How to put Robert Cialdini’s 7 persuasion principles into practice
Write words for money? You’ve probably gnashed your teeth at the disconnect between theory and real life once or twice.
Especially if you follow developments in behavioural science.
Behavioural science’s impact on the world so far:
- Revelation after revelation about what really influences the decisions we make? Check.
- Study after study with conclusive evidence from controlled lab experiments? Check.
- Book after book of dense academic prose written by outrageously smart boffins? CHECK.
- Advice about how to turn the boffins’ insights into better results at the office? <tumbleweed>
I’ve wrestled with it all for the past three years, and finally, finally, I feel like I can collect my thoughts in this 7-minute post. For the sake of my own sanity. And if it helps one or two others as well, all the better.
There’s no shortage of boffins and frameworks to shout about, but today let’s take the godfather of behavioural science, Robert Cialdini, and his 7 Persuasion Principles.
Read on to find:
PART 1, a very (very very) brief overview of Cialdini’s 7 Persuasion Principles. I’ve paraphrased, simplified, and used some artistic licence, so quote ’em at your peril.
PART 2, an example of a missed payment email, written with the Principles in mind.
PART 3, a deconstruction of the missed payment email to show how the the Principles were put to work.
PART 1
Meet R.C. LUCAS, an embodiment of the 7 Persuasion Principles
Allow me to intro you to my buddy, R.C. LUCAS. She’s an acronym who helps me crowbar all this ivory-tower behavioural science stuff into a format my stubborn brain can work with. She wears a tweed fishtail skirt, pushes her glasses up her nose every 54 seconds and chews liquorice gum.
R: Reciprocity
People tend to repay favours others do for them. Probably to free themselves from the shackles of indebtedness and restore cosmic balance.
Example: when the plaque in a hotel bathroom says “we’ve donated £1 on your behalf to an environmental charity, please reuse your towel”, guests are more likely to reuse their towel than when the plaque says “it’s better for the environment if you reuse your towel”.
C: Commitment and Consistency
People tend to act in line with their perception of who they are. This means that if they take a small action which indicates a belief or intent, they are more likely to follow through with another (bigger) action along the same lines in future.
Example: a person who is asked to put a “drive safely” postcard in their front window is more likely to agree to install a similar sign on their driveway than a person who wasn’t asked about the postcard.
L: Liking
People tend to do what’s asked of them if they feel positive about the person who has made the request.
Example: when two people have to negotiate an outcome (for example a business deal or a job offer), they are more likely to reach a mutually agreeable result if they first spend 10 minutes talking about what they did at the weekend than if they launch straight into the negotiations.
U: Unity
People tend to behave in a way that reinforces the group identity which has been triggered for them at a moment in time (the “in-group”) and prioritise people from that same group over other people (the “out-group”). Group identities can be obvious, such as family, gender, political leaning, age and so on… or they can surprise you with their arbitrariness.
Example: You have two groups of randomly assorted people. One group is given red baseball caps to wear and the other is given blue baseball caps. People are then randomly paired up. In each pair, one person is told to divide £10 between them. If the pair both wear red caps or blue caps, the money is more likely to be split 50/50 than if it’s a mixed pair.
C: Consensus
People tend to follow the actions of the crowd. Also known as “social proof”.
Example: imagine you walk round the corner and see 18 people with their faces all tilted up to watch the sky. What do you do?
A: Authority
People tend to take a cue from figures or entities with more gravitas than the average Joe or Jane.
Example: when a person is told to take some unpleasant oral medicine, they are more likely to obey if the order comes from a doctor than from a cartoon artist. They may be even more likely to obey the order from a spouse than from a doctor. It’s all relative…
S: Scarcity
People tend to want the things that are in short supply. The supply could be shortened by limited quantity, limited time, or other forms of exclusivity, like early access only for members.
Example: when the pub landlord calls last orders, there’s a stampede of punters to grab one more round at the bar.
Side note
As you can see, this stuff is not binary. It’s Bayesian. The Persuasion Principles can influence the likelihood of an outcome, but it’s not as simple as “if we do this, then that will definitely happen”. There are second order effects and invisible dependencies at play which mean no human has yet been able to write the playbook, not even the godfather himself.
PART 2
Example of a missed payment email written with these Principles in mind
Of all the tricky emails a copywriter might write, an email to convince an absconder to cough up what they owe has to be up there in the top 3.
(The email below is a hypothetical example. I spliced it together based on missed payment emails I’ve written in the past which used a few but not all of the Principles to good effect. Out in the real world, it might work… or it might not work… maybe I’ll get to test it and report back sometime.)
Dear Corissa,
Your monthly payment for Acme Corp has failed for the third time in a row.
We know this isn’t a fun email, but it’s really important that you read it carefully, so you know what happens next.
If you don’t set up a new payment method by <deadline>, we’ll have no choice but to instruct our specialist debt collection partner to recover the money you owe.
“Why is it such a big deal if I stop paying?”
You agreed to a 12-month contract with Acme Corp. When we set up your account, we pay a lot of the upfront costs on your behalf. Our contracts run for a minimum of one year because each month we recoup some of that money.
“But I’m not happy with the service you’ve provided.”
We take your requirements seriously and will fight to make things right! We can even go back to scratch for you and start again if that’s what it takes.
“Will you hold it against me in future?”
Nope, scout’s honour. Just get yourself back on track and we’ll wipe the slate clean.
“OK, what do I need to do next?”
Log into your account and follow the onscreen instructions to set up a new payment method. You’ll be done in less then 5 minutes. Here’s the link: <link>
“What’s the worst that will happen if I do nothing?”
After 6 months, a default may be marked in your credit file. This lasts 6 years and will restrict your access to services like Acme Corp which you might need in future. (Of every 10 customers who miss a payment, 9 get back on track and avoid a default.)
Struggling financially? To get free and impartial debt advice, please go here: <link>
PART 3
A deconstruction of the missed payment email
- We know this isn’t a fun email, but…
^ calling out the situation for what it is increases the likeability of the sender - If you don’t set up a new payment method by <deadline>…
^ limited time to act introduces a sense of scarcity - we’ll have no choice but to instruct our specialist debt collection partner to recover the money you owe…
^ reference to a specialist partner increases authority - You agreed to a 12-month contract with Acme Corp…
^ reminder that they committed to a certain behaviour and are not acting in line with their past self leans on commitment and consistency - When we set up your account, we pay a lot of the upfront costs on your behalf. Our contracts run for a minimum of one year because each month we recoup some of that money…
^ spelling out the work the company has done for the customer increases reciprocity - We take your requirements seriously and will fight to make things right! We can even go back to scratch for you and start again if that’s what it takes…
^ increases reciprocity - Just get yourself back on track and we’ll wipe the slate clean…
^ increases likeability - After 6 months, a default may be noted your credit file. This lasts 6 years and will restrict your access to services like Acme Corp which you might need in future.
^ an emphasis on the negative consequences of not paying leans on unity (in-group can access services, out-group is out in the cold) - Of every 10 customers who miss a payment, 9 get back on track and avoid a default…
^ outlining the bad actors as a minority increases consensus around the decision to do the right thing
A final thought
Ethics is a thing, as every behavioural scientist is at paints to point out. Let’s not run off cackling into the sunset, like the lovechild of Cruella de Ville and Mister Burns, in search of sackfuls of swag. Has a customer tried to pull a fast one and needs a nudge back in the right direction? It’s probably OK to pull out all the stops. But it’s not OK to manipulate a person to agree to a contract which could harm them in the first place.
What are you writing next? How could you use a couple (or even all) of the 7 Persuasion Principles to work for you?
Found this article useful? It’d make my day if you could share it with just one other person who would find it useful too. ← reciprocity in action
