Persuasion And Influence-the Power Of Association

People love to associate and make links. For example, whenever their team wins a game, sports fans will say something like “we played well today and it was a great result for us”. However, when their team loses, they will try to distance themselves from the team, saying something like “They were awful today! They lacked cohesion and ideas on the pitch. What was their coach thinking?”

It is as though by associating themselves with their sports team, these sports fans share the glory that their team gains when it wins, thus boosting their ego. We also often hear people say that “hey I was born in the same place as (insert famous person name here)!” Truth is, by linking ourselves to famous or successful individuals and groups, other people will tend to look at us in a more positive light as they will link us to the qualities of that successful or famous individual.

This extreme tendency to associate can perhaps be illustrated in Phoenix, Arizona where some people were threatening to shoot a weatherman when it was raining non-stop causing floods. Even though the weatherman had no control over the weather, these people still associate the non-stop rain with the poor guy.

This tendency to associate, or the Law of Association as it is known, can be used in a variety of ways to persuade or influence others.

From young, my parents have always advised me to choose my friends wisely. They told me that my choice of friends is a reflection of the kind of person I am. Indeed, people love to assume that we have the same personality traits or qualities as our friends.

Meaning, if you hang out with intelligent and helpful people, others will assume that you’re intelligent and helpful too. However, if you choose to hang out with bad company who smoke and get into fights, chances are, people will assume that you’ve all these negative qualities too.

Choose your friends wisely and surround yourself with people who are like you or whom you want to emulate. Thus, you would be able to benefit from the Law of Association and leave a good impression on others.

If you’re in sales, you could try to associate your product to a current trend, which will give a huge boost to your sales figures. For example, if you could secure the rights to be known as “the official drink of the Olympic Games”, your sales figures will shoot through the roof as people who watch the Olympic Games will associate it with your product.

If you do not have the funds to associate your company or product with such a large scale event, it’s perfectly fine. You could try the same thing albeit on a smaller scale event, like a community party or a small scale marathon for example.

Additionally, you could also use symbols or people that will make other people associate your product with positive qualities. For example, if you’re selling cars, get good looking models to pose with the cars in your advertisements. When people are looking at the cars, they will associate the positive qualities of the models (beauty and desirability) with the car and they will perceive your car to be faster and more appealing even when it is still the same car, thus increasing the likelihood of them purchasing the car and you getting a large commission.

By: Vincent Kyle Ng

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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.