Persuasion

The Persuasion Formula

After comparing 40 different types of persuaders, I found that all of their methods share 8 common attributes, listed below.

Before the Interaction:

Credibility — Without trust, everything else is irrelevant. Ideally you should build your credibility for real, however, the main thing is to communicate with others in a high-value way. In UX, this applies to everything from trustworthy branding, to transparency about your prices, to testimonies from customers. Don’t say you’re valuable; show them.

Know Your Audience —  In UX, that means you do your User Research so you know who you are persuading and what they care about.

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During the Interaction:

Open & Disarm — You have to engage the user’s interest immediately, and then proceed to remove any obvious objections they might have. In UX this can be a great headline or an eye-catching image above the fold. If price is a concern, for example, that should be part of the first information the user can see. Don’t assume they will continue far enough to learn about it later.

Create Rapport — (say rah-por) is the feeling of getting along with someone and it is created by similarities between people. In UX, this can be created by using familiar language, showing what the user has in common with your customers, or describing the main person in your article in a way that makes the reader relate to them.

Isolate — When a user has come far enough that their interest is clear, you want to remove any competing information. In UX that might mean removing the menu or banners during the checkout process so nothing distracts the user from their purchase.

Convince — For more complex persuasions, you may need to provide “waves” of information that leads the customer from the basics to the details, so they understand step-by-step. There are a variety of ways to do this. Cognitive Biases are often helpful to frame the information in a way that makes it easier to accept, and easier to consume.

Close the Deal — Just ask for commitment and don’t over-complicate it. In UX this is the “publish” button or the “confirm purchase” button, or the “share” button.

After the Interaction:

Summarize with Bias — Don’t let the persuasion end with the close! That makes people feel like you only value them until they give you what you want. In UX this might be a follow-up email to remind them about everything they can do with their new Macbook, or suggestions for more articles, or feedback about how many people liked/agreed with their post.