Joshua Bandoch is the Head of Policy at the Illinois Policy Institute and the debut author of 'How to Get What You Want'.

It's persuasion and communication all the way down. Josh's argues that almost everything most of us were taught about how to win an argument is wrong and now the neuroscience proves it.

Aristotle, it turns out, had this figured out 2,400 years ago. Kant, the great rationalist of the Enlightenment, did not. We feel first and reason second, and any attempt to persuade that ignores that simple fact is doomed before it starts.

Across the conversation we move from the Greeks to Adam Smith, from the Communist Manifesto as a piece of technical propaganda to what makes Steve Jobs, JFK, and Ronald Reagan so memorable as communicators. We talk about the difference between persuasion and manipulation, why authenticity is the most underrated tool in the kit, whether emotional intelligence can really be learned, and what Josh would tell the next Republican candidate trying to thread the needle between MAGA and the traditional conservative base.

It's a wide-ranging episode, and one I throughly enjoyed recording. I'm thrilled to welcome to the podcast, Joshua Bandoch.

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Link's To Joshua Bandoch

Timestamps.

00:00 Aristotle, Adam Smith, and the 2,400-year science of persuasion
07:18 Persuasion vs. manipulation — the three biggest misconceptions
12:26 Authenticity, politicians, and why we lose trust
16:45 The neuroscience: we feel first, then reason
18:37 Negativity bias and the power of being FOR something
24:43 The logic tsunami and the limits of pure reason
33:02 Body language, tone, and the 7% rule
41:25 Emotional intelligence, moral foundations, and what's universal
56:54 Storytelling, aesthetics, and the masterclass of practice
01:08:24 Reputation, the long game, and the deathbed test
01:23:17 Sales, Chris Voss, and advice for the next Republican
01:34:01 History's great persuaders, and serendipity

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