in this video
we'll discuss the power of persuasion
this will include a discussion on
different strategies you can use to be
more persuasive in the way you deliver
arguments and communicate generally
the use of fear and how others process
and perceive what you're saying
there's so many times in life where we
want people to do something but we
aren't in position to simply order them
around
even when we're in a leadership position
constantly ordering
subordinates around can create
resentment and disloyalty
it's very helpful and often necessary to
get people to do what you want
through persuasion rather than power
persuasion has been studied for
thousands of years going back to the
ancient
greeks and refined in multi-million
dollar ad campaigns
it's an essential tool of corporations
looking to sell products
politicians looking to convince citizens
to vote for them
attorneys trying to get jurors to render
verdicts in their favor
parents trying to get their kids to eat
well and in countless other situations
it's very helpful for leaders to develop
skills that enable them to establish
useful partnerships with others
and maintain positive relationships with
employees
robert cialdini a psychologist and one
of the leading experts in the world on
persuasion
recommends a number of approaches for
getting others to do what you want
the first strategy is reciprocity
followed by commitment and consistency
social proof likability and finally
authority
first reciprocity can be a highly useful
strategy
if you do a small unsolicited favor for
someone they'll be more likely to do
what you want
for many years hari krishnas and eastern
religious sect
would raise money by approaching
strangers in a public place to give them
a gift like a book or a flower
if a person initially refused they would
insist it was a gift
only after the gift was accepted would
they ask for a financial donation which
they often received
people felt like they owed something to
the krishnas and they resolved this debt
with money second if you can get an
initial commitment from people
they'll often behave in ways that are
highly consistent with that commitment
thus commitment and consistency are
helpful persuasion strategies
small behaviors get followed by more
committed behaviors
people are much more likely to vote for
candidates on election day
if you can get them to put a sign in
their yard supporting that candidate
get people to make an initial commitment
and they will often behave
in very consistent ways psychologist
thomas moriarty
did a compelling study on this related
to bystander intervention where he
staged thefts on a public beach
and measured whether bystanders would
get involved in his experiment
a person who was lying in a blanket near
others and listening to the radio
got up and went for a stroll on the
beach minutes later
another person came by and stole the
radio in 20 trials
only four people who were lying next to
the blanket and radio got involved and
stopped the thief however
in another condition the person
listening to the radio
asked the person next to them to watch
my things before walking away
in that case in 19 out of 20 times
people intervened with a thief
confronting him and chasing him down the
beach people are more likely to do what
you want
if you make a small request first
third we look to others for social proof
that means that if you want someone to
do something
put peer pressure on them show them what
the norm is
that is what other people are doing what
other businesses are doing
and what other communities are doing
people want to belong
and they often have considerable
difficulty violating social norms fourth
it matters a lot who asks us to do
things
for example we're much more persuaded by
people we like
there are two big components of
likability physical appeal
and similarity typically we like people
who are attractive
it's a cliche it's superficial but it's
true
sex sells that's true in advertising and
it's also true in interpersonal
interactions
we tend to be more persuaded by
good-looking people
of course not everyone is blessed with
six-pack abs luscious hair and a
stunning face
however all's not lost because we also
tend to like people who are similar to
us
our friends and romantic partners are
often people we share key interests or
values with
in commercials on tv if an actor isn't
attractive they're often trying to
portray someone who is hopefully
similar to you on some level chaldini
also focuses on the importance of
authority
certainly being in a position of
authority can make others have to do
what you want
but it can also make them want to do
what you want
people have a tendency to be deferential
to those in power even if the power
isn't directly over them
similarly we tend to be highly
influenced by credibility factors
credibility is made up of two factors
trustworthiness and expertise
let's start with trustworthiness if a
person seems trustworthy because of
their personality or because of their
role like a priest
well they're often more persuasive in
addition
we tend to trust experts and individuals
who seem more like
experts thus making them more persuasive
having formalized credentials such as a
phd can be helpful on this front
also bringing in others who have
credentials to support your position
can be very effective
interestingly the way you communicate
and deliver messages can make you seem
like more of an expert and make you more
credible
and persuasive people who talk faster
are judged to be more knowledgeable
about a topic than people
who deliver the same message but talk
slower
in terms of delivering a message one
consideration is whether you should only
give your position or whether you should
start by explaining both sides of the
matter
and then explain why your side is better
that's known as delivering a one-sided
versus a two-sided appeal
in a one-sided appeal you give all the
benefits of your side
and you don't acknowledge any
alternative positions
in a two-sided appeal you acknowledge
both sides of the issue
but then you explain why your side is
better so which should you go with
in general a two-sided appeal works best
if the person or group you're talking to
is either mixed in their opinion
or is likely to oppose what you're
trying to persuade them to do
when you use the two-sided appeal you'll
appear less biased
one-sided appeals work best only when
the person or people you're trying to
convince are already inclined to agree
with you
or if there's overwhelming support you
can offer for your position
sometimes a two-sided approach is known
as using an inoculation strategy
inoculation works just like a shot where
you give people a weak dose of a virus
so they're protected when they get hit
with a full-blown case of it
from a persuasion standpoint you give a
weak dose of what the alternative
position is
that is you give weak arguments for why
the opposite position is true
by hearing what your opponent will say
in a weak form people develop counter
arguments to resist the message
and are more inclined to reject it and
accept what you're saying
another consideration within persuasion
is fear
it's common for people to use fear
within their persuasive attempts
that is they'll talk about all the bad
things that will happen to you
if you don't do what they want you to do
is fear effective
or does it turn people off a better
question is does it get them to tune out
the answer to that is it can
when fear is used it's important to not
be too extreme
a campaign against drunk drivers can
effectively show mangled vehicles that
have been in a dui accident
but showing mangled victims could be too
much for most people
causing them to disengage quickly an
attorney can show a bloody knife that
was used as a murder weapon
but large gruesome color photographs of
the victim after they had been brutally
stabbed
might be too much you want to arouse
some fear
but not too much an emergency manager
wants to motivate people to take action
if they don't evacuate before a
hurricane
but it's likely ineffective to show
photos of people who
drowned in tidal surges or their bodies
after trees fell
and crushed them in addition you need to
give people direction for fear-based
messages to be successful
telling someone a hurricane is coming or
you could be injured killed or cut off
from rescuers
isn't a good message people need to know
how to act
they need to know when and how to
evacuate where shelters are
or the supplies they should stock up on
an example of this
is one of the early public service
campaigns designed to reduce the spread
of aids
early messaging was simple it was aids
kills
it was simple and it was ineffective the
rate of transmission wasn't slowed into
the messages and formed the public to
wear
condoms to reduce the spread of the
virus if you want to persuade people
with fear
tell them what to do with their fear
fear is aroused people may pay close
attention to the message because they're
worried about something harmful
happening to them
however not all attempts at persuasion
will be things that people are heavily
involved in or care about
so if someone isn't heavily invested in
what you're trying to persuade them of
does that mean that you won't be able to
convince them not necessarily
you just need to think about the
approach that you use researchers
richard petty and john cassiopo
along with shelly chaikin have
identified two routes to persuasion
these are called the peripheral and
central route when people are not
invested in an issue
or when they are but they're tired
distracted overworked or they can't
focus on what you're saying for whatever
reason
they aren't able to think about the
strength of your arguments so
strong arguments won't always win out
but they'll look for other information
to help them decide if they should
accept a persuasive message
as a result they'll look for what are
called heuristic cues
that's a fancy way of saying mental
shortcuts our beliefs about people like
stereotypes can be heuristic cues
for example thinking certain types of
people are more or less trustworthy
because of who they are
or looking at things like credentials
educational background
even their appearance remember
attractiveness and similarity matter
are you good looking do you look the way
people expect an expert to look
these cues which are sometimes fairly
superficial
can be very powerful for an uninvolved
or distracted person
so when people are using the peripheral
route to evaluate what you're saying
because they aren't heavily focused on
the message they'll be convinced by
well-educated experts
and attractive or similar people and
consequently discount the message from
people who aren't experts or who don't
have these appealing qualities
on the other hand when people are
directly affected by an issue
like if it's something that may cost
them a lot of money or they're very
interested in something
and can focus on what you're saying then
they'll set aside heuristic cues and
instead
focus on message strength but you'll
need strong arguments to convince them
because they're not going to be
influenced by weak messages or go along
with someone just because they're good
looking
those factors are secondary for people
processing in a central route
because the central route of persuasion
is based on solid arguments
people tend to be convinced of the
message for a long time even permanently
on the other hand peripheral rap
persuasion tends to be more fleeting
you can persuade someone for a short
period of time but
it won't be difficult to change their
mind on the issue
ultimately persuasion is a very useful
skill to have
if you're persuasive you can get others
to do what you want without using power
which a lot of time you won't even have
persuasion can allow you or your
organization to be someone or something
that others like and want to follow or
connect to
which is very valuable to leaders
corporations and everyday people
in summary there are a number of
strategies to make your messaging and
communication more persuasive
remember the approaches cialdini
described reciprocity
commitment and consistency social proof
likability and authority
it's also important to consider
credibility factors such as
trustworthiness and expertise
as well as how you communicate your
position with one-sided or two-sided
appeals
leaders can use fear as a persuasion
strategy but it's important to use
appropriate levels of fear and provide a
sense of direction in fear-based
messages
finally keep in mind that in some
situations individuals will be more
persuaded by heuristic cues such as
credentials educational background
attractiveness and similarities
rather than the content and reasons
you're giving to explain your argument
and position using persuasion to
carefully craft your arguments and your
communication overall
will be an invaluable tool for you as a
leader as well as
in other areas of your life