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The Persuasion of Isolation

A documentary came out late last year called Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple. It's the history, through photographs, film clips, recordings and interviews with survivors, of the cult leader Jim Jones and the eventual mass murder/"suicide" of 913 members of the People's Temple in Guyana.

Jones was charismatic and very good at appealing to disenfranchised members of the community preaching social equality and setting himself up as a caring father figure. This ended with him convincing his followers to commit "revolutionary suicide" by drinking cyanide laced cherry Flavor Aid.

This event in our history is a very disturbing example of how persuasion can be used for evil by means of isolation, brainwashing and manipulation.

Both kinds of isolation--physical and mental--were utilized by Jim Jones.

For purposes of cults, some multilevel marketing companies and some religions, physical isolation isn't always possible. They may employ both kinds of isolation, but normally the mental isolation is enough to keep the members involved by suggesting to members that they shouldn't be involved with anyone that doesn't support their "choice" in belonging to the group/cult/religion/MLM.

Obviously, when isolation is used by someone who has bad intentions, it's an extraordinarily dangerous tool.

On a more reputable level, isolation can be used for sales and business with no negative consequences.

For mental isolation it's most effective to be involved with the customer/ prospect/client on a more regular basis. Creating lots of small interactions will tend to create more loyalty. For example, the cafe business is extremely competitive. Cafs are abundant in the area where I live, and most likely in the area where you live. People have many choices-from Starbucks and Peet's, to locally-owned chains, to independently owned mom and pop shops.

I occasionally go to a small locally owned cafe where the owner sparked up a conversation (quite coincidentally) about how their product was not generic, was organic, high quality, and it didn't cost a fortune like the most famous coffee chain. This is a little seed, whether intentional or not, and presupposes that the famous coffee chain doesn't have an organic, high quality product.

Some religions use isolation in terms of imposing rules about what is and what is not okay to talk about with non-members or "outsiders".

I'm a very spiritual person and am NOT making judgments about religion here, but simply illustrating how persuasion can be used to indoctrinate members of any given group.

Creating a shared experience is another way to create a psychological isolation. This can be accomplished in business by having a retreat or conference. It can be used to reward employees. Shared tragedy also has this effect. Think of 9/11 wives/survivors, New Orleans residents who were at the Superdome, Gulf War veterans. All of these groups have incredibly powerful bonds and there is the potential for them to become very committed to each other.

The final strategy in isolation is to 'predict the future'. Sales people do this all the time in response to the 'shop around' objection. "Sure, go ahead. But X shop doesn't have our selection (return policy, prices, etc.)" Cults use this future predicting by telling new members that their "choice" in joining will be ridiculed by friends and family. The cult leaders offer this as "proof" that the new member's family and friends obviously don't care about them as much as the group does. 'If they really cared about you, wouldn't they be glad that you found something to make you happy?'

As with all of my work, I urge my students to use it ethically, honestly and with integrity.

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Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of wealthy clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques. Click here to get your own unique version of this article.

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