Ethical Persuasion and Influencing People in an AI World

Ethical Persuasion and Influencing People in an AI World

The mission stays the same: practical, honest conversations about AI and what it actually means for your work, your business, and your life. Nothing in this episode, or any future episode, should be taken as business, legal, or medical advice. For Episode 2, I sat down with Lara Bruner back home in Arizona to talk about how to use AI to amplify your work without losing the human edge that makes persuasion actually work. Lara Bruner is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Vulcan Consulting in Arizona. With over 20 years of teaching psychology, she helps mid-level professionals sharpen the skills AI can't easily replicate: honest, ethical persuasion. In this episode, we discuss: ◾ Trusted Sources Over the Open Internet: Feed AI research-backed materials in Notebook LM or a private GPT, and the output stops sounding generic; quality in, quality out. ◾ Building Authority When People Already Like You: Friends don't automatically see you as the expert; layering certifications, talks, and endorsements closes that gap. ◾ The Three Pillars of Ethical Persuasion: Every challenge breaks into building relationship, reducing uncertainty, or motivating action. Name where you're stuck, and you stop guessing. ◾ Pre-suasion and Admitting a Weakness: What you do before a conversation primes how it lands; admitting a weakness builds trust and sets up the most powerful word in English. ◾ Voice Cloning Scams and Family Code Words: AI voice clones are already calling relatives asking for ransom. The simplest defense is a phrase your family agrees on to verify a real human. ◾ Reciprocity Beats Bonuses: Ask an employee what their perfect job looks like and give it before they ask; that loyalty doesn't come from a raise. (00:00) Why Honest Persuasion Still Wins (01:51) Welcome to Let's Rethink AI (02:20) Meet Lara Bruner: 20 Years of Psychology Meets AI (07:08) Brand Voice in AI: Train It On What You Trust (20:18) The Three Pillars of Influence (30:48) Why Sales and Persuasion Survive the AI Era (36:50) Voice Cloning Scams and Family Code Words (43:38) Rapid Fire: Persuasion Across Marketing, Sales, and Leadership (58:25) What We Lose If We Stop Wondering (1:07:33) Cutting Through Tool Overwhelm When Starting a Business Follow Lara and work with her: Website - ⁠https://vulcanconsult.com⁠ Useful AI tools mentioned: Notebook LM: ⁠https://notebooklm.google.com⁠ Claude: ⁠https://claude.ai⁠ ChatGPT: ⁠https://chatgpt.com⁠ Perplexity: ⁠https://www.perplexity.ai⁠ Gamma: ⁠https://gamma.app⁠ Follow the show: YouTube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqj2QizDGblOoFz5He4X8YCaW0yvsZ2cJ⁠ Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1Rs9qghCsARsoqazl3wb79⁠ Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-rethink-ai/id1890399014⁠ Instagram - ⁠@letsrethinkai⁠ Let's automate your work or business: Book a call - ⁠https://calendly.com/emmanuel-rethinkai/rethink-call-desk-voice-ai⁠ Website - ⁠www.rethinkai.now⁠ Explore some of the systems we've built: All-in-one CRM + AI platform for home service businesses: ⁠https://bookingops.app/⁠ Next-generation custom software for construction and general contractor companies: ⁠https://rethink-titan.web.app/⁠ AI-powered haircut and barber platform (AWS 10000 AIdeas Finalist): ⁠https://rethink-grum.web.app/⁠ Fully customizable AI CRM tailored to your workflows: ⁠https://ai-crm.buildmatic.ai/⁠ AI-powered platform for wealth advisors and financial teams: ⁠https://insureflow-pro.pages.dev/

Adapting & Thriving in an AI Future

Welcome to the Let's Rethink AI Podcast. A quick note before we jump in: this is our first episode. Production will keep improving, but the mission stays the same: practical, honest conversations about AI and what it actually means for your work, your business, and your life. Nothing in this episode, or any future episode, should be taken as business, legal, or medical advice. For episode one, I sat down with Tong Pitchsinee right here in Bangkok, Thailand. We got into something I think about a lot: how do you master what you're already good at, leverage AI to amplify it, and not lose yourself in the process? We also talked about what I believe could be a crucial 24-month window, a kind of Golden Era where the biggest gains in wealth, health, and productivity are still available to those who move now, before all of this becomes the new standard and the competitive edge closes. Tong Pitchsinee is a marketing expert and owner of Qwerty House Digital Production in Bangkok, Thailand. With over 10 years of experience, she's actively integrating AI into her business while helping others make sense of the tools and shifts reshaping her industry. In this episode, we discuss: ◾ Job Displacement vs Adaptation: Companies are already replacing roles to cut costs, but the people who come out ahead are the ones using AI to amplify their existing skills. ◾ Medical and Health Breakthroughs: AI is accelerating drug discovery, expanding access to advanced procedures, and pushing longevity research forward at a pace most people aren't tracking yet ◾ Boosting Efficiency and Creativity: Hours of execution can now happen in minutes, and when that shift happens, your energy goes toward direction, strategy, and the work that actually requires you ◾ The Psychological Toll of Job Loss: "AI grief" is real. Losing work to automation isn't just a financial challenge; it can mean losing your identity, your routine, and your sense of purpose. ◾ Dangers, Scams, and Hallucinations: Voice cloning, deepfakes, and AI-generated misinformation are already here and easier to pull off than most people realize. We talk about why verification is crucial. ◾ The "Golden Era" of Opportunity: The next 24 months may be one of the most important windows we'll see to build real leverage using AI; through content, side projects, or scaled output. We have to move quicker than ever. (00:00) Why AI Will Change Everything Fast (01:20) Welcome to Let’s Rethink AI (02:27) Emmanuel’s AI Background and Current Projects (04:10) The Speed of AI and Why Most People Aren’t Ready (07:40) Information Overload and Using AI the Right Way (10:17) Will AI Take Your Job or Amplify It? (20:38) The Good Side of AI: Health, Efficiency, and Creativity (29:36) The Dark Side: AI Grief, Disconnection, and Losing Your Voice (38:05) Hallucinations, Deepfakes, Scams, and AI Misuse (46:29) The 24-Month Golden Era of Opportunity Follow Tong and work with her: Instagram - @tonggaaa [https://www.instagram.com/tonggaaa/] Website - https://www.qwertyhouse.com/ [https://www.qwertyhouse.com/] Special shoutout to Miguel Cerda. Follow him @miggylaflaire [https://www.instagram.com/miggylaflaire/] on IG Follow the show: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqj2QizDGblOoFz5He4X8YCaW0yvsZ2cJ [https://open.spotify.com/show/1Rs9qghCsARsoqazl3wb79] Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Rs9qghCsARsoqazl3wb79 [https://open.spotify.com/show/1Rs9qghCsARsoqazl3wb79] Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-rethink-ai/id1890399014 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-rethink-ai/id1890399014] Instagram - @letsrethinkai [https://www.instagram.com/letsrethinkai/] Let's automate your work or business: Book a call - https://calendly.com/emmanuel-rethinkai/rethink-call-desk-voice-ai [https://calendly.com/emmanuel-rethinkai/rethink-call-desk-voice-ai] Website - www.rethinkai.now [https://www.rethinkai.now] Explore some of the systems we've built: All-in-one CRM + AI platform for home service businesses: https://bookingops.app/ [https://bookingops.app/] Next-generation custom software for construction and general contractor companies: https://rethink-titan.web.app/ [https://rethink-titan.web.app/] AI-powered haircut and barber platform (AWS 10000 AIdeas Finalist): https://rethink-grum.web.app/ [https://rethink-grum.web.app/] Fully customizable AI CRM tailored to your workflows: https://ai-crm.buildmatic.ai/ [https://ai-crm.buildmatic.ai/] AI-powered platform for wealth advisors and financial teams: https://insureflow-pro.pages.dev/ [https://insureflow-pro.pages.dev/]