Using Perceptual Variations to Persuade People

A very potent way in which you can persuade the target of your persuasion goal to make the desired decision is by altering the way in which the situation is visualized. One of the most common forms of this persuasion technique is to break down a larger cost into an average daily cost.

For example, have you ever seen the advertisements for the starving children in Africa? The cost to sponsor one child is about $30 a month. When an average person starts to consider helping and then visualizes an extra $30 monthly bill it becomes hard to get that person to commit to it. However, in the commercials they point out how it’s about the same as buying one cup of coffee a day. Surely, you can afford a cup of coffee a day to help starving kids. When the perception is put into those terms it becomes very hard for anyone but the most impoverished people to not feel like they shouldn’t be able to help.

Many businesses use the technique of breaking down a cost to a daily amount to make the persuasion target realize that when the cost is broken down to a daily amount they can afford it. But, altering a persuasion target’s perception can be used in many other situations besides convincing someone to buy something that’s expensive.

You can use perceptual variations to convince a persuasion target that almost anything that seems like a large and formidable objective really isn’t as large as it seems. Let’s cite a situation where perhaps you wanted a loved one to agree to go on a diet and lose 25 pounds. If you tell them that, it may seem so overwhelming that they won’t believe they can do it.

But, if you point out that in order to lose 25 pounds all they have to do is lose 2.5 pounds a week, it starts to seem better. Then, when you point out that all they have to do to lose 2.5 pounds is reduce their daily caloric intake by 500 calories and to begin a modest cardio exercise program of walking for 30 minutes five times a week, it starts to sound very doable. If you want to convince someone to agree to do something that you believe will seem like a lot to them, the use of perceptual variations will greatly increase your odds of your successfully persuading them.

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