In his million-copy bestseller, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” Dr Robert Cialdini describes six powerful insights into human psychology: Liking, Authority, Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, and Scarcity.
Over the next few blog entries I’ll apply these to writing to help you get your way more often when you write to your prospects and customers.
Let’s tackle “Liking” first. Naturally, the more someone likes you, the easier it is to persuade them to your way of thinking. To apply it to your writing:
- Check your attitude: Do you really have your readers’ best interests at heart? If you do, they’ll sense it and trust you more.
- Think “relationship,” not “one-night stand.” Don’t try to get them over the line too fast. By all means ask for the sale, but show you care more about them than the deal (“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”).
- Ensure your writing looks good. How’s your branding, layout, neatness, etc? People warm to “classy,” not “scruffy.”
- Get feedback on your tone. Does your writing sound friendly, professional and helpful, or officious, abrupt or long-winded?
How else do you think “liking” can help persuade people? Share your wisdom in a comment below, bwana!
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