THE MAGIC OF PERSUASION. Dr. Azim Ostowar Ghafuri
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pervasive and poignant manifestation of humanity, shown perhaps not at its best but at its most human.
Some say persuasion involves manipulating other people and for this reason they think persuasion sometimes may be distasteful. With respect to this opinion we argue that without some degree of social control and mutual accommodations the human community may become disordered and the persuasion indeed gains moral acceptability when the alternatives such as coercion, threats, duress etc. are considered. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, p. 122)
So important and multifarious subject such as persuasion inevitably attracts study from many quarters. Persuasion and its different spheres like advertising, public relations, propaganda, marketing, which are the focus of study of this thesis, have been treated as an art, a craft and a science by the great cultures that have left substantial historical record. Thinkers from the time of and of the stature of Aristotle and Cicero devoted whole treaties to the topic. In European universities of the Middle Ages, persuasion was one of the basic liberal arts to be mastered by any educated person; and from the days imperial Rome through the reformation persuasion was raised to a fine art by preachers who used the spoken word to move men to virtue and the Holy Land. In modern era, persuasion, in the form of advertising, public relations and propaganda supports major industries; and spends a great share of the gross national product in advanced countries.
PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASION
Experimental research in the social sciences has brought some tentative principles
of persuasion:
1. To accomplish attitude change, a suggestion for change must first be received
and accepted. Acceptance of the massage is a critical factor in persuasion
communication.
2. The suggestion is more likely to be accepted if it meets existing personality
need and drives.
3. The suggestion is more likely to be accepted if it is in harmony with groups
norms and loyalties.
4. The suggestion is more likely to be accepted if the source is perceived as
trustworthy or expert.
5. A suggestion in the mass media, coupled with face to face reinforcement, is
more likely to be accepted than a suggestion carried alone if, other things being
equal.
6. Change in attitude is more likely to occur if the suggestions is accomplished by
other factors underlying belief and attitude. This refers to a changed environment,
which makes acceptance easier.
7. There will be more opinion change in the desired direction if conclusions are
explicitly stated than if the audience is left to draw its own conclusion.
8. When the audience is friendly or when only one position will be presented or when
immediate but temporary opinion change is wanted, it is more effective to give
only one side of the argument.
9. When the audience disagrees or when it is probable that it will hear the other side
from another, it is more effective to present both sides of the argument.
10.When equally attractive opposing views are presented one after another, the one
presented last will probably be more effective.
11.Sometimes emotional appeals are more influential and sometimes factual ones. It
depends on the kind of message and kind of audience.
12.A strong threat is generally less effective than mild threat in inducing desired
opinion change.
13.The desired opinion change may be more measurable some time after exposure to
the communication than right after exposure.
14.The people we want most in our audience are least likely to be there. This goes
back to the censorship of attention that the individual invokes.
15.There is a „sleeper effect“ in communications received from sources that the
listener regards as having low credibility. In some tests, time has tended to wash
out the distrusted source and leaves information behind.
If we sum up all above mentioned principles together, we can present four guiding principles:
Identification Principle
Most people will ignore an idea, an opinion or a point of view unless they see clearly that it effects their personal fears or desires hopes or aspirations.
Action Principle
People seldom buy ideas separated from action – either action taken or about to be taken by sponsor of the idea or action that the people themselves can conveniently take to prove the merit idea.
Familiarity and Trust Principle
People buy ideas only from those they trust, they are influenced by or adopt, only those opinions or points of view put forward by individuals or corporations or institutions that they regard as credible.
Clarity Principle
The situation must be clear to the people, not confusing. The thing they observe, read, see or hear, the thing that produces their impressions, must be clear not subject to several interpretations. This means, when we communicate, we must employ words, symbols or stereotypes that the receiver comprehends and responds to.
PERSUASION TECHNIQUES
With the consideration of these main principles of persuasion, the persuasion activist must define his audience by great precision and he must use different strategies and techniques to accomplish his different goals of persuading others. The persuasion communicator must vary his communications strategy in accordance with the intensity of concern with an issue felt by his audience.
For example the following techniques may reduce the discrepancy between the communicator's position and the audience's attitudes:
Using most closely identified message with the audience's position.
Using communications source that enjoys high credibility for the audience.
Playing down the differences between the persuader and the audience's attitudes.
Seeking identification in vocabulary and anecdote with the audience.
Establishing the communicator's position as being the majority opinion – defining the majority from the audience itself.
Bringing the audience's group identifications into play – when those identifications will help the development a positive response.
Modifying the message to fit the organizations needs.
REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PERSUASION
Getting people to adopt ideas requires more than a bare presentation of facts. It requires interpretation of the facts in terms of the self-interest of those people. Successful persuasion mostly depends on several ingredients. Some of these ingredients are:
Source: Credibility of source is a necessity. To attain credibility, there must be
complete and absolute honesty. Recipients of a message is biased in its
own interest.
Idea: The idea must be related to the hopes, fears, problems, values and
attitudes