Persuasion is known as the ability to make the other person change their attitude, belief or intention through the use of arguments or questioning, as well as being able to convince that their previous opinion was wrong or that it was less adequate to the one justified by the interlocutor, even to influence its action in the intended way.
Differences between persuasion and manipulation
We often confuse the terms persuasion and manipulation, when in fact they are known to have a different meaning.
Through persuasion, the interlocutor makes a person accept their point of view, which allows their assessment and that they can voluntarily change their original decision on the matter, as this new point of view allows them to obtain greater benefit for themselves or for the others.
On the other hand, manipulation has a different purpose even if it shares part of the previous process . The interlocutor presents the situation in such a way that an initial decision change can be considered the best option for him and for others, however, in this case, behind this intention to change his attitude, there is not a disinterested purpose, but a personal interest of the one who promotes this type of change.
In other words, it is through persuasion that you influence who will make the decision, as it is believed that change can bring a benefit to yourself
Through manipulation, it is possible to employ the same way of acting, but with the idea of obtaining a benefit.
However, the boundary between both attitudes can seem somewhat confusing in certain situations.
For example, in the area of marketing and advertising, all companies that meet certain needs through a product try to influence the purchaser in its purchase.
Although each of these areas may consider their product to be the best to solve a particular problem, it is evident that from an objective point of view this becomes impossible, as some may offer more advantages than others.
However, this does not detract from the legitimacy of the commercial message that these companies send to the consumer. The message is classified as manipulation, because from this point of view, the importance given to each aspect and characteristic of the product is different. In some cases, the consumer can value the price more, in others the durability and in others the designer.
