The Faint Breeze of Enthusiasm
by Kim Pederson…….
We hear it (and say it) all the time. We should do this. We should do that. Everyone should act differently. Everyone should follow the Golden Rule. We must save the planet. We must wipe out ISIS. We have to balance the budget (national and personal). So many things that should be done, in our minds, and so many things that do not get done. This could be for one simple reason: we know what needs to be done but we don’t know how to persuade anyone (including ourselves) to take action.
Conversely, there are forces at work on us daily trying to get us to do something. Buy this. Sell that. Vote for this person. Join our cause. Sometimes we even find ourselves doing something and then wondering why (usually with some chagrin or regret attached) we did it after the fact.
Both problems might be solved, as many things can be, with a little more knowledge. In this case, that knowledge relates to the psychology of persuasion. How exactly do you persuade someone into adopting your point of view or taking an action you recommend? How do others get us to do this, sometimes (okay, for me more than sometimes) without much thought involved on our part? The trick seems to be, at least according to Dr. Robert B. Cialdini in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, following six rules having to do with these influences:
1. Reciprocation — People tend to return a favor, thus the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing.
2. Commitment and Consistency — If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self-image.
3. Social Proof — People will do things they see other people doing.
4. Authority — People tend to obey authority figures, even when asked to perform objectionable acts.
5. Liking — People are easily persuaded by other people they like.
6. Scarcity — Perceived scarcity will generate demand.
On reading this, I wondered if and how the campaign slogans of the 2016 presidential candidates fit into these categories. Here they are in no particular order. This list now has more members than the Key West Fraternal Orioles Nest 303 so feel free to skip ahead or, better yet, ignore this entirely.
-Hilary Clinton: “Everyday Americans need a champion. I want to be that champion.” — 1, 2, 5, 6?
-Ben Carson: “Heal. Inspire. Revive.” — Hmm. Ben apparently has neglected the psychology of persuasion entirely.
-Carly Fiorina: “New Possibilities: Real Leadership” — Ditto Carly.
-Ted Cruz: “Reigniting the Promise of America” — No persuasive power in mixed metaphors I am afraid. I’m wondering what a burning promise looks like and why it was on fire in the first place.
-Bernie Sanders: “A Revolution Is Coming” — Yikes! The socialists will control everything. Run! Run away!
-Marco Rubio: “A New American Century” — Well, most people will have no idea what the old American Century refers to and this slogan suffers from a shocking lack of action verbs. Zilch here, too.
-Rand Paul: “Defeat the Washington Machine. Unleash the American Dream” — At least it has active verbs, although the imperative is a little harsh. Sounds like a 4, don’t you think?
-Mike Huckabee: “From Hope to Higher Ground” — If hope is not up there, what is? Zero influence here, too.
-Bobby Jindal: “Tanned. Rested. Ready.” — Seriously?
-Jeb Bush: “Jeb!” — Seriously? Oh, I said that already. Really?
-Chris Christie: “Telling It Like It Is” — No. 6 definitely, if he actually does it instead of “Telling It Any Way I Damn Please.”
-Lindsey Graham: “Lindsey!” — Ok, just kidding. It’s really “Ready to Be Commander-in-Chief on Day One.” Ok, maybe “Lindsey!” was not such a bad idea.
-George Pataki: “People over Politics” — Maybe 5 on this one if people can figure out what he means by it.
-Rick Perry: “Risk the Consequences” — Have I said “seriously?” yet. Oh, Well. Ditto in spades.
-Rick Santorum: “Restore the American Dream (for hardworking families)” — Everyone else need not apply. Perhaps 5 from families (traditional of course and hardworking).
-Donald Trump: “Make America Great Again!” — The exclamation point is important. I think he stole it from Jeb. Nothing here either in terms of persuasion.
For the sake of not driving you crazy (along with myself), I will ignore, as CNN and the other news media have, the 15 other declared Republican candidates and the seven probable/exploratory ones.
Phew! I’m exhausted. I am glad to report, however, that at the end of this mindbogglingly unscientific analysis of our current candidates, we know who will be the next president of the United States. Hilary is the only one in the entire group who seems aware of the need to win friends and influence people. As she might say if she were a Tennessee Williams character, “I’ve always depended on the faint breeze of enthusiasm in strangers.” Given her influence-and-persuasion becalmed opponents, she just might have enough of one to win.
* “Dale Carnegie.” Via Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Dale_Carnegie.jpg#/media/File:Dale_Carnegie.jpg.
Visit Kim Pederson’s blog RatBlurt: Mostly Random Short-Attention-Span Musings
Kim,
Excellent article. I like the way you laid out your ideas and drew your conclusion. An exciting and steady stream of thought.
Four additional rules I would include are: “Reputation-Body of Work-Integrity & Credibility”.
Again, an insightful and informative perspective.
Blessings & Respect
Kim, I love your stuff. Just the other day I was talking to a friend about politics and said, “every election I think we have bottomed out, but we keep going lower. It seems impossible.” Surely, by now, the level of our political discourse has broken some law of physics with regard to its stupidity.