Persuasion Techniques

This is a list of per­sua­sion techniques.

In this blog post, you will get a few short and action­able insights into the mech­an­ics of per­suad­ing (not manip­u­lat­ing) someone.

Here we go:

Persuasion Techniques

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Persuasion Techniques

Persuasion tech­niques can be applied in vari­ous con­texts, includ­ing pub­lic rela­tions, mar­ket­ing, sales, polit­ics, and inter­per­son­al com­mu­nic­a­tion, to per­suade oth­ers effectively.

Here are examples of per­sua­sion techniques:

• Norm of reci­pro­city: Capitalising on the social norm that indi­vidu­als feel oblig­ated to repay favours or kind­ness, lead­ing them to be more recept­ive to persuasion.
• Artificial scarcity: Creating a sense of urgency or lim­ited avail­ab­il­ity to make some­thing more desir­able. ¹Silfwer, J. (2019, July 26). The Power of Artificial Scarcity. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​a​r​t​i​f​i​c​i​a​l​-​s​c​a​r​c​i​ty/
• Authority: Leveraging the influ­ence of respec­ted or author­it­at­ive fig­ures to endorse or sup­port a par­tic­u­lar mes­sage, product, or course of action.
• Consistency (or Commitment): Encouraging small com­mit­ments that lead to lar­ger ones by emphas­iz­ing past actions or state­ments. See also the foot-in-the-door tech­nique and the sunk cost fallacy.
• Social proof: Demonstrating that oth­ers sim­il­ar to the tar­get audi­ence have adop­ted the desired beha­viour or belief.
• Liking: Building rap­port and trust by find­ing com­mon ground or high­light­ing sim­il­ar­it­ies between one­self and the audience.
• Attractiveness (the halo effect): Physically attract­ive indi­vidu­als tend to be rated more favour­ably regard­ing per­son­al­ity traits. ²Silfwer, J. (2023, December 17). The Halo Effect: Why Attractiveness Matters in PR. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​h​a​l​o​-​e​f​f​e​ct/
• Framing: Presenting inform­a­tion in a way that influ­ences per­cep­tion or decision-mak­ing. ³Silfwer, J. (2023, December 3). Framing in PR: How To Bypass Confirmation Bias. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​f​r​a​m​i​n​g​-​i​n​-​pr/
• Priming: Proactively intro­du­cing subtle cues or stim­uli to influ­ence sub­sequent beha­viour or atti­tudes. ⁴Silfwer, J. (2023, December 3). Priming in PR: The Subtle Art of Pre-Suasion. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​p​r​i​m​i​n​g​-​i​n​-​pr/
• Anchoring: Introducing an ini­tial ref­er­ence point (anchor) to influ­ence sub­sequent judg­ments or decisions.
• Emotional appeal: Evoking emo­tions such as hap­pi­ness, fear, or sad­ness to sway opin­ions or actions.
• Contrast prin­ciple: Highlighting dif­fer­ences to make options seem more favour­able or unfa­vour­able in comparison.
• Verbal per­sua­sion: Using lan­guage and rhet­or­ic to con­vince oth­ers of a par­tic­u­lar view­point or course of action.
• Association: Connecting a product, idea, or per­son with pos­it­ive or desir­able attributes.
• Strategic storytelling: Communicating per­suas­ive mes­sages through nar­rat­ives that engage and res­on­ate with the audi­ence. ⁵Silfwer, J. (2013, February 7). 10 Storytelling Elements (Found in Almost All Great Stories). Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​t​o​r​y​t​e​l​l​i​n​g​-​e​l​e​m​e​n​ts/
• Flattery: Complimenting or prais­ing indi­vidu­als for win­ning their favour or coöperation.
• Fear appeal: Warning of neg­at­ive con­sequences to motiv­ate action or compliance.
• Foot-in-the-door tech­nique: Starting with a small request or com­mit­ment before mak­ing a lar­ger one.
• Door-in-the-face tech­nique: Making a large request that is likely to be refused, fol­lowed by a more minor, more reas­on­able request.
• Bandwagon effect: The per­cep­tion that a par­tic­u­lar action or belief is favoured or widely accep­ted. ⁶Silfwer, J. (2023, December 4). The Bandwagon Effect: Momentum Is Everything | PR Theory. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​b​a​n​d​w​a​g​o​n​-​e​f​f​e​ct/
• Reverse psy­cho­logy: Encouraging someone to do the oppos­ite of what is sug­ges­ted, know­ing they may rebel against the suggestion.
• Inoculation the­ory: Preemptively address­ing coun­ter­ar­gu­ments or objec­tions to strengthen res­ist­ance to per­sua­sion attempts.
• Battle of wits: Using wit or com­edy to dis­arm res­ist­ance and make a mes­sage more memorable.
• Repetition: Reinforcing a mes­sage or idea through repeated exposure.
• Self-per­cep­tion the­ory: Influencing beha­viour by lead­ing indi­vidu­als to believe that their actions are con­sist­ent with their self-image.
• Mirroring: Subtly imit­at­ing the beha­viour, lan­guage, or man­ner­isms of the per­son you’re try­ing to per­suade to cre­ate a sense of rap­port and connection.
• Pacing and lead­ing: Matching the pace of com­mu­nic­a­tion with the tar­get audi­ence before gradu­ally guid­ing them towards the desired outcome.
• Authority jar­gon: Using tech­nic­al lan­guage or ter­min­o­logy asso­ci­ated with expert­ise to enhance cred­ib­il­ity and influence.
• Contrast prin­ciple: Presenting options in a sequence that high­lights their dif­fer­ences, mak­ing the pre­ferred option appear more favourable.
• Urgency: Creating a sense of imme­di­ate neces­sity or time pres­sure to prompt swift action or decision-making.
• Salience: Emphasizing spe­cif­ic aspects or fea­tures of a mes­sage or product to make it stand out and cap­ture attention.
• Identity appeal: Aligning a mes­sage or product with the tar­get audi­ence’s val­ues, beliefs, or iden­tity to foster a sense of belong­ing or affiliation.
• Exclusivity: Positioning a product, offer, or oppor­tun­ity as lim­ited or exclus­ive to a select group enhances its per­ceived value and desirability.
• Embedded com­mands: Subtly embed­ding dir­ect­ives or com­mands with­in sen­tences to influ­ence beha­viour without overtly stat­ing them.
• In-group/out-group bias: Exploiting the tend­ency of indi­vidu­als to favour mem­bers of their group (in-group) over those out­side the group (out-group) to garner sup­port or compliance.
• Linguistic flu­ency: Presenting inform­a­tion clearly, con­cisely, and flu­ently to enhance per­suas­ive­ness and credibility.
• Emotional con­ta­gion: Eliciting spe­cif­ic emo­tions in indi­vidu­als and lever­aging their con­ta­gious nature to influ­ence atti­tudes, opin­ions, or behaviours.
• Foot-in-the-mouth tech­nique: Intentionally mak­ing a small error or con­ces­sion in an argu­ment or nego­ti­ation to build trust and rap­port with the oth­er party.
• Endowment effect: Emphasizing own­er­ship or pos­ses­sion of a product or idea to increase its per­ceived value and desirability.
• Mystery: Generating curi­os­ity or intrigue by with­hold­ing inform­a­tion or details, prompt­ing indi­vidu­als to seek fur­ther engage­ment or information.

Learn more: Persuasion Techniques

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The Golden Rule of Persuasion

The Golden Rule of Persuasion

The golden rule for being per­suas­ive is straightforward:

You have to put in the work, period.

Learn more: The Golden Rule of Persuasion

Persuasion Ethics

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Persuasion Ethics

Persuasion is about get­ting someone to com­ply because they want to. A manip­u­lat­or always has his best self-interest in mind, where­as a per­suader must see the world through the eyes of others. 

“PR means telling the truth and work­ing eth­ic­ally – even when all the media want is head­lines and all the pub­lic wants is scape­goats. Public rela­tions fails when there is no integ­rity.”
— Viv Segal

Please note: Persuasion is not about coax­ing any­one into com­pli­ance because that’s manip­u­la­tion or coer­cion, not persuasion.

Be a per­suader. Not a manipulator.

Learn more: Persuasion Definition, Meaning, and Ethics

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PR Resource: Persuasion

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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.

Persuasion in Public Relations

• Persuasion Definition, Meaning, and Ethics
• Persuasion Strategies (and When To Use Them)
• Persuasion Techniques
• The Golden Rule of Persuasion
• Priming in PR: The Subtle Art of Pre-Suasion
• Framing in PR: How To Bypass Confirmation Bias
• Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Public Relations
• The Priming Wheel: 12 Steps to Yes
• “Pre-Suasion” by Robert B. Cialdini (to be published)
• The Value Triangle: How To Manage Client Expectations
• The Power of Artificial Scarcity

Learn more: All Free PR Courses

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