The Presidential Elections of 2024 are next month. And every election year, politicians make a lot of promises and demonize the other candidate. In 2020, just for fun, I did a series on How to Manipulate People and the Signs of a Con Artist. 

If you recall, in 2020, there was a ton of political speech, social media, new reports, and the like that, in retrospect, was entirely false.

So, just for fun, I decided to study the topic. (Since I'm in the meeting business and no one was meeting in 2020, I had nothing better to do anyway ;-)

That short series became the most downloaded series of the entire podcast. 

It also caused more hate comments on my social media channels than any other topic I've ever presented. When I created the original content, I was very careful not to try to alienate anyone by just poking fun at one side of the political spectrum. (I was equally critical of both sides, lol.)

But what happened was fascinating. As I used real-life examples from politics (from both sides), people listing would say...

I knew that other guy was manipulating people! You are so right. Then, when I pointed the finger at the other candidate, they'd say, "This guy is so wrong."

It only gives more evidence to the fact that we are all being manipulated every day of our lives. And the only reason we accept it is, is because we believe in the ideology of the person who is manipulating us.

So, as you listen to this series, set your emotions aside. And in the instances where I deliver a piece of evidence and your blood starts to boil from anger, pause the recording. Or, from the opposite perspective, in situations where you totally agree with the example I give, pause the recording.

Ask yourself, "Why am I reacting this way?" 

There is a good chance that somewhere along the way, the people you are interacting with, the politicians that you are listening to, or the media where you get information has been using these techniques on you.

So, don't shoot the messenger. The goal of the series is to encourage you to see and hear the techniques while they are happening to you so you can make better decisions.