Technique: Appear Likeable. If you are perceived as likeable, anything you do will be forgiven. If you are not it doesn’t matter how tight you are because no one will be listening. Get someone else to do your dirty work if possible. How do you appear likeable? – Keep your big fat mouth shut – be mildly self-deprecating – Don’t act angry to the extent that you seem out of control – Never lose control – smile, don't smirk – act against your own self interest – praise others = don't complain – maintain a sense of humor – don’t talk down to others – Avoid sarcasm, cynicism or messages of hate. – Say what the audience thinks (discovered through polling) – make others feel comfortable. Of course some of the techniques in this book will clash quite ferociously with your attempts to appear likeable and that’s par for the course. Appearing likeable will vary in its importance depending on the situation. If you are a candidate for public office, likeability must take the highest priority. If you are campaigning for a particular issue, ideology or candidate a mix will be necessary and if you are fighting for a cause as a whip, likeability necessarily takes a back seat to the guerilla tactics. 2 things to remember: 1) No matter what your position, you can always smile, remain in control and maintain a sense of humor 2) Regardless of how likeable you appear, there will always be a faction of the opposition who detests you simply because you hold opposing viewpoints. The true targets of persuasion are the moderates and otherwise undecided population. Those who agree with your stance will be with you and those who disagree will be against you. Fortunately the middle of the road tends to encompass 40-50% of the electorate.