I recently read Dilbert writer Scott Adams blog post Future Jobs. In the post he writes:
I’d like to see a college major focusing on the various skills of human persuasion. That’s the sort of skillset that the marketplace will always value and the Internet is unlikely to replace. The persuasion coursework might include…
I’d like to see at least one law school course on persuasion. Think how young lawyers would be better prepared to practice law. They would likely:
- Know what is persuasive and what puts people off
- Dress for success
- Ask better and more effective questions
- Listen more actively
- Know and use persuasive words
- Build trust and rapport
- Make their clients their friends and make their friends their clients
- How to develop a unique selling proposition
- Know the law of reciprocity and use it
- Know the importance of body language and make a better appearance
- Remember names of people they meet
- Know how to strike up a conversation with a stranger at a networking event
- Know how to write more persuasively
- Know what their audience wants and how to give a presentation more effectively
- Be able to ask for business without coming across as a used car salesman
- Be able to effectively respond when a potential client raises an objection (like your rates are too high)