I Am Unvanquished, Though a Captive
You Can Simply Give Yourself Authority
One of Alexander’s former generals, Eumenes, lost his army’s baggage train of loot, women, and children during the Battle of Gabiene. In exchange for their families, his senior troops1 betrayed him by delivering him to his rival Antigonus. Looking at his attempt to preserve himself, I’ll show the overwhelming persuasive power of a lofty spirit.
What is a Lofty Spirit?
See what Plutarch said about Eumenes:
Moreover, when Antigonus demanded to be addressed by him as a superior, Eumenes replied: "I regard no man as my superior so long as I am master of my sword."
There was no attempt at humility here, nor was there a display of excessive pride. While the ancients believed small-mindedness to be impotent, they also recognized the flaws in vanity. Rather, they argued for a moderate version with a self-assuredness justified in achievement or excellence. For Eumenes, this meant his military prowess.
Likewise in persuasion, modesty fails to inspire audiences towards action, yet arrogance builds resentment or causes poor preparation. However, when your confidence matches your character or appeal, you win credibility and appear authentic.
This being said, you can train calibrated confidence. Observe the behaviors of those who carry themselves well and mimic them. Then, use your judgment and the reactions of your audience to match your confidence to your appeal. For concrete examples, consider the displays in this video:
By displaying these confidence signals, your persuasive efforts become more effective through nonverbal authority. And, with time, effective influence builds you up and makes your displays more congruent.
δοκεῖ δὴ μεγαλόψυχος εἶναι ὁ μεγάλων αὑτὸν ἀξιῶν ἄξιος ὤν.2
Now a person is thought to be great-souled if he claims much and deserves much.
If you lack merit, achieve more; if you lack claim, learn confidence signals.
Always willing to claim, even in captivity, Eumenes pleaded with his troops:
"What trophy, O ye basest of all the Macedonians, could Antigonus have wished for so great as you yourselves have erected for him in delivering up your general captive into his hands? You are not ashamed, when you are conquerors, to own yourselves conquered, for the sake only of your baggage, as if it were wealth, not arms, wherein victory consisted; nay, you deliver up your general to redeem your stuff.
Eumenes used the frame of moral superiority to gain control over the negotiation. Unlike other frames such as physical presence or time constraints, claiming moral authority has no concrete backing. So, composure and delivery are paramount to its success.
With a strong frame established, Eumenes began to make requests:
As for me I am unvanquished, though a captive, conqueror of my enemies, and betrayed by my fellow-soldiers. For you, I adjure you by Jupiter, the protector of arms, and by all the gods that are the avengers of perjury, to kill me here with your own hands; for it is all one; and if I am murdered yonder it will be esteemed your act, nor will Antigonus complain, for he desires not Eumenes alive, but dead. Or if you withhold your own hands, release but one of mine, it shall suffice to do the work; and if you dare not trust me with a sword, throw me bound as I am under the feet of the wild beasts. This if you do I shall freely acquit you from the guilt of my death, as the most just and kind of men to their general."
Eumenes provoked his audience to create an emotional reaction. He directly addressed them by listing, logically, ways in which they may be responsible for his death. Together, these rhetorical techniques reinforced his frame of moral authority.
At the same time, he engineered an ethical dilemma to create guilt. And, the only way to ease it was for the troops to find an alternative. Making such high-stakes requests expecting your audience to cower, again, requires unshakeable composure.
Solidifying the audience’s guilt, Eumenes earned himself some leniency:
A little after, being moved with compassion, he [Antigonus] commanded the heaviest of his irons to be knocked off, one of his servants to be admitted to anoint him, and that any of his friends that were willing should have liberty to visit him, and bring him what he wanted.
While Eumenes gained a little grace, Antigonus ultimately executed him in captivity. This highlighted how, although the persuasive process must be done step-by-step, a small win doesn’t guarantee success.
A huge mistake in influence is thinking you win someone over with a single correct question or argument. Instead, it’s often a series of steps which lead someone to change their mind. You gain small compliance, then further compliance, and, through repeated effort, you eventually achieve the compliance you seek.3
With a process built towards gradual assent, you secure small victories early and grow your confidence. At the same time, you develop a repeatable system which you can trust in critical moments. In Eumenes’s case, his steps could be seen as: loosen the chains, allow visitors, free from captivity, return his weapons, and so on…
Conclusion
Eumenes's lofty spirit helped him establish a frame of moral authority, make his captors feel guilty, and earn clemency. Although this brought him closer to victory, he ultimately didn’t up winning. While you, too, won’t always successfully influence, advancing step-by-step and leveraging trained confidence can greatly increase your odds.
Key Techniques:
Seek achievement to cultivate greatness of spirit.
Learn confidence displays to enhance rhetorical delivery.
Take persuasion step-by-step to stack small gains.
Let Each Keep Up His Dignity
Let each deed of a man in its degree, though he be not a king, be worthy of a prince, and let his action be princely within due limits. Sublime in action, lofty in thought, in all things like a king, at least in merit if not in might. For true kingship lies in spotless rectitude, and he need not envy greatness who can serve as a model of it. Especially should those near the throne aim at true superiority and prefer to share the true qualities of royalty rather than take part in its mere ceremonies, yet without affecting its imperfections but sharing in its true dignity.
— Baltasar Gracián
Thanks for reading! If you have alternative insights about this interaction or examples of persuasion through confidence, please leave a comment below.
If you have any speeches or dialogues you’d like me to examine, please feel free to leave those in the comments as well.
Alexander’s veteran troops who betrayed Eumenes were called the Ἀργυράσπιδες Silver Shields
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 4.3.3 (trans. Harris Rackham)