How to convince people in the network: seventeen little-known Jedi tricks

Want to learn how to convince people on the Internet and get what you want from them?

The power of conviction is what usually distinguishes the successful from the rest. And there are a number of science-proven techniques that you may not have heard, but which are able to drastically increase your ability to convince.
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This article will not say a word about mutual exchange, scarcity, social proof and other well-known principles of persuasion. You probably already know everything about them (and if you do not know, drop everything and read this book of Cialdini urgently!).

1. Persuading skeptics, speak confidently and quickly

The best way to convince skeptical listeners is to increase the speed of speech . Quick speech dispels the interlocutor's attention, it becomes difficult for people to look for flaws in your arguments. If the audience shares the same opinion with you (as in the case of the preacher and his flock), speak more slowly, give people time to agree with you even more.

Want to speak more convincingly? Add to the voice of confidence.

Don Moore, from Carnegie Mellon’s decision-making laboratory, has published an article that proves that confidence easily beats the accuracy of information in the struggle for the trust of listeners.

We love to such an extent to receive advice from sources confident in their own right that we are ready to forgive them even a dubious reputation. Moore says that in a competitive environment, such preferences of the public can lead to the fact that the "advisers" will begin to portray an increasingly exaggerated confidence in their words.

People tend to consider confidence as a sign of knowledge. Know your product, know all about its benefits and most importantly - sincerely believe in it. True confidence appears when you not only know what you are talking about, but also believe in your own words. And to convince a person of anything, it is necessary that your confidence be conveyed to him.

2. Swearing convincing

I'm talking about easy swearing. If you overdo it, you lose all confidence!

The researchers divided 88 participants in the experiment into three groups. Each group was given a look almost the same speech. The only difference was a slight curse inserted at the beginning of the first video:

“Reducing tuition fees is not just a good idea. Damn, this is the most reasonable decision for all interested parties! ”

In the second video, “damn it” was inserted at the end of speech, in the third one it was not at all. When the scientists compared the attitude of the subjects to what they were listening to, it turned out that the people who got the speech with a curse reacted to it with great approval.

The phrase “damn it” caused the audience to feel that the speaker sincerely supported his work, and this, in turn, increased the power of persuasion. At the same time, the audience’s confidence in the speaker remained unchanged in all three groups.

That’s what the secret of Gary Vaynerchuk and Dave McClar turns out to be! I thought they were just cool guys, and they, it turns out, use an effective technique of persuasion — easy cursing.

3. Let him agree with you at the beginning

If you want people to like your idea, start with something that they will not be able to disagree with.

A study conducted by Alison Jing Xu and Robert Weer showed that agreement has a prolonged effect. Scientists suggested that the experiment participants first listen to the speech of John McCain, or Barack Obama, and then watch a television ad for Toyota.

Republican advertising seemed more convincing after the speech of McCain. Democrats showed a diametrically opposite result, responding better to advertising after Obama's speech.

So, if you want to sell something, you first have to say something that a potential buyer will surely agree with - even if in this case the beginning of your speech has nothing to do with the product being sold.

4. Counter-arguments will help you.

If your words cause (or may cause) objections, you should not be tempted to silence the weak points of your idea. Usually we fear that talking about them will weaken our position. In fact, he can strengthen it. Here is what the Psi Blog writes on this topic:

For many years, psychologists have conducted experiments, comparing the persuasiveness of texts containing only one point of view, with texts that mention the arguments of the opposite side. In 1999, Daniel O'Keefe of the University of Illinois gathered together the results of one hundred and seven such studies conducted over fifty years and involved a total of 20111 participants (O'Keefe, Communication Yearbook, No. 22, p 209-249, 1999)

The results of the meta-analysis conducted by O'Keefe are pretty convincing. He found that different audiences in different circumstances are more likely to believe two-sided arguments than their one-sided counterparts.

People are not idiots. Want to become a master of conviction - remember that they also know how to think. If you yourself in your speech "forget" about the other side of the medal, they will still remember about it, and you will lose confidence.

So perhaps mentioning the shortcomings of your product on the site is not a bad idea.

5. People believe more in what they can “touch.”

Ye Lee, Eric Johnson and Lisa Zaval explored the relationship between people's faith in global warming and local weather.

Experimental participants in Australia and the United States evaluated their belief in global warming. They also noted how the temperature on the study day differs from the average for this time of year. In cases where the air temperature was warmer than usual, people trusted the ideas about global warming more. If it was colder outside than at the time of the year, belief in global warming weakened.



In the re-study, scientists have recreated the conditions of the previous experiment and in addition asked the participants to make a contribution to the climate change fund. Subjects donated four times more money on warm days than on cold ones.

If you want people to pay you, the situation at the time of sale should support your words. On the Internet, it is worth using emotions to create such support, “ life stories ” and pictures corresponding to the occasion.

6. Let the goods "in the load" is 60% less

The listeners finally believed you, convinced themselves that you could be trusted with your money and are now ready to buy. Now you can sell them more!

If you bought a shirt, a successful additional sale will be a tie, but not a suit.

The time-tested principle of 60 to 60 states that in 60 percent of cases a client buys 60 percent more than he intended. So all the goods you offer should be commensurate with the main ones.

By the way, if you do not use the principle of additional sales in your business, it is worth a try. This is a great method to increase profits (“would you like more fried potatoes for a side dish?”)

7. Add a positive

Positive aspects convince better than negative ones.

An analysis of 29 different studies, in which 6,378 subjects participated in the overall complexity, showed that the phrases with a positive charge convince better than negative ones.

The studies cited concerned the attitude of the public to the prevention of various diseases: they suggested using a sunblock cream, advertised a healthy diet, etc. The principle, however, can be used much more widely. Scientists believe that people do not like being scared.

Try to make your advertising slogan sound positive. Put "Win an extra hour" instead of "Stop wasting time" and see what happens.

8. The paradox of choice

The more choice you offer, the less you will buy - psychologists say.

Scientists have equipped a counter in one fashionable supermarket in California, allowing buyers to try the jam. Sometimes they offered 24 varieties of jam, and sometimes only 6. After tasting, potential buyers were given a discount coupon for the purchase of jam.

A wide selection attracted more visitors, but very few of them actually bought something. A counter with a smaller assortment was clearly in the lead in terms of sales. Truth be told, only three percent of people who tried jam at a stand with 24 kinds of it actually used their coupon - compare with 30 percent at a stand with 6 kinds of jam!

If you have a thousand and one types of products on your site, you should make an effort to create filters that help people choose. Further on the same topic read this excellent book , or watch the wonderful TED talk.

9. Repetition - the mother of conviction

Repetition has an undoubted effect on us. Looking at the product, we unwittingly scroll in the head previously seen ads. And unwittingly we learn by heart the songs that are constantly heard on the radio.

The repetition of words and images not only makes them settle in our heads (which is convincing in itself), but also makes us consider it regularly repeated as true.

Here is what ChangingMinds writes about the work of Hugh Rank, who studies the power of persuasion (Teaching about public persuasion, 1976):

Our brain is perfectly able to recognize patterns and reward us for this useful skill. Repetition creates a pattern that naturally and inevitably attracts our attention.

Repetition creates a habit, but does habit lead to neglect? Of course, this can happen, but, in truth, the habit leads more often to sympathy than non-acceptance. Having come to the store, we often buy goods from familiar companies, even if we have never before encountered this particular product.



Recall, for example, how you last bought yourself shoes. First, before trying on, you took them several times from the shelf and put them in place? Pomer, left, then returned and measured again? You are not alone! Many people need to repeat the action several times before making sure it is correct. Usually - three times.

Often list in advertising the main advantages of the product, do not hesitate to repeat the main points of the business proposal several times. This is done by all effective election campaigns, by all successful advertisers (“Gillette is better for a man not!”). Repeat to create a habit and related sympathy.

By the way, according to another study , if at least one member of the group repeats a judgment several times, his opinion is likely to be considered universal.

10. Men respond better to e-mails than to live conversation.

Guadagno and Cialdini (2002) found that men react better by e-mails, since the latter “bypass” their craving for competition. Women, on the contrary, generally respond better to personal conversations, because by their nature they are more focused on creating and maintaining relationships.

11. Limit the person in purchases - and he will buy more

Here is a quote from the excellent book by Brian Vansik, "Thoughtless food: why we eat more than we think."

Some time ago, with two other professors, Steve Hoch and Bob Kent, we decided to check whether the inclusion of an anchor affects the amount of food we buy. We found that buyers who saw clear restrictions, for example, “twelve pieces in one hand” tend to buy more than those who see signs like “without quantity restrictions”.

To check what psychological patterns are behind this phenomenon, we repeated our research in different stores, changing the numbers and applying different forms of advertising (2 pieces for two dollars or one for a dollar). At the end of the study, we knew for sure that virtually any advertisement containing numbers forces us to buy 30, or even 100 percent more than usual.

So put anchors - set limits on the amount of goods!

12. Stories are stronger than facts.

In 2007, Carnegie Mellon University staff (Deborah Small, George Lowenstein, and Paul Slovic) decided to find out what influences us more - facts or stories.

The subjects were asked to donate funds to the fund of the hungry in Africa. The appeal to the first group contained statistics on food shortages in the Republic of Malawi, drought in Zambia, and millions of homeless people in Angola.

The second version of the appeal contained the story of a particular starving Zambian girl, Rokia. People were shown a photo of a girl (shown on the right) and asked to help her personally.

On average, subjects who received statistics donated $ 1.14. Those who were allowed to read the history of Rokii, on average, donated 2.38 dollars - more than double!

The third group received Rokia’s story along with information about drought, crop failure, and millions of starving Africans. Remember, those who were given only the history of Rokia donated an average of 2.38? So: the history of Roxia plus statistics collected an average of 1.43!

The plight of Africa and the battle against poverty are too great. People think that their contribution to the fight against such global problems is a drop in the ocean and decide not to help at all.

Mother Teresa also said: “I see a crowd and can’t do anything. I see one thing and do it. ”

13. Do you sell to men? Show women photos

A working experiment conducted in the credit markets showed that photos of women compete in persuasiveness with a low interest rate.

A South African lender sent out letters offering short-term loans to existing customers with various interest rates. The letters also contained some randomly chosen “psychological” design. As expected, the interest rate significantly influenced the decision to take out a loan. However, some "psychological" details that are not related to the economy, also greatly increased the popularity of the loan.

So, in the case of male clients, replacing a male photograph at the beginning of a letter with a female one increased the success of the letter to the same extent as lowering the rate by 4.5%. Detect patterns in the behavior of female clients failed.

Overall, the results indicate that female photographs on advertising have a great influence on male clients. True, the mean square error does not allow to explain this effect by some specific mechanism. The effect could be caused by both a positive effect on men of female photography, and a negative influence of men.

So the next time you add a female photo to the advertisement and sales will immediately creep upwards.

By the way, the above study did not use photos of sexy women. Will a hot bikini thing help you?

Studies have shown that men get stupid when excited, because their ability to make decisions drops sharply. "Perspective" is narrowed down, if you know what I mean. This effect is rather short-term, that is, it should be used directly at the time of sale in order to provoke spontaneous purchases.

Ideally, of course, a “hot bikini thing” should personally sell your product to men. I think in the virtual it is possible when it comes to products "for men".

And yet, according to research, sexual advertising prevents men from remembering the product . We are so addicted to the sexual component of advertising that we stop paying attention to the company and its product.

14. Want to convince the leader? Take away some of his power

Do not try to convince the boss of the value of the new idea until he fully feels his power. According to some studies , he simply will not hear you.

“People in authority are confident in their own opinion. Regardless of whether they agree with any idea, or not, they are almost impossible to convince, ”says Richard Petty, co-author of this research, a professor at Ohio State University.

The leader, however, can listen to new ideas if you make him feel less significant.
“Our research has shown that power makes people more self-confident. However, power is only one source of confidence, ”says Petty. - "Try to talk about something that the boss does not know, and he will have less confidence."

“Your arguments will fall on fertile ground when the boss stops thinking about his significance. After you are finally heard, it is useful to remind the boss of his power. This will allow him to more confidently assess what you said. And if you managed to bring strong arguments, you will most likely convince the authorities, ”said Petty.

So briefly:
- make the boss feel less confident by starting a conversation on a topic in which he is incompetent and, if possible, do it outside his office (in neutral territory).
- Having stated your arguments, remind him who is the boss here so that he can start implementing your idea.

15. Sullivan's nod

Invented by restaurant consultant Jim Sullivan , “ Sullivan ’s nod” is this: you read the list of products and nod slightly, reaching the subject you think the buyer should choose. The nod should be the lightest, but noticeable, and works best when a customer chooses from five to six items. Sullivan claims that it works in almost 60% of cases.

When the waiter offers any drink, let him smile and slowly shake his head up and down. Our body language is a powerful thing. According to studies, more than 60% of restaurant visitors will nod in response and order the drink chosen by the waiter.

I am sure that this technique can be used on the Internet, in commercials. Talking about plans, or presenting packages of services, nod, saying which one you want to sell the most.

16. Clarity is the sister of persuasion.

This is Dr. Flint McLauglin's favorite saying from Marketing Experiments . Remember her.

Any techniques of persuasion work when used subtly and professionally. Overdo it - you lose the deal. It doesn't matter if you are writing a sales offer, or preparing a presentation, remember, the best way to convince people is clarity. Stop, giving people enough information to make their own decisions, do not get sly in their eyes ... ushy, and annoying.

17. 87% of the audience believes in everything that has interest.

So I was told;)

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Authorship of translation: Ekaterina Rosenberg and Dmitry Shulyndin (@dmitry_ch)