Carlos A. Alvarenga
researcher, author, and advisor
ABOUT
"All of my work — research, writing, coaching — has one thing in common: I help people access ideas and information often located in specialized, scholarly, or technical sources. My mission is to simplify and summarize complex information and make it accessible to anyone who reads what I write or works with me on a coaching project." — Carlos Alvarenga
LATEST BOOK
Have you ever wondered what makes someone convincing or why some messages persuade when others do not? Have you ever struggled with how to create a persuasive message, story, or presentation? Do you want to understand how persuasion can be used to corrupt or to achieve dangerous ends?
My new book, The Rules of Persuasion: How the World’s Greatest Communicators Convince, Inspire, Lead—and, Sometimes, Deceive (Post Hill Press, 2023) not only explains exactly how persuasion works in all forms of human communication, it also presents a clear and effective model you can use to put the elements and chemistry of persuasion to work for you in your personal and professional lives.
Using insights and examples from art to history to literature to hip-hop, author Carlos Alvarenga updates and expands ideas first presented in Aristotle’s Rhetoric, adding original observations regarding the role of the audience in persuasion, persuasion in social media, as well as what happens when the rules of persuasion are used to deceive and corrupt audiences—even entire nations.
WORK
Research and advisory work focused on how communication shapes interpretation, alignment, and authority inside organizations. Former Executive Director, World 50 Labs, the member innovation group of World 50. Previously Principal, Ernst & Young Advisory Practice; Managing Director, Accenture. Taught in the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.
EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Doctoral research in communication and rhetoric,
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Post-Baccalaureate Program in Classics
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGE
B.A., Humanities and Classics
Magna cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa