It was interesting watching the video and actually being able to see the power of persuasion, or in my case lack there of, with regards to this experiment. It's crazy that something so small though, can have such power behind it and turn into something so much greater. This little experiment showed me a lot and really put into perspective that there is a reason I am in a argumentation and debate class. First off, I had to find a paper clip for this experiment because I really don't know the last time that I actually had used one. Once I found one, which took a surprisingly long time, I was off! I started with my roommates, hoping they would at least humor me help me out a little bit with this little project. I was sadly mistaken. They all pretty much said the same thing, "what the heck do I need a paperclip for?" It was sadly unfortunate. I even tried to pull the roommate card and pull some puppy dog eyes, but they weren't buying it. So I moved along. I went to class and was sitting next to one of my buddies. We had a pop quiz and I forgot a #2 pencil for the scantron my professor was about to pass out. I thought, what the heck, let me try my luck again! I asked my friend if I could trade my little blue paper clip for a pencil. He kind of looked at me crazily and shakily said sure, probably wondering why I was trading when he would of just let me have it for free. Hey, it worked! I got my first trade and for something a little more significant, at least in my mind. The week went on and I continued to fail when tying to trade up. I then met up with another friend prior to a meeting and we were studying when his pencil broke and he began searching through his bag for another writing utensil with what seemed to be no luck. BOOM! There it was! Another opportunity to try my luck. So I asked him, "Hey! I'll trade you my pencil for a scantron? I need it for a test tomorrow and don't want to wake up early to have to buy one." He gladly accepted cause he still had a lot of work to do and was on that study grind that we all know, and never want to interrupt when we finally get into it! However, this was my last stroke of luck, and my trading ended here. Gosh, this was hard and I give major props to Kyle MacDonald for being able to start with a little red paperclip, and work all the way up to a house. Words, if you use them right can have a very powerful effect on people that I still have yet to learn. I mainly tried to focus on peoples needs. and what they needed but also what they would be willing to trade. It was hard though, because many people are willing to take however, very few are willing to give in return. I think Jenny Mullen said it best with " I think the power of persuasion would be the greatest superpower of all time." Just think about it! Unfortunately this is a power that I don't have and really need to work on.
Nice!
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