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Why you’re not as persuasive as you think

Kim Arnold

Updated: Jan 27


Picture this.


You arrive at your hotel room after a long journey.


Your key card works first time (result!) and you go inside. Aah – there’s a stunning sea view, enormous bed and a spa-like bathroom, all marble and gold.


You see two signs on the wall:


  1. Thank you for helping us reduce energy and look after the environment by reusing your towels wherever possible.


  2. The majority of guests reuse their towels at least once during their stay. We’d appreciate it if you could too.


Which sign would most convince you to reuse your towel?


Chances are, you picked #1.


After all, you like to do your bit for the environment.


And as for that second sign, well who cares if other people reuse their towels? You’re not a sheep, blindly following the herd now, are you?


Well, you might be wrong.


When this test was run as a controlled experiment in a hotel, researchers found sign 2 increased towel reuse by 26% vs. sign 1.


Surprising, right?


And herein lies the big problem with persuasion and influence


When we try to persuade people, we rely on the tactics we think would most persuade ourselves.


But we often have no clue what actually influences us.  (Don’t believe me?  Look in your fridge or your wardrobe. At some point brands have done an excellent job of persuading you to buy their stuff, even if you think you’re impervious to their daft marketing…


So what’s the answer?


Well, first, you need to understand that ethical persuasion is a science, not an art.


And you need to know how to turn the scientific theory into practice.


I’ll share some of our best communication tips and techniques over the coming weeks, so you can become a little bit more persuasive every single week.


Sound good?

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