Date: 10th November 2025
Video & Transcript
“This Deceptively Simple Technique Makes
Your Expertise Unquestionable
(And Why Most Consultants Never Use It)”
Can you imagine if every word you said, every email you wrote, and every story you told could stick in the mind of your audience, accepted unquestioned and totally persuasive?
I’m going to share some ideas with you I believe make that work.
In fact, there are three ideas.
Integrity in Persuasion
Let me add a caveat to start with, and that’s about the idea of integrity.
**************************************************
Free Live Masterclass with Peter Thomson
Persuasion in Practice:
"This 3-Step Process Turns Every Conversation into a Resounding Yes!"
Date: Thursday 13th November
Time: 9:30 am - 10:30 am (GMT)
Click here to reserve your FREE seat
**************************************************
There are very powerful communication devices, and by that, I don’t mean phones - communication ideas that really do work very well indeed. The challenge, of course, is that they can be used by what we’ll call bad actors to get people to do things they really shouldn’t be getting them to do.
So, we need to make sure that we’re always working on a base of integrity when using these ideas.
Enhancing Persuasiveness with the Statement–Question Technique
Let’s look at the first one. I’ll say this slowly, because it’s incredibly powerful.
When you make a statement followed by a question, if somebody answers the question, they don’t question the statement.
Example: You see someone you know driving a new car and you want to pay them a compliment. You might say:
“Great-looking car, that makes you look really successful! Did you buy it, or did the company buy it?”
When they answer the question (“Did you buy it or did the company buy it?”), they also accept the statement (“Great-looking car that makes you look successful”).
If I were talking about my new book Paid, I might say:
“The feedback from my new book Paid has been fantastic, people are telling me about the extra money they’re making. Have you been to the website recently?”
That question reinforces the statement. You can use this in spoken, written, or digital communication, virtually anywhere you interact.
When you make a statement followed by a question, if somebody answers the question, they don’t question the statement.
Storytelling for Persuasive Impact
The second idea is stories.
Stories are incredibly powerful because we can weave the ideas we want to communicate into them.
Why does this work so well? Because humans, throughout history, have always communicated through stories. Even as children, we want to hear the same story again and again. Stories help us lock ideas in, and we never seem to tire of hearing great ones.
As adults, the same is true. If we want to communicate effectively and persuasively, if we want people to accept what we say without question, we can blend our key message into a story.
Example: In one of my previous videos, I mentioned running a seminar where a woman who used to work with me reminded me of how we used to run training every Monday morning at 8 a.m., even though the team didn’t start until 9.
People used to ask:
“Peter, how can you take the sales force off the road for so much time?”
But I found that by training the sales team for up to half a day each week, the remaining four and a half days were far more productive.
As I said then:
“When we’re aiming for the top, we train to get there. When we’re at the top, we train to stay there.”
That story conveyed the idea that training is essential - without me ever having to state it directly.
Leveraging Testimonials for Persuasion
The third way is through testimonials.
As Professor Robert Cialdini explains, social proof is extremely powerful, and we see this everywhere online.
If you can get a testimonial from one of your clients, customers, or patients that follows a simple formula, it can have tremendous persuasive effect:
- “I was sceptical…”
- “But then I tried it because…”
- “And the result was amazing!”
That sequence works because it tells a mini-story from a trusted, unbiased source—not from the supplier. The reader accepts the information because it comes from someone just like them.
The Three Powerful Persuasion Tools
So, to summarise, there are three very powerful ideas you can use to persuade ethically and effectively:
- Statement–Question Technique: When you make a statement followed by a question, if somebody answers the question, they don’t question the statement.
- Storytelling: Embed your ideas in stories so people accept them naturally.
- Testimonials: Use genuine feedback to provide credible, ethical proof.
Remember, all communication is an attempt to persuade someone else to do, or avoid doing, something, either now or in the future.
I wish you ever success in all your adventures in life as you be, do, and have whatever you set your heart and mind upon.
Peter
Peter Thomson
‘The UK’s Most Prolific Business Development Author’
PS: If you'd like a friend or colleague to receive tgiMondays, send them this page, the sign-up box is below.
PPS: Check out my #1 Bestseller: Time Management is Dead! 'How to Earn Twice as Much in Half the Time' here
How to gain an unfair advantage and join fellow achievers who receive FREE weekly bite-sized videos on business and personal growth and inspiration from my latest off the edge
thinking and ideas.
We hate spam as much as you do and will never share your details.
