Persuasion: What is it?
Persuasion is an action to influence or condition others to achieve their own goals or objectives. These are very effective and convincing mechanisms or methods that induce the interlocutor to fully embrace the point of view of the person speaking.
It is a symbolic process in which the communicator tries to convince other people to change their attitudes or behavior, through the transmission of a message. In fact, however, conditioned messages modify emotions, ideas, behavior and are mainly used to change opinions. The interlocutors are convinced that they are acting autonomously, but in reality, they are influenced to move in that way by external factors.
Persuasion can be explicit if carried out by an intrusive salesman or a particularly engaging commercial ad or more subtle, sneaky when it is performed quietly or subliminally.
Waffles and the art of persuasion
Robert Cialdini is a psychologist and researcher at the University of Arizona, who has achieved international fame after publishing his book "The science of persuasion". This book is an exhaustive collection of studies, tests, experiments, and theories in which the mechanisms by which we end up saying yes are explained.
Cialdini has identified 6 categories within which fall the main techniques of persuasion:
- Reciprocity. It occurs when you give something to someone, and the other feels compelled to somehow return what he has received. This rule of repaying something received is a rule that if it is not respected, it is subject to social sanctions and one ends up labeling a person as "ungrateful" or "parasite". For example, if you offer a free sample or gift of something and you do not accept it, you end up being designated as a fool for not accepting it. For Cialdini, repurchasing leads to stimulating fair acceptance, imposes debts that have not been requested and could lead to making unfair exchanges.
- Commitment and coherence. Those who are not consistent over time in maintaining a given goal, risk being labeled as unreliable or superficial. Therefore, having a coherent image has a "calming" function towards the observer, because it does not force the other to make a new evaluation that would lead to important emotional repercussions. For example, a change in the image of a brand causes a state of confusion and habituation to novelty.
- Social rehearsal. It consists in the tendency to consider an action adequate when it is carried out by many people. For this reason, receiving consensus, even from authoritative people, lead to greater visibility and trust from the public. For example, in situations of uncertainty, there is a tendency to stand and watch and see what others are doing and then make a choice, which will go in the direction dictated by the greater assent received.
- Sympathy. Often occurs when to sell a product you refer to a person familiar or well-known to make the product more attractive or interesting. For example, in some cases, the "chain" method is used, whereby each person interested in the product is invited to give the name of friends and acquaintances who are also interested in the purchase. There are also some factors capable of producing a sympathetic reaction, such as beauty, goodness, resemblance to someone, the same clothes are worn, etc. In this case, knowing that a person is similar to us, facilitates the choice.
- Authority. Statements made by authoritative people are strongly persuading. There is a natural and deep-rooted sense of deference to authority that translates into the inability of the subject to counter the order of the "head". Being accustomed to obedience is taught to us from birth and allows the stratification of society. Therefore, recognizing the authority of authority, actions are performed without questioning them, although some behaviors may not be adequate for the purpose.
- Scarcity, that is the tendency to underestimate what is abundant and to overestimate what is scarce. Therefore, there is a tendency to optimize the availability of resources of a given good, if the availability of the good is presented as limited in time or scarce in terms of quantity. For example, computers with limited calibration and below cost leads immediately to the purchase of the product itself because it becomes an opportunity not to be missed.