The Confidence Man
The Wrong Qualifier
are inherently persuasive. But it should be noted that «persuasively» was not the qualifier when . The time to be persuasive is when you seek to be accepted regardless of compatibility. That might sometimes make sense e.g. if you are desperate for employment.
is about discovering that a fit exists in a particular relationship. There is always a question of fit, and all groupings and groups must be operated on the basis that a firm "NO" might be the right answer.
The qualifier used for g2 is coherently: you want to assert your thoughts in an intelligible fashion so that the other party can grasp who you are and where you stand. An incoherent presentation undermines the ability to determine fit on both sides.
Plausibility provides a base for all communications, and then all later qualifiers are similarly open: coherently, respectfully, realistically, responsibly, properly, appropriately.
The Use of Persuasion
The con(fidence) man uses this framework and presents views that are plausible and coherent. But that is as far as he is willing to go. The higher qualifiers—respectful, realistic, responsible, proper, appropriate—are applied without integrity and what is injected into the interaction instead is persuasiveness.
Each grouping is meant to expose fitness with a readiness to accept that incompatibility may be the reality. The con man operates each grouping to prevent fit from ever being tested. He activates feelings, and aims to generate an illusion of fit based on trust.
The con man is not constrained by the implications of compatibility because he seeks to simulate a quasi-personal relation based on affinity, loyalty and trust even though those qualities are absent. He offers something attractive that is actually "too good to be true".
For self-protection, remember that compatibility cannot be measured by inter-personal or social words or deeds alone. It depends ultimately on a person's willingness to acknowledge incompatibility, principally by engaging in a private assessment.
The con man will never fit anywhere. Having secured a simulacrum of relationship and exploited it, he keeps moving to hit on the next mark.
- Back to Review.
Originally posted: 6-Oct-2026.
