"Review of Power University (Different approach to self development)": feedback
From this thread:
Quote from AJ on December 8, 2022, 12:22 amQuote from Ali Scarlett on December 6, 2022, 5:30 pmQuote from Bel on December 6, 2022, 5:01 pmHi Ali,
I'm very interested in this, as I also was wondering what it was that had led Reddit to flag the review as "suspicious":
Quote from Ali Scarlett on December 6, 2022, 3:56 amIf you want any feedback on how you might be able to make your review sound a little more authentic, happy to share my thoughts.
Yeah, happy to do a full analysis, but only if AJ (@amr) is comfortable with it.
So, AJ, if you're reading this, up to you.
Hi Ali,
Thank you for this. I deliberately wrote the review with some marketing techniques because most people are oblivious to the marketing schemes and techniques therefore, I hoped this would help people be more eager to join TPM. However, I am very comfortable to hear if you have thoughts on this or if you want to make the analysis, I'm sure there's always more room to learn. Also replying to Bel, I believe if you put a link to a website, reddit flags it. the way I managed to get the review was without adding the ".com" to "thepowermoves".
Here are my thoughts (which are all my opinion).
First, this is the review:
Review of Power University ( Different approach to self development)
For those of you that don't already know about this, this is a trending course called power university that every is taking on the website Thepowermoves. I finished this course and I can simply say that it is the best course I've ever taken. I've taken multiple self development courses before on Udemy and Coursera and I've read a lot of books that are regarded as the top bestselling self-help books and honestly, nothing comes even close to power university. Power University takes a different approach to self development by teaching you to become a more powerful, assertive, dominant character while developing a positive optimistic mindset. It is definitely for everyone, no matter the age or gender. The way the author, Lucio Buffalmano, describes concepts and the content through the use of texts, videos, and even movie scenes really helps you digest the information and have it cemented directly to your mindset and your personality without much effort. Truly an amazing course and would definitely recommend for anyone going through tough times or feeling insecure, naive or for those who just want level up and learn advanced social strategies.
And now, the breakdown for it:
Review of Power University ( Different approach to self development)
Looks good to me.
For those of you that don't already know about this (this starts the review on the track of beginning to sound promotional because it transitions from the frame of "just a guy looking to talk about his experience in a course" to "a guy sharing something he hopes will be valuable to you"), this is a trending ("trending" sounds like another promotional hotword that might subcommunicate: "you should take a look at this because it's so popular, a lot of people are already taking an interest in it and you'd be missing out otherwise) course called power university that every is taking (the "everyone is taking" follows the line of "trending") on the website Thepowermoves.
Plus, small errors like not capitalizing the "P" and "U" in Power University or writing "The Power Moves" as "Thepowermoves" can make it come across as spammy and inauthentic (for example, if you've ever gotten those emails from people in foreign countries looking to sell you something).
I finished this course and I can simply say that it is the best course I've ever taken. I've taken multiple self development courses before on Udemy and Coursera and I've read a lot of books that are regarded as the top bestselling self-help books and honestly, nothing comes even close to power university.
Again, looks good to me here.
Power University takes a different approach to self development by teaching you (the "you" is an "increase personal relevance" persuasion technique that feels out of place here because if this was still a "review from a guy who took a course", a "me" might feel more appropriate—since the results would only apply to the reviewer so far. But, focusing on the audience now makes it come across like this reviewer is now pitching the audience, and may not be an honest reviewer after all) to become a more powerful, assertive, dominant character while developing a positive optimistic mindset. It is definitely for everyone (beginning to sound a little too good to be true), no matter the age or gender. The way the author, Lucio Buffalmano, describes concepts and the content through the use of texts, videos, and even movie scenes really helps you digest the information and have it cemented directly to your mindset (this part uses a "this is how it is format" for something that may be subjective. Maybe one or more of the readers know that that style/approach of delivering information doesn't work for them, in which case they might now feel like you're writing misinformation for the sake of promotion) for one of the readers and your personality without much effort (without much effort? Again, starting to sound like it's too good to be true).
The rest looked good.
So, if I were to write the same review, here's how I might have gone about it:
Review of Power University (a Different Approach to Self-Development)
This review is about the course, Power University, on the website ThePowerMoves.com.
I finished the course not too long ago (the "not too long ago" now makes it sound like there's some context behind the review, as opposed to omitting it which might make it seem that you finished the course a long time ago, but got an affiliate deal from the site owner recently, so here you are) and I can simply say that it is one of the best courses I've ever taken ("one of" helps keep things more in the realm of being realistic in the eyes of readers, making the line more believable). I've taken multiple self development courses before on Udemy and Coursera and I've read plenty of books that are listed as top bestselling self-help resources and, granted, some of them were great (give those resources some credit to avoid coming across as too much of a biased party promoting PU), but for the most part, nothing truly came close to Power University for me.
It (avoid starting off the sentence with "Power University" again so it doesn't look suspicious, as if you're trying to repeat the keyword in an effort to get your review to rank higher on Google—which doesn't work, BTW) takes a different approach to self development by teaching things that are less "politically correct" (now gives a legitimate answer to what makes PU's approach to self-development so different) and, for me at least (doesn't promise or guarantee results for everyone, a good move for authenticity and avoiding hyping up the course into "too good to be true" territory), it's made me a more dominant and assertive (yet still positive) person.
I'm not sure it's for everyone, it's quite a lot of reading and certainly not as much video as Coursera or Udemy typically uses (de-emphasize persuasion technique: share a caveat). But, the way the instructor (Lucio Buffalmano) describes concepts and delivers the content in such great ways, such as through storytelling, infographics, and the few videos he does include, really helped me digest the information and cement it thoroughly.
Truly an amazing course and, personally, would definitely recommend to anyone going through tough times socially (specify their challenge area—in this case with "socially"—so PU doesn't seem like a magic "we fix everything" wand) or who are feeling insecure, naive, or for those who just want to level up and learn advanced social strategies.
Happy to read any thoughts and feedback.
Well Ali, I think I am saying what everybody's thinking in saying "BOOM!".
Nothing to add to your post.
Yeah really nice Ali, I've added this to my creme de la creme folder under influencing.
And the techniques are applicable to anything I can see this improving my as discussed emails.
Great stuff, Ali!
Some random notes on my side on your amended version:
BEST I'VE EVER TAKEN CAN BE FAIR
I personally think it's fair and also believable to say "the best I've ever taken" because:
- Many people DO have a #1 favorite
- The review itself justifies the #1, because most people don't take the time to share long-ish reviews and recommendations for all the courses they take, so the "best I've ever..." is (partially) justified by the simple fact that you're writing a review.
Plus, there is the "hidden gem effect": a review for a niche product further justifies the #1 and review. It's normal to be surprised and excited by the quality of hidden gems and it's normal to want to share it even more (it's also about social ROI: when you share the hidden gem there's more in it for you to share it because while everyone knows the popular ones, you can add more value when you share the hidden gem) - Speaking your truth, and the "be as close to the truth as possible" concept. And if -if!- that's your truth, then... Why not
SET UP THE CHALLENGE: SWAP "I'M NOT SURE IT'S... " WITH "IT MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE BECAUSE.... "
Rather than:
"I'm not sure it's.. "
I'd go for
"it may not be for everyone because you'll need to invest more time on it compared to video-only courses...".
The reason is that while the former indeed feels more personal and genuine, the latter feels more like a challenge to the reader.
The driven folks who are most likely to purchase self-development products will read that and think "you freaking bet I'm one of those who can stick through the pain if it provides more benefits than the easier stuff".
PREVENT THE TARGET AUDIENCE FROM EXCLUDING THEMSELVES
I may cut out the:
"those who are going through tough time socially"
Since that may limit the reach of the message (and make PU less inclusive than it actually is).
Consider that even those who are struggling often don't even know they are, or don't admit so to themselves, so you may not even reach the full cohort of "strugglers".
Yes, you end by saying "those who want to level up... ", but still that first sentence is quite strong, so ending on a more inclusive tone may not be enough to "win back" those who thought "I'm not really going through a such a tough time after all".
Just my opinions on a fantastic analysis.
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Hello Lucio,
feed-back on the new PU version: it's much easier to go through with shorter lessons, thank you!
As I'm going through PU, I think that what would bring it to the next level in my eyes are:
More Quizzes: first, because they're so much fun. So more in quantity. I think regarding the quizzes it would be cool to just go back to the question we failed. Not a must have but a nice to have. So if each section would have at least 3 quizzes I think it would improve the learning and the quality by much. I know it's tons of work. Where is the value then other than the fun? In the learning. This is as close as it gets to simulating situations. So it's closer to real life and then has more value in terms in applicable learning. For now, what we do is read PU again. You already know what I think: it's great. The limitation is that we now know that more iterations have little ROI in terms of learning. What helps the best one to learn is to question in his mind and then answer with the new knowledge. So we activate the neural circuitry that we will use in real life. This more like training then than learning.
Maybe a chapter about not disempowering oneself: I am still disempowering myself with certain mindsets and behaviour. It could be useful that there is a chapter tailored to not disempower oneself.
OFF-TOPIC
Thank you for sharing John, those are all super useful!
I so far avoided to answer here since it would go off-topic.
This thread is an analysis of a public review, how it could have been more authoritative/convincing, and not a review of Power University, albeit the title can indeed make one thing it's a thread for review/feedback (that's why it's under the general Power Dynamics forum, rather than somewhere else).
There was an actual review you once did, I remember it, but couldn't find it.
Otherwise, I created a new thread on "Power University feedback" here.
OFF-TOPIC
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Hahaha, thanks yeah wrong topic.