Activate Identity and Agency

• "To try to understand how to persuade kids and others, the scientists [from Stanford] asked a group of four- and five-year-olds to do something kids are particularly reticent to do: help tidy up...Rather than asking the kids to 'help,' the scientists asked them to be a 'helper' instead. This difference seems negligible...And yet, even though the change might seem minor, it made a big difference. Compared to simply asking kids to help, asking kids to be a helper increased helping by almost a third."
• Encouraging people to be the noun ("helper") rather than just do the verb ("help") can tap into a sense of identity and purpose.
• "Category labels often imply a degree of permanence or stability. Rather than noting what someone did or does, feels or felt, category labels hint at a deeper essence: Who someone is."
• "The fact that turning actions into identities shapes how people are perceived has a number of useful applications. Describing oneself as a hard worker on a resume, for example, rather than as hard working should lead to more favorable impressions. Describing our coworkers as innovators rather than as innovative should have positive effects on how they're perceived."

Convey Confidence

• "Words not only convey facts and opinions, they convey how confident we are in those facts and opinions, which shapes how we're perceived and our influence."
• "Whether choosing a money manager, listening to a witness, or picking a president, listeners are more persuaded when communicators seem more certain, or confident about what they are communicating. Because when people speak with certainty, we're more likely to think they're right. Which candidate will do the best job? It's hard to know for sure, but if one speaks with certainty, it's harder to believe they could be wrong. After all, they just seem so confident." 
• "While being cautious can sometimes be a good thing, by making communicators seem less confident, hedges (like "might," "could," "probably," "maybe," etc.) undermine their ability to influence others...That doesn't mean we should never hedge, but it certainly means that we should use hedges more deliberately."
• "Speakers who hesitated were seen as less intelligent, less well informed, and less qualified. Listeners thought they had less expertise, and saw them as lower status, regardless of what their title actually was. In fact, a 'lower-status' speaker who didn't hesitate was perceived more positively than a 'higher-status' speaker who did. Style trumped status."

Ask the Right Questions

• After analyzing thousands of first dates, Stanford and UC Santa Barbara researchers found that "asking questions led to a better first impression. It made people feel like they clicked and made them more interested in going on a second date."
• "Similar things have been found in a host of domains. In everyday getting-to-know-you conversations between strangers, for example, people who asked more questions were seen as more likable and fun to spend time with."
• "Asking questions suggests that rather than just talking about ourselves, we're interested in our conversation partner and what they have to say."
• "Asking questions makes us look good, and facilitates positive interactions, but follow-up questions are particularly useful because they show we're interested and care enough to learn more."

Leverage Concreteness

• Studies have shown that people respond more positively to concrete language like saying "jeans" instead of "pants" or "lime green Nikes" instead of "those shoes." This is especially true for customer service interactions, where using specific language helps the customer feel heard and understood.
  • "Using concrete language significantly increased customer satisfaction. When customer service agents used more concrete language, customers were more satisfied with the interaction and thought the agent had been more helpful."
  • "In situations like these, it's easy to fall back on a set of stock phrases. 'I'd be happy to help with that' or 'Sorry about the issue' whether the that or the issue in question is a jacket, pants, or anything else. Such abstract, generic responses help save time and effort because they're applicable to almost any situation. But that wide applicability has a downside."
• "Concrete language also makes things more memorable...Not surprisingly, then, using concrete language has a host of beneficial consequences. It holds people's attention, encourages support, and drives desired action."

Employ Emotion

• "While people generally prefer positive personal experiences to negative ones, when reading books or watching movies, endless positivity would be pretty boring. When it comes to stories, tension is key. Will Cinderella and the prince end up happily ever after, or will she be stuck washing floors for the rest of her life? Will Luke and the Rebel Alliance destroy the Death Star, or will the dark side prevail?"
• "Along these lines, many successful stories seem to follow a similar structure (as explained by Kurt Vonnegut in the video below). Characters have to overcome various trials and tribulations before they reach a happy ending...Because interspersing these low points among the high ones does more than just humanize successful people. It builds a better story."
• "Low points, or depths of despair, make the high points that much more powerful." We can leverage this same idea in our business storytelling.
• The types of words that persuade people to buy or try something differ based on whether the product or service is hedonic or utilitarian.
  • "When marketing a product, service, or experience, for example, is it more hedonic (based on pleasure, like eating at a restaurant or watching a movie) or more utilitarian (based on functionality, like using a razor or shampoo)? Are people buying it for pleasure or enjoyment, or more functional and practical reasons?"
  • Hedonic -> Use emotional words: "If it's more about enjoyment, emotional words like 'awesome' and 'beautiful' fit really well. Saying a movie is 'heartwarming,' a destination is 'inspiring,' or a meditation app is 'fantastic' not only suggests those things are good but does so in a way that encourages purchase and action."
  • Utilitarian -> Use less emotional words: "If the product, service, or experience is more about practical functionality, however, those same positive words may backfire. Less emotional words like 'brilliant,' 'flawless,' and 'perfect' will be more persuasive. Calling a dictation app 'brilliant' rather than 'awesome,' for example, should encourage purchase and use."