Science of Persuasion Part 1

Researchers have been studying the factors that influence us to say YES to the request of others for over 60years and their can be no doubt that there is a science to how we are convinced. And a portion of this science is surprising, when making a decision it will be nice to think that people consider all the available information in order to guide their intellectual. But the truth is very often different, in the progressively overloaded lives we lead more than ever we need shortcuts to guide our decision making.

According to the research conducted by Robert cialdini and Steve martin they just identified 6 of the shortcuts that guide human behavior. They are: 

1. ·         Reciprocity
2. ·         Scarcity
3. ·         Authority
4. ·         Consistency
5. ·         Linking
6. ·         Consensus

Accepting these shortcuts and engaging them in an ethical manner can significantly increase the chances that someone will be persuaded by your request.

1. Reciprocity: It is defined as people are obliged to give back to others the form of behavior, gift or facility that they have received first. If a friend calls you to their party there is an obligation for you to invite them to future party you are holding. If a colleague does you a favor then you owe that colleague a favor and in the context of social obligation people are more likely to say YES to those that they owe. So the key to using the principles of Reciprocation is to be the FIRST to GIVE and to ensure that what you give is PERSONALIZED and UNEXPECTED.
   
2. Scarcity: According to the research People want MORE of those things there are LESS of. When British airways announced in 2003 that they would no longer be operating the twice daily LONDON-NEW YORK conquered flight because it had become uneconomical to run, SALES the very next day took off. There is one thing to notice that nothing had changed about conquered itself, it certainly didn’t fly any faster, the service didn’t abruptly get better it had simply become a scarcit resource and as a result people wanted it more.
   
3. Authority: The principle of authority states that the idea that people follow the lead of CREDIBLE KNOWLEDGEABLE EXPERTS. For example physiotherapist are able to persuade more of their patience to comply with recommended exercise programs if they display their MEDICAL DIPLOMAS on the walls of their consulting rooms. What the science is telling is that it’s important to signal to others what makes you CREADIBLE KNOWLEDGEABLE AUTHORITY before you make your influence attempt.