.

You must keep in mind that pupil dilation and constriction is heavily influenced by the lighting of the environment and the general state of mind and health that the person is experiencing at any one moment.

Spoken Language

Spoken language can reveal more about a person than words alone. In fact, it is not so much from the words themselves that you will derive the person’s hidden agenda or train of thought, but rather from the meaning and the emotional content hidden behind the words they utilize in conversation with you.

Here are some aspects of the spoken language that you must pay particular attention to if you seek to unlock a person’s psychological recipe:

Words Utilized

Pay attention to the specific words that the person utilizes while conversing with you and others. These words will reveal some of the following aspects of their personality:

• Personal biases about certain and specific topics.
• Levels and degrees of exaggeration.
• Hidden interests and agendas.
• Misunderstandings and assumptions.
• Facts or fictitious opinions and ideas, etc.

Once you are able to pick up on these subtle signals, you will be better prepared to adjust your conversation strategy accordingly to influence the other person’s thinking processes.

Emotional Undertones of Words

A person’s true intentions and motivations lie hidden behind their words, and not within the words themselves. As such, you must pay careful attention to the emotional undertones of the words that the other person uses. These emotional undertones can be identified through their tone of voice, body language and the facial expressions that the other person uses while communicating with you. For this very reason it is important to become aware of the bigger global picture as it relates to a person’s psychological makeup. It is only by reflecting on this “bigger picture” that you will be better able to unlock the other person’s psychological recipe.

Silences Utilized

Sometimes it isn’t so much what the other person says that reveals a world of information and insight about them, but rather the keys are hidden in what they don’t say and within the silences between their words.

When asking a person a direct question, pay attention to their answer, while at the same time making a mental note of what they didn’t say or talk about.

What does this tell me about this person’s hidden motives and intentions?

When a person pauses between their words, pay very careful attention to their body and facial language. This could very well provide you a world of insight into their patterns of thinking and emotional frame of mind.

What is this person doing with their face and body during these silences?

What does this tell me about this person’s hidden motives and intentions?

Physical Signal Variations

So far we have discussed and presented a variety of key physical signals that we must be aware of if we seek to unlock a person’s hidden thoughts, emotions and motives. Now we come to a realization that each of these signals can vary and are dependent upon some key factors that we must consider before rushing to make a series of assumptions about the person’s psychological recipe.

Cultural Background

A person’s physical behavior, gestures, words and actions may be significantly influenced by their cultural background and traditions. Hence we must interpret all their signals in accordance to the traditions and behaviors associated with their cultural heritage. To do this, you must learn about their cultural standards and norms, and adjust your interpretations accordingly.

Social Setting

A person’s physical behavior, gestures, words and actions may be significantly influenced by the social setting they find themselves in.

Most of us are very self-conscious about what we do and how we behave under certain social conditions. For instance, there are a variety physical signals and gestures that you would utilize at a party that would be considered completely inappropriate at a funeral.

We are very much like Chameleons who change color (behavior) dependent on the social setting we find ourselves in. This is why it is important to read into a person’s thoughts, emotions and motives in accordance to the social setting and the unspoken behaviors that are common practice in such instances.

Environment

A person’s behavior, gestures, words and actions may be significantly influenced by the environment they find themselves in. In some instances a specific kind of environment will tend to relax a person, while in other instances it may cause stress and anxiety. For this reason it is very important for us to interpret their thoughts, emotions and motives in accordance to their surroundings.

Demographics

A person’s behavior, gestures, words and actions may be significantly influenced by their demographics. Demographics may include:

• Age
• Gender
• Marital Status
• Employment Status
• Occupation
• Religion

Each of these variables will certainly influence how a person’s physical signals manifest in the real world. Hence you must interpret all these signals accordingly and in consideration of the demographic variables presented above.

Physical Health

A person’s behavior, gestures, words and actions may be significantly influenced by their physical health and ability.

A great many people’s thoughts, emotions and motives have been misinterpreted because of ill-health. Under these conditions people may significantly alter the movement of their body, their facial gestures, words and the like. Hence it is important to remain observant at all times and not jump to conclusions before determining that the other person is of sound mind and not affected by any physical ailments that may influence their behavior.

Attend to Person’s External Appearance

A person’s external appearance can provide you with a world of information and insight about their thoughts, emotions and habitual patterns of behavior. For instance a person with sound grooming habits who wears a pleasant cologne or perfume, and dresses well will naturally project a different set of qualities, personality traits and habits of behavior than a person who looks scruffy, smells of body odor and dresses in rags.

Above all else it is important not to judge a book by its cover. However, in such instances we must take this information and put it into context with all the other variables and signals we have been collecting about this person. Only in this way can we effectively piece together the puzzle that will unlock their personality equation.

Attend to Person’s Personality Building Blocks

The building blocks of personality are discussed in great length within the MasterMind Matrix Chart. Some of these building blocks manifest themselves on a conscious level of awareness, while others such as beliefs and values manifest at an unconscious level. The discussion that follows isn’t going to delve into too much detail about these aspects of personality, as the MasterMind Matrix Chart already covers this information. However, we will touch upon 4 key variables that you must attend to that will reveal a world of information about other people.

Beliefs

A person’s beliefs will determine what actions they regularly take and what decisions they will consistently make. Moreover, these beliefs will also determine what this person will never do or partake in; given that these activities go against the grain of their common belief patterns.

A significant aspect of the beliefs process is unlocked within the context of religion. All religions have a set of rules, standards, or commandments that they naturally expect their followers to abide by. Breaking these rules will inevitably lead to moral consequences leading to undesirable circumstances. Your first objective is to identify if the person you are interacting with has a set of religious beliefs. If they do, than your next step is to determine the level and conviction of their beliefs. Once you have this information you will be better able to predict their behavior, thoughts and emotional patterns, which will thusly enable you to influence them accordingly.

Religion is however only a very small aspect of the belief process. We have many more beliefs pertaining to life, love, self-expression, work, play, etc. All of these beliefs determine the decisions we will make and the actions we will take on a daily basis. The more thorough you are at identifying a person’s beliefs, than the more insight you will gain into their personality and you will thusly be better able to predict their future behavior.

To unlock a person’s belief patterns simply ask effective open-ended questions about their opinions and thoughts in respect to certain and specific situations. After which, you must listen to the words they speak and the accompanying physical expressions they make. All of these signals will provide you with a clear insight into the person’s belief systems. There is a great deal more that could be said about our belief systems and their effect on our lives. We will therefore dedicate an entire IQ Matrix Mind Map to Beliefs at a later time.

Values

Values like beliefs, will help you unlock a person’s decision making process and assist you in predicting their future behavior and patterns of thought and emotion.

All of us have an unconscious ranking system that we assign to our emotional experiences. Specific event will make us feel certain emotions that lead to either pain or pleasure. We interpret these events and give them a ranking from most pleasurable to least pleasurable. Hence we may associate the highest feelings of pleasure in the following order:

1. Hard Work (most pleasurable)
2. Love
3. Health
4. Adventure
5. Security (least pleasurable)

In accordance with this list, this person values Hard Work above all else. Hence they are very likely to sacrifice their health and relationships (love) in order to spend more time at work. This will likewise provide you with a clear insight into this person’s decision making process and will thusly enable you to better influence their behavior in accordance with their hierarchy of values.

The process of Value Creation and how this effects our decisions and actions is another extensive topic that deserves an entire IQ Matrix Mind Map explanation. We will therefore discuss the fundamental aspects behind Value Creation and how to identify the hierarchy of values in another person at a later time.

Attitude

A person’s attitude is the manifestation of their personality as it clashes with the unpredictable circumstances of their external environment. Pay careful attention to how a person reacts to specific events and circumstances within their environment. This will reveal their attitude and a plethora of other mysteries that lie hidden in the recesses of their mind.

Strengths & Weaknesses

We all have a set of “perceived” and “actual” strengths and weaknesses. The first we recognize via our own personal biased perspectives, while the second lies in a field of ignorance. It is important when you are interacting with another person, that you determine and make a distinction between both; the Perceived and the Actual. This distinction will help you to unlock a variety of personality characteristics that you can utilize to influence the other person to your way of thinking.

A person’s strengths and weaknesses are revealed through their words, body language, gestures and actions. The key is to remain vigilant, and once identified, to determine how you will utilize this information to your advantage.

Attend to Person’s Life

How a person lives their life, their interests and hobbies, the roles that they play, and their goals and objectives can reveal a world of mystery and intrigue, and will go a long way towards unlocking their psychological recipe.

Personal & Professional Roles

Everyone plays certain and specific Roles throughout life. We play roles as:

• Students
• Parents
• Business Professionals
• Teammates
• Friends, etc

Each of these Roles are accompanied by a set of decisions, actions, beliefs, emotions, and a whole plethora of psychological characteristics. How a person behaves while undertaking one Role, will most likely be very different when compared with the responsibilities that other Roles bring to the table. You must therefore take this into account when interacting with another person. The following set of questions will help you to gain some clarity:

What Role is this person currently playing?

How does this Role effect their thoughts, emotions, decisions, behavior and actions?

What insights does this provide me about their psychological recipe?

Above all else, keep in mind that “Roles” do not create the person, they are only one aspect of this person’s psychological makeup. Your objective is to unlock all the ingredients of the package and not only one piece of the puzzle.

Interests & Hobbies

What a person is interested in will help to reveal their hierarchy of values. You can also utilize this information to great effect to entice, motivate and create a common bond around similar interests that will likewise make the other person more susceptible to your influence.

You can determine a person’s hobbies and interests through simple conversation and by utilizing open-ended questions.

Goals & Objectives

By gaining an insight into a person’s goals and objectives, you are in essence unlocking their priorities and motivations that drive them forward on a daily basis. Your goal in any interaction is to pinpoint these objectives while at the same time searching for ways to find common ground that will enable you to develop deeper levels of rapport with the other person.

Attend to a Person’s Social Dynamics

For the purpose of this discussion, Social Dynamics are aspects of a Societal way of life. Attending to these aspects of a person’s life, will enable you to better predict their motives, beliefs, values, behaviors and actions.

Wealth

A person’s financial status will more often then not determine the:

• Decisions they make on a daily basis.
• Places they visit.
• Things they buy or resist purchasing.
• Social groups they relate to.
• Pleasures they seek.
• Values and Beliefs they cultivate within their mind, etc.

There is literally a plethora of things that one must consider and take into account here. The key however is to be vigilant and base part of your psychological interpretations on a person’s financial status.

Social Background

In the same fashion as was discussed for Wealth, a person’s Social Status will effect their daily thoughts, behaviors, decisions and actions. It is therefore a critical aspect of a person’s life that must be accounted for if you seek to unlock their psychological recipe to its full extent.

Level of Education

Education is like a balloon, the more you learn the bigger the balloon gets. Sometimes it even pops when it grows too big .

In all seriousness, education provides people with a different perspective on love, life, heartache, etc. These new perspectives dramatically alter a person’s beliefs, values and attitude to others and the world around them. Hence, it is critical that you take a person’s level of education into consideration throughout this process.

Attend to Situation Specific Behaviors

Situation Specific Behavior relate to the actions a person takes and the decisions that they make when encapsulated by certain social settings. Each of these social settings will provide you with unique insights about the person’s patterns of thinking and emotional self-control. Let’s take a look at a few of them briefly:

Influence of Peers & Role Models

Most people will behave differently as a direct result of the characteristics of the people within their social sphere of influence. Pay particular attention to a person’s decisions, actions and the subtle physical movements of their body and face while others are interacting with them. These signals will reveal a world of intrigue about them and how they relate to other people.

A person’s Role Models – the people they look up to for guidance and support – will also heavily influence their behavior, decisions and actions. It is therefore your responsibility to determine whom they aspire to, and how this influences this person’s patterns of thought, values, beliefs and emotional life.

Consumption of Food & Beverages

It is often said that “we are what we eat”. In a lot of instances this isn’t too far from the truth. The food that a person eats and the beverages they consume will provide you with insights into their values and beliefs. It may also reveal even deeper insights into their motives and underlying patterns of thought.

Patterns of eating can also reveal a person’s underlying health or state of mind. Some people will eat small meals because they want to lose weight. Others will eat high protein meals because they want to put on muscle. Suddenly you have unlocked aspects of this person’s life without ever talking to them. Of course eating small or high protein meals could signify a whole variety of things. But that’s not the point. The point is to gather a comprehensive understanding about the person from all angles and perspectives. Once you have all these variables clearly presented in your mind, you will be in a better position to influence them to your way of thinking.

Communication Style

Pay particular attention to a person’s style of communication. People essentially fall into 3 categories:

• Visual
• Auditory
• Kinesthetic

The characteristics accompanying each of these styles will be discussed in the 3rd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map.

Social Specific Behavioral Tendencies

We must always keep in mind that people will reveal different aspects of themselves under a variety of social and emotional circumstances. You therefore never really know a person until you have seen them:

• Alone (at least when they think they’re alone).
• In a variety of social settings.
• When they are relaxed and at play.
• When they are working.
• And when they are stressed out of their mind.

Only once you have seen people in all the above scenarios, can you truly gather a clear picture of who they are. Let’s now take a look at some of these situations in a little more detail:

Behavior when Alone

When a person thinks that they are alone or that nobody is watching, they will very likely put down their social mask and reveal their true colors. People usually put on a show for others in social situations. We all want to be liked, appreciated and want to fit in with the crowd. Hence we will act, respond and do things that may go against the grain of our normal patterns of behavior.

Behavior when Stressed

It is said that, you don’t really know a person unless you have seen them stressed out of their mind. When people are experiencing high levels of stress, they no longer have the strength or capacity to hide their true characteristics or intentions from the world. Hence, it is these PEAKS of high emotion that reveal a person’s deepest and darkest secrets. On the other hand, it could very well reveal a surprising positive aspect of their personality that displays their strength and ability to persist beyond the problems confronting their current reality.

Behavior when Relaxed

When a person is relaxed they may drink a little bit of alcohol, say things that they normally would hold back, or simply display characteristics that where hidden from public view. For this reason it is important to take the person outside of an unfamiliar environment and into a relaxed atmosphere that will allow them to kickback and reveal what is truly on their mind.

Behavior when Socially Interacting with Others

People will respond in a variety of ways to different types of people that they interact with on a daily basis. It is your objective to observe their behavior, decisions and actions throughout these periods of interaction. Determine how this person responds to people of a different culture, social status, educational background, gender, etc. Above all, keep in mind, that how this person acts, talks and expresses themselves around you, may be a very clear reflection, as to how they are with other people. Therefore if they talk dirt about others when they are not present, than you can be almost assured that they are doing the same to you.

Overall Congruency

Given all that we have discussed thus far, you must finally pay attention to the level of congruency that this person displays at any one moment, and also over time. Ask yourself:

Do this person’s beliefs, values, body language and gestures match their words, or are their inconsistencies?

What do these inconsistencies reveal about their patterns of thought and emotional frame of mind?

Influencing the Human Personality Styles

The 2nd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map breaks down the 4 common personality styles that make up human psychological behavior. Simply identify the traits and adapt your approach accordingly in order to influence these people to your way of thinking.

Socializer Personality

The Socializer Personality style is direct and has a people oriented nature.

Style

• Direct
• People Oriented

Traits

A Socializer Personality will generally tend to display the following set of traits:

• Requires love, support & popularity
• Is achievement oriented
• Displays a nurturing and caring attitude
• Displays concern for Others
• Is a relationship builder
• Enjoys being at the center of attention
• Has a very talkative nature

Influenced by…

You will usually have great success influencing a Socializer Personality if you utilize the following set of guidelines:

• Give Regular Compliments
• Show sincere Interest
• Talk about other people
• Avoid arguments
• Communicate passionately
• Listen attentively
• Get them involved in activities
• Buzz with high levels of energy
• Ask questions about them
• Be positive and outgoing
• Make them the center of attention
• Give warm and inviting facial gestures

Analyzer Personality

The Analyzer Personality style is indirect and has a task oriented nature.

Style

• Indirect
• Task Oriented

Traits

An Analyzer Personality will generally tend to display the following set of traits:

• Is attentive to detail
• Thinks in logical steps
• Inverts feelings
• Concerned with accuracy
• Delays decision making
• Makes decisions “by the book”
• Is very private
• A systematic problem solver
• Has a very loyal and honest nature
• Enjoys working solo

Influenced by…

You will usually have great success influencing an Analyzer Personality if you utilize the following set of guidelines:

• Take on a serious approach
• Present solid facts, stats and data
• Provide precise details
• Provide logical and methodical sequences
• Don’t exaggerate
• Allow them thinking time
• Confirm things in writing
• Talk about specifics
• Talk slowly in sequence
• Provide them with detailed feedback

Relater Personality

The Relater Personality style is indirect and has a people oriented nature.

Style

• Indirect
• People Oriented

Traits

A Relater Personality will generally tend to display the following set of traits:

• Outspoken
• Enthusiastic
• Spontaneous
• Gets bored quickly
• Is a great listener
• Sensitive to Other’s opinions
• Acts and talks persuasively

Influenced by…

You will usually have great success influencing a Relater Personality if you utilize the following set of guidelines:

• Speak with deep conviction
• Display a passionate attitude
• Present a caring and patient disposition
• Acknowledge their feelings
• Show your agreement
• Compliment their opinions

Director Personality

The Director Personality style is direct and has a task oriented nature.

Style

• Direct
• Task Oriented

Traits

A Director Personality will generally tend to display the following set of traits:

• Socially insensitive and impatient
• Has poor listening abilities
• Goal oriented
• Very competitive
• Has strong self-belief
• Acts strategically, quickly and decisively
• Independent thinker
• Strong willed
• Results oriented and driven
• Precise in decision and action
• Very controlling
• Born leader

Influenced by…

You will usually have great success influencing a Director Personality if you utilize the following set of guidelines:

• Show them respect
• Support their goals, ideas and plans
• Do not argue with them
• Talk quickly, succinctly and realistically
• Discuss their great ideas and the bigger picture
• Get to the point quickly
• Utilize “power” words that stir up emotion
• Compliment their ideas

The Sensory Communication Types

The 3rd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map pinpoints the 3 Communication Personality types. Simply identify the traits and adapt your approach accordingly in order to influence these people to your way of thinking.

The 3 Communication Types

Here we will briefly discuss the 3 communication types, how to identify them, and the strategies you can utilize to influence these people’s behavior. This is by no means a comprehensive discussion about this topic, but rather only an introduction that will help you to gather insight into human behavior at yet another level of understanding.

Each one of us naturally favors a certain communication style over all others. You either have a visual, kinesthetic or auditory nature. Your nature will essentially determine how you acquire, communicate and take information in from the external environment. In a previous IQ Matrix Mind Map we discussed Multi-Sensory Study Skills and how they can be applied to learning. Here we will discuss how we can identify a person’s dominant sensory type and utilize this to better influence their behavior.

Before we begin, it is important to understand that when we communicate on another person’s “sensory level” we naturally develop high levels of rapport. This signifies to the other person that the both of you have a great deal in common. They will therefore be far more willing to relax, communicate freely, and open up to your influence and suggestions.

Visual Sensory Type

A Visually oriented person predominantly utilizes their eyes to collect information about their external environment. They tend to breathe quickly from high up in their chest, and they speak at a furious tempo. Visually oriented people tend not to be great listeners as they are often distracted by the colors and movements of their environment. Finally, they often utilize visually descriptive words when talking about people, events and their environment.

Auditory Sensory Type

An Auditory person predominantly utilizes their ears to collect information about their external environment. They tend to be very rhythmic in nature, speak at a moderate pace and they enjoy listening intently to others. You may often find them listening to a conversation with their head tilted slightly in one direction. Finally, they tend to utilize auditory “sound” words to describe people, events and their environment.

Kinesthetic Sensory Type

A Kinesthetic person predominantly utilizes “touch” and “feeling” to collect information about their external environment. They tend to speak with a very slow and methodical nature. They also breathe deeply from their diaphragm, and will often look down to gather their thoughts and feelings. Finally, Kinesthetic people tend to utilize words that are coated with deep feeling and emotion.

Visually oriented people tend to become rather impatient with the Kinesthetic sensory type, due to the differences in the speed of thought and speech. On the other hand, Kinesthetically oriented people tend to become confused when communicating with Visual people, due to the variations in the speed of communication.

Influencing Behavior

You will find it rather difficult to influence someone to your way of thinking if you communicate in a style that goes against the way they perceive, interpret and describe their world. For this very reason we must all learn to match and mirror the other person in accordance with their communication orientation. Hence, we would mirror a person’s vocal rhythm, the words they speak, their breathing patterns, and anything else we can observe that is a natural outcropping of their communication type.

Keep in mind that while you are mirroring and matching a person’s communication type, you must also pay particular attention to their psychological recipe (1st Branch) and their personality style (2nd Branch). Only in this way will you unlock their Personality Equation, and consequently open them up to your influence.

The Science & Tactics of Deception

The 4th Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map unlocks the science of deception as it relates to a person’s body language and biological responses. Attending to these subtle signals will help you to pinpoint the deceptive tactics that others utilize to convince you of their honesty.

Questions to Ask

Unlocking a person’s hidden motives and deceptive tactics requires careful observation, attention to detail and an effective means of thinking that will help you to unlock the other person’s true intentions.

In order to improve our ability to recognize other people’s deceptive tactics, we must cultivate the habit of asking 3 key questions that will help reveal new insights and understandings into other people’s behavior. These questions are probably very familiar, as they were mentioned on the 1st Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map where we discussed how to unlock a person’s psychological recipe. Both branches are actually fundamentally important to the process of identifying deception in others.

What does this mean?

What does it reveal about this person?

How is this of significance?

The Subtle Signals of Deception

As a human species we don’t always tell the truth all of the time, due to a variety of personal reasons and circumstances. In fact we have become so proficient at deception that for some, it has become an art-form of sorts that involves careful preparation and attention to detail. Yet, as much as people may try and hide their true intentions, there is one overriding catch; we are all psychologically human, and as such we all display a series of unconscious and semi-conscious patterns of behavior that are predictable and commonplace. And it is these behaviors that unlock the secrets of our deceptive ways.

What follows is a brief discussion presenting a few common signals that will help you unlock another person’s deceptions. This is by no means an comprehensive list, but rather focuses primarily on a person’s body language and biological responses. Keep in mind, that you must never judge a person’s intentions or motives based on only one or two isolated signals. Instead, take everything that was discussed in the 1st Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map into account and piece it together with the signals of deception you are collecting here. Only then will you have a complete picture of the person and will be better able to judge whether or not their intentions are true.

The Eyes

It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. In this case the eyes are also the windows that reveal a person’s deceptive ways.

Pay attention to the following common signals of deception:

• Eyes shut while talking
• Pupils are constricted (small)
• Avoiding to make eye contact with you
• Erratic blinking

The Face

The biological responses of the face are the primary telltale signs of deception. A person may be able to restrain their body language, however, their biological responses are an entirely different story. Also keep in mind, not to isolate these facial signals without taking into account the words the person speaks and the accompanying behaviors they make.

Pay attention to the following common signals of deception:

• Paleness
• Flushness or Blushing

The Hands

Our hands can be used in very expressive ways when communicating with others. Moreover, our hands can tell an entire story without our lips ever muttering a single word. This is something that must be taken into account when seeking to unmask a person’s deceptive signals.

In many instances when we are trying to deceive others, we will naturally tend to restrain our hands from mirroring our words and expressions. However, at an unconscious level, what may occur, is that our hands will tend to mimic our patterns of thinking and emotional tendencies. And it is these visual signals that reveal our deceptive ways.

Pay attention to the following common signals of deception:

• Covering of the neck and face
• Constant fidgeting
• Hand movement is significantly restricted

Overall Discomfort & Nerves

At times it is a person’s overall level of discomfort that raises the red flag and alerts you to their deceptive patterns of behavior.

Pay attention to the following common signals of deception:

• Twitching of the face, feet, body or hands
• Exaggerated head movements
• Licking of the Lips
• Erratic Breathing patterns
• Shaking of the voice

Eye Movement Interpretations

Our eyes reveal a world of information about our patterns of thought and visual representations. In fact, the position of our eyes can reveal whether we are reconstructing events in our mind, imagining things that never were, or tapping into hidden feelings or emotions that we regularly hide from others. Yes, all of these signals can be interpreted and revealed through the simple act of observing the eye movements of other people. And yes, they can also reveal other people’s deceptive ways.

The field of NLP has revealed that our eye positioning – while listening or communicating with other people – naturally accesses different aspects and segments of our brain. This thusly provides others with an insight into our patterns of thinking and processing of information. For the purpose of this discussion we will not break-down the intricate details of this process, but rather provide you with some knowledge and a few guidelines that will enable you to interpret the eye movements of others in social situations.

Before proceeding please keep in mind that what follows is a representation of characteristics that are commonly found in normally organized right-handed people. As such, it would be foolish to interpret everyone’s thought patterns in such a manner. However, these guidelines do provide us with solid building blocks that can be applied with consistent and solid results. In fact, with all things being considered equal, you can flip the eye accessing cues in the opposite direction for normally organized left-handed individuals.

The following points list the position of the eyes and their associated meaning:

• Right & Up – Visual Construct: The person is creating pictures in their mind.
• Right – Auditory Construct: The person is creating sounds in their mind.
• Right & Down – Kinesthetic: The person is sensing past feelings or creating future ones.
• Left & Up – Visual Remembered: The person is accessing pictures from memory.
• Left – Auditory Remembered: The person is accessing sounds from memory.
• Left & Down – Auditory Digital: The person is talking to themselves internally.

To utilize this knowledge effectively, you must first become aware and carefully observe the other person’s eye movements while they listen and communicate with you. After which, you need to pinpoint inconsistencies in the person’s words, body language and the eye accessing strategies they utilize on a consistent basis. In this way you will be better able to pick up on their deceptive tactics.

As an example, you ask two different people to provide specific details of what they saw yesterday at the scene of a crime. The 1st person begins responding to your answer and immediately swing their eyes UP and to the RIGHT. This tells you that they are creating (imagining) pictures in their mind that never were. On the other hand, the 2nd person communicates while swinging their eyes UP and to the LEFT. This tells you that they are accessing pictures from their actual memory and experience. What this signifies to the Detective is that the 2nd person is telling the truth, while the 1st person for some reason is not being completely honest and upfront about the events they saw the other day.

It can take some practice for these observations to become second nature, however over time, this could very well be one of the most important skills you ever learn.

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt that people are complex and very self-conscious creatures. We do what we can, when we can, in whatever way we can to hide a side of ourselves that we don’t want the rest of the world to see. However, even though we are seemingly unable to read people’s thoughts, we can however learn a great deal about them by utilizing some simple observation techniques that can reveal an unexpected world of surprising insights. Consequently we can utilize this information to better understand another person’s subtle patterns of behavior, and thusly influence them in ways that will promote greater fulfillment and well-being.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any further queries or questions, or would like to share your experiences about this topic, than please do so in the comments section below.

Spotlight on the MasterMind Matrix

The Psychological Personality Equation is an important and indispensable component of the MasterMind Matrix.

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The MasterMind Matrix is a Psychological Chart of Personal Success and Achievement. It is used as an effective Self-Coaching tool that will help guide you through the personal obstacles, setbacks and limitations that may stand in your way as you progress towards the attainment of your goals and objectives in the field of academics, business, career, sports, or life in general.

Each IQ Matrix Mind Map that is available through this website represents a single cell fragment of the MasterMind Matrix. For more information and images, visit the MasterMind Matrix page.

Personality Assessments

Here are free Personality Assessment Tests that will help you to determine your pesonal strengths and weaknesses:

• Keirsey Temperament Sorter @ Keirsey
• Jung Typology Test @ Human Metrics
• Personality Type @ Personality Type
• Enneagram Test @ Similar Minds
• Type Focus @ Type Focus
• Personal DNA @ Personal DNA
• Big 5 Personality Typing Test @ Similar Minds

Free Articles & Online Resources

Here are a number of highly recommended free articles and online resources that will further help expand your understanding about this topic:

• Personality Theories, Types & Tests @ Business Balls
• 16 Personality Styles @ Personality Page
• How can You Tell if They are Lying @ eNot Alone
• Detecting Lies: 10 Subtle Signs of Lying @ Ego Development
• How to Root Out a Liar Like an Interrogator @ Persistence Unlimited
• The Personality Puzzle @ Hinter Nuttall
• How Neuroscience Can Teach You to Lie @ Dumb Little Man
• See Yourself as Others Do @ Look Far
• 12 Personality Types to Avoid @ Life Hack

Recommended Books

• How to Spot a Liar: Why People Don’t Tell the Truth and How You Can Catch Them by Gregory Hartley & Maryann Karinch
• You Can Read Anyone by David J. Liebernam
• Face Language Personality Speed Reading System: Advanced Social Technology for Today’s World by Jon E. Prescott & David E. Prescott
• Never Be Lied to Again: How to Get the Truth In 5 Minutes or Less In Any Conversation or Situation by David J. Lieberman
• The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara Pease
• The Art of Speed Reading People: How to Size People Up and Speak their Language by Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger
• Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery by Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson
• What Type Am I?: The Myers’ Brigg Type Indication Made Easy by Renee Baron
• Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types that Determine How We Live, Love & Work by Otto Kroeger & Janet M. Thuesen
• Just the Type: Creating the Relationship You’ve Always Wanted Using the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger
• Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey

If you would like to download a copy of this IQ Matrix, it is available from the IQ Matrix Shop.

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Introduction

Whether we realize it or not, we are being persuaded by our friends, family, colleagues, strangers, the government and the media on a daily basis. Most of this persuasion is very subtle and naturally stimulates our hidden needs, wants and motivations for a better and more fulfilling existence. For the lucky few, the Art of Persuasion comes naturally and effortlessly. In fact, the world is their oyster and a canvas of their making. Yet for others, who have not mastered this fine psychological art; the world is a daily struggle that leads them into ever deeper pits of emotional disappointment.

This IQ Matrix Mind Map will specifically focus on the fundamental aspects of persuasion and how you can utilize them to persuade others to your way of thinking.

• The 1st Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map identifies the type of mindset that you must cultivate and the skills that need to be mastered in order to develop the fundamental credentials of persuasion.
• The 2nd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map breaks down the psychological human motivators that must be stimulated in order to open the channels of persuasion.
• The 3rd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map presents you with a generic process for persuasion that will help you get what you want, every time. It also breaks down a variety of obstacles to persuasion and discusses the fundamental laws that govern the art of persuading others to your way of thinking.

Your Persuasive Credentials

The 1st Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map identifies the type of mindset that you must cultivate and the skills that need to be mastered in order to develop the fundamental credentials of persuasion.

The Persuasive Mindset

There are two key factors that will determine your level of persuasion. The first of these factors is your psychological mindset, and your ability to tap into this resource and utilize it to its greatest effect.

A persuasive person needs to cultivate a mindset that is built upon 3 fundamental layers of “being”. The 1st layer is built upon Honor. The 2nd layer is built upon Trust. While the 3rd layer is built upon Presence. Each layer must be cultivated and practiced in order to enhance one’s ability to persuade others in a variety of social settings.

Methods for Gaining Honor

When others perceive you as being honorable, you ultimately win their respect and approval. They openly acknowledge you as a person and support your beliefs, values and the convictions and ideas you stand for.

In order to gain honor from others, you must cultivate the following qualities:

Show Willingness to be Taught

Openly show a willingness to be taught by other people. We cannot be an expert at everything, and we certainly do not know all that there is to know about a certain subject, person or topic. When you open yourself up to be taught by others, you are unlocking a variety of new perspectives and ideas that will help you to clarify what you know, while potentially providing you with greater insights into areas you may not be familiar with.

Display Consistency

Be consistent in thought, word and action. People are drawn to “certainty”. They want “certainty” in their lives. They want to know and be able to predict what will happen next, what a person will say or do, and what the world will look like tomorrow, next week, next month and so forth. When you are consistent in thought, word and action, others will see you as being someone who who brings them comfort and certainty.

Display Unconditional Acceptance

Most people are tough on the exterior while at the same time very self-conscious on the interior. They want to feel that they are being accepted by others no matter what mistakes they may have made in the past or are making in the moment. When you show unconditional acceptance of another person, you are automatically displaying a deep level of care and respect that makes the other person feel comfortable and secure within your presence.

Display Compassion

Display a deep level of compassion for the problems and difficulties that other people are experiencing on a daily basis. Everyone moves through difficult periods of their lives. During moments like these we seek understanding and compassion from others. Yes, others may not know what we are going through, however if they are able to understand and sympathize with us, than that makes us feel comfortable and secure within their presence. This naturally leads to honor and a deep level of respect for the other person.

Show Genuine Interest & Support

Showing a genuine interest in other people and supporting their passions, ideas and ventures naturally brings you closer together and helps develop deep levels of rapport and respect. Ask others about the good things in their lives, about the things that make them smile, or the things that bring a happy tear to their eye. It is these things that will stimulate a deep emotional bond between the two of you, and will help grow the honor and respect they feel when within your presence.

Display Patience with People

Often people need time. Time to learn a new skill, to let go of an unresourceful habit, or simply time to open up and express their true feelings and needs. When others feel that they are not being rushed, hurried or forced into something by others, this naturally brings about a feeling of comfort and calm within their body and mind. It is therefore better to ask a person questions that will lead them to find their own motivation and answers, rather than to instruct or lecture them about the possible solutions.

Cultivate Discipline

People are naturally drawn to those who display a deep level of discipline in thought, word and action. Discipline brings about certainty. When they are certain that you are disciplined enough to follow through on what you say, than this naturally brings about a deep sense of confidence in your ability and a respect for the stability you bring forth into their lives.

Cultivate Integrity

Integrity is a spirit of being whole, complete and living consistently with your highest values. When others have confidence that you will stay true to your beliefs and values, that you will keep your word and not stray off course onto unexpected and unpredicted paths, than they will consequently honor and respect you wholeheartedly for who you are completely and without question.

Cultivate a Solution Focused Attitude

Even though some people might find it difficult to admit this, they do actually appreciate being around those who live with optimism and cultivate a solution focused attitude. We are all creatures who seek to experience deep levels of pleasure in our lives. We live on hope for a better future on a daily basis, even though some of us may completely disregard this fact. If you are able to instill a little hope into your interactions with others; to help them see the solutions where they previously saw only problems and obstacles, than you will ultimately gain their respect and honor.

Methods for Gaining Trust

When others perceive you as being trusting, you naturally open up a channel of communication that will bring forth the other person’s deepest thoughts, feelings, opinions, values and beliefs into the open. This channel of communication will provide you with deep insights and understandings that will allow you greater freedom to persuade this person to your way of thinking.

In order to gain trust from others, you must cultivate the following qualities:

Acquire Credibility

Others must see you as being a credible person, one who doesn’t provide empty promises, incomplete facts, over exaggerated information and the like. When you are seen as being credible in another person’s eyes, they naturally believe in you, in your ability, in the promises you make and in the actions you take. Credibility can be acquired when people speak highly of you to others, and when your every word and action is consistent with all the facts, statistics and other information you present them with.

Once you have obtained credibility, you will have obtained another’s belief in you and your abilities. And once this belief has been established, than “trust” is a natural outcropping of this outcome.

Display Congruence

Congruence is a state of harmony that you naturally and consistently project out into the world. When you are congruent, your thoughts, beliefs, values, words, emotions, decisions, actions and behaviors are all in harmony with one another. Hence, you will not say one things and do something else, otherwise this will break the congruent energy you project out into the world.

When people see you as being congruent, they are naturally drawn to you out of respect for this harmonious energy you are projecting. This likewise brings about deep levels of trust, as others realize that you have nothing to hide, and that what you project is what they can expect.

Display Competence

People naturally have faith and hold trust in those that they see as being competent in their field of endeavor. Therefore, if you are presenting yourself as an expert in a certain subject area, than others expect you to be able to answer all their questions, to have a full grasp of the skills that are required to help and assist them to get the results they are after, and to have the tools and resources on hand to provide suitable solutions that they need. Once you show to others that you are competent and capable, than this will naturally raise the “trust factor”, and will allow you greater leverage in persuading them to your way of thinking.

Display Confidence

People are naturally drawn to those who have a deep level of self-confidence in themselves, their ability and in their capacity to follow through on the promises they make. Confidence naturally manifests into assurance, certainty, capability and above all trust. However, please don’t mistaken confidence for cockiness or vanity. People are turned off by the latter two qualities and you will lose all trust and credibility with others the moment these “reapers of personality” show up to the party.

Display Strong Character

A person with a strong character is someone who doesn’t breakdown emotionally, who stands tall when obstacles and problems overwhelm others, and consistently projects who they are openly and expressively without ulterior motives or a hidden agendas. Strong personalities such as this naturally draw others to them, while gaining the respect, confidence and trust that is required to become a persuasive individual.

Methods for Gaining Presence

Presence is a state of being, acting and doing that builds confidence, belief and moves others emotionally to do things that they previously did not believe they were capable of.  With it, the world is your oyster. However, without it you will struggle to even begin persuading others to your way of thinking.

In order to develop presence, you must display the following:

Present Powerful Goals & Vision

People are moved by powerful goals and visions of the future that bring about great pleasure and excitement. In the next branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map we will discuss and break-down these motives in detail, however for our purposes here, it is important to consciously present people with a moving outlook that will excite and stimulate the logical and emotional centers of their brain. To do this, simply talk about big ideas, dreams and goals, while presenting fantastic visions of how you can help others feel better than they have ever felt before.

As a word of warning, please make sure that these goals and visions don’t contradict the qualities discussed above (you must follow through on the promises you make), otherwise you may have presence, however you will lose trust and honor, which will significantly subdue your capacity to persuade others to your way of thinking.

Display Optimism

Presence is also created through a sense of optimism. People will only be persuaded by those who provide them with optimistic solutions, ideas and a sense of purpose that will drive and motivate them towards their personal goals and objectives. Unfortunately without optimism, you will find it very difficult to persuade others to your way of thinking.

Display Empathy Towards Others

When we empathize with others we naturally tap into their thoughts, feelings and attitudes that make up their psyche at any given moment in time. Empathy is a powerful means of really getting to know another person at a deep level of understanding that will likewise help open doors to ever deeper insights into their hidden needs and the wants that they seek to satisfy. Once you are aware of these motives (discussed in the next branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map) you will have a greater capacity to persuade and influence them to your way of thinking.

Display Passion & Charisma

Charisma is defined as: “A spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people”.

Charisma by itself is difficult to describe, as it is a natural outcropping of many different qualities and personality characteristics. It is something that is developed over time that requires discipline and patience.

To begin developing your Charisma, start by cultivating the qualities discussed above. In a future IQ Matrix Mind Map we will discuss how to Become a Person of Influence, where we will touch upon a myriad of essential qualities that are required to build your charisma and influence others to your way of thinking.

Indispensable Skills of Persuasion

The second factor that determines the level of your persuasive ability rests upon a dozen key fundamental skills that will assist you to enhance your influence when interacting with others.  Let’s briefly go through each of these skills and identify their importance to the persuasive process:

Personal Skills

Our thinking ability is an important element of the persuasive process. There will always be numerous psychological and physical challenges that may very easily impede persuasion. As a consequence we must be mentally prepared and ready for the obstacles that lie ahead.

The following are 3 fundamental personal skills that must be learned in order to enhance your persuasive abilities:

Thinking Critically

When we think critically we come to understand that what we see on the surface may indeed be very different to what lies beneath the “still waters”. Critical thinking enables us to uncover a world of information and insight that at first glance may tell a different story. It also allows us to unlock a person’s true needs and motives, thusly enhancing our ability to persuade them.

Thinking Creatively

Creative thinking is an important component of persuasion that enables us to persuade others in unique and clever ways. When, for one reason or another, you are not making progress in persuading another person to your way of thinking, than creativity will become your greatest ally. An ally that will enable you to think outside the box, change your approach and consequently unlock deep insights about the situation or the psychology of the person you are attempting to persuade.

Ability to Solve Problems

The persuasive process is riddled with ever changing and transforming challenges that can potentially stop you in your tracks. In such instances, your ability to solve problems in an effective and efficient manner will provide you with the necessary guidance to move you through the persuasive process with far greater clarity of thought.

Social Skills

Effective persuasion involves a certain level of expertise in a number of social skill areas. Each of these skills alone build on different levels and aspects of persuasion that are essential to the persuasive process. Let’s briefly take a look at each one of them and identify the levels of persuasion they are targeting:

Public Speaking

Public Speaking is a persuasive tool that is utilized to great effect when persuading groups of people through logical and emotional stories. It provides us with the confidence and the presence that is required to present our message effectively to more than one person at a time. Finally, it also teaches us how to effectively project our voice through a room, and how to present our message in a way that is understood by a variety of people with differing social, cultural and educational backgrounds.

Sales

On the opposite side of the spectrum we have the Sales process. When we are Speaking in Public we present our message to groups of people, however when it comes to selling, it usually involves a one-on-one situation requiring a great deal of trust, respect and honor. Listening also becomes a critical aspect of the sales process that progressively identifies and breaks down the other person’s deepest needs and wants.

With these 3 key elements in our pocket (trust, respect & honor), we will be much more persuasive, enabling us to persuade others to our way of thinking far more readily.

Leadership

Leadership is your ability to persuade another person to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve. As you can probably tell, this is no easy feat. People are very resistant towards undertaking certain and specific tasks. Yet, as a leader your objective is to persuade them through a sense of inspiration and honor to do something that is for their greater good and for the greater good of all others concerned – no matter how distasteful the task may seem in the moment. Hence leadership is all about inspiration, and this can only come through a sense of honor, trust and respect for the Leader.

Negotiation

Negotiation is a game of balance that requires open channels of communication and a steadfast problem solving ability. Your goal is to essentially solve the other person’s problem while giving as little away as possible. It’s very much a game of Chess. You realize at the beginning of the game that you must sacrifice a certain number of Chess pieces in order to maneuver your Opponent towards a suitable outcome that will support both your objectives and goals. You therefore learn to play the balancing game of “give and take”, all at the same time trying to persuade the other person that what you are taking isn’t worth nearly as much as what you are giving away. Again this requires your ability to establish honor and trust within the relationship.

Networking

Networking is an intricate game of relationship building. We build one-to-one relationships and work on establishing honor and trust throughout the networking process. We also seek to find common goals, values, objectives and ideas that will allow us to bridge the gap between what is probable and what is definite and possible. It teaches us the art of getting to know people at a deep level of understanding, then utilizing this knowledge of their needs and wants to persuade them to accept our ideas or ways of thinking.

Rapport Creation

Rapport Creation extends from Networking and basically requires us to develop strong emotional bonds and ties with the people in our lives. Once these emotional bonds have been locked away at a deep psychological level, we can use them to persuade other people to accept our ideas or ways of thinking.

We will be discussing the process of Rapport Creation in-depth in a future IQ Matrix Mind Map, which will present you with key strategies and tools that you must utilize in order to Become a Person of Influence. However, for now, let’s quickly take a look at the 3 key aspects of Rapport Creation that will help you build trust and honor:

Body Language Awareness

At any one moment in time, we are all communicating with others at two very different levels of awareness. The 1st level is verbal, while the 2nd level can only be understood through observing a person’s body language. Often the communication that is verbalized is only part of the message, while the deep insights can only be gained through observing the subtleties of the unconscious message that is being sent through a person’s body movements.

You are only as persuasive to the extent that you understand and identify with the message behind the words that a person is speaking. Once you have gained clarity and fully comprehend this subtle message, you will be better able to adjust your persuasive approach accordingly in order to target this person’s underlying wants and needs.

Communication Skills

Communication skills encompass the habits of effective listening and talking. Understanding how best to utilize each of these skills is relatively simple. However, being consciously aware of them every time you are communicating with someone can be difficult at first, yet over time we can learn to slowly move away from our old ineffective communication habits, and enable ourselves to develop deeper levels of rapport with the people in our lives. We will discuss both of these skills in great depth in a future IQ Matrix Mind Map.

Seduction Tactics

Finally we have the Art of Seduction. A skill no doubt mastered by the great Don Juan’s of this world who sweep women off their feet and into a world of ecstasy and unbridled pleasure. Yes, these are great stories of persuasive seduction. But do they have any merit? We will help answer that question in a future IQ Matrix Mind Map where we will break-down the components and levels of seduction as they apply to romance and the world of business.

Human Motivators: What All People Want

The 2nd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map breaks down the psychological human motivators that must be stimulated in order to open the channels of persuasion.

The 6 Critical Human Needs

The 6 Human Needs are an indispensable component of human motivation and behavior. Credit for their development can be attributed to Anthony Robbins and the great work he is doing around the world helping people better their lives.

On one level or another, whether we know it or not we are all seeking to experience as many of the 6 Human Needs as possible to the greatest extent possible – unknowingly realizing that to experience them is to reach a state of true and lasting happiness and fulfillment. These 6 Human Needs essentially dictate how we live our life by influencing the decisions we make and actions we take on a daily basis. Keep in mind that we will dedicate an entire IQ Matrix Mind Map towards breaking down each of these 6 Human Needs at a later time.

As you read the short summary about each Human Need, keep in mind everything that have discussed thus far, and how you could potentially apply this information to persuade others to your way of thinking.

Need for Certainty

People have a natural desire to live with a feeling of Certainty. We do not want things to change, we seek comfort, we seek security, and we want to know that everything will work out just the way we imagined it. As a result we tend to stay within our comfort zones experiencing the familiar and expected.

How can I persuade others by stimulating their Need for Certainty?

Need for Uncertainty

When Certainty becomes far too predictable or boring, than we consciously or sub-consciously seek to create Uncertainty within our lives. We naturally do this by stepping outside our comfort zones, or by undertaking activities that we would tend to avoid under normal circumstances.

Uncertainty creates the feelings of excitement and exhilaration that leads us towards the unknown. Of course the moment we tend to “over satisfy” this Human Need, we experience high levels of stress, anxiety or fear. Hence, in such instances we will naturally move back into our comfort zones seeking a sense of Certainty and security.

How can I persuade others by stimulating their Need for Uncertainty?

Need for Significance

As we go about our lives, we continuously seek to feel important, unique and Significant in one way or another. We do this by seeking to obtain status, acknowledgment or praise for our efforts. We also obtain Significance by achieving our goals, by learning new things or by simply wearing the latest fashion styles and trends.

How can I persuade others by stimulating their Need for Significance?

Need for Connection

While striving for a sense of Significance, we are at the same time driven to connect with others, life and society in general. This type of Connection can come in many forms including a Connection with God, with other people, with nature, with groups, with pets, or even through self-sacrifice that leads to caring for another person’s needs.

As we go about our days we attempt to manage a very delicate balance between our need for Connection and our need for Significance. The greater the balance between these two Needs, than the greater sense of fulfillment and happiness we will experience in lives.

How can I persuade others by stimulating their Need for Connection?

Need for Growth

In one way or another, we are seeking to experience a sense of Growth as we progress through life. This Growth can be achieved by learning new things, developing skills and talents, striving for betterment or simply learning from our everyday experiences.

If we are not growing, than we will tend to stagnate and experience bouts of dissatisfaction at a deeply profound conscious or unconscious level of awareness.

How can I persuade others by stimulating their Need for Growth?

Need for Contribution

In order to experience the pinnacle of fulfillment and satisfaction in life, we will need to satisfy the Need for Contribution. We will naturally seek to fulfill this Need by working towards a worthy cause that has benefits for others and to the wider society in general. When the Need for Contribution has been obtained, than this naturally signifies that all the other 5 Human Needs have also been fulfilled to a high degree.

How can I persuade others by stimulating their Need for Contribution?

Pleasure Seeking Motivators

Pleasure is the most powerful emotional need that drives our behavior, decisions and actions. It is an overwhelming force that motivates people to undertake temporary periods of pain for the eventual experience of pleasure that awaits them at the end of the tunnel. As such, utilizing pleasure to persuade other people to your way of thinking is one of the most effective tools available in your arsenal.

The following presents a list of common Human Motivators you can stimulate throughout the persuasive process to persuade others to your ideas or ways of thinking. As you read through this list, persistently ask yourself, how you could utilize this information to persuade another person to support your idea or accept your way of thinking?

A word of caution. These are very powerful motivators that must be used for good and NOT evil . Please keep this in mind as you move through the persuasive process.

Personal Motivators

The following presents a list of Personal “pleasure centered” Motivators that persuade people to make a decision or take a specific action:

Perfect Health

People seek the feelings that are associated with perfect health. We want to be fit, healthy, look good and feel great every moment for as long as possible.

Absolute Freedom

People desire personal freedom. We want to be able to do what we want, when we want, and for how ever long we want. And at the same time we don’t want others to control our decisions or actions. Instead we want to be the Captains of our own Ships, making our own decisions and taking actions that will support our highest values, goals and objectives.

Personal Power

People want to experience a sense of Personal Power. They want to feel as though they are in control of events and circumstances, and they desire to experience this at a moment’s notice without repercussions.

Achievement Orientation

People want certainty that they can and will obtain their most cherished goals and objectives as soon as possible. These are the goals that are aligned with their highest values and personal needs. They will be persuaded once you have cleared the obstacles from their path. These are the obstacles that are currently impeding their progress, and the challenges that are draining the life force from their souls and their goals.

Financial Success

People desire to experience financial success. Almost everyone hopes that they will someday be rich, however for most people this is far beyond their current patterns of belief. Hence, they will not be persuaded by the promise of riches. However, they will be persuaded by the promise of financial security and comfort. And this is the angle that an effective Persuader must take.

Complete Creative Expression

People want to be able to express themselves creatively without being ridiculed, judged or criticized. They seek to experience this at work, at home and during play. The more creative expression they have, the greater the joys of pleasure they experience and the more susceptible they become to persuasion.

Hope for a Better Future

People seek a better future. They hope that tomorrow will be better than today, that next week will be an improvement on last week, and that next year all their dreams will come true. Yes, many of these hopes are unrealistic, however many others are closer to reality than they realize. An effective Persuader must stimulate the small and seemingly insignificant hopes that each person has and utilize these to build the bigger picture filled with positive emotions and fulfillment.

Peace of Mind

People desire to experience Peace of Mind throughout their days. There is so much going on these days that most of us are running around like headless chickens. We stress, suffer from anxiety attacks and fear for what tomorrow may bring. If we are therefore given an opportunity to experience Peace of Mind, even for a short period of time, we will jump on that bandwagon and ride it all the way to the finish line.

Comfort & Security

People want to feel comfortable and secure within a familiar environment that supports all of their needs and wants. They don’t want to do things that raise their levels of anxiety. Instead they just want to relax and feel secure in the knowledge that everything is under their control and will be taken care of at a moment’s notice.

Social Motivators

The following presents a list of Social “pleasure centered” Motivators that persuade people to make a decision or take a specific action:

Good Relationships with Family & Friends

There is probably nothing more stressful than a family in conflict. It eats at people’s souls one bite at a time, until everything is eaten away. For this reason people want to experience good, healthy, open and honest relationships with their family and friends.

A Sense of Roots

People want to feel grounded to mother earth, to their family history, social group, or cultural background. This gives them a sense of belonging and familiarity that provides a deep sense of security and comfort.

The Need to Follow Others

Most people have an undeniable need to follow those who inspire and motivate them into action. They seek to follow powerful leaders who have presence, can be trusted and are honorable. These are the keys to persuasion as discussed within the first branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map. However, keep in mind that some people are not “followers” and rather prefer to lead from the front. In order to persuade them you will need to stimulate their pride and need for accomplishment.

Cooperating with Others

People want to feel as though they are part of a group working together for a higher purpose and goal. This sense of cooperation they experience will naturally stimulate a plethora of other needs that a Persuader can utilize to great effect.

Gaining Respect from Others

When a person enters a social setting, they want to feel confident that they will be respected by others, and that others will provide them with an opportunity to prove their true worth and value. All they ask is for an opportunity. And if they fail, they want more opportunities up until the moment they are fully integrated into the social setting and on par with all other individuals.

Consistent Fairness

People seek consistency and fairness, especially when their emotions and reputation is on the line. They want to feel secure that no matter what happens that they will be treated fairly and in accordance to past precedents. Consistency provides them with certainty, and certainty rewards them with feelings of comfort.

The Acceptance of Others

People want to be accepted by others unconditionally no matter who they are, what they did, or what possible consequences may result from their current decisions or actions.

People seek Acceptance in a number of varying ways. The following list provides a few variations that must be considered:

Meeting Other’s Expectations

People seek to meet Other’s expectations of them in thought, word, decision and action. This Need is so prevalent in our society today that most people tend to design their lives around the expectations of others. Whether they acknowledge this or not they are actually basing their decisions, behaviors and action on what other people say and do; and this all occurs at an unconscious level of awareness. A Persuader must stimulate this Need very subtly, with an understanding that people will tend not to admit that this Need ever existed.

Being Admired by Others

People seek to be admired by those around them. They want to by admired not only by their family and friends, but also by passing strangers who judge them on first impressions. The more admired we are by those around us, the greater confidence we have in ourselves, which opens up new doors to ever deeper levels of persuasion.

Other’s Belief in Personal Ability

People want others to believe in their abilities no matter what the evidence is to the contrary. People don’t care about evidence, all they want is for someone to believe in them, even if nothing ever eventuates from this belief. All they desire is a “belief” that will keep them sane, while filling their heart with hope for better days. The results or outcomes don’t really matter; at least not at the moment. An effective Persuader will see this and use it to their advantage.

Gaining Praise & Recognition from Others

People seek praise and recognition from others for their accomplishments as-well-as their near misses. Praise builds their confidence and this raises the “Pleasure Gauge”, which makes them even more susceptible to the psychological tactics of persuasion.

Gaining Approval from Others

Whether consciously or unconsciously, people naturally tend to seek approval from specific individuals in their lives. These individuals are like barometers that help them measure the effectiveness of their decision making process and behaviors. When approval isn’t received they tend to wilt away emotionally fighting through anger and self-doubt. However, when approval is given, they are like sunflowers radiating in the sunlight. An effective Persuader knows how to tap into this Need and stimulates it to its full effect.

Emotional Motivators

The following presents a list of Emotional Motivators that persuade people to make a decision or take an action that moves them towards pleasure:

Unbridled Happiness

People seek to be happy above all other emotions. Happiness is a natural outcropping of love, confidence, joy and fulfillment that brings about great satisfaction and makes the hard times easier to bear. An effective Persuader realizes the power of this emotion and stimulates it to its full extent.

High Self-Esteem

People want to feel confident in themselves as a person and in their ability when directly compared with other people.

There are a great plethora of tools that a Persuader can utilize to stimulate the feelings of high self-esteem in a person. Many of these tools have already been discussed above, while many others will be discussed in detail in future IQ Matrix Mind Maps.

Emotional Security

People seek emotional security. Even if their world is spinning out of control, they want to have the full assurance that at least their emotions are in check. The moment they feel their emotions are in check, is the moment they believe that the rest of the world will eventually work itself out as well. Providing them with simple techniques and strategies will do the trick here. These will be discussed in a future IQ Matrix Mind Map that will tackle the varying levels of emotion we experience on a daily basis.

Pain Avoiding Motivators

For some people Pain has a greater influence on their decision making and actions than Pleasure. These types of people tend to make decisions and take actions that move them away from pain rather than towards pleasure. These types of people are far more easily persuaded by utilizing some of the following stimulants:

Fear

We are a society of Fear Phobics. We don’t like to be afraid and we will therefore do whatever it takes to avoid experiencing this powerful negative emotion. Living in constant fear stresses the body, weakens the mind and leads to very undesirable consequences. An effective Persuader has the ability to stimulate this fear in short bursts while communicating with others. This is usually followed by bursts of relief, joy or happiness which takes the person on an emotional roller-coaster ride of great peaks and valleys.

Failure

As a human species we are very achievement oriented. We are driven to reach goals and objectives on a daily basis, no matter how insignificant they may seem. This “drive” however has a dark-side. If we do not obtain these goals we label ourselves as a failure. This usually stems from the act of comparing ourselves with others.

An effective Persuader understands that nobody wants to fail or be perceived as a failure by others. Hence they utilize this knowledge to their advantage and structure their persuasive message to stimulate this pain and move the person emotionally in the desired direction of their choosing.

Rejection

People seek to fit in, and want to be accepted unconditionally by others. For this very reason Rejection is a powerful motivator that an effective Persuader has in their arsenal of tools.

Losing Something

People fear losing something. We become so emotionally attached to the physical possessions in our lives, or to the mental energy we give away, that the moment we lose our grasp is the moment we desperately push ourselves forward in an attempt to move away from the pain, and take back some semblance of control. An effective Persuader sees a great opportunity here. They find out exactly what their victim is afraid of losing and they persuasively convince them that this is closer to reality than they ever imagined was possible. Shortly afterwards a simple yet effective solution is presented that removes the pain and brings about relief and pleasure.

Criticism or Looking Foolish

People will do anything to avoid looking foolish or being criticized by others. For this very reason people fear Public Speaking over death. Given this fact, this could very well be the most powerful “pain associating” force that a Persuader can utilize throughout the persuasion process.

The Unknown

People fear not knowing what to do, or not being able to predict what will happen next. This uncertainty keeps people within a comfort zone. Hence, when a Persuader convinces others that their current decision or action will lead them down an unknown path of uncertainty, than this alone could very well be enough to persuade them to make a turn for the opposite direction.

The Fundamental Principles of Persuasion

The 3rd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map presents you with a generic process for persuasion that will help you get what you want, every time. It also breaks down a variety of obstacles to persuasion and discusses the fundamental laws that govern the art of persuading others to your way of thinking.

Indispensable Laws of Persuasion

Within the following Laws lay the foundational building blocks of persuasion and influence. Most of these laws where first presented by Robert B. Cialdini who dedicated years of his life towards researching the psychological triggers of persuasion. However, keep in mind that these Laws are only complimentary pieces to everything that has been discussed thus far. They are effective and comprehensive, however, if you don’t first reconfigure your mindset and develop the necessary skills of persuasion, than you will fail to fully capitalize on the power that these laws can bring forth into the persuasive process.

The following presents a quick overview of each Law. In a future IQ Matrix Mind Map we will go into greater depth and break down each Law in finite detail.

The word “Victim” is utilized to represent the Persuadee. This is intentional and is designed to awaken us to the reality of these techniques and the impact they have had on our lives from a Victim’s perspective.

Law 1: Balance

Effective Persuaders understand that their persuasive message must stimulate both the emotional and logical centers of their Victim’s mind. They stimulate positive and negative emotions by getting people involved in emotional stories that relate to aspects of their own life. Conversely they stimulate logic by utilizing statistics, examples, analogies, testimonials, graphs, charts, etc.

Law 2: Social Validation

Effective Persuaders understand the importance of building a sense “artificial popularity” around the message they are presenting to others. They show their Victim’s that what they are presenting them with is coveted by others who have similar interests, values, beliefs, attitudes, etc. They provide testimonials while presenting their product or service as being the fastest growing and best selling. Their underlying goal is to bridge the perceived psychological gap between their Victim’s Needs and the Needs of others who are just like them.

Law 3: Dissonance

Effective Persuaders clearly recognize that people will seek to maintain consistency with their past decisions, values, attitudes, behaviors and beliefs under most circumstances. They utilize this to their advantage by initially making small requests of their Victims in order to encourage affirmative responses. These small “Yes” responses and steps create dissonance. The Persuader eventually begins making ever larger requests of their Victim until their outcome has been achieved. Under most circumstances people will continue to “agree” to the Persuader’s offerings, as they seek to maintain consistency with their past responses and avoid the feelings of dissonance.

Law 4: Contrast

Effective Persuaders present their Victim with a contrast of choices. Their goal is to convince their Victim to purchase Product “E”. This is a higher ticket item that may be slightly outside their Victim’s price range. However, instead of showing them Product E to begin with, they instead show them Products A through D. They inform their Victim that Product A, B, C and D have several undesirable options that don’t quite match their Victim’s needs. They eventually work their way up to Product E that meets their Victim’s Needs perfectly.

The Law can also be utilized effectively by initially making a large request that you know with certainty will be negated by your Victim. Follow this up immediately with your desired smaller request and measure the result. Under most circumstances people are more likely to say “Yes” to the 2nd request if it is preceded by the larger request.

Law 5: Obligation

Effective Persuaders realize that by giving away free samples, extra services, inside knowledge or gifts, will create a state of psychological debt within their Victim’s minds. This debt will create a void that the Victim will seek to “fill” through reciprocation. This could be in the form of an agreement, with knowledge or anything else for that matter that will wipe out this psychological debt from their consciousness.

Law 6: Expectation

Effective Persuaders understand that people normally behave according to the expectations set by others. They will use this to their advantage by unconsciously sending persuasive signals of expectation towards their Victim which are based on their psychological desires and wants. Moreover, they utilize the expectations and opinions of others (people with psychological influence over their Victim’s lives) to maneuver their Victim into a decisive frame of mind.

Law 7: Self-Esteem

Effective Persuaders do all they can to build their Victim’s level of self-esteem. They clearly understand that the more recognition, praise, acceptance and genuine compliments they pay their Victim, that the more likely they are to persuade them to their ideas or ways of thinking.

Law 8: Involvement

Effective Persuaders realize that by involving their Victim’s in specific activities related to their idea, product or service will effectively open them up to the forces of persuasion. The greater the emotional involvement the Victim experiences, the more susceptible they will become to the persuasive process.

Law 9: Association

Effective Persuaders utilize methods of association to trigger and stimulate deep reservoirs of emotion within their Victim’s minds. These triggers can include pleasant music, colors, symbols, sounds, celebrities, etc. The Victim naturally associates each trigger to a specific feeling or emotion based on past experience. Therefore, when these triggers are associated and coupled together with a specific product, idea or service, than the Victim begins to associate these same feelings and emotions to these stimuli as well, and the persuasive process runs it’s full course.

Law 10: Scarcity

Effective Persuaders clearly understand that at times their Victim’s will utilize every trick in the book to postpone making a decision. As a result the Persuader seeks to create urgency by limiting availability, price, time, supply, access, opportunity or by presenting them with a deadline by which they must make a decision. These tactics play on the Law of Scarcity, which stimulates the pain and pleasure emotional centers of the brain and forces the Victim to make a decision.

Law 11: Connectivity

The final Law of the Persuasive process is the Law of Connectivity. Within this Law lie sound and fundamental principles that enable you to open the channels of communication between you and your Victim. We will discuss all these aspects in great depth in a future IQ Matrix Mind Map which will delve into detail on how to Become a Person of Influence.

Guidelines for Persuasion

Having gone through the Laws of Persuasion, it is now important to spend a little time covering some general guidelines that will wrap things up and prepare your mind to begin implementing the psychology of persuasion in your interactions with others.

Triggering Persuasion through Pain & Pleasure

When it comes down to it, persuasion is all about reaching an intricate balance between the forces of pain and pleasure. We have already discussed this to a degree in a previous branch. Here we will finalize this discussion by briefly pointing out how you can target both the pain and pleasure receptors to persuade others to your way of thinking.

Targeting the Pleasure Receptors

When seeking to stimulate a person’s Pleasure receptors you must effectively trigger their emotional brain, which is motivated through inspiration and talk about personal gains.

Targeting the Pain Receptors

When seeking to stimulate a person’s Pain receptors you must effectively trigger their logical thinking brain, which is motivated through desperation and talk about potential losses.

The Generic Process of Persuasion

The persuasive process doesn’t necessarily follow a structured design. Instead it is something that must be adjusted and adapted to the situation and psychological characteristics of the people or person you are attempting to persuade. Although, having said that, we can however loosely piece together a standard method of persuasion that is commonly utilized throughout society. Keep in mind that these 7 steps are only rough guidelines to help provide some structure and guidance as you venture through the psychological tactics of persuasion.

Step 1: Identify People’s Problem

Your first step in the persuasive process is to identify a problem that the person you are attempting to persuade is experiencing. Without first identifying a problem you will simply have nothing to leverage, and therefore the persuasive process will flicker out before it even begins.

The best way to identify a problem is simply through a means of asking effective questions. Keep in mind that at times people may not be aware of their problems on a conscious level. In such instances your first goal will be to bring this problem into their conscious mind, and work on expanding the consequences of the problem from there.

As a final thought, make sure that the problem you have identified is more than just a minor inconvenience, or at least make it appear to be more than this. Otherwise your Victim will have very little motivation to change, and will therefore close themselves off to your persuasive methods.

Step 2: Trigger Imagination of Life without Problem

Having established an emotional problem, your goal now is to stimulate your Victim’s imagination. Present them with an ideal picture, or a beautiful canvas of how their life will become when they never experience this problem again. The key here is to keep asking questions. Don’t tell them how things will be, instead ask them questions that will help them reveal the answers for themselves.

Step 3: Provide Knowledge through Logic & Emotion

At this stage your goal is to present your Victim with a logical and emotional solution to the problem, which involves introducing them to the product, service or knowledge you are offering. Your solution must emotionally, logically and effectively resolve the problem once and for all.

Step 4: Maximize Gains & Minimize Losses

Here your goal is to maximize the positive aspects of what you’re offering while at the same time minimizing any undesirable consequences that may result from this decision. You must also effectively subdue any resistance or doubt that may be lingering in your Victim’s mind. Utilizing a few Laws of Persuasion at this point may help you to gain the leverage you need to jump start the persuasive process.

Step 5: Trigger Human Motivators

Your major objective here is to trigger a handful of key Human Motivators discussed in the 2nd Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map. The more thoroughly this step is undertaken the greater your persuasive power will become.

Step 6: Stimulate Future Imaginings of Fulfillment

This stage is all about stimulating the Pleasure centers of the brain. Make your Victim feel secure in the knowledge that they are making the right decision and that this will solve all their problems and lead them to a life of happiness and fulfillment. Or something along those lines…

Step 7: Provide a Powerful Guarantee

Conclude the persuasive process by providing your Victim with a powerful guarantee that will give them security and peace of mind.

Our Human Capacity to Resist Persuasion

Sometimes no matter how effective we are at persuading others to our ideas or ways of thinking, every now and then we always seem to come across a handful of common obstacles that impede our progress and unfortunately drag the persuasive process beyond our control.

The following presents a list of common ways people resist persuasion. Keep in mind that these are only minor obstacles, and that the solutions to these challenges can be found within this article post.

Fear of Change or the Unknown

People resist persuasion because they’re afraid of change and the unknown. This resistance can be effectively dealt with by helping the individual find certainty and moving them towards pleasure centered motivators.

Don’t Trust or Like You

People resist persuasion because they simply don’t trust or like you. This resistance can be effectively dealt with by cultivating the qualities of honor and trust described within the 1st Branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map.

No Urgency or Need

People resist persuasion because they don’t have a need or there is no urgency motivating their behavior. In such circumstances you must go back to the drawing board and identify a deeper underlying emotional problem that will stimulate this person to take action. Otherwise you may like to utilize the Law of Scarcity to move your Victim towards a decisive decision.

Lack of Resources, Knowledge or Finances

People resist persuasion because they are lacking resources, knowledge or finances. In such instances you must spend time educating them about your idea and product, or provide them with a different perspective or potential alternative options that will help them make a definite decision.

No Authority

People resist persuasion because they don’t have any authority to make a decision. The simple solution is to speak with the person who has the authority to make this decision.

Doubtful & Skeptic

People resist persuasion because they are doubtful or skeptical about the offer you are making. Here you have not provided them with enough information, or they simply do not trust you.

Final Thoughts

There is little doubt that our ability to persuade others to our way of thinking is one of the most important and indispensable skills that we must learn and master. With it, we can climb the corporate ladder, win sales, advance our business forward, and convince our romantic partner and kids to our way of thinking . Conversely without it, we are merely leaves blowing haphazardly in the wind; at the mercy of external forces people and events that control our every decision and action like puppets on a string.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any further queries or questions, or would like to share your experiences about this topic, than please do so in the comments section below.

Spotlight on the MasterMind Matrix

The Psychology of Persuasion is an important and indispensable component of the MasterMind Matrix.

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The MasterMind Matrix is a Psychological Chart of Personal Success and Achievement. It is used as an effective Self-Coaching tool that will help guide you through the personal obstacles, setbacks and limitations that may stand in your way as you progress towards the attainment of your goals and objectives in the field of academics, business, career, sports, or life in general.

Each IQ Matrix Mind Map that is available through this website represents a single cell fragment of the MasterMind Matrix. For more information and images, visit the MasterMind Matrix page.

Free Articles & Online Resources

Here are a number of highly recommended free articles and online resources that will further help expand your understanding about this topic:

• 9 Secret Ways to Persuade & Influence @ Dumb Little Man
• The Four P’s of Persuasion @ Brian Tracy
• Becoming a Master of Persuasion @ Brian Tracy
• The Science of Persuasion: Getting Things Done by Getting Others to do Them for You @ GTD Times
• The Art of Persuasion @ Cultivate Greatness
• Subliminal Persuasion @ Subliminal Persuasion Book
• Free Persuasion Articles @ Selling & Persuasion Techniques
• General Persuasion Techniques @ Changing Minds
• 5 Psychological Secrets of Persuasive Marketing Success @ Mind Power Marketing
• The One Way to Get Others to do What You Want @ Mind Power Marketing
• The 5 Steps to Getting What You Want @ Mind Power Marketing
• The 10 Best Ways to Persuade @ Sources of Insight

Recommended Products

Secrets of Power Persuasion – Do you know someone who has an amazing ability to persuade people? In this remarkable program, Roger Dawson shows you the strategies and tactics that will enable you to persuade people in virtually any situation. Not by using phony promises and certainly not with threats, but because they perceive it’s in their best interests to do what you say.

Recommended Books

• Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want by Dave Lakhani
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
• Persuasion IQ: The 10 Skills You Need to Get Exactly What You Want by Kurt Mortensen
• The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking by Kevin Hogan
• Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin & Robert B. Cialdini
• Maximum Influence: The 12 Laws of Power Persuasion by Kurt W. Mortensen
• Covert Persuasion: Psychological Tactics and Tricks to Win the Game by Kevin Hogan & James Speakman

If you would like to download a copy of this IQ Matrix, it is available from the IQ Matrix Shop.