Understanding and Using Persuasion Triggers

"The advantage of emotions is that they can lead us astray."  Oscar Wilde

People respond to persuasion in two ways: consciously and unconsciously. If someone's in a conscious mode, he might respond thoughtfully to a proposal, weighing its pros and cons and attending carefully to the logic and content of the message.

In an ideal world, everyone would make decisions in this way.  But in reality, many people don't have the time, information, or motivation to do so.  Therefore, they switch their decision making to an unconscious mode, and this means that they spend less time processing information.  They make decisions based more on instinct than on reason.  And they resort to persuasion triggers, or mental shortcuts, to decide how to respond to a proposal.

For example, Joe, a manager, might choose to accept a deal offered by Sue, a supplier's representative, instead of an idea offered by Bob--even though Sue's proposal is inferior to Bob's.  Why? Joe likes Sue, and she once did him a favor.

You can further erode any resistance to your ideas by using persuasion triggers strategically. 

Researchers have identified seven persuasion triggers:

1. Contrast

2. Liking

3. Reciprocity

4. Social proof

5. Commitment and consistency

6. Authority

7. Scarcity

ACTION POINT: Learn the seven persuasion triggers to erode resistance to your ideas.