Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions by Guy Kawasaki

Enchantment, the Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, by renowned entrepreneur and author Guy Kawasaki, is an invaluable guide to crafting effective and lasting relationships with people both online and offline. Focusing on the process of engaging in meaningful dialogue with others—“enchanting” them into your cause—Kawasaki outlines the methods and techniques of using techniques that work to engage potential partners, cultivate relationships, and persuade them to choose your product, idea, cause, or message.

Kawasaki's approach to enchantment revolves around the idea of moving people by reaching beneath their surface assumptions and beliefs. Through careful research, comprehensive storytelling, and creative visualization, Kawasaki explains how to construct an argument that alters perspectives, inspires, and captivates an audience.

A key point Kawasaki emphasizes is the importance of the intangibles—such as passion, stories, symbols, and emotions—when enchanting people. For instance, he explains how while facts, figures, and evidence might have a place in argumentation, they are rarely the route to success. Charm and context are what draw in people and persuade them to take action.

One of Kawasaki's primary messages regarding enchantment is that it can truly be used to further any kind of cause, no matter how small or large. Whether you are trying to influence your daughter to wear a pair of pants or convince your coworkers of the value of a corporate strategy, Kawasaki outlines how to craft Effective enchantments that produce results.

Kawasaki also explains the importance of leveraging the idea of relevance—the idea that one's cause needs to be viewed as being connected to something important or interesting in order to be effective. By utilizing existing organizations, symbols, and values, people can craft enchantment that relate to their cause and its impact on people's lives.

The author then delves into the details of constructing effective enchantments—his “Ten Steps of Enchantment.” These steps demonstrate how to get past the usual challenges and roadblocks to enchanting people, while adding procedures to use when the process isn't going as planned. The ten steps are: prepare, research, create a leap of faith story, acquire allies, activate supporters, overcome objections, seek public endorsements, pronouncements, and influencers, craft permission marketing strategies, launch logically, embrace criticism and feedback, and benefit by making the world a little better.

For anyone seeking to craft meaningful relationships, Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki is an invaluable resource. Drawing upon the author’s wealth of experience and insight, the book outlines how to use enchantment to engage with people, influence their decisions, and achieve success. In its pages are the tools and concepts necessary to craft relationships and effectively reach the hearts, minds, and actions of those that one is trying to influence.