How to Use Pre-suasive Tactics on Others – and Yourself

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Pre-suasion is a method of priming an audience to receive your message more openly. It's a powerful tool, and one that must be used in an ethical and just manner.The Ancient Greeks were the first to set forth the original rules of persuasion, called rhetoric. Today, anyone seeking to convince someone of something would do well to follow their example. There is, however, another set of rules that Greek methods did not address. These are the rules of subconscious persuasion, or what social scientist Robert Cialdini calls "pre-suasion," on account of their ability to prime an audience for your message before you undertake to explain it.

If the methods of pre-suasion seem blunt, they belie a more complicated psychological process at work in all of us. Take, for example, the ability of a simple image to motivate your mental work. According to research analyzed by Cialdini, an image of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker will help you complete tasks of analytical reasoning. Have a task that requires more endurance than critical thought? Place an image of a runner in your line of sight to keep you motivated.

While writing a book on the subject of pre-suasion, Cialdini used these motivating methods to his own advantage. By dedicating the book to his grandchildren before beginning, he incentivized himself to create the best work he could — the image of his progeny constantly pushing him forward. Once committed to the project, Cialdini went into the field to discuss what methods were used across a large swath of industries to persuade. What he found is the essence of pre-suasion: when an audience is primed to have a positive mental state regarding any central message, they are more likely to receive it willingly.

In one telling experiment, a furniture company primed its customers with two different images: one a picture of floating clouds, another of coins falling from the sky. Those customers primed with the clouds spent more time finding comfortable furniture while those shown the monetary image were more interested in being thrifty (and searching for furniture on a budget). Of course, this power shouldn't be taken lightly, or as having a morally neutral character.

With great knowledge and understanding comes great responsibility, and anyone looking to influence an audience subconsciously must take care that their methods are ethical, and that their intention is not to bamboozle any unsuspecting listener into doing their unjust bidding.

Robert Cialdini's book is Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade
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ROBERT CIALDINI

Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. His books including, Influence: Science & Practice, are the result of decades of peer-reviewed research on why people comply with requests.Influence has sold over 3 million copies, is a New York Times Bestseller and has been published in over 30 languages.

Because of the world-wide recognition of Dr. Cialdini’s cutting edge scientific research and his ethical business and policy applications, he is frequently regarded as the “Godfather of influence.” Dr. Cialdini received his Ph.D from the University of North Carolina and postdoctoral training from Columbia University. He has held Visiting Scholar Appointments at Ohio State University, the University of California, the Annenberg School of Communications, and the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University. Currently, Dr Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. Dr. Cialdini is CEO and President of INFLUENCE AT WORK; focusing on ethical influence training, corporate keynote programs, and the CMCT (Cialdini Method Certified Trainer) program. Dr. Cialdini’s clients include such organizations as Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Bayer, Coca Cola, KPMG, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Kodak, Merrill Lynch, Nationwide Insurance, Pfizer, AAA, Northern Trust, IBM, Prudential, The Mayo Clinic, GlaxoSmithKline, Harvard University – Kennedy School, The Weather Channel, the United States Department of Justice, and NATO.

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TRANSCRIPT
Robert Cialdini: Pre-suasion is the process of arranging for an audience to agree with your message before they encounter it. Now that might sound like some form of magic but it's not, it's established science.

Read the full transcript at https://bigthink.com/videos/robert-cialdini-on-pre-suasion-101