Social Influence · 7 days · 7 laws
Persuasion that does not feel like persuasion
Seven days on shifting what people think without arguing them into it: what to demonstrate, what to appeal to, and how to recognise the same techniques when they are run on you.
Each day gives you one law, a short note on why that law comes at that point in the sequence, one thing to try, and a question to sit with. Ten minutes a day for a week.
The seven days
Day 1 of 7
Arguments harden people. Almost nobody concedes in the moment, but most people quietly update their view when the result is sitting in front of them a week later.
Sit with this
Which argument did you win today, and did anything actually change once it was over?
Today’s law — Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument
Day 2 of 7
Demonstration only counts if people are present for it. A short, concrete showing of the thing beats a long and careful description of the thing every time.
Sit with this
What did you describe at length today that you could simply have shown them instead?
Today’s law — Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles
Day 3 of 7
The most effective persuasion sells people the version of themselves they want to be true. Notice when a pitch is offering you that, rather than offering the thing itself.
Sit with this
What were you sold today by being told something flattering about the kind of person you are?
Today’s law — Law 32: Play to People's Fantasies
Day 4 of 7
Behind most resistance sits a concern nobody has said out loud: risk, workload, status. Name it accurately and the argument you were preparing turns out to be unnecessary.
Sit with this
What was somebody actually worried about today, underneath the reason they gave you?
Today’s law — Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others
Day 5 of 7
Genuine generosity moves people, which is precisely why the counterfeit version is so common. Give when you mean it, and watch for gifts that arrive with an invoice attached later.
Sit with this
What did you accept today that quietly created an obligation you had not agreed to?
Today’s law — Law 12: Disarm Your Victim With Honesty and Generosity
Day 6 of 7
Some people reflect your own words and manner back at you to manufacture rapport, or to provoke you into overreacting. Recognise it, then answer the substance rather than the technique.
Sit with this
Who matched your manner closely today, and what did they get while you were at ease?
Today’s law — Law 44: Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect
Day 7 of 7
All of this ends in a choice. You can move people towards their own judgement, or you can farm their need to believe, and only one of those survives contact with the truth.
Sit with this
Did anyone agree with you today because they were convinced, or because you were?
Today’s law — Law 27: Play on People's Need to Believe to Create a Following
In this path
In the order the path walks them. Each links to the full entry.
Other paths
Confidence · 7 days
Hold your ground without raising your voice
Negotiation · 7 days
The leverage of the person who can walk away
Relationships · 7 days
Know who you are dealing with before you trust them
Leadership · 7 days
Authority people do not resent
Workplace Power · 7 days
Getting ahead without becoming a target
FAQ
Seven days on shifting what people think without arguing them into it: what to demonstrate, what to appeal to, and how to recognise the same techniques when they are run on you. It runs for seven days, one law a day, and each day carries a short note on why that law comes at that point in the sequence plus a question to sit with.
Seven laws, in this order: Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument; Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles; Law 32: Play to People's Fantasies; Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others; Law 12: Disarm Your Victim With Honesty and Generosity; Law 44: Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect; Law 27: Play on People's Need to Believe to Create a Following. The order is deliberate — each day is chosen because of what the previous day did.
Seven days, one law a day, at roughly ten minutes a day. Read the law, read the note on why it comes where it does, try the practice, then answer the reflection question honestly.
You do not have to, but the sequence is where the value is. Each day's law is chosen to build on the day before, so reading them in order is what makes a path more useful than a list of laws.
The app keeps your place, delivers the next law to your Lock Screen each morning, and tracks which days you have completed.
Laws of Power is independent commentary on principles popularised in The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the authors or their publishers, and it does not reproduce the book.
