How Greene says to use visual power to move people without words.
Robert Greene's framework, from 48 Laws of Power, pp. 462 to 473.
Understand the primacy of sight
Remember that people trust and depend on sight more than other senses.
Arrange things visually with care
Use colour, title and layout as symbols, for example printing 'gold' in gold.
Establish a trademark
Create a recognisable insignia or colour scheme that sets you apart, as Diane did.
Attach a symbol from the past
Borrow a mythic or historic figure that fits your situation and wear it like a cape.
Combine images in a new way
Fuse old symbols so viewers' associations run rampant and they feel part of it.
Stage a grand spectacle
Organise images into a show that awes people and distracts them from unpleasant realities.
From chapter: LAW 37, pp. 462–473
Words put you on the defensive, whereas images and symbols go straight to the heart and circumvent doubt. The Moon Doctor of Berlin drew crowds with moonlight through a window and no explanation, and Diane de Poitiers held Henri II for over twenty years by weaving their initials, black and white colours and the goddess Diana into a castle and a court cult. Greene says to understand the primacy of sight, attend to colour and sequence, fuse old symbols into a new combination, and use symbols to rally a team, as Cardinal de Retz did with the Fronde. The strongest use is a grand spectacle that awes people and distracts them from unpleasant realities. He says there is no reversal.
