Kevin Dutton

4/5
William Heinemann
After reading social influence expert Dutton’s intriguing debut, the use of powerful persuasion techniques becomes apparent everywhere – from the precise, careful wording of our political leaders to the bright lights in McDonald’s (dazzling enough so that diners won’t spend hours gazing into each other’s eyes, as they would under candlelight).

In Flipnosis, the author explores the manipulative power that sounds and appearances can have, as well as the innate, instinctive techniques used by babies and animals. But in the grown-up world, language is the
key – just a handful of carefully chosen words can have a huge amount of sway, especially when delivered in a winning manner (which does make it a little odd that Dutton’s tone is that of a schoolteacher who thinks, wrongly, that he’s quite cool).

The human brain instinctively wants to choose a verdict quickly, and will do so with very little information. So if one can find those pressure points (or those seemingly cheaper prices that end with 95 or 99) that steer the brain into coming to its own conclusion – voila! It won’t turn you into Derren Brown overnight, but the results presented in Flipnosis are truly fascinating.
Ben Williams