We humans have a lot going for us. We can walk on two legs, do interesting things with our opposing thumbs, and even peel a banana. One thing that we have that is most special is the size of our brains, compared to our body size.
Some argue it was because of our use of tools. Some say it was because we lived in so many different environments that we had to learn to be creative, and that required lots of computing power. A growing number are starting to agree it was our need for language that drove our increase in brain size.
That then begs the question, why did humans develop a need for a rich and detailed spoken language? Every other animal on earth does just fine without it. Why are we so special?
One way to think about this is to look at language as a tool. When we think of it this way, it helps us to understand what we use it for.
Most will say we use language to convey information, details, data. A pure stream of information. But is that really the case? Do we merely to exchange data with each other like so many computers?
Lately, many psychologists have started to wonder if language is really meant to be used to persuade others. To get others to go along with us. To convince our buddy to throw his spear at the mammoth, and risk getting him in trouble, rather than us.
If you remember crying when you were younger, wasn't that the most basic tool of manipulation? To try and get a parent or adult to come over and pick you up and take care of you?
When you see language from this angle, you can begin to understand that the underlying reason behind all communication is to manipulate and persuade others. Whenever you are talking to somebody, you'd like your words to cause them to think or do something that would benefit you.
So it naturally follows that if you are going to persuade somebody, you'd better get pretty good at it. With all these people walking around trying to persuade each other into their own way of thinking, you may as well learn how to get the upper hand.
The best way to do this is to frame everything in terms of what you want. Convince the other person that by doing what you want, they will get what they want. This is the oldest form, and the most commonly used form of persuasion in advertising today.
This means actually building up a kind of relationship with them, no matter how short lived. When you approach this from a win-win situation, you can't go wrong, and the world will be in the palm of your hand. - 32509
Some argue it was because of our use of tools. Some say it was because we lived in so many different environments that we had to learn to be creative, and that required lots of computing power. A growing number are starting to agree it was our need for language that drove our increase in brain size.
That then begs the question, why did humans develop a need for a rich and detailed spoken language? Every other animal on earth does just fine without it. Why are we so special?
One way to think about this is to look at language as a tool. When we think of it this way, it helps us to understand what we use it for.
Most will say we use language to convey information, details, data. A pure stream of information. But is that really the case? Do we merely to exchange data with each other like so many computers?
Lately, many psychologists have started to wonder if language is really meant to be used to persuade others. To get others to go along with us. To convince our buddy to throw his spear at the mammoth, and risk getting him in trouble, rather than us.
If you remember crying when you were younger, wasn't that the most basic tool of manipulation? To try and get a parent or adult to come over and pick you up and take care of you?
When you see language from this angle, you can begin to understand that the underlying reason behind all communication is to manipulate and persuade others. Whenever you are talking to somebody, you'd like your words to cause them to think or do something that would benefit you.
So it naturally follows that if you are going to persuade somebody, you'd better get pretty good at it. With all these people walking around trying to persuade each other into their own way of thinking, you may as well learn how to get the upper hand.
The best way to do this is to frame everything in terms of what you want. Convince the other person that by doing what you want, they will get what they want. This is the oldest form, and the most commonly used form of persuasion in advertising today.
This means actually building up a kind of relationship with them, no matter how short lived. When you approach this from a win-win situation, you can't go wrong, and the world will be in the palm of your hand. - 32509
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