Trying to Persuade with Logic? That’s a Toothpick vs a Viking

Driving decisions with logic? You’re walking into a Viking fight with a toothpick. They won’t debate you. They’ll eat you alive.

Let me start with a quick story.

A founder I worked with was proud of his pitch deck. Beautiful design. Perfect numbers. Every objection handled. He walks into a meeting with an executive team and thinks, “This is going to be rational. This is going to be clean.”

Ten minutes in, the CFO leans back and says: “I don’t feel it.”

Not “the ROI doesn’t work.” Not “the assumptions are wrong.”

“I don’t feel it.”

And the founder froze because his whole strategy was toothpicks: logic, logic, logic. But the room wasn’t in logic mode. The room was in primal mode.

Now—before you think this is just “marketing talk”—let’s lock authority in immediately.

Daniel Kahneman’s work on decision-making showed that most human judgments and choices happen fast and automatically, and then we explain them after the fact. In other words: the decision happens first… and the story comes second.

Antonio Damasio showed something even more uncomfortable: when emotion is impaired, people don’t become “more rational.” They often become worse at deciding. Because emotion isn’t noise in the system. Emotion is the system that drives priorities.

And Dan Ariely demonstrated how easily context and arousal can shift what people choose—how the brain re-weights ethics, risk, and consequences when primal systems are activated.

Different researchers. Same conclusion:

You don’t decide like a calculator. You decide like a mammal.

So if you’re trying to drive a decision with logic alone, you’re not being “professional.” You’re being naïve.

Because decisions aren’t made in the boardroom. They’re made in a part of the brain that’s older than language.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: your “rational” brain is mostly a PR department. It doesn’t decide first. It explains after.

So if your marketing, your sales deck, or your leadership messaging is built for the rational brain… you’re pitching to the wrong decision-maker.

Business owners and executives love to believe they’re rational. Spreadsheets. KPIs. Forecasts. Strategy.

But even at the highest level, the brain still runs the same ancient code:

• Avoid danger

• Protect status

• Secure resources

• Belong to the right tribe

That’s why two companies can see the same data… and make opposite decisions. Because data is not the trigger. The trigger is a subconscious frustration.

Here’s what makes this even more brutal: people make thousands of decisions per day. So the brain is constantly looking for shortcuts. It doesn’t want complexity. It wants certainty.

That’s why the brain prefers familiar patterns and avoids novelty. In my own work, I say it like this: the brain prefers configurations it already understands, while novelty is avoided.

Translation: If your message forces a decision-maker to think hard, compare too many options, or process too much novelty… Their primal brain doesn’t say, “Let’s analyze this.” It says, “No.”

And the rational brain writes the excuse: “Not the right timing.” “Send me more info.” “We’re exploring options.”

That’s not a rational objection. That’s a primal escape.

This is the part most “smart marketers” still don’t get: Decision-making is bottom-up. Primal first. Rational second.

In my framework, it’s very simple: It’s VERY bad when you try to drive a decision rationally… because the decision maker in the brain is NOT your rational brain. It is your PRIMAL brain.

So if you want a decision—buy, approve, sign, follow, partner—you must speak to the primal brain.

Now, let’s come back to the Viking fight.

The Viking is the primal brain. The toothpick is your logic-first persuasion.

When you walk into a Viking fight, you don’t win by being “more correct.” You win by understanding what the Viking is protecting. What the Viking fears. What the Viking wants.

In business, that Viking is protecting the same things every human protects:

• Status

• Control

• Certainty

• Resources

• Belonging

And here’s the mistake. Most people respond to Viking mode with… more toothpicks. More logic. More slides. More features.

That’s why your 43-slide deck doesn’t close. Not because it’s missing information. Because it’s talking to the wrong brain.

So what actually triggers decisions? Not your features. Not your “unique process.” Not your credentials.

A subconscious frustration.

And here’s the kicker: because it’s subconscious, they often can’t even name it. They’ll give you the conscious version: “We need a better provider.” “We want to optimize costs.” “We’re exploring options.”

But the primal version is more like:

• I’m scared of missing resources.

• I’m worried about my reputation.

• I’m not getting what I deserve.

That’s primal. That’s the real decision trigger.

So let’s make this practical. If you want to win the Viking fight, stop swinging toothpicks.

First: stop selling to the rational brain. If your pitch starts with “We are a leading provider of…” you’re dead.

Second: identify the primal threat or desire. Ask yourself: what is this decision-maker protecting? Status? Control? Certainty? Reputation? Resources?

Third: name the frustration they feel but don’t say. This is where curiosity and controversy come in. You say what everyone is thinking but nobody dares to admit.

For example: “You’re not afraid of choosing the wrong vendor. You’re afraid of looking stupid in front of your board.”

Now you have attention. Because you hit the Viking.

And fourth—this is the philosophy behind everything I teach: Make them great.

Your business isn’t about your product. It’s about making the decision-maker feel safer, elevated, respected, in control… like the hero.

That’s "Make Me Great!".

So here’s the question. If decisions are primal… why are you still communicating like your clients are rational?

If you want the shortcut, we built a free app that gives you three subconscious frustrations your ideal client is likely experiencing—based on your business and your optimal client profile.

Because when you know the frustration, you know the trigger. And when you know the trigger, you stop begging for decisions. You start earning them.

Download The Make Me Great! app here: https://app.happy-brains.com/

Get your three subconscious frustrations. And start speaking to the real decision-maker: the primal brain.