Six Principles Of Persuasion Essay

Discussing Six Principles of Persuasion

Anonymous

University of the People

Discussing Six Principles of Persuasion Whether in business or casual communication, there are times when it is the goal of one or both parties to convince the other of a specific viewpoint. In such instances, one must be effective in presenting the view and why it should be valued over others. Robert Cialdini tells us that by following six principles attempts at persuasion can be made more effective (as cited by McLean, 2010). This paper will define the six principles and briefly discuss each of them. Then, an example will be provided, illustrating how they can be applied in context.

The first principle is reciprocity. McLean says that this is the expectation of

Scarcity can describe any item or service which cannot be obtained equally by every individual. The benefit of scarcity in persuasion is it shows the value of making a decision based on not only what stands to be gained, but also what may be lost. McLean describes reminding a customer that a product or service may be limited in availability as a method of employing scarcity, demonstrating to the customer that they may lose their chance if they aren’t convinced before someone else comes along (2010).

The third principle is authority. Authority simply means a genuine knowledge of the conditions and how the solution applies to them. This principle may seem to be obvious, but it is of great importance to any situation where persuasion is necessary. There can be little doubt that most individuals will seek the most informed source when they need to make a decision. Persuading someone to act or not to act, to buy or not to buy, to work together or not, all rely on a clear demonstration that the persuader has some knowledge which is both highly accurate and beneficial to the other

One such instance involved the act of moving into a new apartment and attempting to persuade friends to help with the work. In this example, the author offered dinner and drinks for helpers, and reminded some of his past assistance with their own similar tasks. This was a demonstration of reciprocity. The author made sure to begin these attempts at persuasion well in advance of the move in hopes of accounting for scarcity in his friend’s availability of time. The author also presented a clear plan as to how the process would be achieved and in what timeframe. This was an employment of the principle of authority, demonstrating knowledge about how well-developed the task’s proposed resolution already was. Over the days as the move date approached, reminders were mentioned in hopes of making sure a commitment would be maintained. Changes to the plan were not made and this demonstrated consistency. The consensus principle was used at any point a new friend was asked to help, showing the burden wasn’t only being placed on them because others already saw fit to join. Lastly, the principle of liking was relevant to the fact that friends were asked rather than strangers, and that their own inconveniences had been considered and would be alleviated or compensated for as best as