Vertex Views

Tag: Speak less

  • Create Compelling Spectacles

    Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power — everyone responds to them. Stage the spectacles for those around you, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.

    In the 1780s word spread through Berlin of the strange and spectacular medical practice of a Dr Weisleder who performed miracles by curing people with the moon. He would expose his patients to the rays of the moon, they would eventually get better, word spread and he was dubbed “The Moon Doctor of Berlin” — the rich and poor all flocked to him.

    Weisleder may have understood very little about medicine, but he understood the psychology of people and human behaviour.

    He recognized people do not always want words, or rational explanations, or demonstrations of the powers of science they want an immediate appeal to their emotions.

    At the time there was no scientific evidence that could refute his methods. Instead, he conjured up a hypothesis that he knew wasn’t real, his patients simply did the rest by believing in his spectacles.

    Understand the Primacy of Sight among the Senses

    1. The visual has come to dominate the other senses and is the sense we most depend on and trust. As Gracian said, “The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.”
    2. Never neglect the way you arrange things visually. Factors like colour, for example, have enormous symbolic resonance.
    3. The visual contains great emotional power. Find and associate yourself with the images and symbols that will communicate in this immediate way today, and you will have untold power.
    4. Most effective of all is a new combination—a fusion of images and symbols that have not been seen together before, but that through their association clearly demonstrate your new idea, message or religion. The creation of new images and symbols out of old ones in this way has a poetic effect— viewers’ associations run rampant, giving them a sense of participation.

    Incorporate and organize your images and symbols into a show or performance that inspires awe and distracts people from their mundane lives. Always pay attention to how you arrange things visually — put the most important images at the centre; use colour as well. Create compelling spectacles and words won’t be necessary.

  • INFECTION: AVOID THE UNHAPPY AND UNLUCKY

    You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

    The infector possesses an inward instability that radiates outward drawing disaster to all that they touch. Marie Gilbert A.K.A Lola Montez of Ireland was one such person. Lola found herself in the role of a courtesan (prostitute of the royal court). In today’s society, Lola would be considered a gold-digger. She only sought out men with high social standing in the community that she could use for her own gain.

    Once she would have her hooks in these men, their slow demise began. One of her victims was King Ludwig of Bavaria, who felt compelled to help Lola yet once he was warned of the dangers of his affair with her, he could not seem to resist Lola’s aura and almost found his once peaceful country in a state of civil war. It was not until then that the king finally ordered Lola to leave but a month after she left King Ludwig was forced to relinquish his throne.

    There are many men who suffered because of their association with Lola Montez.

    King Ludwig said that he was “bewitched” by Lola. Lola was an unstable, incurable and infectious character type. This is not to say that these characteristics are only restricted to women, this is to say that there are some people whose emotions are so powerful that they infect the very soul of the people that they touch.

    Those misfortunate among us who have been brought down by circumstances beyond their control deserve all the help and sympathy we can give them. But there are others who are not born to misfortune or unhappiness, but who draw it upon themselves by their destructive actions and unsettling effects on others.

    Is this person simply talking about doing good in the world and helping people? Or are they actually going out there and executing their mission? By observing how one’s actions map against their intentions and words you can pretty accurately judge someone’s character, values and virtues.
    Most important of all, do not take pity in these infectious characters. Do not enmesh yourself in trying to help. The infector will remain unchanged, but you will be unhinged.

    At the other end of the spectrum, there are people who attract happiness and spread it. Do everything you can to associate with these people, so you share in the positive vibes and good fortune they attract.

    Happiness and success aren’t the only positive qualities you should seek out. Any positive quality of someone else — friendliness, charm, creativity, generosity, etc. — can infect you in a good way.

    Although Talleyrand was a conniver, he had other traits that made people want to be around him and they rubbed off on others: he was gracious, charming, and witty. Napoleon, who was a rough peasant, recognized this and kept Talleyrand around, hoping to absorb some of his charms.

    You can do the same thing: Strive to associate with people who have the traits and qualities you lack. If you’re moody, hang out with cheerful people; if you’re cheap, associate with generous people.

    However, always avoid people with the same character flaws as yours — they’ll reinforce your worst traits. Make associating with positive people a rule you live by, and you won’t need a therapist.

  • Get Others To Do The Work For You But Always Take The Credit

    The world of power has the dynamics of the jungle: There are those who live by hunting and killing, and there are also vast numbers of creatures (hyenas, vultures) who live off the hunting of others. These latter, less imaginative types are often incapable of doing the work that is essential for the creation of power.

    They understand early on, though, that if they wait long enough, they can always find another animal to do the work for them. Do not be naive: At this very moment, while you are slaving away on some project, there are vultures circling above trying to figure out a way to survive and even thrive off your creativity. It is useless to complain about this, or to wear yourself ragged with bitterness, as Tesla did. Better to protect yourself and join the game. Once you have established a power base, become a vulture yourself, and save yourself a lot of time and energy.

    People do this every single day, people will take a video or article, copy it onto their site, re-post it, and find ways to monetize it to make money from it. In certain situations, it could be perceived as immoral or even illegal. Regardless this reality is being lived every single day.

    Francisco Pizarro exemplified the first method of taking from others after they’ve done the work. He was a soldier in the army of the explorer Balboa, who discovered the Incan empire in Peru. After Balboa spent many years searching for it and finally found it, Pizarro turned on Balboa and helped get him executed for treason so he could take the riches and credit for himself.

    The artist Peter Paul Rubens used the second method of getting others to do the work for you: actively enlisting others to do your work. When he received more requests for paintings than he could fulfill, he hired many skilled painters with various specialties and set up a production line, in which multiple paintings could be worked on at the same time. Clients were impressed that he could do so many paintings in a short time.

    When you take credit for a large amount of work by others, people think you have amazing ability. By contrast, if you try to do all the work yourself, you won’t accomplish much, or others will take advantage of your efforts. Be a user of others’ efforts instead. Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit.

  • Always Say Less Than Necessary

    The less you say, the more intimidating and powerful you are. Always say less than necessary. When you do speak, make it vague and ambiguous, leaving the meaning to others to interpret. They’ll be frustrated and obsessed with trying to figure you out.

    In the power game, appearance is everything. When you always say less than necessary, you come across as powerful, intimidating, and mysterious. Keep these principles in mind:

    • When you’re silent, you make other people uncomfortable. Because they dislike uncertainty, people want to know what you’re thinking. When you control your words, they can’t figure out what you mean or intend.
    • Short answers and silence make people feel defensive. They quickly try to fill the silence, and in the process reveal motivations and weaknesses — information you can use. Later they’ll obsess over every word you said and its potential implications. The inordinate attention they give to your brief comments adds to your power.
    • In most instances, the less you say, the more important and profound it seems, and the more mysterious you are. For example, Andy Warhol found that he had more power when he said little and kept his comments vague and ambiguous. Sometimes he made purposely meaningless comments. Interviewers struggled to interpret what he meant, believing it was profound. He learned from fellow artist Marcel Duchamp that the less he said about his work, the more people talked about it and the more desirable it became.
    • Besides creating an impression of great import, saying little avoids the risk of saying something foolish, which can be costly. For instance, in the early 1800s, a Russian rebel named Ryleyev talked too much and paid for it with his life. Nicholas I had sentenced him to death, but at the moment he was being hanged the rope broke. Believing he’d be pardoned, as usually happened in such cases, he yelled to the crowd that Russia couldn’t get anything right, even rope. Instead of pardoning him, Nicholas responded, “Let’s prove the contrary,” and Ryleyev was hanged the next day with a rope that held. Ryleyev hadn’t learned to always say less than necessary.