Force Persuasion

The concept of Force persuasion was the use of the Force to exert influence. Some species with highly organized mental facilities were known to be inherently resistant to its effects, requiring more skill, among them Hutts, Toydarians, Yinchorri, Kloodavians, Dashade, Falleen, Geonosians, and possibly Snivvians. For example, Revan could persuade Motta the Hutt, but Luke Skywalker failed in his attempt to persuade Jabba the Hutt. Also during the Jedi Civil War, certain ranks of soldiers were trained to resist this technique. On the other hand, some species, such as the Nikto, were particularly susceptible to it.

When using a Jedi mind trick, a Jedi often waved his or her hand to aid in the persuasion. The Jedi adopted a peculiar tone of voice along with a casual facial expression. The sentient being that was the object of the mind trick tended to adopt a casual tone of voice but a peculiar facial expression. Should the trick succeed, he or she then agreed to whatever was being said to them without being able to think for themselves. Moments later, they would feel puzzled about their new opinion, but usually didn't feel like changing it back.