The Golden Rule of Persuasion

Persuasion = Groundwork + Readiness

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

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Unlock the power of the Golden Rule of Persuasion. 

Persuasion is not merely about deliv­er­ing a mes­sage but about lay­ing the ground­work and respect­ing your tar­gets’ read­i­ness to be influenced.

Dive into the prin­ciples of the Golden Rule of Persuasion. Harness its poten­tial to estab­lish and main­tain strong rela­tion­ships — and lead with influence.

Here we go:

The Golden Rule of Persuasion

The golden rule of persuasion.
The golden rule of persuasion.
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

The Golden Rule of Persuasion

The golden rule for being per­suas­ive is straightforward:

  • The golden rule of per­sua­sion is to lay the ground­work; nev­er sug­gest any­thing to any­one who isn’t ready to com­ply — yet.

You have to put in the work, period.

Learn more: The Golden Rule of Persuasion

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Priming in Persuasion

Priming Wheel - Persuasion - Doctor Spin - The PR Blog
Doctor Spin’s Priming Wheel.

Persuasion Approach: Priming

Priming is a valu­able approach to persuasion:

Priming (in per­sua­sion) = the pro­act­ive pro­cess of mov­ing an audi­ence into an action­able state of mind through mul­tiple PR activ­it­ies in a pre-planned sequence. 

This pro­act­ive approach is cru­cial in today’s inform­a­tion-sat­ur­ated envir­on­ment, where cap­tur­ing and retain­ing audi­ence atten­tion is increas­ingly challenging. 

Priming can enhance memory recall, facil­it­ate brand pro­cessing, and influ­ence product pref­er­ences through vari­ous media.”
Source: Current opin­ion in psy­cho­logy 1Wänke, M. (2016). Primes as hid­den per­suaders. Current opin­ion in psy­cho­logy, 12, 63 – 66. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​J​.​C​O​P​S​Y​C​.​2​0​1​6​.​0​5​.​004

Inspired by the Priming Wheel, there are many examples of poten­tial prim­ing activ­it­ies in PR.

Here are a few examples:

  • Curiosity trig­ger. Encourage the recip­i­ent to seek inform­a­tion more act­ively. For example, entice them with an inter­act­ive ele­ment like a click­able link to get started.
  • Emotional hook. Connect with the recip­i­ent on a per­son­al level. Share a story that they can emo­tion­ally relate to, fos­ter­ing a deep­er con­nec­tion with your message.
  • Social proof. Alleviate the recipient’s appre­hen­sions by present­ing evid­ence of suc­cess from oth­ers. Utilize testi­mo­ni­als as a reas­sur­ing demon­stra­tion of third-party endorsements.
  • Small ask. Gently nudge the recip­i­ent towards a low-effort com­mit­ment. For instance, request them to briefly describe a chal­lenge they’re facing in exchange for a reward.
  • Value demon­stra­tion. Showcase the bene­fits of your pro­pos­al. Use visu­al or descript­ive meth­ods to high­light the advant­ages, focus­ing more on the bene­fits than the solution.
  • Mutual bene­fits. Build trust by illus­trat­ing how the recip­i­ent’s suc­cess bene­fits you. Clarify the recip­roc­al nature of the bene­fits, rein­for­cing mutu­al interest.
  • Trust test. Gauge the recip­i­ent’s trust in you by ask­ing them to take a small, trust-based action. For example, encour­age them to share your mes­sage with their network.
  • Common enemy. Unite the recip­i­ent against a shared chal­lenge or adversary. Provide a tan­gible depic­tion of this ‘enemy’ to solid­i­fy a sense of joint pur­pose and struggle.
  • Negative rein­force­ment. Illustrate the neg­at­ive out­comes of not tak­ing action. Present a vivid pic­ture of the worst-case scen­ario to under­score the import­ance of compliance.
  • Big ask (“The Sale”). Make a com­pel­ling case for imme­di­ate action. Present your offer with a sense of urgency, like a count­down, to prompt an imme­di­ate decision.
  • Feedback loop. Reinforce the recip­i­ent’s con­fid­ence in their decision or pur­chase. Offer encour­age­ment and express solid­ar­ity, strength­en­ing their con­vic­tion in their choice.
  • Referral ask. Show appre­ci­ation for the recip­i­ent’s opin­ion and net­work. Invite them to refer col­leagues with­in their industry in exchange for a reward, demon­strat­ing respect for their influ­ence and judgment.

Priming social con­cepts can have mul­tiple effects across psy­cho­lo­gic­al sys­tems, but under­stand­ing how these effects occur and how they are dis­tilled into non­con­scious social actions is cru­cial for under­stand­ing non­con­scious beha­vi­or.”
Source: European Journal of Social Psychology 2Bargh, J. (2006). What have we been prim­ing all these years? On the devel­op­ment, mech­an­isms, and eco­logy of non­con­scious social beha­vi­or. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36 2, … Continue read­ing

Learn more: Priming in PR: The Subtle Art of Pre-Suasion

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Persuasion = Groundwork + Readiness

Readiness is cru­cial for effect­ive per­sua­sion. Like a skilled garden­er pre­par­ing the soil before plant­ing seeds, suc­cess­ful per­suaders under­stand the import­ance of lay­ing the ground­work before pitching. 

Attempting to sway someone’s opin­ion or beha­viour before they’re recept­ive can be coun­ter­pro­duct­ive, poten­tially lead­ing to res­ist­ance or rejec­tion. Instead, it is essen­tial to assess the audi­ence’s read­i­ness and cul­tiv­ate an envir­on­ment open to receiv­ing and con­sid­er­ing the pro­posed idea or suggestion.

Stakeholders, influ­en­cers, and pub­lics may not be ready to enter­tain spe­cif­ic ideas due to their emo­tion­al state, pri­or exper­i­ences, or com­pet­ing pri­or­it­ies. By respect­ing read­i­ness levels, per­suaders can increase the like­li­hood of achiev­ing their objectives. 

Laying the ground­work involves build­ing rap­port, estab­lish­ing cred­ib­il­ity, and under­stand­ing the audi­ence’s needs and per­spect­ives. These all con­trib­ute to a more per­suas­ive inter­ac­tion when the time is right.

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Thanks for read­ing. Please sup­port my blog by shar­ing art­icles with oth­er com­mu­nic­a­tions and mar­ket­ing pro­fes­sion­als. You might also con­sider my PR ser­vices or speak­ing engage­ments.

PR Resource: Free Persuasion PR Course

Free Persuasion PR Course - Doctor Spin - Public Relations Blog
Free per­sua­sion PR course.
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Doctor Spin’s PR School: Free Persuasion PR Course

Use this free Persuasion PR Course to elev­ate your pub­lic rela­tions game with power­ful insights. Drive impact and influ­ence like nev­er before.

Learn more: All Free PR Courses

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ANNOTATIONS
ANNOTATIONS
1 Wänke, M. (2016). Primes as hid­den per­suaders. Current opin­ion in psy­cho­logy, 12, 63 – 66. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​J​.​C​O​P​S​Y​C​.​2​0​1​6​.​0​5​.​004
2 Bargh, J. (2006). What have we been prim­ing all these years? On the devel­op­ment, mech­an­isms, and eco­logy of non­con­scious social beha­vi­or. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36 2, 147 – 168. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​0​2​/​E​J​S​P​.​336
Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at Spin Factory and KIX Communication Index. Before that, he worked at Kaufmann, Whispr Group, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.
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The Cover Photo

The cover photo isn't related to public relations obviously; it's just a photo of mine. Think of it as a 'decorative diversion', a subtle reminder that it's good to have hobbies outside work.

The cover photo has

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