说 (to say something) or 保持安靜 (to keep quiet)
It’s part of human nature to believe that the louder or more often we speak, the more people will follow us.
But the truth is, words are weak when it comes to persuasion and in fact, the more you speak, the less convincing you become.
If history has taught us anything, it’s that a person’s influence isn’t determined by what they say but by what they believe in.
“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Carnegie’s Mental Influence
When Andrew Carnegie (one of the wealthiest industrialists of his time) was in the early stages of building his steel empire, his company became overwhelmed with orders. He needed people around him who could work efficiently and quickly, so he invested a lot of effort into trying to motivate and persuade them.
He noticed a strange anomaly: the more he insisted his employees and partners to follow his instructions, the more resistance he faced. The harder he pushed, the more hesitant and unenthusiastic people became, sometimes even resisting his ideas altogether.
Over time, Carnegie experimented with a different approach. Instead of directly insisting on words, he began by visualising his team working the way he wanted. Carnegie spent long hours mentally projecting his expectations, envisioning his team as loyal, motivated, and ready to act independently.
The results spoke for themselves. Over time, he no longer needed to say much — everyone was giving their best. His company managed to handle even the largest orders quickly because everyone worked at maximum pace.
Carnegie built a huge empire, but it all began with the picture he created in his mind first.
Walker’s Scientific Proof
William Walker Atkinson, a pioneer in the study of the mind’s power, believed that thoughts are not simply confined to the mind but can have a direct impact on the world around us.
According to Atkinson, each thought carries a unique energy, one that influences not only us and our view of the world but also the people we interact with.
He believed that through focused, intentional thinking, a person could literally “transmit” their desires, intentions, and expectations, affecting in this way the thoughts and actions of others.
French researcher René Peoc’h proved that it’s real.
He conducted an experiment in which a small robot was programmed to move completely randomly. In trials, the robot was placed in a big cage and followed the programming, moving without any patterns around the whole space.
Then, day-old chicks were placed in that same cage, but only on one side of it. Their natural instinct immediately made them imprint on the robot as if it were their mother, which caused something mind-blowing to happen: the robot was no longer moving randomly—it started moving only in the area around the chicks, as if responding to their desire to stay close.
The Art of Self-Persuasion
We cannot change the external without first changing the internal.
Think about it: if what we think has a direct influence over people around us, then why would you even consider wasting time on struggling to convince others with words?
Instead, you can go within and assume that everything you want from other people has already happened — that they already are the way you envision them to be.
When you accept certain truths about others, you start to act in ways that align with those beliefs subconsciously.
For example, if you genuinely believe someone to be capable and trustworthy, your actions, tone, and even body language will naturally reflect that.
You’ll treat them with more respect and sympathy, often without even realising it. And people, in turn, are incredibly perceptive — they pick up on these subtle cues and respond in ways that mirror your belief.
As a result, people begin to embody the qualities you’ve envisioned, not because you’ve persuaded them with words, but because you have convinced yourself that the mental pictures you’ve created of them are real.
In this way, you don’t even have to say a single word because it’s not words that define people’s attitudes toward us but the aura we create around ourselves through the way we think.
Psychologists explain this phenomenon as The Pygmalion Effect. Whenever we hold certain positive expectations about someone, they are more likely to live up to those expectations.
This principle applies to any social situation, whether it’s with colleagues, friends, or family.
Instead of relying purely on words—which very often leads to unnecessary arguments—you can look within and assume that everything you want from others is already there, that they have already changed.
So, when you want to convince someone, don’t immediately talk to them. Instead, start by visualising them as having already made that change.
Create vivid mental pictures, see them as more proactive, supportive, or embodying any qualities you hope for.
Imagine them with these qualities as if they’ve already become that person. Repeat this visualisation until your subconscious mind has genuinely accepted it as reality.
Once you’ve fully convinced yourself, your behaviour will unconsciously shift. You’ll act in ways that align with this belief, and that’s the whole point.
The truth is, the people who have the greatest influence over others aren’t those who tirelessly struggle in physical reality, but rather those who fully control their own state of mind and thus, influence the reality they envision.
Keep in mind, the key to mastering the art of persuasion doesn’t come from mastering how you speak — it always originates from the mental plane.
Here are three quotes from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene to save:
