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Persuasion And Influence-the Magic Word To Your Persuasive Success
That got me thinking: Could there be that one magic word that you could utter to increase your chances of persuading someone to do what you want? Well, recent studies could perhaps provide the answer to our question. Picture this everyday scenario. You are waiting in line to photocopy some documents for your boss (or don’t you just hate waiting?). How could you persuade the people in front of you to let you go first? Social psychologist Ellen Langer and her co-workers tested this exact scenario in a social experiment in 1978. They tried phrasing their requests in three ways: 1. May I use the Xerox Machine because I’m in a rush? 2. Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox Machine? 3. Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox Machine because I have to make some copies? The first request (a request plus reason) was effective: 94% of those who asked let her skip ahead of them in line. The second request had only a 60% success rate. While it may be logical to conclude that the words “because I’m in a rush” was the reason for this difference in success rates, Langer showed that this was not the case. In the third request, she simply used the word “because” and then went on to restate the obvious. The third request had a 93% success rate. The magic word is “because”. People simply like to have reasons for what they do and it seems as if the word because triggered an automatic compliance response from Langer’s subjects even when there was no subsequent reason for them to comply. Do you remember the time when you were a child? Or perhaps, do you have children at home? Do you notice that your children or even you yourself when you were younger are constantly using the word “because”? Perhaps children subconsciously are able to recognize the power that adults seem to give the word “because”. Now that you have the key, go ahead and try to unlock this fixed programming in people! Maybe sometimes the key fails but don’t be disheartened, continue to try other persuasion methods and you will eventually succeed. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Vincent Kyle Ng is the founder of a website ( www.thesecretofpersuasion.com ) that aspires to help others by giving advice and information on the latest strategies in the fields of persuasion, influence, public speaking, relationships and much more |
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