How to Become a Jedi Master of Persuasion?
26 January 2009
Read by 2437 persons
A few tips to convince colleagues and clients without falling to the dark side of the Force! An excerpt from "YES! Become a persuasion ace in 50 lessons."
A long time ago (about a quarter of a century, to be precise) in a galaxy far, far away, Luke Skywalker accomplished the greatest of all feats: he convinced Darth Vader to turn his back on the forces of Evil, thus saving his own life and restoring peace and hope in the galaxy.
What fundamental principle of social influence did he use to convince his adversary, and how can you exploit this principle to become a Force to be reckoned with in your professional galaxy?
At one point in Return of the Jedi, the final installment of the Star Wars saga, Luke Skywalker faces Darth Vader and says to him: "I know there's still some good in you.
There is still some good in you, I sense it. " Is it possible that these simple words were enough to convince Darth Vader - or at least to begin to convince him - to join the light side of the Force?
The labeling strategy
According to research by psychosociologists, the answer to this question may well be yes.
The strategy used by the hero here, which is called the "labeling strategy", consists of attributing a character trait, behavior, belief or any other characteristic to a person, then insisting with this person so that they behave in a manner consistent with this characteristic. In a remarkable study confirming the effectiveness of this strategy, researchers Alice Tybout and Richard Yelch showed how this technique could be used to encourage people to vote.
They conducted interviews with a large number of citizens registered on the electoral rolls and, choosing them at random, they indicated to half of them that their answers showed that they were "above-average citizens, likely to vote and participate in political events".
The other participants in the study were informed that they were average citizens in terms of interest, convictions and behavior towards political issues. Not only did those who had been labeled "good citizens" likely to vote consider themselves "better" citizens than those who had been labeled "average citizens", but they were 15% more likely to vote in an election held a week later.
An encouraging effect
Of course, the labeling strategy is not reserved for the political field, to encourage us to choose those who will lead us tomorrow or, in the case of Luke Skywalker, to help him overthrow the Emperor.
You can use this technique in various contexts, whether in your work or outside.
Imagine that a member of your team is encountering great difficulties with a file that you have entrusted to him. Perhaps he is losing confidence and doubting his ability to complete this project. It could be a good idea, provided, of course, that you still consider him capable of accomplishing this mission, to remind him how hard he works and how persevering he is.
You should even give him examples of past situations in which he has met similar challenges and successfully completed the task that had been entrusted to him.
Teachers, trainers and parents can use this strategy to encourage students, trainees or children to adopt the attitude they expect from them by telling them that they consider them to be people capable of brilliantly overcoming this kind of challenge.
This strategy works as well with children as with adults. Thus, a study conducted by one of us showed that when teachers tell children that they seem to be students who attach importance to the quality of their writing, the children devote a greater part of their free time to practicing writing - even when they do not know they are being observed.
With clients too!
The relationships a company has with its clients can also benefit from the implementation of this technique. You may have already noticed the strategy used by many airlines: when the captain tells his passengers, at the end of the flight: "We know you have a choice between many airlines, which is why we thank you for traveling on our lines", he uses a derivative of the labeling strategy by implying that if you chose this company and not another, it must be for a good reason.
Once passengers are informed that they have confidence in this company, they are reassured in their choice, and their confidence in the company is increased.
You can also use this technique to remind your clients that their decision to do business with your company shows your confidence in it and in you. Then insist on the fact that you appreciate this confidence at its true value and that you will do everything to justify it.
Remember that even if it is tempting to rely on this technique, as on all those presented here, to go over to the dark side of the Force, you should nevertheless only use it with sincerity, in other words only when the character trait, behavior, belief or other truly reflects the abilities, experiences or personality of your interlocutor.
Of course, we know that you would never think of using this strategy for manipulation purposes. Because we feel that there is a lot of good in you
Posted on January 26, 2009
lentreprise.com
A long time ago (about a quarter of a century, to be precise) in a galaxy far, far away, Luke Skywalker accomplished the greatest of all feats: he convinced Darth Vader to turn his back on the forces of Evil, thus saving his own life and restoring peace and hope in the galaxy.
What fundamental principle of social influence did he use to convince his adversary, and how can you exploit this principle to become a Force to be reckoned with in your professional galaxy?
At one point in Return of the Jedi, the final installment of the Star Wars saga, Luke Skywalker faces Darth Vader and says to him: "I know there's still some good in you.
There is still some good in you, I sense it. " Is it possible that these simple words were enough to convince Darth Vader - or at least to begin to convince him - to join the light side of the Force?
The labeling strategy
According to research by psychosociologists, the answer to this question may well be yes.
The strategy used by the hero here, which is called the "labeling strategy", consists of attributing a character trait, behavior, belief or any other characteristic to a person, then insisting with this person so that they behave in a manner consistent with this characteristic. In a remarkable study confirming the effectiveness of this strategy, researchers Alice Tybout and Richard Yelch showed how this technique could be used to encourage people to vote.
They conducted interviews with a large number of citizens registered on the electoral rolls and, choosing them at random, they indicated to half of them that their answers showed that they were "above-average citizens, likely to vote and participate in political events".
The other participants in the study were informed that they were average citizens in terms of interest, convictions and behavior towards political issues. Not only did those who had been labeled "good citizens" likely to vote consider themselves "better" citizens than those who had been labeled "average citizens", but they were 15% more likely to vote in an election held a week later.
An encouraging effect
Of course, the labeling strategy is not reserved for the political field, to encourage us to choose those who will lead us tomorrow or, in the case of Luke Skywalker, to help him overthrow the Emperor.
You can use this technique in various contexts, whether in your work or outside.
Imagine that a member of your team is encountering great difficulties with a file that you have entrusted to him. Perhaps he is losing confidence and doubting his ability to complete this project. It could be a good idea, provided, of course, that you still consider him capable of accomplishing this mission, to remind him how hard he works and how persevering he is.
You should even give him examples of past situations in which he has met similar challenges and successfully completed the task that had been entrusted to him.
Teachers, trainers and parents can use this strategy to encourage students, trainees or children to adopt the attitude they expect from them by telling them that they consider them to be people capable of brilliantly overcoming this kind of challenge.
This strategy works as well with children as with adults. Thus, a study conducted by one of us showed that when teachers tell children that they seem to be students who attach importance to the quality of their writing, the children devote a greater part of their free time to practicing writing - even when they do not know they are being observed.
With clients too!
The relationships a company has with its clients can also benefit from the implementation of this technique. You may have already noticed the strategy used by many airlines: when the captain tells his passengers, at the end of the flight: "We know you have a choice between many airlines, which is why we thank you for traveling on our lines", he uses a derivative of the labeling strategy by implying that if you chose this company and not another, it must be for a good reason.
Once passengers are informed that they have confidence in this company, they are reassured in their choice, and their confidence in the company is increased.
You can also use this technique to remind your clients that their decision to do business with your company shows your confidence in it and in you. Then insist on the fact that you appreciate this confidence at its true value and that you will do everything to justify it.
Remember that even if it is tempting to rely on this technique, as on all those presented here, to go over to the dark side of the Force, you should nevertheless only use it with sincerity, in other words only when the character trait, behavior, belief or other truly reflects the abilities, experiences or personality of your interlocutor.
Of course, we know that you would never think of using this strategy for manipulation purposes. Because we feel that there is a lot of good in you
Posted on January 26, 2009
lentreprise.com
