Persuasion techniques: description, effective methods

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The ability to convince has nothing to do with imposing any feelings, attitudes or thoughts on another person. It is important to understand that suggestion and persuasion are different.

By persuasion is meant a certain view of the world that induces a person to act in a certain way, as well as the process of transmitting this view to other people. For example, a guy has a belief that alcohol is evil. It is for this reason that he does not drink alcohol. The guy also tells his friends about the negative impact alcohol has on the human body, in this way he tries to convey his belief.

The transfer of beliefs also occurs during the communication of a parent or teacher with a child. A similar situation is observed in the scientific field, when one scientist argues his theory, and the other thinks it over and decides whether to agree or not. Consequently,persuasion is understood as the conscious process of perceiving information and accepting it as one's own belief.

Suggestion means the imposition of attitudes, while critical thinking of a person and his consciousness are bypassed. When suggesting, the subconscious is often used. Examples are emotional-volitional influence, pressure or hypnosis.

You also need to be able to convince. There are special persuasion techniques that make it much easier to convey your attitudes to another person. This is a kind of “base”, after studying which you will discover new opportunities for yourself.

Techniques of persuasion in pedagogy and in life

People have long explored the reasons that motivate us to perform certain actions at the request of another person. Undoubtedly, under the ability to convince there is a scientific foundation. Robert Cialdini developed 6 basic methods of persuasion in psychology. Let's look at 5 of them in more detail, because by studying these principles, you can significantly increase your chances of obtaining consent in response to your request.

Consent principle

One of the psychological methods of persuasion is based on the principle of consent, or, as it is also called, the “herd effect”. When a person is in a situation where his indecision is manifested, he will be guided by the behavior and actions of other people.

For example, a group of people is offered to choose a tour to one of the proposed countries. Suppose that all those who have not yet decided, it becomes known that 75% of tourists have already chosen Italy. With moremost likely, the remaining tourists will also choose Italy, since this choice has already been made by the majority. The essence of this method is simple: you do not need to try to convince a person by coming up with various arguments, it is much easier to draw his attention to the choice of the majority.

Principle of sympathy

The human psyche is designed in such a way that it is hard for us to refuse or disagree with the person we like. Have you ever wondered why this happens? Let's look at three facets of this question.

1. We feel sympathy for people who we think are like us. When communicating with them, it seems that they are a reflection of us. For such people, we have respect and a desire to agree with everything they say and do.
2. We feel better for those who praise us. It is difficult for such people to say "no", because in this case we will lose praise.
3. We like people with whom we share a common cause. In such a situation, refusal can lead to a deterioration in interpersonal relationships and the collapse of a common cause.

A visual experiment showing the effect of liking was conducted among two groups of students. The groups were given the same tasks. One group was told, "Time is money, so get on with the task right away." The other group was invited to get to know each other and talk to each other before starting the task. As a result, in the second group, 90% of the participants worked together, as they managed to develop sympathy for each other. In the first grouponly 55% of students worked together.

To effectively use the liking method for persuasion, before you start discussing important issues with your opponent, you need to see the areas in which you are similar and notice them. By pointing out the similarities in certain things, you will position your interlocutor, after which it will be difficult for him to disagree with you.

Principle of authority

People always listen to those they consider to be authority. Therefore, if you have earned authority in the eyes of your interlocutor, it will not be difficult to convince him of anything.

Classes at the university are a good example. If the subject is taught by a trainee who has not yet managed to gain credibility in the eyes of students, then most likely they will not listen to him and fulfill his calls to action. If the dean of the faculty comes to the lecture, then surely all the students will listen to him carefully and follow his instructions, since he has great authority in their eyes. The principle of authority can also be used by celebrities in various promotions.

If you gain credibility in the eyes of the interlocutor before trying to convince, then perhaps your task will be greatly simplified. It is important that the opponent understands that you deserve his trust and have valuable experience in the right area.

Rarity principle

Remember the crisis when people started buying up sugar, as it was soon to disappear from store shelves and become a rarity. This situation clearly shows that people tend to acquire what is hard to get. Designerthings have a high cost and are very popular for the same reason. People are proud when they become owners of rare things.

Reciprocity

When a person does us a favor, we feel we should do something good in return. We often feel obligated to reciprocate the good things that other people do for us. For example, if a friend helped us with the completion of a term paper, then in the future, if he makes any request, we will definitely help him. This is how the principle of reciprocity works.

When a waitress in a restaurant brings the bill and puts a lollipop with it, she usually gets a tip 3% more than usual. It has been empirically verified that by adding another lollipop to the bill, the waitress will receive 4 times more tips, only the second lollipop must be handed over personally. The principle of reciprocity also works in this situation. The key to successful application of the principle of reciprocity is to provide a pleasant and unexpected favor first, and then take advantage of the fact that a person feels obligated.

The methods of persuasion also include:

• Socratic method;
• orders and commands;
• placebo.

Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Socrates Method

One of the most interesting methods of persuasion is the Socratic method. This technique consists in the fact that immediately before the main topic of the conversation, the interlocutor asks his opponent several abstract questions, to which he will answerpositively. These may be weather-related, he alth-related issues, and so on. The trick lies in the fact that after a positive context, in the future, the interlocutor will be disposed to respond and think in the same spirit.

This principle of the human brain was noticed by Socrates, after whom this principle of persuasion is named. Socrates always tried to conduct a conversation in such a way that his interlocutor did not have the opportunity to say “no”. We advise you to take this method seriously, because Socrates knew how to convince and at the same time did not cause any negative reactions.

Method of orders and commands

Surely you have noticed the incredible power of commands and orders, which are important methods of persuasion. They require immediate implementation, prompting people to take certain actions without much thought. There are two types of orders and commands: incentive and approval. Incentives include: “Perform!”, “Bring!”, “Go!”. Examples of approving commands and orders would be: “Shut up!”, “Stop!”, “Stop!”.

Placebo method

One of the well-known methods of persuasion is the placebo effect, which is especially widespread in the field of medicine. The essence of the reception is that the doctor prescribes pills to a person with a certain disease. Naturally, a person believes that the pills he takes have a positive effect and contribute to the process of his recovery. However, for the experiment, the doctor gives the patient pills thathave no effect on the body at all. But the patient magically begins to get better. This principle is applied in other areas, and very effectively.

Attention test

Which of the techniques are persuasive techniques?

1. Socrates method.
2. Orders and commands.
3. Freud's method
4. Placebo.

Persuasion techniques in everyday life

Also important are the following methods of persuasion: discussion, understanding, condemnation and trust. These are the most understandable methods that we encounter on a daily basis and often use unconsciously. For example, consider the principle of understanding and trust. When we feel that the interlocutor understands us, this inspires confidence. Therefore, in such a situation, we become vulnerable and are easily persuaded.

A strong principle is condemnation. People are always worried about what others think of them, and this can play a cruel joke. Often we don't do what we really want to do simply because we are afraid of being judged. Therefore, using this principle, one can easily convince a person to act in a certain way.

Discussion is also one of the principles of persuasion. If we are ready to discuss, this already indicates our openness to a person. During an open conversation, weighty arguments can be made that will have the desired impact on the interlocutor.

Now that you know the basic techniques and tricks of persuasion, your life will be better. But it's not enough to knowPersuasion skills take practice to master. Apply the information in this article to your daily life and hone your persuasion skills.