When you need a yes and they’re not there yet
94 cards from 13 books, filed under “Persuading”. Newest first; every row is the card’s title and the moment you would use it.
#c1447Demagogues Blame Absent Partners For Local DisastersWhen a partner's executive blames your absent team for a joint outage, publish the signed deployment log to the room immediately.From The Hobbit
#c1436Politeness Traps You Into Signing Away SafetyWhen a client or partner acts as if an unapproved scope expansion is settled, stop the meeting and state your refusal plainly.From The Hobbit
#c1381Dress for the sixtieth rowYour work will be seen from far away and someone wants it toned down for close inspection.From Matriarch
#c1368Belonging is the secret of brandingYour customers come back and are treated like strangers each time.From Matriarch
#c1367A cheap first visit, if you trust the productYou're launching and debating whether to discount the first experience.From Matriarch
#c1356Show them the engine, skip the pitchYou have a metric that proves your value better than any presentation.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1354Match the expectation the video setYour marketing has set an expectation and the actual product hasn't caught up.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1353Give each crowd its own night to winYou're selling the same event or product to several groups that compete with each other.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1345Sell the ads before the paper existsYou need paying customers before you have a finished product.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1336Try harder not to be offendedSomeone takes a public shot at you and you want to come out ahead.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1335Do something, or be something?You're starting a new role and deciding what kind of reputation to build.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1329Run the race your wayYou're launching something and advisers want you to look like everyone else in the field.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1326Pick the one that's easier to explainTwo options look close and you'll have to defend whichever you pick.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1322Fill the reservoir of trust before you need itYou'll eventually need a deal with a rival and have no reason yet to talk to them.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1317How many more beakers for five dollars?You need a team to care about costs that seem far removed from the real work.From Digital Impact
#c1291Narrative contagionA story about your industry or company is spreading faster than the facts behind it.From Trade Outside the Box
#c1279The Smarties test for adultsYou're sure the other side must see what you see.From Trade Outside the Box
#c1278Choose the face the judges will chooseYou're right on the merits and need to predict how a crowd, market or committee will actually decide.From Trade Outside the Box
#c1277Listen and then thinkYou're preparing what to say in a meeting where you haven't yet heard the other side.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1276Whose story winsYou're relying on authority or size to win an argument that is really about who is believed.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1275Lead from a circle, not a mountainYou're trying to win people over by announcing things at them.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1269Constituents need to know whyYou're closing a deal at the top that the wider team will have to carry out.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1258Let a neutral party propose your concessionYou're willing to concede something but can't be seen offering it.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1257Frame the threat as a shared problemYou need to convey a deadline without triggering the defiance an ultimatum invites.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1256Every public statement has two audiencesYou're sending a warning through a public channel and assuming the target will read it the way you meant it.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1253Strike first, on truth's sideYou know something true before the official source confirms it and a false claim is about to fill the gap.From This Is the Plan
#c1251Action breeds interestYou're trying to build interest through argument and could instead get people to take one small action.From This Is the Plan
#c1250Move people one rung at a timeYou want deep commitment from someone who has barely engaged yet.From This Is the Plan
#c1249The four years decide the last weekYou're saving effort for the final push of a sale, a vote or a launch.From This Is the Plan
#c1245Meet them, bond, then askYou need someone to take an action for a cause and you've just met them.From This Is the Plan
#c1244Politics is over there, life is over hereYou're pitching to people who don't follow your field and you're about to use your field's categories.From This Is the Plan
#c1243If you care about the big issue, talk about roadsYou care most about a big principle and your audience cares about their daily problems.From This Is the Plan
#c1239Don't lecture people a thousand miles awayYou're planning outreach to a community you don't belong to.From This Is the Plan
#c1238Ask voters leaving the polls to text three friendsYou have a stream of people who just did the thing you want and could ask their friends to do it too.From This Is the Plan
#c1237Treat the surprising answer as a giftYou're talking to someone on the fence and they say something that makes you want to argue.From This Is the Plan
#c1236One vote per thirty-three doorsYou're asking people to do slow, low-yield outreach and need them to understand what success looks like.From This Is the Plan
#c1235Every cheap new channel burns outYour team is excited about a new cheap outreach channel because early numbers look great.From This Is the Plan
#c1234Lincoln's 1840 playbookYou need to win over a wavering group and are deciding who should deliver the message.From This Is the Plan
#c1233Persuade the people closest to you firstYou want to change minds and are about to start with the widest, least personal channel available.From This Is the Plan
#c1222The introductory lecture testYou think you understand a subject well enough to explain it, sell it or decide on it.From How to Take Smart Notes
#c1210Write every note for a strangerYou're capturing anything you expect to use in writing, a pitch or a decision months from now.From How to Take Smart Notes
#c1205Same goddess, two languagesYou are building a partnership across languages and customs.From Carthage: A New History
#c1197Atone in their riteYour side has wronged another community and an apology won't cover it.From Carthage: A New History
#c1162Have them rule on the case before you name the defendantYou need someone to accept a consequence they will resist once they see it applies to them.From Cyropaedia
#c1112Carry your licenseYour title or credentials got you the invitation and you're tempted to coast on them.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1111Start on the motive they have, end on the highestYour audience cares about their own costs and you need them to care about the larger cause.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1110Show the prize, then refuse to read itYou have a strong document or number and want the room to ask for it.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1109Repeat their claim while your facts take it apartYou have to answer a respected opponent without attacking them by name.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1108Pack them into the front pewsForty people are scattered across a room for three hundred.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1107Start with their painsYour pitch opens with your company's history.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1106Imply it so nobody can dispute itEvery direct statement you make draws a rebuttal.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1105Lead with the cities that already adopted itYou're proposing a change to a cautious group.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1104Call the half-empty room a great gatheringTurnout is thin and you're tempted to apologize for it.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1103Suggest their minds are already changingYou're addressing people who are against you and about to call them stubborn.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1102Don't tell them not to put beans up their nosesYour warning slide lists the exact mistakes you don't want people to make.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1101Close while their last thought is yoursYou're about to sign something while the pitch is still ringing in your ears.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1100Count the rolls yourselfYour argument rests on numbers you've only read secondhand.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1099Ten minutes means neither nine nor elevenYour talks keep running long.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1098Ask who else is speaking and whether there's a deskYou've been invited to speak and know only the topic.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1097Tell the joke that fits, skip the one that's funnierYou've got a great joke for a toast and it has nothing to do with the occasion.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1096Memorize the joints, improvise the restYou're choosing between reading a script and winging it.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1095Circle the pivot, box the anecdoteYou lose your place in your notes mid-talk.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1094Pause on both sides of the big phraseYour key line goes by before anyone registers it.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1093Stress one word and they hear its oppositeYou want the audience to arrive at your point a beat before you state it.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1092Stress the man who bit the dogYou're marking up a script and stressing the obvious nouns.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1091Whisper the word that mattersYou've been raising your voice to stress points and the room has tuned out.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1090Script the first few sentences word for wordYou're preparing a talk and plan to improvise the opening.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1089Pour water in the glass to get the air outYou're backstage replaying everything that could go wrong.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1088Pasture the horse beside the tracksYou've been reading about public speaking instead of booking a talk.From The Art of Public Speaking
#c1087Get it by seeming not to want itYou badly want the deal and the other side can tell.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1086Arrive underbilledYou're about to announce a launch, a hire or a product with big claims attached.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1085Never fight someone with nothing to loseSomeone with no standing to protect is baiting you into a public dispute.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1084Give a gilded NoYou have to turn down a request from someone you'll need again.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1083Show your teeth at the first encroachmentA counterpart has just asked for a small extra that wasn't in the deal.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1082Don't show the sore pointYou're tempted to tell the other side which concession would hurt you most.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1081Announce the decision after, never beforeYou want to tell everyone what you are about to try.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1080Turn the attacker into a confidantSomeone has started to undermine you and retaliation is the first idea you have.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1079Call the break a cooling, never a fightA partnership has to end and you want to say what you really think on the way out.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1078Pay the reward before it's earnedYou plan to reward a partner after delivery and wonder whether to give it now instead.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1077Ask after the meal, never after a refusalYou need a yes from someone and can pick the moment to ask.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1076Doubt the secret out of themSomeone hints they have a better offer and won't say what it is.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1075Watch the man who comes second on purposeSomeone is a little too relaxed about a deal they started.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1074Satisfy the want, keep the dependenceYou are about to give the client everything up front and lose your leverage for phase two.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1073Talk about today's mistake as if it were long pastYou need to tell someone their current project is failing.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1072Float it first so you can still withdrawYou want to know if a big ask will fly before you make it on the record.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1071Sell it as for connoisseurs, never as easyYou are writing a launch page and reaching for "simple" and "for everyone."From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1070Lead with their business to get to yoursYour contact refuses any request that opens with what you need.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1069When they grab the right side, take it anywayYour rival staked out the sensible position first and you feel pressure to oppose it.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1068Don't let them learn your tastesYou are about to tell a counterpart which option you love before the terms are set.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1067Show one purpose, strike with the otherAn opening demand looks too obvious, or you are about to react to the other side's first move.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1066Time and I against any twoThe other side needs the deal closed this quarter and you do not.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1065Hold the dissent, say it later to a fewYou think a popular plan is wrong and are tempted to say so in the all-hands.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1064Find the idol, then say the one wordYour good arguments keep failing on someone and you have not asked what they actually want.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom
#c1063Hand the boss advice as something he forgotYou have to correct someone above you who is proud of their judgment.From The Art of Worldly Wisdom