Puhn Persuades Even Toughest Critic

Frankfurter Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz is a tough critic. He criticized the Rhode Island Bar for anti-Semitism. He castigated professors too timid to challenge University President Lawrence H. Summers, calling them “victims of cowardice.” He so rarely has anything positive to say that his praise of Laurie B. Puhn ’99 author of Instant Persuasion, the Coop’s featured book last week, speaks volumes.

“Laurie Puhn brings to bear her remarkable talents as a lawyer, negotiator and all-around-very smart person on the everyday problems of persuasion,” Dershowitz once said. “Her brilliant balance of anecdotes and analysis makes this easy-to-read book a must for anyone who wants to change minds—in other words, all of us.”

With such gushing remarks and so much recent national attention, it is a bit surprising that Puhn’s book signing at the Harvard Square Coop last Wednesday was so sparsely attended. This didn’t seem to faze Puhn, however, as she expounded her philosophy on communication.

With a B.A. and J.D. from Harvard, Puhn is intimidatingly accomplished; and her book jacket reflects her achievements, bearing the praises of sources as disparate as Greg Carr, co-founder of Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, and priest-and-a-rabbi television personalities The God Squad.

“Integrity. Respect. These are big terms. Vague terms. What they come down to is what you say on a day-to-day basis,” Puhn said at the event.

Instant Persuasion explores communication involved in everyday life and its ability to both help and hurt our interactions with each other. Puhn describes how each individual has a “sphere of influence,” composed of people who know and love that person. One can either draw people into their “sphere of influence,” by making what Puhn calls “communication wonders,” or conversely, push them away with “communication blunders.”

One of Puhn’s main communication wonders is “complaining with impact.” This method consists of voicing concerns and criticisms, but offering solutions in conjunction with them, an ability which, according to Puhn, “makes people independent in the office.” Other “wonders” include replying to e-mails quickly, forging personal connections during business transactions, and adding complements to criticisms.

Though many of these “communication wonders” occur in the workplace, all of these strategies can be used at home or with friends. Her advice on communication as a vehicle of persuasion is effective, concise, and, I’ll admit, even a little persuasive.