Persuade Be Convincing

People will be more inclined to do something if they pre-commit to it. Streaming platforms like Netflix, Spotify, and Disney+ are prime examples of commitment. Subscribers pay a monthly fee to access a vast content library.

Commitment is reinforced by convenience and personalization: users can create personalized profiles, curate playlists or watch lists, and receive tailored recommendations based on viewing or listening habits. This level of customization and convenience fosters a sense of investment and commitment among subscribers.

Predispose your audience to accept your call to action simply by asking them to commit to something: attending a presentation or reviewing your resume, for example.

Any powerful tool can have a downside, however. In your own decision-making, guard against an escalation of commitment or commitment bias, a fallacy manifested by a continued investment of time, energy, and money in failing projects (i.e., throwing good money after bad).

This pillar is like a quid pro quo: give something to get something. It is often referred to as “the favor bank.” Human beings tend to keep a mental ledger of who owes them what. If you deposit favors into the bank, you’re more likely to withdraw the cooperation you need.

For instance, a brand might host a giveaway on social media platforms where followers are required to like and share the post and tag friends in the comments to enter the contest. By doing so, the brand is leveraging the principle of reciprocity, providing a chance to win a desirable prize. Doing so creates a sense of obligation or gratitude among participants. Followers feel more inclined to engage with the brand's content and share it with their network to reciprocate the brand's generosity.

The potential downside here is an appeal to guilt—attempting to make someone feel guilty for not reciprocating. What distinguishes persuasion from manipulation is that the audience benefits from the call to action.

Everyone wants to fit in, so people generally do what they perceive their peers to be doing. In a famous experiment, Cialdini and his research team tried different techniques to convince hotel guests to reuse their towels. Of all the strategies, telling a hotel guest that most guests in the same hotel reuse their towels was the most successful. 

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter prominently display trending topics, hashtags, or videos that are generating high engagement and views. These trends often include dance challenges, comedic skits, or popular challenges that users participate in and share with their followers. The sheer number of likes, comments, and shares serves as social proof that the content is captivating and worth sharing.

Beware, however, the lemming effect—going along to get along. Social proof, when not harnessed to an audience-enhancing end, is mere peer pressure.

This pillar closely aligns with Aristotle’s ethos. A person whose authority your audience trusts is the most persuasive advocate for a course of action. Celebrity, medical, and academic endorsements use this technique.

A relatable appeal to authority involves influencers or experts endorsing or recommending products, brands, or causes. Whether it's beauty influencers, gaming influencers, or celebrities, influencers’ authority and expertise hold significant sway over preferences and purchasing decisions.

On the flipside, avoid appeals to anonymous authority: phrases like experts say or research proves are fake attempts to sound authoritative.

Similar to social proof and authority, liking relies on the relationship between the audience and the influencer. Some charities leverage this tactic at a neighborhood level: they find a sympathetic donor and then ask that person to send personalized donation requests to her closest friends and neighbors. The result? A 56% response rate, compared to about 30% from impersonal requests.

The liking strategy does not lend itself to quick, in-the-moment application. If you want to secure a raise, build a relationship with your manager: go to lunch together, regularly offer sincere compliments, help them, and get to know them. Then when you ask for a raise, your boss will be influenced by their positive feelings toward you.

The caution with this strategy is that we are wired to like people who are similar to us. This tendency, which social scientists call homophily, can easily—even unintentionally—become tribalism, discrimination, or xenophobia.

Mirroring Tip

Did you know that we subtly alter our communication style to match the style of the person we’re communicating with? Communication accommodation means we change our rate of speech, adjust our eye contact, and gesture differently based on our audience’s verbal and nonverbal behaviors.

The most common accommodation is to converge. For example, if your manager uses formal terminology and avoids slang, you’ll start to do the same thing when speaking to her. Convergent communication reduces the social distance between people and thus facilitates liking.

On the other hand, we sometimes deliberately diverge—avoid matching the other person’s communication style. Suppose a teammate is using an impatient or irritated tone, facial expression, and gesture to describe a frustrating problem. You might choose an exaggeratedly calm, reasonable communication style in hopes of defusing the situation. Your strategy might work, but it probably won’t endear you to your teammate.

Skillfully accommodating others’ communication styles requires paying close attention to their verbal and nonverbal cues. Depending on the situation, effective communicators purposefully use convergent or divergent communication styles with myriad audiences.

Marketers use this tactic all the time: Last chance! Limited-time offer! Act now to receive your order by tomorrow! Scarcity is one of the most heavily researched and best-documented persuasive tactics in applied psychology.

For instance, a popular sneaker brand like Nike or Adidas may release a limited-edition shoe with unique designs, colors, or materials. These sneakers are typically produced in limited quantities and are highly sought after by sneaker enthusiasts and collectors. The scarcity of these limited editions creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity, driving consumers to compete to own a rare, coveted item.

If a genuine element of scarcity is part of your pitch, pointing it out to your audience will bolster your call to action.

Be careful, however. If the scarcity is exaggerated or contrived, the audience will react with derision, and you’ll lose their trust.

The psychology of scarcity is closely related to FOMO—fear of missing out. This anxiety is usually an irrational fear that convinces our subconscious that we don’t have enough or that we aren’t enough. Because they are destructive, avoid persuasive pitches based on FOMO.

Unity is about connecting an identity you share with your audience. The more you can create the feeling that you’re family—or at least, that you’re all in this together—the more persuasive you’ll be.

To make unifying connections with your audience, prime them to think about what you have in common.

Generation Z tends to be socially conscious, valuing brands that align with their beliefs and support important causes. Companies that actively support and promote social or environmental causes can prime potential customers to develop positive associations with a brand. By highlighting their commitment to making a positive impact, these brands appeal to Gen Z's values and increase the likelihood of their support.