8 Persuasion Techniques to Change Anyones Mind

8 Persuasion Techniques to Change Anyones Mind3KScience Practice.)Foot in the DoorPrinciple The foot in the door principle means that prior to asking for a big favor, you should ask for a smaller one. By first asking for something small, youre making the individual committed to helping you, and the larger request abroll-container-transport-system as a continuation of something technically already agreed upon.Real-life ApplicationA tourist asks you for directions. As a follow-up, they say they might get lost and ask you to walk them there. Youre mora likely to agree to that, than if they straight-off asked the second question.You missed a class and asked your classmate for their notes. Subsequently, you admit to have been a tad irresponsible this semester and ask for the notes for the entire semester . By first asking for the small favor, you increase your chances of getting the big one namely, a free-ride on your classmates notes.You just failed an important midterm and the profess or doesnt offer retakes.You decide to ask for feedback on your work and why you failed, followed by a request for a retake. Youre mora likely to succeed in such a scenario, as opposed to directly asking for a retake.Case StudyIn the year 1966, two Stanford researchers Jonathan Freedman and Scott Fraser decided to test the effectiveness of FITD as a persuasion technique. They divided 156 women into four groups. They called the first three groups, asking a few simple questions about their household kitchen products. Three days later, they asked to personally go through their kitchen cabinet and catalogue their products. The other group welches only approached with the second request. The first three groups had a 52.8% compliance rate, while the belastung group had only 22.2%. Read more on the case study here.Read more on the technique here.Door in the FacePrinciple Say, would you mind running around the streets naked yelling how awesome this article is? No? Well, could you at least share it with your friends on facebook inc? Door in the face is the opposite of the previously mentioned persuasion technique. First, you ask for something huge they are not going to agree with, then ask for something contrastingly easier.Real-life ApplicationYou ask a classmate to tutor you on that upcoming midterm in Advanced Statistics. Oh, and you havent studied at all up to now. The classmate apologizes, saying that they just dont have the time. And besides, theyve never even seen you before. Your follow-up request for their notes is, however, granted.You ask your friend to lend you 100$. After the No, you ask can I at least have 20$?A supermarket has a policy of asking for donations to a charitable cause before asking the customer for payment. fruchtwein customers wouldnt donate, but if the cashier asks them to make a $100 donation and then asks how about just 5$, the number of donations rises exponentially.Case StudyA study welches conducted on whether DITF technique would he lp with retail sales. A saleswoman was selling cheese to people walking past a hut in the Austrian Alps. In the first scenario, the hikers were offered a pound of cheese for 4 euros. In the second scenario, the saleswomen first offered 2 pounds of cheese for 8 euros, and after being rejected, asking for a pound for 4. The compliance rates are strikingly different 9% for the first request, 24% for the second.Read more on the case study here.Read more on the technique here.AnchoringPrinciple Anchoring is a cognitive bias present in most decision making. How do you know what product is good, for example? You compare it to a similar product and make a decision from there. This technique has a lot of different uses, one of the most-used being pricing. Anchoring, if used properly, can be a powerful persuasion technique.Real-life ApplicationYoure looking to buy a new car, and come across an OK absprache for 10,000$. You bargain with the salesman and manage to lower the cost to 7,000$. You go home satisfied contempt, thinking how much of a bargain it was. The actual value for the car, however, was lower than 7,000$. The initial price of 10,000$ acts as an anchor, so youll perceive anything lower than that as a good deal.You just got a new job offer, with an initial offer of 2,000$ per month. You negotiate it to 2,200$. Again, as with the previous example, you may be getting low-balled. While a 10% increase over the initial offer may seem attractive, it might still be lower than your actual value.Case StudyThe Economist used to have three different subscription vorkaufsrechts. A) Online for 59$ B) Print for 125$ and C) Print Web for 125$. On a study done on 100 MIT students, 16 chose option A and 84 chose option C.The experimenter then removed option B and gave the same test to another 100 students. In this case, 68 chose option A and 32 chose option C.The takeaway here, is that people use option B as an anchor. No one would actually chose it, it was just used to inc rease the value of option C.Read more on the case study here.Read more on the technique here.Commitment ConsistencyPrinciple People are prone to be consistent in their actions and beliefs. If you make a person commit to something small, you could use the initial commitment to influence them into doing more for you.Real-life ApplicationMost of the time, you buy the same brands over and over. When was the last time you tried a new snack or drink?Can you do me a favor? Sure. Could you get me a beer from the store? as opposed to, Hey could you etc.Youve probably heard of how goal setting can help with productivity. The concept is something rarely ever left out of a self-help book. The reason why this is effective is because of consistency youre more aware that this is what you want and should strive for when youve written it down.Lets say you work at an NGO and youre collecting money for a certain cause. Before asking for donations, you can ask the person whether they support the cause . If the cause is just, theyll most definitely answer positively. By asking such a question first, youre more likely to receive donations.Case StudyA lot of websites selling a product these days use the consistency principle to get you to sign up for their mailing list. Their pop-ups usually read something in the lines of, Yes, sign me up. I love free money and No, Id rather be unsuccessful,. While that can seem a bit commonsensical , it does help increase conversion rates.Read more on the technique here, and here.Social ProofPrinciple Most of your friends choose this article for persuasion-based advice. You should too. Everyone believes this, so it must be true. Social Proof is one of the most noticeable persuasion techniques. It doesnt take much to notice that in most social groups there is a high level of groupthink. Someone mentions an idea, and everyone just goes with it even if they all disagree with it. When making a decision, people look at what their peers do, and act in a similar fashion.Real-life ApplicationIf you have an empty tip jar at your work, you might consider filling it up a bit before beginning the shift. Customers are more likely to tip if they see a filled tip jar rather than an empty one other people tip, so I should probably do the sameThere is a greater chance you might like a Facebook post if it already has a lot of likes, as opposed to a post with zero likes.The reason most people take up smoking is social proof. Everyone smokes, thus you should smoke too despite all the health concerns and horrendous taste it comes with.Case StudyIn 1935, in an experiment conducted by Muzafer Sherif, several subjects were placed in a dark room with a dot of light 15 feet away. The subjects were then asked for estimates on how much the dot moved. All the participants gave different numbers. On the second day, they were grouped together and asked the same question. This time, they ended agreeing on a completely different number, far from their pre vious estimates.Read more on the case study here.Read more on the technique here and here.AuthorityPrinciple*Persuasion Experts* and 9 out of 10 Jedi think this article is the best source of persuasion-related advice. People look up to authority in any field or subject, thus making yourself seem as a source of authority can take you long way.Real-life ApplicationMost startups or smaller companies put an as seen on logo on their landing pages, if theyve been featured on major media websites. If a company was on Techcrunch, for example, then it means theyre kinda of a big deal, as Techcrunch dont cover just anyone.Product X won the best iOS app for 20159/10 dentists think that a specific brand of toothpaste is the best one out there. It also provides clean drinking water to third world countries. And cures cancer.Agencies tend to mention their previous clients on their landing page. This is especially true if theyve worked with big companiesCase StudyStanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, conducted a number of psychological studies that later came to be known as the Milgram Experiment. The experiment had three roles the experimenter, the teacher, and the learner. The teacher, who would be the volunteer, would ask the learner, a hired actor, questions.If the learner answered wrong, the teacher would administer an electric shock. The experimenter kept pushing the teacher to use the electric shock, even after the learner was crying out in pain. In most of the cases, the teacher would just go along with the experimenters instructions, despite knowing that he was causing another menschlich being extreme pain. 8 out of 10 teachers continued to administer the shocks even after they had stopped hearing any response from their student and believed he had passed out. The takeaway here is that most people are willing to follow someone with authority, even acting on something that is clearly wrong.Read more on the case study here.Read more on the technique her e and here.Hand-picked related content ScarcityPrinciple This article expires in the next five seconds, unless you share it on Facebook. Scarcity is one of the most-used persuasion techniques used by salesmen and marketers. People tend to want more of things which are in low supply. If you convince an individual that something is only available for a limited time, or is in limited supply, theyre more likely to want it.Real-life ApplicationBooking.com never fails to point out how theres only 2-3 rooms left in that hotel, or how 20 other people are also looking at the same hotel.Any product which is LIMITED TIME ONLY DISCOUNT GOING TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE BUY IT NOW.Digital marketers use scarcity by offering their products once a year, for a specific time period, while stressing on how the product is a limited time offer. In a similar manner, offering a discount, but attaching a timer, or a validity date to it. The more you stress on how limited the product is, the higher the conversion rate.Lets say youre a door to door salesman. You can pretty much go wild with this persuasion technique. For example, you could say that youre only in the area for the day or that youre doing a special, never-to-be-seen-again promotion. Meaning, the customer wont be able to purchase the product at any other later date.Case StudyIn an experiment conducted by Luigi Mittone and Lucia Savadori, 180 students were divided into two groups. One was presented with a product that was supposed to be scarce, and the other a product that was to be abundant. The experiment concluded that students were more likely to choose the good they were told was scarce.Read more on the case study here.Read more on the technique here and here.ReciprocationPrinciple People tend to feel obliged to return favors. Regardless of whether the person likes the gift, theyre still inclined to give something in return. Having someone feel indebted to you is something that will always be useful, raising your chances of r eceiving something you want exponentially.Real-life ApplicationLets say youre raising money to help orphans find a new home. Before looking for potential donors, you could make a small veranstaltung where the kids make bracelets out of different materials (in a fun way, not the child-labor kinda way). Prior to asking for a donation, you could give away the bracelet, making the potential donor feel indebted.If I had asked you to share this article at the introduction, you probably wouldnt do it. Now that youve learned all sorts of useful persuasion techniques, as well as different case studies, youre more likely to do so. Right? ?Case StudyA study conducted in an upscale NY restaurant showed that the more generosity the waiter showed, the higher the customers would tip. In the first scenario, the waiter would give away a piece of chocolate to every customer, resulting in an 18% higher tip. In the second, after giving away a piece of candy, the water would start walking away, turn aro und, and offer another piece of candy of the customers choice. This method increased the tip received to 21%.Read more on the case study here.Read more on the technique here and here.Ever used any of these persuasion techniques? Wed be really interested to hear about your results in the comment section below If you liked the article, you probably want to do what the friendly popup asked for. We wont spam you. Ever. Except maybe with interesting insightful articles.Persuasion Techniques SourcesMost of the persuasion techniques originate from one of the best books on the topic, Influence Psychology of Persuasion. If you want to know more details about each technique, you can get the book here.Influence Robert Cialdini / Socially Psyched FITD / Forbes Neil Patel / Claus Ester, Birgit Neumayr / SimplyPsychology Compliance / TheEconomist / NLPU Anchoring / Changing Minds Consistency / Referral Candy FITD Examples / IntroPsych / KissMetrics, Social Proof 1, Social Proof 2 / Referr al Candy Authority Examples / Takebackyourbrain Authority / Referral Candy Scarcity / Takebackyourbrain Scarcity / Sweetening the Till Candy to Increase Tipping / Direct Creative Reciprocity / BrianTracy Reciprocity Tags career, career advice, persuasion

The New Event Series Thatll Make You Smarter and More Confident About Money

The New Event Series Thatll Make You Smarter and More Confident About Money Sixty-one percent of women say theyd prefer to discuss the details of their own death over money. Women dont talk about money, yet they know they need to talk about it, says Kirstin Hill, Managing Director and Strategic Performance Executive at Merrill Lynch. In fact, ur research found women say their top financial regret is bedrngnis investing mora.Thats why Hill and her colleague Jen Auerbach-Rodriguez, Head of Strategic Growth Markets at Merrill Lynch, have helped to spearhead the launch of a 10-veranstaltung series designed to highlight the issues that matter most to women investors across the country.The gender and complexion of wealth is changing, and ur firm is changing with it, Hill explains. She and Auerbach-Rodriguez recently chatted with Fairygodboss about how and why Bank of America Merrill Lynch is producing the series, their take on working in a male-dominated field, and why they feel well-erl eichterunged by their company and its values.Tell us about the origin of this series. Whose idea was it to put these vorstellungs together, and why?Jen Auerbach-RodriguezThe series came together after spending a lot of time listening. We listened to ur advisors particularly our women advisors as well as women investors. We also invested in research. Our study with Age Wave of 2,600 women found that 70 percent of women believe they live a fundamentally different life journey compared to men. We also learned there is a startling taboo around money talk 61 percent of women surveyed said they preferred to discuss details of their own death over money.Jen Auerbach-RodriguezThrough this series, we want to acknowledge what women told us that they live fundamentally different life journeys. These journeys, in turn, require having different conversations.. We want to encourage women to break the silence on money by creating safe spaces where women can engage in honest dialogue and candid conversations not only as it relates to their finances, but also their broader life priorities and dreams. This dialogue is a first stepping stone to action. Kirstin Hill Money isnt for moneys sake its about what it allows women to do in their lives. And so this event series is less about money talk and much more about health and wellness or family and parenting, and then linking it to a conversation about the financial roadmap that enables it to happen or offers you peace of mind and security. This series was based on the premise that women dont talk about money, yet they know they need to talk about it. In fact, our research found women say their top financial regret is not investing more. We see this as an opportunity to bring women together to start a needed conversation. It is a local event series, but the impact will be much bigger than the events themselves. Its why, alongside the event series kick-off, we also launched ml.com/women, a one-stop-shop for women investors. We want to prompt conversations outside of just the event rooms by providing real, accessible content and actionable takeaways that will empower women to live better financial lives. From our research, we know that financial independence is the next trail to blaze for women and Merrill Lynch is here to help.What has your role been in spearheading the event series?JAR I lead our Strategic Growth Markets kampagne, which is all about client engagement with diverse and traditionally underserved markets. With the wealth in our country differing dramatically from just a generation ago, we need to think differently about how we build relationships with clients. Tried and true methods of meerbusen course outings can no longer be the only approach.Women are a big element of this underserved market. They also continue to represent one of the largest opportunities for Merrill Lynch in the wealth management business. The fact that 30 percent of women with $1 million+ in assets are not working with a financial advisor makes it evident that there is a gemeinsame agrarpolitik we need to address.Kristin HillKH This initiative really starts with the Bank of America board and our CEO Brian Moynihan. From the top of our organization to the hyper-local level, diversity is a top priority. Its become a major imperative for our head of Merrill Lynch Andy Sieg, who emphasizes how delivering across our clients financial lives today means delivering through diversity. The gender and complexion of wealth is changing, and our firm is changing with it.Who are some of the upcoming speakers youre most excited about?KHOur upcoming speakers have not yet been announced, but you can expect many to be household names and leading experts in their industry.JAR We are intentionally diversifying our speakers and leading with non-financial topics to expand beyond financial talk. For example, in our kick-off event in Scottsdale, we had best-selling author of Still Alice and neuroscientist Lisa Genova as a speaker. She drew a very clear connection between physical health and wellness and financial wellness. Our speakers are here to address the topics and themes that matter most to women and then link them back to a conversation about finances.Merrill Lynch conducts great research on the intersection of women, career and finance. Can you talk about how that research has helped to inform the direction of this event series?KHOur research is the foundation for creating a conversation that feels relevant to womens lives. For instance, we learned from our research that there is a major confidence gap around investing not knowledge, but confidence which is causing women to not invest more of their assets. But particularly for younger women, discussing investing as a way to retire comfortably or live to 100 feels abstract. We need to talk about how investing interacts with the more immediate goals right in front of women how it impacts them in the here and now. Our events give us a forum to help women bridge this confidence gap and take control of their financial lives. The first step? Creating the dialogue.JAR Having a listening-first and research-driven approach is categorically going to differentiate what and how we deliver. It puts our clients and womens voices first, which then helps us understand the intersectionality of gender, career, life and finance and how we can best help women meet their goals. We are committed to listening and spending the time to understand the nuances and the different experiences women have.Why do you believe Bank of America/Merrill Lynch is a unique punkt to produce this series?JAR We feel we are uniquely positioned to deliver this series for a whole host of reasons leading expertise, access to subject matter experts, and the breadth and depth of our platform, to name a few. More importantly, our commitment to women originates from the top and leadership has created roles that are responsible for delivering. Its not optional or ju st nice to have women control half of the personal wealth in this country its imperative to our business. This top-down accountability to womens financial equality and empowerment gives us a platform to produce this series and reach women in more meaningful ways.KHWere also uniquely positioned to produce this series because we fundamentally lead our company locally. Weve created deep levels of engagement throughout communities nationwide. Our financial advisors extend our local concepts even further by offering one-on-one support to clients beyond just investment solutions, ranging from spending and budgeting tools, advice on better money habits and action plans tailored to womens unique needs and paths. Our advisors also continue to champion our proprietary seven life priorities model, through which they help clients create a plan for retirement based on seven priorities that matter most across peoples lives. Outside of the event series, there are so many ways we help support wom en throughout their financial lives regardless of wealth status or life stage.How is this kind of programming reflective of Bank of America/Merrill Lynchs overall culture and values?KHWe have a real culture of investing in women and talent. This subject is so personally important to our Management Team and Board and echoes through every layer of the organization. Many of our diverse employee networks have executives from Brian Moynihans management team as their sponsor and they are regular participants in programs and events. This accountability and commitment from the top-down sets the stage for a culture where women feel supported and empowered every day.JARThis womens initiative is the right thing to do but it is also grounded in our business imperative. We are dedicated to creating the modern wealth management firm one that weaves diversity and inclusion into the fabric of our organization, and in turn sets the standard as the model for the future. There is clear alignment be tween these efforts and bottom line results and end goals.Working in a male-dominated field like finance is not always easy. What does Merrill Lynch/BoA do to support women and advocate for their advancement? What specific company-wide programs/policies have you yourself taken advantage of?JAR We have several company-led initiatives that create a culture of support and inclusivity for women. This year alone, Ive participated in the Power of 10 (a grassroots mentoring program), a leadership training for multicultural women and the Global Womens Conference (annual enterprise conference supporting womens career development), and Im a mentor in the Merrill Lynch Womens Exchange. We also have peer-to-peer support at the direct management and senior management levels.KHThere is no doubt that it can be tough to be a woman in a male-dominated industry, which is why investing in women talent is so important. A major element of our culture is creating opportunities for people to come together and celebrate who they are. Merrill has multiple resources in place to support and encourage womens advancement, ranging from intergenerational networks, programs for multicultural women, parenting and caregiving resources and many more.Its easy to talk about commitments and goals. But in my mind, you need to see it to believe it. Fifty percent of our weltweit workforce and 40 percent of managers and the global management team are women. When I attend leadership meetings or events, you can see and feel that representation. And that is really powerful.--Click --Fairygodboss is proud to partner with Bank of America. Find a job there today