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“The power of the contrast principle!”
Hello ,
“The power of the contrast principle!”
One of my favourite books of all time is Influence Science and Practice by a guy called Robert Cialdini. For anyone involved in any form of influencing and persuasion it is a MUST read.
One of the principles of influence Robert talks about is the principle of consistency. The best way of ‘demonstrating’ this is to share with you a story – you know my passion for story telling!
As always at the end I’ll give you some practical, pragmatic ‘real world' ideas of how you can use the principle – though I’m sure you’ll easily be able to think of many more of your own applications.
Here goes…Dear Mom/Dad (letter from college)
An exact replica of a letter a daughter wrote to her parents from college:Dear Mom and Dad,
It has now been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing this and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but, before you read on, please sit down. I repeat, please, YOU ARE NOT TO READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU ARE SITTING DOWN.
All right now; this is not easy to write about. I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture, and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival, is pretty well healed. Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory and my jump, were witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm.
Now about this attendant, he was the one who called the fire department and the ambulance. He also visited me at the hospital, and since I had nowhere to live because of the burned out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him and his three buddies. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute.
He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to be married. We haven't set the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. Yes, Mom and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents. I know you will welcome the baby and give it the love, devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child.
The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our pre-marital blood tests, and I carelessly caught it from him. This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am having daily. I know you will welcome him into our family with open arms. He is kind and, although not well educated, he is ambitious.
Although he is of a different race and religion than ours, I know your often expressed tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by the fact that his skin colour is different than ours. I am sure you will love him as I do. His family background is good too, for I am told that his father is an important weapons dealer in the village from which he came.
After college, and until he finds a decent job, we'll be using my old bedroom. We aren't asking for a large wedding; in fact, maybe just something for the immediate family in front of a judge. Maybe just you, dad, grandma and grandpa, and whatever family he has. Don't worry about them; they will be happy just to stay in our basement.
Now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture. I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant and I am not engaged. I do not have syphilis and there is no man (of any colour) in my life.
However, I got a 'D' in History and an 'F' in Science, and I just wanted you to see those marks in the proper perspective.
Your Loving Daughter
Now I’m sure you can think of your own ways and ideas of how you can use this principle – however here’s a couple to get you started;
1. When negotiating… scare them with your first offer!!! For example, buying a new car - which is for sale on the forecourt for £15,000. Offer them £8,557. Now you have your own contrast point to start from and you’ll definitely negotiate a better price!2. Setting targets… Imagine you have a telesales team of 50 people – they’ve been averaging 10 meaningful conversations each per hour for the last 3 months. You want to raise the activity levels. Start by contrasting the target and telling them you want 25 conversations per hour. You’ll probably create a commitment to achieving 15 or perhaps even more in the process!
3. With your partner… Tell them you are going on a girls or boys trip for a week. After they’ve ranted and raved tell them you’ll only go for the weekend then! Funny how it was always a weekend trip isn’t it!!!
4. Brainstorming ideas in answer to a focused question… Instead of asking a person or your team to come up with 5 ideas ask them to come up with 20 PLUS ideas. They might baulk on initiation of the request – however once they tap into creative mode they’ll come up with some sparky, unique, perhaps even off the wall ideas in reaching the target of 20 PLUS.
5. With your kids… Ask your child to tidy the kitchen every night for the entire week. You’ll hear the moans and groans. Agree they can JUST do it tonight!!!
6. Delivering the exceptional customer experience… You and I have both heard the expression; “under promise and over deliver” For example, on Monday you promise a client they’ll have the proposal by Friday. Wednesday morning it’s on their email. A customer calls requesting information, you promise to get back to them next day and within the hour you’ve already called them. Speed stuns… and the contrast principle at work!
The contrast principle - yet another tool in your tool bag of influencing and persuasion skills!take action: achieve more
Royston
PS: Who do you know who might be looking for a Speaker for their next event or conference?
One of my passions is speaking at conferences and events. last year alone I spoke at 54 events to over 21,000 people.
Subjects included anything from Creating A Winning Mindset, to Sales, Leadership to developing a commercial focus, Building high performing teams to why people don’t take action and most importantly…what to do about it!
Who do you know who might be looking for a Speaker for their next event or conference?
I have a full conference pack with Show Reels, Speaker Subjects, and Bio etc. If you’d like me to send you a copy or if you’d like to discuss an event or conference in more detail please just call my Executive Assistant Kate Bowers on +44 (0) 870 850 8931 or alternatively email her katie.bowers@pti-worldwide.com
Many Thanks
